Stainless

Sometimes there actually are some new twists on an old favorite. Stainless covers the romance of a vampire and her rocker minion. Justine protects Keith because she sees him as hers; Keith protects her because she rescued him from himself. As their feelings start becoming romantic, however, a former victim of Justine’s resurfaces, threatening to tear Justine’s world apart even as he rebuilds his cult.

Unlike a number of vampire stories, several facets of the vampire myth are given serious consideration. Justine is becoming an ethereal alien creature in her own right as her past is becoming a jumble; she has forgotten a lot of what she simply doesn’t need. The romance is another outstanding point, as it shows how two beings with dissimilar perspectives can love one another, especially as they come to it from such different angles. The antagonist here is arguably one of the best things about the book. He is a forgotten victim of Justine’s, who set up his own cult and then had it destroyed, sending him into hibernation. He wakes up and is angered that Justine is still in the area and so decides to ruin her life as revenge; after all, she made him a vampire almost on accident, forgot about him, then destroyed him, and forgot about him again. With all of the normal bloodshed surrounding vampires, it’s surprising that there are not more forgotten victims out there.

Overall, although the characters are nicely done, and they built up rather well, the plot itself could use a little strengthening. Nonetheless, this is a must-read for vampire romance fans; this is a book that makes a nice counter-point to all of the sappy vampire romances out there.