Tempted Champions [Mass Market Paperback]

this book had a lot of potential to be MUCH more interesting.

now that buffy the tv series is over, i eat these books like candy, i miss buffy & the gang.

but, this book... for one thing the anya/d'hoffryn (probably spelled that wrong) plot is weak- her temptation to go back to being a demon is like three pages long, and utterly unconvincing. i love anya, and was really looking forward to a plotline involving her- sure, she gets kidnapped by some odd fish demon, but that bit's lame as well.

the second thing not working is the cheese-o-rrific ending- i won't ruin it in case you're desperate for buffy reading- let's just leave it at buffy-as-after-school-special-oh-angel-you're-my-hero-gag-gag (and i like buffy & angel together, this was just too much).

i'd stay away from this one, and watch a rerun of an old episode instead.

I read the description of this book and could not wait to get my hands on it, Buffy & Angel, a turned Slayer, I mean that is exciting stuff. Well except for the fact that the relationhip between Buffy and Angel really takes a BIG backseat in this to finding out about the Vampire Slayer Vampire. There was SO much more that could have been done, it just doesn't reach its full potential.

If you are picking this book because of the Buffy & Angel connection there are a few sweet moments, but I mostly felt cheated. If you are a Major Anya fan on the other hand this book is so for you!

Someone is itching for a fight with the slayer. Who may you ask? Well, a long forgotten slayer whom the journals of the Watchers record as being dead way back in Greece, 1527. Or so as they thought.
Cassia the vampire slayer has become a victim of the very thing she was sworn to kill...a bloodthirsty vampire. Angry and hateful since that fateful day on the coast of Greece so long ago, Cassia has changed her name and look dozens of times, but not her mission...killing. Everyone and anything that gets in her way.
The goal right now? Kill the present slayer who is reputed to be the best and strongest...Buffy....
Twice as strong as a slayer and extremely skilled, Cassia, or shall we call her by her new name, Celina the vampire slayer vampire, has met up with some of the slayer's friends in the past...namely Angel and Spike.
The key to Buffy's survival is the knowledge they both have of her, but is it too late? But, is Celina too good for Buffy? Narrowly escaping her wrath once back in 1960, Angel is fearful for Buffy and Spike doesn't tell a better tale of the vamped slayer.
Adding to the pressure of the ultimate fight, tension is all around the trio, Angel's unability to be with his one and only love, Buffy's realization that they cannot be together and Spike struggling to come to terms with being in love with the slayer and knowing her heart belongs to Angel.
Not only is there the vamped slayer causing havock and the love triangle pulsing around them, but now Anaya has been revisited by her old boss...D'Hoffryn. He wants her back...
Will Anaya return to vengeance or remain on this mortal plane to die eventually, but with love? Will Buffy let the lure of eternal life and of its rewards of being with Angel once again sway her to turn to her dark side as did Celina?

Extremely charged and exciting, this book should've been an episode. Fitted somewhere in the beginning of the 5th Season after Joyce's death and before most of the trouble with the Hellgod Glory and the Key Dawn. This writer really captures the true essence of the characters and the problems that they faced that season.
Tracy Talley~@