The Hunger [Mass Market Paperback]

John, the Earl of Langley, and Beatrix, a lovely courtesan are two lovers both with dark secrets that they dare not reveal to each other lest they be rejected. Beatrix is not human, and never has been. By the gift or curse of a being called the Companion in her blood, she has lived for centuries. She is a vampire, one of the few that is born into the life. For a relatively brief era, she lived a life of pure depravity, trailing along with her "sister", the made vampire, Asharti. When Bea came to her senses and turned her back on that life, she began a quest for redemption, and never let another person truly touch her heart until John. In comparison, his secret is less dark, but equally dangerous. As a spy for the British Empire, he lives on the edge, and is in constant peril, but never so much as now. Asharti has returned, and both his position as a spy and as Beatrix's lover put John at risk.

**** Ms. Squires always delivers a carefully crafted book that moves rapidly. Her use of flashbacks is deft and well done; the reader never has to stop and think whether they are in the future or past, it is always clear. The Hunger's conclusion is among the most exciting ones ever written in a romance novel, you will be holding your breath until the end. If you enjoy reading about a complex alternate world, then this is sure to be a joy. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore,Freelance Reviewer.

Susan Squires has a new vampire trilogy going for St. Martins. The first, The Companion, was a knock out of a story that took you into sweeping locales and into the dark realm of the vampire. The second book in the series is out now, The Hunger, and she continues to the dark and oft gory vamp tales with all the power of the first.

In the late Regency era, Beatrix Lisse has spent years atoning for her sins - literally six hundred of them. She is a vampire. Still, even though the centuries pass there is one man who stays in her heart and mind, a man she loved ages ago. However, when she crosses paths with John Staunton, the Earl of Langley, she is moved by him. John is a rake of the highest order, a notorious rogue. Or so he wants people to believe. Beatrix surrenders to the passion provokes within her, but she holds tight to her secrets of being a vampire. When John abandons her, she learns he was also holding a secret close to his chest.

John is a spy for England, with a mission to find who is behind the sudden shift in power within the French government. John is drawn to Beatrix, seeing an innocence within her that pulls him, yet he knows he cannot keep her close or he would be risking her life. Soon he learns dark secrets about his love and that her centuries old rival, Asharti, is the one he seeks and she means to see both John and Beatrix destroyed. John and Beatrix must unite to defeat Asharti as the madness of the French horrors increases about them.

It's beautifully researched. Squires brings the period to life. Be warned this is a very dark tale, so people wanting kinder gentler vamps need to know going in this is a very violent tale at times. People familiar with Squires previous writings in Historicals and Vamps knows she won't pull punches. Also, the focus is not really the romance, but the story. It's a vivid, passionate tale which is sure to please her fans and those readers looking for a stronger vampire tale, in the flavour of Anne Rice.

Highly recommended for those wanting a dark, dark vamp tale that leaves you eager for book three in the series.

I always like it when I come across a book that I don't want to put down. This was one of them. Squires manages to put vampires in an interesting historical context. Yeah, there was a dark and emotionally (and physically) tortured vampire, but he kind of gets over himself. The heroine was idiosyncratic, smart, independent and interesting. I could have done with less graphic torture scenes, but still liked the book very much.