When Ophelia, the female human lead, and Casimir, the male vampire lead, met seven years ago, he was convinced by Ophelia’s recent hookup that she was just looking for immortality rather than being interested in him personally. Being rebuffed with harsh words, Ophelia left town as soon as she finished college and bought a van. 

Now, Ophelia and Casimir are assigned to work together to discover who the rogue vampires attacking humans are, or if they’re a plant by the prejudiced mayor running for re-election. Ophelia is still embarrassed by the previous incident and determined to stay away from Casimir. But when opportunity arises that can only be accessed together, she acquiesces. 

Both remember the previous feeling of connection, and the very real attraction is still present. But Casimir has always been sure he didn’t want a life partner, and Ophelia is definitely not willing to put herself out for rejection again!

This story is dual POV, well written and edited, and an angsty, contemporary fantasy romance with a background suspense theme. It stands alone from others in the series (because I haven’t read them yet) but is probably enhanced by reading them in order. I enjoyed Ophelia’s independence and the way she’d established herself successfully in her chosen career. I also enjoyed that she’d taken full ownership of her fertility and was confident in her choices. I empathised with her embarrassment over her last encounter with Casimir. I enjoyed Casimir’s bemusement over his attraction to Ophelia and his growing discomfort with her distance, both physical and emotional, from him. I appreciated that he had to chase her, given he’d pushed her away previously. I enjoyed the building intimacy and the slow building certainty between the characters of what they wanted. 

I received a complimentary copy from the author and this is my voluntary honest review.