Lisa Rene' Smith

In 2007 I have to admit going through a "vampire" phase where every vampire book I saw was a must read. That was, until the genre exploded with enough vampire stories to fill an aircraft hanger. It was during that time that I picked up Colin's Conquest which I believe may have come about as an author connection on MySpace. Regardless of the "why", once I got the book it served to be a staple in my ever-growing tbr pile as whatever reason I had for purchasing the book faded. Until now.

Looking at the cover which has the catch phrase "Vampires Watch From Their Neck of the Woods" I think maybe the cheesiness of it kind of turned me off after the fact. After reading I will say that yes, this vampire story had some cheesy aspects but there was just something about it and as I read further it turned out that I really liked it. I think this might be because the plot had more involved than just the "romance", which would have gotten old fast. Then there were the characters who all had annoying personalities: the "soul mate" Joanna, our heroine who was just a little too stupid to live; anti-hero Colin with a lustful and predictable (occasionally abusive) obsession with his chosen one; and Ben, the neophyte vampire who wavered between worshiping Joanna as his creator's chosen and wanting to eat her because she was too darn annoying. However, in the midst of all this the characters also developed traits which made them more compelling than their surface introductions would have indicated, turning the story into something I wanted to read instead of something I felt I had to read because I spent good money on it two years ago. I especially enjoyed the father/son escapade into the Amazon undertaken by Colin and Ben. However, I do feel compelled to add in that near the ending of the book there are a few relatively violent scenes that may bother more sensitive readers.

In the end I will say that I enjoyed the book, it turned out to be a decent vampire tale after all.… (meer)