First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Title: First Drop of Crimson
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Huntress World (book #1) 
Next in series: Eternal Kiss of Darkness

My rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis: Denise MacGregor has an extreme aversion to the supernatural world ever since a deadly encounter with some of its more vicious representatives. But now a demon shapeshifter is preying on Denise and her family, and the only one she can turn to is Spade, a powerful and mysterious vampire who arouses her deepest fears but also her strongest desires. 

Review: It is necessary to preface this review with the admission that I have not read any of the books in the Night Huntress series and have no plans to do so as they are written in the first person, which is one of my personal pet reading peeves.  

That said, the Night Huntress world is an intriguing and exciting place, and it is fantastic that First Drop of Crimson is in the third person so that I am able to enjoy Frost’s exemplary writing skill. Moreover, I was never left feeling confused or out of the loop for not reading the books in the original series.

The plot is intricate with several different villains at various times in the book but all threads ultimately come together into a unified whole. While there are some annoying plot holes (for example, why does Denise feel the need to protect Cat from her problems when she knows her friend is quite capable of kicking butt?), these do not detract from the overall story. 

The characters are what make this book a keeper. Denise is a courageous, determined and endearing heroine. Her reactions to the trauma she experienced are realistic and believable. Spade is seriously sexy and romantic. Their relationship is well developed although their chemistry is more subdued than some of the paranormal romances that I’ve read recently. 

The secondary characters are a mixed bag. Those from the original series come across as a little one-dimensional. It is possible that readers more familiar with them might feel differently about this. In contrast, the characters unique to this book are more fleshed-out and compelling, especially the demon who is the catalyst for the story. 

One final comment on the language – quite a few of the characters are English and as such there is liberal use of English slang such as “bloke”, “sod”, “mate”, which takes some getting used to.  

First Drop of Crimson is an entertaining read. I look forward to reading Mencheres’s book and hope that Ian will also find his match.