Audiobook Review – Once Burned (Night Prince, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0061783203
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Night Prince series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost. Last I read there were two books planned for this series with the second book, Twice Tempted, scheduled for a March 2013 release. This book is in the same universe as the Night Huntress series but tells Vlad’s story. While not as excellent as the Night Huntress books it was still a very good read.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was exceedingly well done. Tavia Gilbert (who has narrated all of Frost’s audiobooks) is the narrator again and she does an excellent job. This is a series I can recommend listening to on audiobook if you are a fan of audiobooks.

Leila was hit by lightening when she was younger and it left her with the ability to channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets with a single touch. Her inability to control her electrical shocking ability has lead her to a life of solitude as a circus performer. When she is kidnapped by vampires seeking revenge on Vlad Tepish, she is forced to call out to Vlad for help. Of course Vlad is more dangerous (in many ways) than Leila expected.

Leila is an interesting character. The whole thing about her gaining her abilities by being hit by lightening is un-creative and a bit corny…but let’s be honest here that’s just the back story to get Leila isolated so that Vlad and her can connect. So I am willing to be a bit lenient on the crazy unbelievable back story. That being said Leila’s past as an Olympic worthy gymnast and circus performer are interesting and make her a character with an interesting history of experiences to draw upon. I enjoyed Leila, she is more light-hearted and fun than Cat and yet is still one tough cookie.

Vlad is well…he’s Vlad. I love him, he is one of my favorite characters of the Night Huntress series and I was thrilled to learn more about him. We do get to learn a lot about Vlad’s past and what makes him tick. It is an intriguing read. I love Vlad’s cockiness and love reading about how he controls fire; it’s an interesting power and watching it mix with Leila’s electrical abilities was fun.

The biggest disappointment for me with this book was that the whole book is told from Leila’s point of view. Leila is fine and fun to read about but I am more interested in Vlad…and we never get to hear what he thinks. I wish that viewpoints had switched between the two…or even better that the story had been told from Vlad’s point of view.

The back story is pretty good; basically Vlad and Leila have to figure out who is trying to take out Vlad and why they are using Leila to do it. There are some awesome fighting scenes, torture is referenced, and there is lots of burning and zapping people. The book is fast paced and engaging.

Let’s face it though this is mainly a paranormal romance, even more so than the Night Huntress series. The plot is mainly a vehicle to get Leila and Vlad togehter. Most of the story is focused around Leila and Vlad getting to know and trust each other…oh yeah, and have some really steamy scenes together. Frost does an excellent job writing high tension steamy scenes and that holds true for this book as well. The scenes are always very well done, never too much described but always enough. The chemistry between Vlad and Leila crackles and was fun to read about.

The book ends with a couple large issues unresolved and I am eager to read the next book in this series.

Overall a fun read. This is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. The back story for Leila is a bit corny and the surrounding plot is mainly focused on getting Leila and Vlad together. I was disappointed that none of the story was told from Vlad’s point of view. Frost writes paranormal romance very well and the chemistry between Vlad and Leila is awesome, as are the sensual scenes between them. I definitely recommend to fans of Frost’s Night Huntress series as well as to fans of vampire paranormal romance. I am looking forward to reading Twice Tempted when it releases next year.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 150+ Books Reading Challenge