ARC Review: Roman

Roman by Grae Bryan

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Content Warnings for book: Violence, death, blood, struggles of a parent with dementia

Kink: Erotic blood drinking

"Unexpectedly, Roman smiled then. Tender and little sad, but genuine nonetheless. "Ohh, mon Dieu. My lovely mate. Life has not been fair to you." He gripped Danny's chin a little tighter. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to make sure Danny was paying attention. "Listen to me, Danny. I am not leaving. Not ever. Not unless you want me to, and even then, I can make no promises. You are mine. I am yours."

Roman by Grae Bryan is a fated mates romance between a sweet-and-independent E.R. nurse Danny and the lonely, cynical vampire Roman.

Apparently, this is Bryan's debut, but do not let that stop you. Not only was the writing free of errors as far as I saw, but the plot was paced excellently and the voices of both characters came through in their POVs, so they didn't feel interchangeable at all. I felt like the characters were presented in a way that their actions always made sense, following through on motivations made clear in the text.

Danny and Roman... oh my gosh. I love a fated mates story and the insta-connection, and these two were so sweet. Danny had a backbone and independency that even though he wanted to be taken care of, it wasn't like he would be left to nothing should Roman have decided not to pursue their connection. I really don't want to spoil anything, but I loved how Danny handled finding out Roman was a vampire, their interactions from swooniness to hot sex scenes, and that possessiveness that I love to eat up as a romance reader. Even though Roman is a vampire who yes, has done bad things, he never hurts Danny or manipulates him even when he has the potential to do so. I also liked that this delineation between his 'demon' (what Roman refers to as his vampiric presence) and him, they both loved Danny, and how Danny loved them back. Some of the most touching moments was how the 'demon' wanted to care for his sweet mate too.

I also loved the side characters. There was some tension and angst between Danny and Gabe (his older brother), but I liked that no one is irredeemable in this book. By this I mean, things are worked through, and even for our main villain there is a potential for a redemption arc. You'll have to read to see how and why! Soren is adorably unhinged and I am so excited to read the story between him and Gabe, and I definitely want to see what type of mate Luc gets. I hope it's someone who softens him but also keeps him on his toes.

The epilogue? Perfect. The Big Event, that third act climax? Well done, didn't go how I expected, but I think it all worked out in a good way. We especially see Dnany's kindness for others show through. Seriously, I loved every minute of this book.

I highly recommend anyone looking for vampire shenanigans, fated mates possessiveness, and such sweet swoony love.

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