Bit of a rocky start, but an enjoyable read. Loved the setting, nice to read a book not set in the US. ( )

The first thing you notice of this book is the trick the author used to make “normal” the paranormal side of the novel: the story takes place in 2042, but this is not really a sci-fi novel; since the author wanted to “legalize” the existence of vampires, she imagined that around 2030 a group of vampires petitioned to the UN to be recognize as nation and as such to be given a place for themselves; the place was located in Spain, near Barcelona, and now they are living in a community outside Begues. Once the author planned everything out, this novel simply turns in a classical cat-and-mouse cop novel, with the vampire, Andreas, in the role of the hunter, and Xavi, the little street-rat, in that of course of the mouse.

Xavi is the only witness to a murder, he is an high-paid prostitute and the woman who bought him for few hours is killed in front of Xavi’s eyes; there is no doubt on the killer, the only problem is who hired him. There is no doubt that Xavi is not the killer, and the police is searching for him more to protect him than anything else. But Xavi is not exactly the trusting type, and he is used to take care of himself, and so he doesn’t want to be found. On the other hand Andreas, silent and apparently cold blooded (yes, pun intended), has taken a special interest in the little prostitute.

Truth be told, even if the trigger of all the story is a murder, and probably the main purpose of the story should be to find the killer, the focus soon changes from that to the relationship between Andreas and Xavi. This is more a romance than a thriller, and I’m very grateful to Chris Quinton for that. Apparently for the author, and I agree with her, it was more interesting to give a background to both Andreas and Xavi in a way that allowed them to be perfect together; Xavi is a prostitute, but he has his own moral principles: for example, he accepts money only from men and he never bottoms for them, and from women he accepts “gifts”, to give them the idea that they are not really paying for Xavi’s services. There is no feelings involved with men, only sex, and so, I think, Xavi is saving the real him for his true love; since he cannot fall in love with women (I think Xavi knows he is gay and that his soul mate will be a man), with them he can “play” with feelings, but with men he has to be as much detached as possible.

Andreas is a more simple character, and he is very in line with his prototype: he is a protector, he is able of deep feelings, and he doesn’t waste them when it’s not necessary; but when he identifies the one he will love, then there is no doubt in his mind and he will steadily, and firmly, prosecute his target.

I actually realized when the story was finished and I was preparing to write this post that this is the first book in a trilogy: I didn’t remember it sooner since this story is well-rounded and planned as it’s , when you reach the end you have your full closure; now don’t get me wrong, I will appreciate a following on Andreas and Xavi’s future together, but you can already pick up this book and reading it now without worrying on having a loose ending.

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