Vampire Romance Among Friends
By
Plain Fear: Forbidden by Leanna Ellis
I never thought I would be checking out a vampire romance novel that takes place amongst the Amish, but that is exactly what Plain Fear: Forbidden is. Even more surprising is that it works both as a story that involves a vampire that has all the classic elements of danger and attraction, and as a story that is true to the beliefs of the Amish. It is truly more of a “What if” story and yet is quite delightful and has lots of edge of the seat danger to keep you turning those pages (or hitting that button if you use a Kindle like me)
In this vampire romance, Rachel is a young Amish widow, still grieving the loss of her beloved Josef who did in mysterious circumstances. In addition, she is pregnant. When an old friend comes by, one that she had thought dead, she at first finds his arrival suspicious. Akiva though convinces her that not only is he alive, but that he needs her to save him, and only she can do it.
Of course, Akiva is a vampire and his true interest is in Rachel’s unborn child. She doesn’t tell her sister Hannah nor Hannah’s husband Levi, who is Josef’s brother that she has seen Akiva and instead takes off with him on a journey that he tells her will end with her being reunited with her husband. Akiva is truly dangerous, but in the course of the story we do see a sympathetic side to him. But this is no vampire like we see in modern movies despite this being a vampire romance, he is the evil one and she begins to sense that something is very wrong with what she thought was her old friend from childhood.
The hero of the vampire romance is Roc, a former cop who has come to embrace the world of the Amish, though he is not always as thoroughly comfortable with it as he would like to be. He is now a vampire hunter and as he pursues Akiva and reaches out to Rachel the twin themes throughout the book of what salvation and damnation truly are and how we individually strive for them are brought to a head.
I really liked that there is an underlying concept in this vampire romance and yet the author does not slam you over the head with it. The characters carry the story, and the outcome may be predictable but is still really satisfying. Plain Fear: Forbidden is the second book, a continuation of Plain Fear: Forsaken but you can easily read and enjoy it without having read the first. But if you enjoy this one, you may want to grab the first as well. This is a vampire romance where for once the vampire doesn’t get the girl, but a romance and a well-written one at that none the less.
