I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Hunter’s Prey
by
Diane Whiteside
It is part of the Texas Vampires series and is a erotic romance, historical fiction, paranormal fantasy in a paperback edition that was published by Berkley on February 7, 2006 and has 258 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Devil She Knows, Beyond the Dark, Improper Gentlemen
Twelve short stories in the Texas Vampires erotic, historical paranormal romance series revolving around the sexy Don Rafael Perez and his wide range of expertise.
The Series
These short stories appear to be in chronological order…
“La Paloma Blanca”, 1860s
“Sweet Punishment”, similar time period
“Champagne Cocktail”, Prohibition
“The Great Chicken Roost”, Depression era?
“The Storm Cellar”, Vietnam
“Peppermint Candy”, early 1950s or ’60s
“Thirtieth Birthday”
“The Morning After”
“Spotlight”
“Bourbon with a Splash”
“Traffic Stop”
“Apex Predator”, 0.5
The Stories
“La Paloma Blanca” is set in the Old West of the 1860s with two sisters held back by their father from speaking to men at all. Until one night when one sister is caught eavesdropping on the other.
It’s in first person protagonist point-of-view from A__’s perspective. I enjoyed how Whiteside conveyed the manners of the time period.
“Sweet Punishment” uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Catherine’s perspective when she’s caught as a cat burglar, and she must choose between a month of “punishment” from Don Rafael and Ethan Templeton or being returned to her vicious brothers.
It appears to be around the same time period as “La Paloma Blanca”.
“Champagne Cocktail” finds a mob boss’ girlfriend reminiscing about the days when Johnny ran a speakeasy, as well as liked to watch her with others. It’s when war breaks out between rivals that an enforcer strolls into town…the cold Ethan Templeton.
It’s in first person protagonist point-of-view from the girlfriend’s perspective. This is a subtle one…oh, not the girlfriend’s memories, but the way Don Rafael went about winning this war.
“The Great Chicken Roost” is what runs that bullying mayor out of town, after Jean-Michel St Just provides Anne with an amazing night.
This one is so sweet with “Jimmy” such a considerate, polite young man. It’s also quite colorful in the atmosphere Whiteside paints of the town, the time, and Miss Jessie’s. I get the impression this is around the time of the Depression.
“The Storm Cellar” is a story Gran tells Mary while they wait for those peach pies to finish baking. She was twenty-five and had stayed home while her parents flew off to help with a birthing. Then that tornado came…as well as help from an unexpected Don Rafael.
“Peppermint Candy” finds a judge who relates the tale of what she discovered when she first got to college, and how she became enamored of the law. It was Jean-Michel St Just in that pink dress…
“Thirtieth Birthday” finds the professor remembering that thirtieth birthday when he got his ultimate, and dangerous, fantasy fulfilled by his wife, Carol, who experiences that cowboy Ethan Templeton.
“The Morning After” is a morning-after reminiscence by three ladies in New York about the men they enjoyed last night.
The “Spotlight” is on Brynda as she experiences lust on a stage with Don Rafael. Later, she gets a steady job at the Santiago Trust.
“Bourbon with a Splash” encounters a strong woman, a cop who has a free Saturday night since her last day with the metro police is that Friday. And Ethan wants her total obedience, including her wearing the leather outfit he sends her.
Whiteside uses first person protagonist point-of-view as she logs her Ethan encounters.
“Traffic Stop” is the start of Steve’s relationship with Ethan Templeton when she’s still a metro cop. It was a traffic stop that exposed her to all that was Ethan, and she conducts a very thorough search.
Strangely enough, Steve and Ethan’s first encounter turns into a friendly, ahem, relationship.
“Apex Predator” is the prequel to Bond of Blood, 1, and features Grania and her first meeting with Don Rafael. Grania’s scientific mind comes to the for as she searches for information on vampires, an apex predator.
Whiteside uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Grania’s perspective. And I do gotta wonder about those Kevlar vests…
The Cover and Title
The cover is a very close close-up of a man’s water-beaded six pack, shadowed in blue from the top down to the highlight of his lower left. An angled copper wallpaper with a black Victorian-style print borders the left side. The title is in an embossed brilliant metallic blue below the man’s nipple. Immediately beneath that is the series info in a very pale peach. The author’s name is below that in a burgundy script…and danged hard to read. At the very bottom on the left is a testimonial in white.
The title is about the women within who are The Hunter’s Prey.
