4.5 stars
Mark Hansen and Jonathan Varga make for one entertaining couple.
Looking at the cover, I was not sure how I would feel about Hemovore when I first started. I honestly thought that Mark should find someone else to be the object of his affection, for Jonathan was really an enigma. While Jonathan is reserved and fastidious, Mark is funny – hilariously so – and he obviously cared for his artist – even if he cannot decipher his work, or touch him or do anything with him.
When not running for their lives or trying to solve the mystery of their foe, their interactions are witty, self-deprecating and very endearing. By the book’s end, I came to really like Jonathan. For me, what I liked most, is that the book focused on their relationship rather than trying to force steamy scenes that tend to be often overdone in the genre.
The plot is fast-paced and full of twists, it held my attention from beginning to end; that being said, the subject matter is serious: Jonathan and Mark exist in different reality but it is still one that full of bigotry and discrimination. The novella at the end also adds that touch of sweet to a rather dark setting.
Joel Leslie does a fabulous job, although at times I kept hearing his Cronin Key in my head 🙂