Turned by Virna DePaul

Narrated by Sean Crisden

I’ve heard people say the romance genre is clogged with vampires. In some ways, I agree with this sentiment. However, I remain intrigued by the various ways authors find to approach the theme. Virna DePaul took vampires in a totally new direction with Turned, Book 1 in the Belladonna Agency series. It’s still a romance between a vampire and a human, but the spin she put on it all made it a very enjoyable read.

Ty Duncan isn’t just your average FBI agent. Six months ago, he was turned into a vampire, and he’s now working for the Belladonna Agency, a division of the bureau that is off almost everyone’s radar. It’s a small unit right now, but Ty and his colleagues have plans to make it bigger. They know they can’t allow rogue vampires to continue to break the law.

Ty has an assignment. He must convince ex gang member Ana Martin to become a part of Belladonna. Ana has ties to people Ty desperately wants to make contact with, but they won’t give him the time of day.

Ana is ashamed of her past. Not only did it cost her the love of her younger sister, but it also sent her to prison. Now that she’s out, Ana is determined to live on the right side of the law, and to find her sister at the same time.

When Ty approaches her, all Ana’s inner alarm bells start clanging. She’s super attracted to him, but she knows he’s using her for something. True, she’s using him too, since he claims to know where her sister is, but Ana is determined to be nobody’s fool. She’ll work for Ty, but she’ll keep her heart to herself if at all possible.

I’ve been a huge fan of narrator Sean Crisden since I first heard him read Christine Feehan’s Dark Magic. I was pleased that Tantor had chosen him for this series. He has a rich voice with a kind of melodious quality to it that I find rare among male narrators. There’s something about the way he reads about vampires that makes me squirm in all kinds of good ways.

Crisden’s depiction of Ty was wonderful to behold. Ty speaks with an upper-class British accent and, although Crisden’s accent wasn’t the best I’d ever heard, it fit Ty to a tee. I was also quite impressed with the way Crisden shows us Ty’s loss of humanity. There are times when he speaks in a voice that’s almost flat. We know that Ty hates what he has become and feels powerless to control it. There are a few scenes when he completely loses control of himself, and Crisden speaks in an almost animalistic tone when this happens. I definitely got the impression that Ty was both sexy and dangerous.

Ana was a difficult character for me to like, especially at first. She’s a bit of a spitfire, but, sometimes, her stubbornness and rage are misdirected. Crisden gives her a slight Hispanic accent, in keeping with the character DePaul has created. We’re also allowed to hear Ana’s anger. The world has wronged her in so many ways and she carries a huge chip on her shoulder. She doesn’t want to grant concessions to anyone. Basically, she’s conflicted, and this sometimes makes her bitchy. There were times Crisden made her sound almost shrill. Normally, this would have annoyed me, but, in this case, I thought it fitting.

The supporting characters were all distinctly voiced. We learn a little bit about each of them, just enough to peak our interest. I hope Crisden is chosen to narrate the rest of the series, starting with Awakened, which should come out this summer.

Even if you think you’re over the whole vampire thing, I urge you to give Turned a try. It’s steamy, suspenseful, and full of action. I definitely wouldn’t classify it as typical.

Editor’s Note: Sean Crisden does narrate Awakened releasing July 1st. 

Shannon

Narration:  A

Book Content:  A-

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Graphic

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Turned was provided to AudioGals for review by Tantor Audio.