“Blood Divine” is a Southern Gothic vampire/ghost story with a bit of a twist. Cooper has been running away from his special abilities for the past decade, trying to silence his problems by throwing himself at every boy-toy he can find. But. as so often tends to happen, his past catches up with him.

As a Southerner I always enjoy books set in the South that are written by actual Southerners, so the authentic descriptions of South Carolina were pleasant to encounter. I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot, but there’s plenty of action and an engaging story of secret love–actually, it turns out there are several hidden romances going on–to keep you reading. The language, as is often the case in these kinds of genres, is a bit over-the-top sometimes for my tastes, and I’m not crazy about this current craze for decomposing zombies that is sweeping through fantasy literature, but there are some refreshing innovations in vampire lore here, and a paranormal romance featuring a gay main character of mixed heritage is certainly a welcome development. This is not a book for the super-squeamish or prudish, or anyone who objects to some creative reworking of The Bible (although nothing excessively outrageous happens–it’s all R-rated, no more), but fans of Anne Rice and “True Blood,” or paranormal romance fans looking for a M/M story, are likely to enjoy this book.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book.