The Romance Studio     Fallen Angel Reviews     Literary Nymphs

~The Romance Studio, On-line Review Magazine
TheRomanceStudio.com
from Reviewer, Angel Brewer
Genre: Suspense
May 21, 2005

Sensuality: Very Sensual
Rating: 4 Hearts

Samantha is happy living secluded from the rest of the world. After all she has her romance novels to keep her happy and she fantasizes about one hero in particular. So what do you do when one day it seems that your perfect hero steps out of the pages and into your life? With Cole Sam finds the inner temptress within and knows passion and desire unlike any she could ever imagine. Trouble comes in the form of Cole's ex-girlfriend who will do anything to get rid of Samantha. Now she finds herself in a world of revenge, hatred, passion and oh yeah, vampires. Will she survive the woman's murderous wrath and live happily ever after with Cole? Or will she wind up having to give up her dream lover and all of her dreams?

The book is a little lengthy so be prepared for at least a couple days of reading. Sometimes it seems you lose track and it jumps around a little bit. Once you get used to that you will find a story well worth the length. Cole is what every vampire hero should be, tall, dark, mysterious and totally hot. Samantha is willing to take a chance on romance and fight for her man. Readers will love the paranormal aspect while erotic readers will find the love scenes entertaining. This is the first book I have read by T.D. McKinney, but I can certainly say I will be on the lookout for more of her work.

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~Fallen Angel Reviews, On-line Review Magazine
FallenAngelReviews.com
from Reviewer & Editor, Michelle
August 28, 2005

Rating:  5 Angels

Samantha is in love – truly in love – but there’s only one problem: her lover is fictional, a character out of a vampire novel. She’s questioning the author’s motives when it comes to her beloved. It seems that Ms. Desiree has it in for devastatingly handsome vampire Cole Grayson and kills him off, much to Samantha’s dismay. So Samantha wishes things could be different, and that maybe she and Cole could have a happy ending of their own...

Vampire Encounters: Second Chances tells the tale of storybook characters come to life. From a hilarious shopping expedition on Rodeo Drive to his tender protection of her, you’ll be drawn into the relationship between Samantha and Cole. She’s dead set against giving herself completely to him – I mean, after all, he’s not real, right? He’s bent on cherishing her, screwing her brains out, and on not making the same mistakes he’s made before, as well as shielding her from the other dangerous characters in his “past”, including his slightly disturbed ex. T.D. McKinney puts her own unique and vastly entertaining twist on fictional heroes and the obsession fans have with them, making me ask myself when I can expect my own favorite hunky hero to come swooping in out of nowhere. Vampire Encounters: Second Chances is a wonderfully attention-grabbing story made only better by the strong and likeable characters. Excellent job, Ms. McKinney!

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~Literary Nymphs, On-line Review Magazine
Literary Nymphs.com
from Reviewer, Silver Minx
August, 2005

Rating:  3 Nymphs

Samantha Bailey is starved for love.  Still feeling the loss of her father, she can’t seem to focus on a relationship.  Her friend Lurleen teases her about being in love with Cole Grayson, the dark vampire from her favorite romance series.  The only problems with that are that firstly, he isn’t real, and secondly, the author has just killed off his character.  Furious at what the author has done, Samantha resolves not to buy another of her books.  When an explosion occurs at Samantha’s workplace late one night, she finds that instead of waking up in hospital – or heaven – she is instead in Cole Grayson’s hotel room.  Cole himself is alive and real, and the newspaper says the date is just after the beginning of the first book in the vampire series Cole is in.  It seems the powers that be have given both Samantha and Cole a second chance to live their lives, and fall in love.

Vampire Encounters:  Second Chances has the potential to be a great story.  I was really impressed with the premise, and saw the book through to the end to see how the author pulled it off.  Unfortunately the entire first half of the book has no conflict in it at all.  It’s lovely reading about Cole and Samantha, but nothing actually happens to them in that first half.  When the conflict and danger finally show up, the book improves immensely, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what the outcome was.  Even then, I don’t think the author really gave her characters a chance to show what they could do – it was all too easy for them.  For me the story was just saved by having a great plot – I just wish the author had known what to do with it.  TD McKinney will keep you guessing to the end on what is real, and what is just an illusion.  I kept reading to the end because I was keen to find out.

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