Bond of Fire Review

Bond of Fire (A Novel of Texas Vampires, #2) ~ Diane Whiteside
Publisher ~ Berkley Sensation
Published ~ January 2008

My Rating ~ 2 out of 5 for first half of book
                    4 out of 5 for second half of book
                    Average rating: 3 out of 5

Jean-Marie St. Just and Hélène d’Agelet fall in love in Paris in 1787. He is a concubino compañero, a vampire companion who needs blood and sex from a specific vampire in order to survive. She is a widow of noble status and great wealth. Duty and loyalty separate them for many years and when they meet again in Spain in1808 she is a vampira (female vampire) and a spy for the British. He is a spy for the Americans and is at the end of his life as a concubino compañero since one such as him can only live around 100 years before they either die or decide to become a vampire. When a mission goes awry they each think the other is dead. Hélène continues he work as a spy for the British. Jean-Marie asks his long time friend and vampiro mayor (elder vampire), Rodrigo Perez, to make him a vampire. Rodrigo agrees and after the war they return to American and settle in Texas.

This book is divided into three parts: The Revolution, The War and The New World. The Revolution revolves around the French Revolution that began in 1789. The War details the Napoleonic War that lasted from 1799-1815. The New World is present day in Texas and the war between Rodrigo, now called Rafael, Perez and Celeste, the vampira mayor of another territory. Jean-Marie and Hélène are joyfully reunited only to be pulled in opposite directions when it’s discovered that Celeste is Hélène’s sister, the only family she has left and someone that Jean-Marie has vowed to kill to protect his creador (creator).

Personally, I’m not much of a military history enthusiast, so all of the history in the first half of the book was boring to me even though it was well-done. I was much happier when I reached Part III: The New World. I loved the characters, the continuation of the story from Book 1, Bond of Blood and the different points of view. The history in the first part of the book was crucial to the background story of Jean-Marie and Hélène and I wish I could have enjoyed it more.

As a side note: I intensely dislike the cover on this book. If I was walking through a book store glancing at books, I would’ve walked right on by this one. Luckily, I was searching for it because it was a sequel and not searching for something to catch my eye.