Love Bites (Thicker Than Water #1) by Ann-Katrin Byrde

This book started out alright. I had hopes it would be one of those quick, juicy stories that might not be particularly well written but would make up for it with copious amounts of smut and a clichéd but highly entertaining storyline. That’s not what I got though. Well, apart from the poor writing that is.

I did finish the book however, but in retrospect I’m not sure why.

Synopsis: Collin, who’s been trained by his adopted father to kill vampires, decides to revolt and goes drinking at a bar he’s been warned not to visit. He runs into a vampire, Talon. Collin is mighty fascinated and after a bunch of stupid stuff, they shag. Memory loss. Nausea and morning sickness (!). Collin dreams of a hot guy he can’t remember meeting but then, hey presto, dream-man turns up irl. Insta-love. Bad vampires. Good vampires. Some commotion and cross-dressing. The end.

There were so many things about this story I just couldn’t stomach.

Collin is literally planning a future with a vampire he’s just met while Talon himself has barely said two words. I can’t even call it one-sided insta-love, because there’s no indication for a good long while that Collin even has any feelings towards Talon.

There’s just this complete lack of emotion about the story, despite this being a romance. It was like I was supposed to just assume the MCs were falling for each other without being told the hows and whys of it.

There were also way too many life-altering events happening way too fast that Collin accepted and handled too well. The revelation that vampires, werewolfs and other beings exist. That Collin has some kind of superpower that he can apparently wield right away. That Collin gets pregnant.

And… I don’t want to spend more energy on this book than I already have. I just need to warn you off it. It’s the classic mistake of a book where too much happens, too fast, and that is in serious need of editing.

So Love Bites actually really sucks. And Ann-Katrin Byrde (which is a pen name for a writer’s duo) goes on my hell-no list.

Also, there should have been some warnings. Mpreg and cross-dressing aren’t everybody’s cup of tea.