Read my review of the first book in the Lords of Discord series, Claiming Marcus.
This book opens with the Varik clan at a moment of fragile peace, trying to solidify their place in the greater vampire community after the events of the first installment of this series. Even as we get an immediate reminder of the delicate political situation in which they’ve found themselves, they are also drawn into the drama of another clan as unique as the Varik family. Philippe Arsenault has specific reasons for demanding that Rafe Varik be the primary point of contact, but neither man expects the immediate chemistry that ignites between them.
In each encounter following the first time they are able to speak alone, you can cut the obvious tension between them with a knife. The moment they fall into bed together is inevitable, as is their individual revelations that they are also falling for each other. The clan politics of their world, however, make a more traditional happily ever after (HEA) out of reach, and meanwhile, they still have a mystery to solve.
The external conflict facing the Arsenault clan, and how it relates to the mystery of the Arsenault clan itself, felt drawn out when contrasted with the book’s romance arc. Once the two plot lines between them completely intertwined, I was thoroughly invested even when Drake may have telegraphed a few details a bit too heavily.
Even the predictable story elements still carried the thematic and emotional weight I’d want from any romance, especially when Drake does make our heroes pay a heavy price for the eventual HEA. The Varik family faces a new future after the events of this story, and I look forward to seeing how the overarching story continues to play out for every member of this nontraditional family.