Twice Bitten

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
Rayna Vause is a new-to-me author.

From the start, I was quickly pulled into the story. One of my favorite plot devices is learning the world building alongside the narrator. While leaving the library to walk home, Danny is attacked by a rogue vampire. The next few pages entertained me, hitting all the right notes, because Danny didn't know what was going on, but then the story shifted.

This is all on me due to personal reading tastes. I'm not a fan of multiple points of view, and I don't mean where both main characters are voiced. For me, when I read firsthand from the 'baddies,' I quickly lose interest because there are no mysteries for me to ferret out alongside the main characters as they narrate. In this case, there are two opposing forces after Danny after he killed his attacker. There were five or six points of view in this novella. The reader knows everything the enemies/baddies are thinking, from every angle, long before Danny does, which took away from the journey for me, causing me to lose interest pretty much immediately.

After noticing he is changing, Danny runs off to his ex for help, and the reader learns Danny broke up with Kier because he was a vampire in the first place. This lent an angsty, second-chance romance angle to the story. With that being said, there was little to no romance, because there were so many points of view.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise itself, as well as both Danny and Kier. But I felt the multiple points of view was to the detriment because the reader and Danny didn't learn the world-building in an organic fashion. It removed all mystery and suspense, because the reader knew what was coming even if Danny didn't. This affected my ability to connect emotionally to the characters.

While I wanted to enjoy this, I have to be honest and admit it didn't resonate with me. Not a fan of knowing the inner monologue of anyone but the main characters, because I prefer not to be spoon-fed, wishing some things left up to mystery, where the main characters show/tell me what they discovered. Not my cup of tea, but I'm willing to give the author another try in the future.

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Twice Bitten by Rayna Vause to read and review.

Danny Reynolds is a human who’s been attacked by a rogue Vampire one night after leaving work. This attack wasn’t normal, and after Danny barely made it out of the fight alive, he started to have weird symptoms. The only person who can help him is his ex-boyfriend, Kieran McCade, a vampire. The problem is that when Danny had found out what Kieran was, he ran away from their relationship, hurting Kieran in the process.

Between his symptoms that are life-threatening for Danny, a dangerous group of people hunt him down to hurt if not kill him and Kieran, who’s still angry and hurting, Danny doesn’t know if he will survive.
A second chance might be possible but at what cost?
Twice Bitten by Rayna Vause is the first book that I’ve read from her, and it will definitely not be the last.

I adored this book. It was a super good read.
Danny and Kier were madly in love and had been together for six months until Danny found out what Kier was. Danny hated vampires back then, and felt betrayed, so he ran away from Kier and their love. But when he was in danger, alone and scared, Danny went to see the only person who could help him. I loved Danny. I loved his honesty. He acknowledged that he hurt Kier, and he regretted it profoundly. He tried to prove to Kier that he was worth a second chance. I loved him because he was honest with himself and dealt with it.

Kier was hurt, really hurt, and as tough as he can be for a vampire, Danny had this power over him, and he broke his heart. But when Danny came to see him asking his help, Kier didn’t turn his back. I was completely enamored with Kier. He’s loyal and honest. He’s kind and protective, and he’s strong and sensitive. I was soooooo team Kier.

The plot was good and the story well written. In a world where vampires and humans live together (kind of), the relationship between the two species isn’t simple. Some humans (called Purity) want to eradicate vampires, and some Vampires (the Rogues) want to use humans as their personal meals. I loved this because it was well written, dynamic and very fluid. I didn’t have any problem following the story through the plot, and I was completely captivated. The book isn’t only focused on Danny and Kier. The subplot with the Vampire / human relationship, with all that implied, was captivating and interesting, I was hooked by it. The secondary characters are good, loveable and I wanted to know more about Aiden and Rogan.

I don’t know if this book is a standalone or the first of a series. For me it can be the first book of a series, there’s a lot of potential, and the author wrote this book very well. At least, I hope to have a book with Aiden and Rogan, even a standalone (dear new author of my heart, there’s a hint here for you).

I recommend this book, it’s a good romance/action’s book, and you’ll have a great a time as I had.

4 OptimuMM’s for The Vamp and his Librarian!