The Last of His Kind by Alexandra Stewart (Review + Giveaway)

Title: The Last of His Kind

Author: Alexandra Stewart

Publisher: Self

Length: 221 pages

Genres: Paranormal Erotic Romantic Suspense

Available at: Amazon

When Vanessa Morrow bumps into gentle hunk Christopher at the grocery store, she never expects a pleasant exchange of words to blossom into a steaming night of passion. But in Christopher, she finds not just a blisteringly hot sexual partner, she finds herself drawn into a war she never knew existed, and hunted by a man who will stop at nothing to catch his prey, even if it means putting her -- and everyone she holds dear -- in the line of fire.

Steamy, fast-paced, and powerful, this debut by a fresh new voice in romantic fiction is sure to thrill.

Excerpt 1

She looked away, back over her shoulder at the bags on the counters. Laying a hand on a box of cereal, she said, “This is always the worst part about coming home from the grocery store, isn’t? You have all these things to put away, but by the time you finally get home they’re the last thing on your mind.” “I know exactly what you mean.” She looked back at him. He was standing closer. After a moment of watching her eyes, he said, “Especially today.” “Oh?” “They’re the last thing on my mind.” She tore herself away from his gaze to look down at her ruined blouse. “I need to change out of this thing.” “Let me help you.” She reached for the bottom hem of the blouse at the exact moment he did, and again she felt the soft skin of his hand against her own, felt the thrill it sent through her, and this time she didn’t pull away from it. She held the hand and looked up at him. He was so close. She could feel the heat of his body, the moist breath of his mouth. She looked into his eyes, unblinking, as she squeezed his hand, slowly, down the waistband of her pants, under the black silk of her underwear.

Excerpt 2

They passed through the gate. She forced herself to focus only on Christopher’s silver BMW. It was two car lengths down the street. It was pointed the opposite direction, on the opposite side of the road, as the Mercedes. One step down the sidewalk, two steps. A second after they passed through it, the gate slammed itself shut behind him. Vanessa jumped so hard her purse nearly slid off her shoulder. A second later, a second sound: a car’s wheels turning on gravel, a car’s engine coming down the road behind them. A third second, a third sound: a click. A car door opening. She knew which door it was. She couldn’t keep herself from turning. A man stepped out of the Mercedes: tall, blonde hair, in a black three-piece suit. A gun in his hand. He moved like a ghost. In one minute, the door of the car was opening. Less than a second later, he was out of the car and aiming at her. He braced the gun on the roof of the car. She didn’t see him moved between the two points. It was like he had mesmerized her. She couldn’t think. It was all so surreal, this whole affair, this sudden change in an instant, it was so jarring. She kept saying, It isn’t really happening. And then she heard Christopher shout: “Vanessa, get down!”

Excerpt 3

When Vanessa stirred, there was no light left from the sun. It took her several moments to get her bearings. She finally realized that the reason the slats of the floor seemed to be running vertically was because she was lying on the floor, on her side. Then, she realized that the reason she couldn’t push herself up from the floor was because her arms were tied behind her back, her hands joined together at the wrists. As soon as she realized he couldn’t move her arms, she tried to kick her legs, and one foot dragged the other along: her ankles were hobbled together also. She tried to scream, and understood that her mouth was dry was because it had been stuffed with something thick – a handkerchief, a towel – and no matter how hard her tongue tried to push it out it wouldn’t move. Not “someone”. She knew exactly who had done it. “Hello, Vanessa.” She saw again the black leather boot step into her field of vision, just in front of her face, and she heard the sound of clothes rustling. He was kneeling down. She tried to turn her face away, she didn’t want to see him this close, but a hand cupped her chin, so gently, and turned her head upward. “Open your eyes.”

About the Author:

Alexandra Stewart is an author from rural Washington State, now living in Texas with her husband and four dogs. The Last of His Kind is her first novel. She can be reached at alexandrastewartauthor@gmail.com.

This book was very entertaining to read! Before I gush about this book, as usual, I must mention things I didn't like.

• Errors - grammatical, spelling, incorrect word or tense - these really bothered me. A little more proofreading and this book would be perfect.
• Underlines vs. Italics - I don't know if it's an artistic choice, but using underlines for emphasis didn't sit well with me. It was really strange for my eyes.

Now that the negatives are out of the way, let's talk about what I loved about this book.

• From the very beginning, this book caught my attention. How could it not? Christopher was just the most charming man and Vanessa couldn't help but be smitten with him. They first met at the meat market :)
• As unrealistic as it was, Christopher and Vanessa going home together was a very interesting read. They were steamy all through the night. After that, however, things went crazy.
• Christopher Lycanschoen - he was a wolf. A very sexy wolf at that. He didn't expect that his pursuer would attack so soon, so when he talked to Vanessa, he didn't think she would be in danger. He was very wrong.

On the first try the fabric tore in half. Christopher winced and grunted. She apologized, but went in again. She got it, but had to dig into the wound. A wet, sticking sound. It all came out, almost an inch-and-a-half of material, and when she held it up tot he light, she could see tags of flesh sticking to it.

She blew her breath out through her teeth.

"When you get shot, you know how to get shot right."

"Don't flatter me." He was breathing heavy.

• Vanessa Morrow - she was absolutely smitten with Christopher. He was adorable and too attractive for his own good. Little did she know what she was getting herself into. Despite all the revelations, however, she took it with calm demeanor. Even when she was scared, she showed courage and didn't fear Christopher and his nature.
• Arnold - there's always a guy that took care of the main character, like in Batman. Arnold was that guy. He had a fortress and he helped Christopher and Vanessa escape. I wish we would have known what had happened to him after everything. I was worried about him when he separated from Christopher and Vanessa.
• Luther - he was absolutely sick. The author did a great job describing him. One thing that was unclear until the end of the book was if he was another supernatural. He bit things, attacked with his teeth, but the author never revealed if he was something more than human.

Overall, proofread the book more or get a better editor, and I would definitely recommend this book. I also wanted to know more about the other characters like Vanessa's sister and Arnold. I felt it wasn't complete with them.

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