Curry Brennan has been bonded to Marsala, the vampire who changed him for 161 years. He has always seen himself as a monster and has hated Marsala since his brother brought her into their life. Now, on the day of the solar eclipse, in 1989, Curry has a chance to release himself from his bond and miserable existence. However, instead of burning in the sunlight, Curry seems immune and takes a chance to simply escape from Marsala's grip. Curry finds himself a mentor and eventually finds a room to rent in the house he once built. Curry believes this is a good place to start over, but is thrown when the older couple who he rents from says their granddaughter, Chauncey will be staying the summer with them. When Chauncey enters Curry's life, he feels a spark, and hears the whisper of the wish he made. Curry soon learns that Chauncey is a gift, his Agápe, created just for him. They share an unbreakable love; however, Marsala would do anything to take Chauncey out of the equation, leaving Curry with a difficult decision.

This vampire romance started off strong and fizzled midway through for me. I was at first very interested in Curry's story, how he was turned and Marsala's obsession. Curry did fall into one of the vampire tropes of hating himself and what he was turned in to. I liked how he improved his outlook with Sebastian and Soloman and wish more of that was highlighted. I was also intrigued by the setting of the story and wanted to know more about Curry as a human as well as how a large group of vampires came to settle along the Mississippi coast. I really liked the romance at first and was very interested in the idea of an Agape. While the Agápe was explained well, Curry once again fell into the vampire romance trope of deciding to go against his feelings in order to keep Chauncey safe. It is here that the book started to feel really familiar to another well known vampire romance and the plot continued to follow suit. This really didn't feel too vampirey to me, especially since Curry was regaining parts of his humanity with his Agápe. I needed more vampire action, more scares and more suspense. While the ending threw in some new twists, it wasn't quite enough to redeem the story for me or want to read the rest of the series. ( )

Originally Reviewed At:Mothter/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 4 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Blog Tour
Reviewer: Jennifer



Anytime I’m sent a vampire book, I get a little nervous. Most end up with the same plot lines, boy meets girl, they fall in inevitable love, yet the boy is tortured by his own immortality and self-hate. Something happens to make the girl suspicious, she starts digging, finds out he is a vampire, and insanity ensues. When it came to Blood of Anteros, while in most ways I was right, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in many ways, I was wrong.



Curry Brennan is very much the brooding, self-loathing, vampire I expected him to be, however the hate he held for his maker, Marsala, was a bigger surprise. Living as a 26 year-old in the 1800’s, Curry only dreamed of becoming a husband and father, living out his life in peace. His dreams were shattered when Marsala made him a monster, a vampire. Though she did this out of love, he still despised her with every fiber of his immortal being. When his hatred for her reaches a boiling point, Curry decides to escape the only way he can, suicide.



On the night Curry intends to carry out his death, things take an unexpected turn, and instead of meeting death, he finds freedom. Deciding to go to the place of his birth, he meets Chansey Leclaire. After befriending her, he falls in love and realizes the dreams he had as a human may still become a reality. However, when outside forces close in, threatening his newfound happiness, Curry is forced to accept the fact that Chansey is not entirely what she appears to be.



Something else that surprised me – in a good way – was the meeting between Curry and Chansey. Unlike most stories, it was not an earth shattering, stars aligning moment. It was a typical, two people meet, they are attracted to one another, but unsure of the others feelings. It was very warm and realistic, something many recent YA novels tend to lack. Moreover, it is this realism, along with Curry’s strong voice, that drew me in and kept me hanging on until the very last page. I loved every minute of their story and love affair, and am so very glad not all vampire novels are the same. ( )

What a wonderful new twist to the vampire ya romance novel. It was a great story and very interesting characters. Ending was a little abrupt but made you anxious for more. ( )

What a wonderful new twist to the vampire ya romance novel. It was a great story and very interesting characters. Ending was a little abrupt but made you anxious for more. ( )

Blood of Anteros surprised me because I wasn’t expecting it to be as intense as it is. Refreshingly told from the perspective of a male vampire, this book is an enjoyable read that captures perfectly the love between Curry and Chansey.

The book begins with the mysterious severing of the bonds that bind Curry to his maker – a vicious vampire whom he hates. Curry spends 21 years learning to assimilate with humans, and finally decides to move into his childhood home, renting with the elderly couple who own the house now. When their grand-daughter comes to stay, Curry is afraid that he is a danger to her, young blood being so much more desirable than old blood. However, he finds in Chansey a mystery – while her blood doesn’t attract the vampire within him, something about her makes his long-buried human side emerge. Chansey and Curry are great together, although they have their share of misunderstandings, it’s obvious they genuinely care for one another and I liked that.

While there is little action in the book, and most of it occurs near the end, I did enjoy the plot because it is centred on an interesting mythology. I had hoped that Curry’s scorned maker would make an appearance, but now I think that she is part of a larger story arc, and I had to make do with the sleaze-bag bad guys this book offers. What really drives the book is the romantic aspect between the two protagonists – it is unclear whether they will be able to surmount all the obstacles placed in their way.

It would be impossible for me to review this book without drawing some comparisons with the Twilight saga: similar issues are understandably raised in both works. Although it is clear that any relationship between a mortal and immortal is doomed without Curry turning Chansey, the issue is handled in a similar manner to that in Twilight. This aspect in itself is common in many vampire-oriented novels featuring romance with a mortal, so it did not overly concern me. However, Curry is quite demanding, and although Chansey stands up for her rights most of the time, the imbalance of power in the relationship means that Curry inevitably has the last say. I hope in future books this issue is resolved.

Blood of Anteros is an interesting read featuring an exciting new mythology, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Blood Jewel, for a blog tour next week. I recommend this book to those who enjoyed the Twilight saga but are looking for something aimed at a slightly more mature audience and written a little edgier.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. ( )