I signed up to review Blessed Be because it is an erotic vampire story. Vampires and shape-shifters are a particular passion of mine so I expect to read a story that is a good representation of its genre, or even a slightly unusual representation. What I got was not exactly what I hoped for.

In Blessed Be, we meet Chloe Leitman who is engaged to be married in just one short month. Chloe's having second thoughts because she continues to have vivid erotic dreams about her former fiancé, Luke Delaney. Luke has been dead for seven years. Thus Chloe has a decision to make, marry Gerald or dissolve their relationship. Fortunately, a disagreement results in the realization that she and Gerald don't share the same values, leading her to break off the engagement.

Luke Delaney was investigating a Ft. Lauderdale vampire clan when he disappeared seven years before. Anika, the female Alpha vampire, transformed him into a vampire, which changed his life forever. Although he knows he should leave Chloe to get on with her life, he can't. He loves her more now than when he had a soul. Consequently, Luke projects himself into Chloe's dreams taking sustenance from her.

Because of Luke's continuous astral projection into Chloe's dreams, Anika becomes angry to the point that she is determined to see Chloe dead. Anika is set on Luke as her life-mate and one imbecile of a mortal isn't going to stand in her way. Luke must convince Chloe to give the two of them another chance while protecting her at all costs in the meantime.

How will Luke keep Anika from harming Chloe, let alone killing her? What will Chloe do when she realizes Luke isn't a dream, but is in fact a vampire set on picking up where they left off? Then there's Gerald who won't accept that Chloe is serious about not marrying him. Under constant pressure from Gerald, will Chloe give in and marry him despite the differences in their values?

Ashley Ladd's Blessed Be is not your average erotic vampire tale. It is slightly distracting because the vampires feel the need to project themselves into their victims' dreams instead of visiting them in the flesh. They assume forms other than their human-like appearance, but must wear a hat when they do. The author provides no explanation as to the reason for the hat.

The title, Blessed BeBlessed Be. It is easy to despise her because of her shear wickedness. Gerald is another character that I liked to dislike. He was such a putz (fool) that he made me want to strangle him.

Despite the distractions mentioned above, Blessed Be is a good story. It's different. There is more than one plot within the story so it held my interest. Individuals who like erotic vampire stories with bits of quirk in them should enjoy Ashley Ladd's Blessed Be.

Reviewed By: Aureauna
© July 2005