Pagan Book Reviews

My Immortal Promise
Jen Holling
Pocket Books, 2008
326 pages

Vampire romance novels have become their own niche within a niche within a niche. This means that the market has been flooded by a plethora of them of varying premises–and qualities. The newest offering from Jen Holling, Immortal Promise, is a sequel to her book Immortal Protector which, judging from the blurbs, received praise from reviewers.

Holling seems to focus on historical romances set in Scotland; generally speaking, in the romance genre, “historical” is used loosely at best, and this book is no exception. However, most readers of such books aren’t there for the history lesson, so this can be nudged aside. As to the vampire bit, Holling refers to the beings as “blood witches”; there’s not a whole lot of difference between them and any of a number of other authors’ magic-wielding vampires (beyond the bad accents).

Into this mix of elements, Holling drops in a number of rather forgettable, but serviceable characters. Drake, the stud of the story, is fittingly masculine and stoic. Hannah, the leading lady, is fittingly feminine and willing to melt into his arms over time after initial resistance. The supporting cast does its job supporting, and that’s about it. The plotline, while not entirely predictable, doesn’t stand out as a story, and more seems to be a scaffolding for a few sex scenes and romance tropes. Even the sex is mediocre, though Holling makes sure to emphasize more than once that Drake and Hannah like it “hard and fast”.

If you really, really enjoy romance novels and aren’t too picky about the details, this is a fair choice. If you enjoyed Holling’s other works, it’s worth picking up. On the other hand, if you prefer your paranormal romance to be a little more towards the paranormal rather than the romance, this may not suit you. For romance, it’s about average; for anything else, there are better options.

Two and a half pawprints out of five.

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