Primal Desires by Susan Sizemore

". . . a spicy read. . ."

Primal Desires: Vampires and werewolves in Los Angeles add a new chapter to the lore and find a new alliance.

The Beast Master, Jason Cage, is a vampire who shares his gift for controlling wolves and wild cats with Las Vegas audiences. His stable and comfortable life as a showman proves safe and satisfying until his is contacted to pay an old debt to the Hunyara clan of gypsies. Awaiting him in Los Angeles is a daunting task. He must train the next Wolf Tamer of the Hunyara clan, a woman who is unaware of her gifts and her heritage. But he has an even bigger problem. Sofia Hunyara and her cousin, recently bitten by a werewolf, are the targets of a neo-Nazi group of werewolves left over from experiments Jason thought the Hunyara had freed or destroyed.

Add the fact that Sofia is destined to be Jason’s bondmate and the stakes, already high enough to involve the vampire and werewolf clans in a war centered on the Sofia’s cousin and the rogue werewolves, are raised further. It’s anybody’s guess who will win out: headstrong and gifted Sofia, alpha vampire Jason Cage, or their overwhelming desire for each other.

The story Susan Sizemore weaves in Primal Desires is anything but tame or conventional. She creates a world and lore of vampire and werewolf clans that resemble the tangled loyalties of the Mafia and the political maneuvering and sensibilities worthy of a Victorian Machiavelli. Add a dash of feminism to an Old World view of women along with a healthy dose of biological urges and everything heats up quickly.

The world Sizemore creates is believable, adding her own touch to the growing volume of vampire lore that has come a very far and circuitous route from Bram Stoker’s view of vampire as demon. It is obvious that Sizemore has borrowed extensively from other supernatural romance writers like Katie MacAlister in creating a premise for unbridled and oddly timed sexual antics—but with a lot less humor and a lot more intensity. Although the premise is as threadbare as the oft-used sheets in a brothel, the sex is hot and borders on pornographic.

All in all, Primal Desires is a spicy read with just enough of a story to give the reader a break between orgasms.

Reviewer: J. M. Cornwell