Touch of Evil, CT. Adams, Cathy Clamp.  Another "paranormal romance" that's better than both the cover and marketing would suggest.  There are both weres and vampires in this universe, but neither is romantic or pretty.  The "vampires" are a hive mind called the Thrall -  parasitic creatures that take over a human host by laying eggs in their arm veins.  Like the bloodsuckers of legend, they feed on human blood, but neither their hosts nor their prey live long.  The novel's heroine, Kate Reilly is your standard kickass female with slight psychic abilities and enough successful stands against the Thrall to be "not prey."  The trouble starts when the old hive queen decides she wants Kate as her successor.  Well plotted, with a good number of twists and full of far more action than romance, it looks like a lead in to a series that I'll look forward to seeing evolve.

Read June 2006