*Review: The Undeparted*

BOOK ONE in the Undeparted Series.

Cassandra is trying to figure out if she was actually bitten by a vampire and whisked away to his castle or if it was a very vivid dream, one which has left her to contemplate her own sanity. Unknowingly, she is the only mortal to resist the vampire's bite and capture the heart of the most powerful vampire that ever existed; the one who began the entire race of the undead, Quentin Castle. For ions Quentin has felt nothing but the lust for blood. But Cassandra has awakened something in him that he had forsaken a millennium ago; he is determined to win this beautiful woman by mortal means rather than by the vampire's bite.

But will he be able to suppress his natural instinct? Will he be able to prove to the skeptical Cassandra that he is a vampire and not an imposter, a wannabe? What hideous thing will he do to prove that he is a vampire, prove that he isn't using some kind of parlor trick, some Houdini magic, and that he is the real thing? As evidence mounts on Quentin's behalf and she can no longer deny her encounter was real and not a dream, will Cassandra be able to resist his evil charm and convince her boyfriend, police officer Mike Lapp and best friend Lucy that vampires really do exist and she's being stalked by one?

To expedite their liaison, Quentin devises a scheme to blackmail Cassandra by setting up her boyfriend for a murder he didn't commit. Cassandra must surrender herself to Quentin for her boyfriend's sake and wait for Mike to scale the walls of the vampire's castle and rescue her. But when her boyfriend arrives, she's in for the shock of her life. People are not always what they seem to be.

Wow!! I absolutely loved this book. :D I usually read paranormal romance that has some hot and steamy scenes, so I was really surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did since there's none of that going on in it. I totally love the main character, she is so sweet and selfless. She'll do anything for the people she loves. I wanted her to give in to Quentin, but also wanted her to stay loyal to Mike. The connection between her and the vampire is instant and so strong that neither of them can deny it. The ending was great! Huge surprise!  I couldn't stop reading this book once I got started. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Highly recommend!  I have to rate this 5 out of 5 stars.