C2’s review of Eternal Prey (Gods of the Night, Book 3) by Nina Bangs
Paranormal Romance published by Avon 28 Dec 10

Well, faithful reader, we may as well get it out of the way, right? I know we are all thinking the same thing – “What in the name of Jurassic Park was the art department thinking??”.  But, please, try not to judge a book by its cover…I know it’s hard but try.

For those who are new to the series (your attention was caught by the cover, wasn’t it?), in her Gods of the Night series, Ms. Bangs has woven together dinosaurs, aliens and the Mayan 2012 prophecy with adventure and romance. It works surprisingly well, actually.

Meet our hero, Utah – in a former life he was a Utahraptor, a lean, mean fighting machine. Just the kind of guy needed to stop some bad stuff from happening in December 2012. Each dino-guy (also known as The Eleven) has to stop one of the baddies from the opposing side in order to prevent the human race from being wiped out in 2012. Utah’s baddie has the not-very-threatening name of Seven (and prefers an even more unthreatening name, as it turns out).

Also playing an important role in the saving of the human race is Lia, the human daughter of a vampire – since her mother was killed, she has been in charge of her mother’s area. She knows she will someday become vampire but her father has encouraged her to enjoy some human time first. Lia is assigned to be Utah’s driver because having a human in close proximity helps mask his presence. Utah is not happy with this pairing because one of his brothers was recently killed by vampires.

After a couple of run-ins with Seven and the big boss of the baddies, Zero, it is decided that, in order to find out what sort of mayhem Seven is planning, Utah and Lia – along with some of the other dino-guys and a fae prince – must work with the local vampire-in-charge (who may or may not be on their side). While working with the vampires, Utah fights his attraction to Lia – he sees all around him the creatures that killed his brother – but he begins to wonder whether Lia would still be herself if she became a vampire. In an unfortunate series of events, he gets to find out. Lia is forced to transition and becomes a vampire.

It is so hard to give any sort of summary of this book, faithful reader. I can’t do it justice. All I can say is, if you are at all intrigued by the premise and wonder about trying the book – go for it! The books in the series stand alone pretty well, although I think it is always best to start at the beginning. The Gods of the Night series is darker and more action-y than Ms. Bangs’ other series but her humor is still peeks through.

Grade: C+

Blurb:
A magnificent creature, Utah wants vengeance against the bloodsuckers who murdered his brother. Once the beast within him is unleashed, he won’t rest until every vampire is destroyed. But he never expected to encounter a leader of his immortal enemies who was so beautiful, bewitching . . . and mortal.

It is Lia’s destiny and her duty to stop the renegade vampires who are intent on annihilating the human and non-human races alike. But she never dreamed that Utah, once a deadly foe, would now become her ally and protector, or that loving him would be more dangerous than anything she’s ever faced before. For when Utah frees his predator soul, there will be no end to the carnage.

Read an EXCERPT.

Other books in the series: