Edie Valenti is done with men. At 44, perimenopausal and newly divorced, she has no interest in risking her heart again.
Until she meets Dorian Crow.
He’s charming, dangerous, and exactly the kind of man she swore she’d avoid.
He’s also a three-hundred-year-old vampire carrying a curse he doesn’t know exists: if he ever falls in love, he’ll die.
Dorian has spent centuries keeping his relationships shallow, but Edie is different.
He can’t compel her, can’t feed on her, and can’t stay away from her.
What starts as a no-strings affair soon turns into an obsession neither of them can resist.
For Edie, falling for Dorian could end in heartbreak.
But for Dorian, falling in love will be the death of him.
Can a love doomed from the start break an ancient curse, or will it destroy them both?

Her Vampire, His Ruin is a spicy paranormal romance with a guaranteed HEA, packed with passion, second chances, and a hero who may have to die to be redeemed.Tropes:
Midlife romance
40+ FMC
Perimenopause representation
Vampires
The curse that must be broken
Dangerous desire

My Review

As soon as I saw the ads for this book, I absolutely had to have a copy. Of course, I got mine on Kindle, but vampire paranormal romance and perimenopausal midlife woman? This was a must read.

Oh, this is dark and twisted, and I love the retelling-like structure of putting a story behind a well-known painting. I have always been fascinated by The Picture of Dorian Gray and stories inspired by it, so this immediately captured my interest.

Edie is a very relatable midlife woman. Her descriptions of her body, her “I don’t care anymore” attitude, and her newly single status all made her feel very real. She is funny, feisty, and relatable. Although the swanky historical vibes in this story were not as interesting to me as a more current setting would have been.

Dorian is something else. He is charming, seductive, and very interested in Edie, but the way he commands a room may just heat up your Kindle. Clearly he is rich, suave, and ancient. I mean, the title and his interactions with Edie definitely give away that he must be a vampire. However, I really liked his overprotective, in-charge attitude. This isn’t some young, naive vampire. He has had a very long time to learn how to be a seducer and a mature man.

Edie being a midlife woman with history and a tongue that can shred steel is fabulous. I love that she doesn’t just immediately cave to the meet cute. She is feisty and knowledgeable. This book gives me Twilight vibes, but in a much more mature way. The premise reminded me of Twilight at times, but this story is more thought out and much more appropriate for the age of the characters and its audience.

Oh, this book gets spicy, and Dorian is definitely giving bad-boy vibes. On top of being a billionaire, he is also dangerous. Edie is curious but guarded and ashamed of her midlife body. I really don’t blame her for feeling that way, but of course, when a fine male specimen comes along, she can’t completely resist the appeal.

The hot-and-cold nature of their interactions is dramatic but also mystifying. They both enjoy their encounters, yet every time they see each other, something seems to go wrong. Her best friend gets involved in her own way, and then her sister adds another layer to everything. This book is a mix of Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight, with the back-and-forth of him being a vampire and not telling her yet, along with all of their sizzling interactions.

So we go from paranormal romance to dark romance and then back to sweet. I understand the premise of the story and even the retelling aspect, but the way the story is told can be disturbing. It is irresistible, sizzling yet tender, dark yet beautiful. The curse, the miscreant pasts, and the future revelations are bewildering, but ultimately kept me turning the pages. However, be aware that this story is adventurous, mature, and definitely melt-your-Kindle hot.

I absolutely loved Henrietta and Edie as the unfiltered midlife women they are. The ending was good, especially with the found family aspect. I did find myself skimming parts of the story, mostly because I was more interested in the sizzling scenes and the hot-and-cold interactions.

Overall, this was a good read, and I loved having a perimenopausal main character. My biggest disappointment was that the perimenopause aspect was barely represented throughout the book. It felt more like midlife gone wild after her divorce than a story that really explored what it means to be a perimenopausal woman.

If you would like to read Her Vampire His Ruin by Bea Paige, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate/Influencer, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Vampire, Midlife and Found Family.