My TBR pile hates me right now. This book popped up on my IG feed on the day of its release, and after seeing the gorgeous artwork and reading the premise I just had to give it a try! And I think it's safe to say I'm now certain of my preferred type of vampire - sparkles are definitely a no-no, the morose and brooding is OK I guess, but what really works for me is the sunshine-y sweet yet sexy vamp with a lust for (after)life and a dark side that he only uses for good. 

On that note, Zavier is definitely a vampire I need more of in my life! His boyish enthusiasm is impressive for a 300 year old, and despite the fact that his motto is literally 'touch her and d!e', you cannot help but kick your feet at his devotion to Celine and his almost ridiculously upbeat attitude! Even when he's off committing unspeakable acts, his quips and snark make his entirely loveable! There's a little bit of Josh from 'Lights Out', a little bit of Jenna Levine's 'My Roommate is a Vampire' and a little bit of Mick St John from the TV series 'Moonlight' all calling out to me in Zavier's character, and I am totally here for every facet of him!

For a newly minted detective, our FMC Celine doesn't necessarily do all that much detecting. Her job does give the story a nice underlying subplot which weaves together well, but ultimately the focus of the book is more on the development of her and Zav's relationship. There are a lot of threads of her personality and background which have been left loose, and I am hopeful these will be explored further in future books in the series, so I'm reserving judgement on this for now. The authors have done a great job at laying the foundations of her personality and giving us the FMC Zavier is head over heels for, but I just want to see more character development as I think she could very easily become a proper badass and an even more perfect match for Zavier.

I was thoroughly entertained by this book from page one. With a little bit of thriller, crime fiction, various shades of romance and comedy, this should feel like a mish-mash of genres but somehow it's perfectly balanced, even as you find yourself experiencing a different angle to the narrative with every turn of the page. The story flows brilliantly and is so easy to read, and pretty much never fails to make you smile. I would have liked more time for the tension to build a little more before the denouement as I think it would have helped with the tonal shift in the story, added an extra layer of heart-fluttering for the reader and given character relationships a little more time to develop, but overall it still works really well and gives you exactly what you crave.

Having said that, there are moments of quiet reflection that are heart-warmingly beautiful. In particular, I'm thinking of Zavier's relationship with his best friend, Tom, and just how different he feels as a character when they're together. There's still the cheeky banter, but there's a softer, more genuine side to Zav which comes out in these interations, which just adds even more to his character for you to love. Likewise, there are more emotional moments that are so well written too; they're harder to read and hit you right in the feels, but somehow still allow the story to remain lighthearted. The balance is really well struck and I commend the authors for their skill!

Ultimately, the only reason this doesn't get a five star rating is that I just want MORE of everything! More random odd jobs, more bloody murders, more grumpy/sunshine dynamics... Just everything. It's a fantastic read and I would have been happy to read it even if the page count had been twice as long! I'm already adding book two to my WTR list, so next time the other books awaiting my attention can't threaten to crush me under their weight...