CHRISTIAN is the continuation of the long running Vampires in America series by D. B. Reynolds. Christian Duvall has been in the wings the last couple of books, as he was Mathilde's Lieutenant; but refused to follow her in her quest for domination. Now that the evil Mathilde has been taken down, he has come into the series story arc as one of the contenders to become the new Lord of the South. Lord Anthony is stepping down, and plans to return to New Orleans. Christian has received Raphael's backing; although Cyn still doesn't trust him, and actively dislikes him.

When Christian first appears at Anthony's estate, he meets Anthony's luscious accountant Natalie Gaudet; and it's lust at first sight, with all the requisite bodily reactions. He also finds that not only is he to face several (expected) contenders for the territory; he is being hit with an unexpected animosity from Anthony himself, even though Anthony is willingly leaving. Christian also finds that the stakes are even higher than he suspected. This leads to backstabbing, attempts on his life, and threats of war.

CHRISTIAN is a lot of fun to read, as expected. D. B. Reynolds Vampires in America series started out as UF, then began veering towards straight PNR. The tide is turning back to UF it seems; with all the politics and infighting going on (which makes me very happy), and CHRISTIAN is a mix of the genres. There was a couple of nicely done catching- up scenes with the leads of past books, and a mystery involving Sophia was set up; probably a leadup to another novella.

CHRISTIAN is another great read in one of my favorite series. In the beginning of the story Christian came off as a bit of a metrosexual Vampire (his and Marc's discussion on latte was a hoot); but as the story went on, he was all badass powerful vampire, as well as a little kinky. I'm really liking the direction the series seems to be heading. The stories are meatier, with lots of vamp politics and war mixed in with the love stories. To that end, D. B. Reynolds new book CHRISTIAN is another step in the right direction.