An American Lamb in Europe

Title:  An American Lamb in Europe

Author:  Rob Colton

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  120 pages

Rating:  B+

Quad Shot of Love

 

Blurb:  Jamie Anderson knows you need to look before you leap, but he forgets it often enough to land in trouble. When his brother and only remaining family member disappears, he doesn’t think twice about quitting his job as a dental hygienist to travel to the Czech Republic to search for him.

Rescued by the sexy, mysterious Tomas in a small city near the German border, Jamie enlists his help in locating Rudy. Soon Jamie realizes the man knows more than he’s sharing. When Jamie demands Tomas tell him the truth, Tomas reveals he’s a vampire. Horrified the man he’s fantasized about is a monster, Jamie struggles with the fact he still needs Tomas’s help to find Rudy.

Jamie never expects their search will land him in the middle of a vampire turf war.

 

Review:  What a great little story! I had so much fun with this one. A sweet and charming novella filled with humor, sexy heat, the complex love of family, loyalty and two men falling in love as they try to solve the mystery before it’s too late.

Jamie spends a lot of time in his head. He is the big brother who always took care of his troubled little brother. They were all they had growing up and while Rudy’s made some bad choices the bond is still strong. Jamie doesn’t hesitate to drop everything and come running when he knows that Rudy needs him. He was very stupid and wonderfully, foolishly brave in his pursuit of Rudy. No matter what anyone tells him or how dangerous things become he never gives up.

Tomas is delicious. He is this huge, scary, uber-sexy guy who keeps showing up to save Jamie’s butt. Tomas keeps trying to warn Jamie away and he keeps stepping in and standing between Jamie and the growing list of people who want to either eat or kill Jamie.

Tomas was incredibly patient with Jamie and we begin to see that he is just as charmed and the emotional connection goes both ways. We come to understand Tomas in pieces as Jamie learns more about him. He changes and becomes more human and sweet as they begin to do more than flirt and yell at each other.

I adored the shifting perception of everything for Jamie. He has so much to process and he does an amazing job of keeping his freak outs to a minimum and prioritizing. I was so glad that while he was smart enough to be scared he wasn’t one to wring his hands in the corner while others took the risks or made decisions. He is in way over his head and he valiantly struggles to swim through dangerous and bloody waters. I loved Jamie’s quirky sense of humor, he cracked me up with all his questions to Thomas about vampires. He shows his heart time and again and is always willing to help, to try to see the other person’s perspective.

This is at heart a love story. Both the love and loyalty between family and friends and the love that can grow slyly, masquerading as lust, until both people find themselves neatly and blissfully caught.

There is heaps of room for a follow up to this story where we get to see Jamie and Tomas happy and find out how they make it all work. There are also so many hints of other characters who deserve to get some page time, I know I really want to see what happens with Rudy. Hopefully Rob Colton agrees and is already working on satisfying my curiosity, please. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a little humor and sex with their (non-sparkling) vampires.

Reviewed by Nina