Review: Marked by Kayla Bain-Vrba

Reviewed by Fehu
Marked (Proud to be a Vampire) by Kayla Bain-Vrba
Less Than 3 Press
Short Story
3.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Jake is a vampire and a drug dealer. To humans, he sells crystalized vamp blood; to vamps, he sells the blood of humans hopped up on the finest drugs. In the midst of a deal gone wrong, he runs into Benji, a human desperate to escape the city. Though they're natural enemies--hunter and prey--their paths keep crossing, and they quickly find themselves in a mess from which there is no escape.




Short Review
An interesting whirlwind romance between a drug dealing vampire and a human, who despises vampires.

Jake is a wannabe bad guy, a drug dealer and vampire, who sells human blood to his bretheren. He is also a good brother and after his first meeting with Benji, quite interested in the fate of one special human, especially, when the live of said human is at stake. Benji wanted a new life and couldn't explain his attraction to the vampire who nearly got him killed on their first meeting.

Jake was a cute at least how he was following Benji and called him babe to get a rise out of him. I liked the chemistry between Jake and Benji. Jake, with his bad boy image, was quite sweet to Benji, well in his own way. I would have liked a bit more background about the world, the author created, but it's a novella, so I know there isn't a lot of page space for that.

There is a lot of action and the world feels a bit dystopian, with vampires on top reigning over the humans and their own, like mob bosses controlling the cities. For all the angst, the solution and the final battle appeared to be over pretty quickly, especially considering that Jake had to have a lot less people than the overall vampire master.

3.5 Pants Off