Genre: Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Linda, PRG
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About The Book
A former blood slave. A strapping vampire. More zucchinis than any man could eat.
Rue Yarrow was rescued from a blood bar and taken to a gated community of supernaturals. Haunted by nightmares and memories, he does his best to avoid people. His only solace is his garden, where he uses his magic to grow an abundance of vegetables. But one day, it isn’t the zucchinis greeting him, but a severed human head.
Noah Caramine wants as little drama as possible, and interfering with a vampire clan’s business is never a good idea. He’s never met a magic user and is curious about Rue, but he fears there will be consequences for stealing the blood slaves.
When body parts start popping up inside the walls, Noah doesn’t know if someone is trying to frame them for murder or distract them from keeping the blood slaves safe. Rue never believed he’d go near a vampire again, but when threats are drawing closer, he turns to Noah. Who better to keep him safe from vampires than a vampire?
The Review
It has been a year since Rue Yarrow and a few others were rescued from a blood bar and brought to a supernatural gated community. They suffered from being fed from, and from being used as sex toys. Gertrude, the leader of the community, took Rue into her own home to live, and has now given him his own home, which he has no intention of ever entering. He barely speaks, eats or sleeps, and if he dos fall asleep, he is plagued by nightmares. Although the house means nothing to him, the garden around it means everything.
Rue has magic, not the powerful kind, but if growing things is needed, he’s the man for the job. Rue finds comfort in the garden, and when Chaton, a latent cat shifter, asks his advice on growing catnip, the two join forces. Chaton was also rescued from the blood bar – his family sold him to the vampires because he couldn’t shift. Chaton knows about vegetables, while Rue wants to grow every vegetable possible.
When they buy seeds, Rue is clueless and buys every type of vegetable, and I mean every type! If there are ten kinds of tomatoes, he plants them without understanding that one bush of tomatoes will produce huge amounts, which is why his garden is overrun with too many plants, and he needs more space. Then the zucchinis come in – green, stripped, big, small, every variety available – and they take up a lot of room. Rue sprinkles some magic on his plants, and they grow and grow.
There’s trouble in the community – a woman is found dead in the bar bathroom, and she is human. A supernatural would not raise alarms, but a human found dead endangers the entire community.
Humans are waging war and prices have increased, causing the members of the community to suffer. Then a new bill comes up for approval which would forbid supernatural’s from working in human owned businesses which would cost the community jobs and money. Thank God for Rue and his huge vegetable gardens.
Noah Caramine is a vampire who likes to stay to himself. That changes when the body he buried is dug up and then disappears. If the body is discovered by the police, Gertrude will be held responsible. Unfortunately, the body doesn’t show up – not the whole body – just various parts which are discovered in the gardens and houses. There is no doubt the police will be informed. Noah finds himself helping Gertrude, looking for for the guilty party and all the missing body parts.
While searching the gardens and homes, Noah sees Rue and falls for him instantly. Only Rue won’t be in the same room with a vampire, talk with one or ever have a relationship with one. As Noah watches after Rue at Gertrude’s request, Rue begins to fear him less and less. Not all vampires are vicious, just as not all humans are good.
Rue and Noah are amazing, as are many of the secondary characters. Especially Rue, who grew up in foster care and never knew his parents or any other family, and who became a blood slave and sex slave. He has a lot to overcome. I loved Rue, a man who only wants to work in his garden, but who learns that no man is an island.
I also loved Chaton, and hope he gets his own story.
I couldn’t put the book down until I found out who was guilty, what their end game was and if Rue could overcome the nightmare he lived through before being rescued. This is a must-read book for anyone who loves MM paranormal.
The Reviewer
I am an avid reader the mother of 3 sons and grandmother to seven grandchildren. Since retiring I have been doing more reading while volunteering as a CASA worker. CASA is an organization that works with the family court system to ensure that children are in the best living situation. There are way too many children that get overlooked in the foster care system and I visit homes and make visits to the parents. I was born and raised in New York and my husband of 50 years and I live in Upstate New York.
