Quinn Lennox is a scientist who works for the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C. Unexplained things have happened to Quinn all her life, but things have been more bizarre than usual lately. As if passing through “shimmers” that change the appearance of her clothes wasn’t bad enough, she sees glimpses of an alternate universe through areas that look like they have been lit by a spotlight in the world around her. Just before she witnesses these other-world breakthroughs, she feels a charge on her skin.
Lately, there have been numerous missing persons reports. When her brother’s friend, Lily, goes missing, Quinn gets a frantic call from her brother. The two of them search for Lily, and Zack spots Lily’s pen lying on the ground. As Zack reaches out to pick up the pen, Quinn sees that his hand is about to go through one of these “spotlights” and she touches his arm to stop him. However, it is too late. The two are sucked into an alternate world run by vampires: Washington, V.C., otherwise known as Vamp City.
A horse-drawn carriage appears, and Quinn and Zack are attacked by vampires. Maybe it was shock or maybe it was weakness at having just been feasted upon or maybe a little of both, but Quinn and Zack are each whisked off separately by different parties. Zack, a 22 year-old computer geek in the real D.C., is worked hard as a slave. His body is not used to hard labour, and he suffers at the hands of his whip-wielding master. Meanwhile, Quinn finds herself being seduced by a charming vampire named Arturo. Initially, she fights her attraction to him. The other female slaves in Arturo’s castle tell her that she is lucky to have been rescued by Arturo, as there are much worse masters that she could have ended up with. All that Quinn cares about is finding a way to escape so that she can find her brother and Lily and return to D.C. Arturo warns her to forget her brother, or it will be her own undoing.
Vamp City, a city where the sun never shines, was created for vampires in 1870 through the magic of a powerful sorcerer. Vampires used to be able to travel between the worlds as they pleased. Now, the magic is dying which is why there are incidents of sunbeams breaking through from the real world. It was through one of these sunbeams that Quinn and Zack travelled. There are many other humans in V.C. who are working as slaves for the vampires, and they presumably ended up there in the same manner. If a human remains in Vamp City for too long, they become immortal and are known as Slavas.
Most of the vampires in Vamp City are Emoras, which means that they feed off the emotions of humans. They cannot survive off blood alone. Some feed off fear, others feed off pain.
When another sunbeam breaks through, Quinn takes advantage of the opportunity to escape the clutches of Arturo and get back to her world. Unfortunately, her brother was not so lucky. Heartbroken, Quinn realizes that she must go back and find Zack and Lily and bring them home. Nearly a week passes before another sunbeam appears in D.C. Armed with a few supplies in her backpack, she bravely goes back and hopes to find Zack before the vampires find her!
Palmer is a new-to-me author, and I absolutely loved this book! Quinn is a woman who loves her brother so much that she is willing to risk her own life to save him. She is a wonderful heroine, and she pushes her own fears aside to get the job done. Arturo is charming but cunning, a dangerous combination. I didn't know whether to love him or hate him! My own pulse pounded at their dalliances! Arturo makes Quinn feel so desirable that she can hardly control herself, even if she wanted to. I have no doubt that his attraction to Quinn is very real, but he also lies and betrays her at any chance he get! He definitely is not to be trusted. The ending left me hungry for more, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
While I am waiting for the next installment in the Vamp City series which is not expected to be published until June 2013, I have already bought the first two books in Palmer's Feral Warriors series!
I "won" (I use that term loosely, since everyone won a copy!) this e-book in the LDS Authors Giveaway hosted by the author:
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