Goldilox and the Three Weres: Review: Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost

Bound by Flames
(Night Prince #3)
Jeaniene Frost
Release: January 27, 2015
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Play with fire, pay the price.

Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin…

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does…for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both…

Review:

I love Vlad so much. I've loved him since his first snarky comment in the Night Huntress series. I loved him as his friendship with Cat developed and we learned more about his dark past. And I love him in this spinoff series. When I started the first book I had mixed feelings about Leila, but now I adore her. As the series goes on I worship Vlad and Leila more and more and I'm so happy that we get one more Vlad book after this!

In Bound by Flames, Frost pumps up the darker element and shows us how far Vlad can go to protect the ones he loves and what Leila will do to survive...and what she has to survive through is pretty awful. There is a torture scene in this one that I probably made a crazy looking face while reading. Somewhere between a cringe and horror. It was tough to read but thankfully what could have been the worst parts are skimmed over. Scenes like these continually show how strong Leila is. She is clever and resourceful and doesn't just panic and shut down during times of crisis. The 'big bad' in this one puts Vlad and Leila through some serious hell and you really just want Vlad to find him and rip out his spine then entire book.

Vlad's answering anger is above and beyond and, as always, I love watching him show his power and abilities. God, Vlad is one sexy Master vampire when he's angry. He's also pretty darn sexy in several fabulous and steamy scenes with Leila throughout the book. Fabulous.

Leila's family is in this book a lot and although her sister Gretchen's stupidity still drives me bananas and her father's lack of acceptance of Leila's new life is aggravating, its still nice to see them appear in the novels. For me it keeps Leila's humanity grounded and reminds readers of how fresh to this new life she is. Maximus also returns in a surprising way that I just plain could not have expected. I have no idea how this book left me feeling about him. I both love his character and hate him at the same time.

As I neared the end of Bound by Flames I felt like it really should have been the final book in the originally planned trilogy series, but after finishing I realized where I think the fourth book will go next and the new 'bad guy' we'll be chasing in that one. Honestly though, the Night Prince series could really run another handful of books and be a regular series. Because, don't we all want more Vlad!?

Recommended for fans of: VLAD!, urban fantasy with sexy romance, powerful vampires.

This review is based on an early finished copy of the book provided by the publisher.