Review – Bait by Elena Hearty

Posted May 29, 2020 by Carole in Book Reviews / 11 Comments

Bait by Elena Hearty
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Date Read: May 22, 2020
Length:  202 pages
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
★★★☆☆

Find the vampire’s next victim. Or be the vampire’s next victim. Lenore has such a good time hanging out with Paul that she almost forgets he isn’t her friend. He’s a vampire. And she’s his next victim-unless she’s willing to find an alternative. But when Lenore gets cold feet during her first hunting expedition, Paul doesn’t carry out his threat. He snags Sam for dinner instead, a young man they encounter on the ride home. And while Paul is receptive to Lenore’s pleas to keep their new prisoner alive, his motives aren’t entirely altruistic. Sure, Lenore’s willing to die for Sam. The real question is, how long before she’s willing to kill for him?

My Review

This was different than any other vampire story that I have read.  I have had a review copy of this book for years and missed it when I fell behind.  I decided to take a look at the story one night before bed and found it interesting enough to keep reading.  I liked the story and found it to be very unique. 

Lenore belongs to Paul.  Paul is a vampire and he needs for Lenore to help him find his next victim unless she would like to be his next meal.  Things don’t go well on their first quest for a new victim but Paul does find someone to bring home, no thanks to Lenore.  The new victim, Sam, seems to get under Lenore’s skin and she feels responsible for him. 

I liked that the vampire world in this book is different.  The two vampires that we meet in this story are not sexy and they are really only worried about their own needs.  People are to be used as food and murder is a sport.  Lenore has stayed alive with them for a while but it is no secret that the plan is to kill her at some point in the future.  At times, Paul treats Lenore almost like a friend but he still thinks about how he will end her life. 

I didn’t fall in love with the characters but they held my interest.  There is a lot of psychological play in this story and I couldn’t imagine living without any control over my own life like Lenore has for the past several months.  Paul seemed like a good guy at times where Richard didn’t hold back.  I did like the bond that Lenore and Sam formed.  There are some pretty violent scenes in the book which kept things interesting.

I do think that fans of dark vampire stories would enjoy this book.   Although it is not listed as such, it appears that this is the second book in a series but it read fine as a stand-alone story.  I would definitely give this author’s work a try again in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Samhain Publishing via NetGalley.

About the Author

Elena Hearty graduated from the University of Virginia in Y2K with a BS in computer science. After that, she bought a house, got married, and had two children, all while working full time to ensure that your online and mobile experience is replete with banner ads and pop-up windows.

Author Links: Goodreads 

11 responses to “Review – Bait by Elena Hearty

  1. I haven't seen this one before. I like the fact that vampires just are what they are in this one and aren't just misunderstood good guys. LOL Glad you enjoyed it overall, Carole.

  2. Uh probably not for me. I am not really on vampire stories at the moment. I'm glad it was interesting for you.

    Anne – Books of My Heart

  3. Bea

    Interesting. Not sure it's for me but I like that it's a different take on vampires. Vampires these days are almost cute and cuddly. 🙁

  4. Seeing as I like vampire romance, I'm not sure this type of vampire would be for me but the story does sound interesting.

  5. It's hard for me to love a story where I don't really like any of the characters. I'm not a huge fan of the darker sort of vampire stories, I'd at least one good-ish kind of vampire, like Stephan in Mercy Thompson, but this does sound interesting. I feel bad for Lenore, but also not so much if she's sent out to lure victims and does it. Nice that you're catching up on all your past review books!

  6. I am always looking for more unique portrayals of vampires so I quite like that this was something different and for once vampires weren't sexy. I am sorry you couldn't get immersed in this as much as you wanted to be.