Title:  Revenge Is Sweet
Series:  Immortals of London #2
Author:  Berni Stevens
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Published:  July 12, 2016
Publisher:  Choc Lit / Dark Choc Lit
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Hell hath no fury like a vampire seeking revenge …

Life hasn’t been exactly normal for Ellie since she became a vampire. Although joining the legion of the undead was always going to take some getting used to, even if you are the partner of Will Austen, the Elder of London.

But when Daniel, a fifteen-year-old fledgling vampire, unexpectedly turns up at Ellie’s and Will’s Highgate home, things start getting very strange – and more than a little scary.

Events take a devastating turn as a mystery troublemaker leaves behind a trail of carnage – and it soon becomes clear they will stop at nothing to get the Elder’s attention, even if it involves hurting the person he cherishes the most …

But when it comes to Ellie, Will Austen is the wrong vampire to mess with.

Read on for my thoughts on Revenge Is Sweet.  No true spoilers, promise.

There are some series where the next book simply welcomes you back with open arms, and you instantly fall back into that world without effort.  That was my reaction when I started Revenge Is Sweet this morning.  If you haven’t yet read Dance Until Dawn, the first in this series – no worries.  Within the early dialog and descriptions you are given enough background on Will and Ellie for everything to flow quite naturally without a huge information overage.  My only problem is going to be to not tell you too much so I don’t give important things away.

Will and Ellie are settling into their lives together, hard to believe it’s only been about a year since Ellie was turned.  But life is about to get interesting and dangerous since a newly turned fledgling has been brought to Will to determine the threat he holds and what to do with young Daniel.  When a person is newly turned they usually do not stray far from their maker.  The turning is not an easy process, and many would go insane if not for the discipline and guidance of their maker.  Daniel is a fifteen year old who was turned and left on the streets to fend for himself, most likely creating havoc and panic as his feeding would soon turn into a bloodbath.  Daniel was stopped before he could inflict farm and was brought to the Elder of London – Will.

It soon becomes obvious that there is a renegade vampire in London.  He or she is most likely an older, even ancient vampire since Will would have been aware of an unknown vampire in  his territory.  Ellie convinced Will to allow Daniel to stay with them. Will and their associates were asked to teach him what he needs for control and to survive. In that short period of time there have been other fledglings created.  Very young children as young as six years old  These young vampires were crazed and almost instantly insane from the turning and were destroyed.  It seems someone wants Will’s undivided attention.  With attacks and the loss of some of their members – they have Will’s full attention now.

Revenge Is Sweet has so many layers.  On the surface it’s a compelling and entertaining vampire suspense / romance story.  Yet we will learn more about Will’s past, have more than a few mysteries tossed at us, a touch of horror in both the killings and the punishments served, a deepening love story for Ellie and Will… and finally a perfect look into this couple’s near future.  All of that without a sense of overload.  Finely woven threads throughout this story give us glimpses of those layers – and it is a fascinating journey.

I sincerely hope that if you love mystery and suspense, or paranormal romance, or vampire stories in the tone of Dracula not sparkly vamps filled with angst, or simply want to continue learning about Ellie and Will’s life since you read the first story — all of those are excellent reasons to pick up Revenge Is Sweet.  But the best reason is a simple one – this is a damned good book, with a compelling story line, interesting characters and enough action to keep you glued to the pages until the very end.  What more could you ask for?  Pick it up, I strongly doubt you’ll ever be disappointed.

*I received an e-ARC of Revenge Is Sweet from the publisher, Choc Lit and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kindle