Review Tuesday: The Tenor's Shadow by J.B. Warrick -- #ReviewTuesday #MMRomance #ParanormalRomance

The Tenor’s Shadow by J.B. Warrick  

First edition, 2024

Antonio (not “Anthony”, and definitely not his teenage nickname “Tony”) is a talented tenor working to build his career. Though he has a reputation for being a bit of a temperamental diva, he’s laser-focused on doing whatever is necessary to make a splash in the international opera scene. This includes traveling to perform at different theaters around the world, enduring grueling rehearsals, and placating bossy and egotistical directors. The demands of his work leave him little time for relationships; the best he can do is pick up an occasional adoring twink for a quick, meaningless fuck.

Orphaned in his teens, Antonio was raised by his beloved Uncle Daniel. What he doesn’t know is that Daniel’s husband Oliver is a powerful vampire and coven master, and that Daniel has also been turned. When Antonio starts getting threatening letters, he mentions them to Daniel. Oliver responds by sending Freddie Grosvenor to serve as Antonio’s bodyguard.

Massive and muscular, quiet and reserved, Freddie is a two-hundred-year-old vampire with a dark past who is devoted to his master. He’s determined to protect the flamboyant, mercurial tenor from the dangers posed by a vindictive rival coven. At first, his charge resents his presence and tries to escape from his oversight. However, a power greater than either Antonio or Freddie draws them together. They are fated mates, linked by contrary destiny. If one of them dies, the other will perish as well. While they live, however, they share a physical and psychic connection of almost unimaginable intensity.

The Tenor’s Shadow is a smoothly written MM paranormal romance that offers few surprises. J.B. Warrick’s vampires for the most part follow established traditions. They have supernatural speed and strength. Their abilities correlate strongly with their age. They drain the blood of their victims, replacing it with their own, if they want to turn a human to a vampire. They can exert magical charm to bend humans to their will.

I normally have little patience with predictable, trope-fueled fiction. Still, I greatly enjoyed The Tenor’s Shadow, largely due to its luscious eroticism. The sex/love scenes in this novel are simply glorious. The attraction between Freddie and Antonio operates at a distance and does not depend on physical contact, so that their initial erotic encounters are deliciously indirect. Freddie comes after merely imagining Antonio in the shower. Antonio surrenders to Freddie on a crowded plane, pushed over the edge by the first contact with his mate’s fangs. As they accept their bond and learn to trust one another, their sex becomes rougher and wilder, yet simultaneously sweeter and more satisfying.

It’s actually a bit embarrassing to admit that my main reason for liking this book was the sex. But then, I am an author of erotica largely because I’m sensitive to the nuances of desire and its fulfillment. I think J.B. Warrick can claim the same. I’d love to see what he could do if he were to tackle a less stereotyped plot or genre.