Angela Giacomelli is a cop on her way to prison - which, for all intents and purposes, is a death sentence. Fortunately for her, she’s caught the eye of a very powerful team - a team that wants to recruit her to work for them. So she becomes Jax Cassidy, top operative for the L.O.S.T. - Last Option Special Team.  Now she’s been sent to infiltrate and destroy a group that calls itself The Solution. And that includes bringing down their top assassin, Marcus Cross. What Jax doesn’t know is that Marcus isn’t just the best at what he does - he’s also a vampire. And when these two first come face-to-face, neither one is prepared for the visceral reaction they feel for each other.

Marcus Cross was left for dead by his fellow soldiers in the hills of Afghanistan. He was “saved” by Colonel Joseph Lazarus, an incredibly powerful vampire and leader of the North American coven. Marcus is an assassin for The Solution because he believes in what he’s doing and is a patriot. He is about to discover that everything he has believed in is nothing more than an elaborate lie created by Lazarus to further his own rise to power. And Jax Cassidy is the catalyst for that discovery.

Individually, Jax and Marcus are like a force of nature - together they can become unstoppable. They discover that what they want most in this world is each other - but it may already be too late.

Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow is easily the most original and compelling vampire story since Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. But it’s much more than simply a vampire story. It’s like paranormal romance meets romantic suspense meets kick ass action-adventure.

From the first page, I was completely drawn into the story. One thing I like about it is the straightforward simplicity - even though the characters are complex, they have definite back story, and there's a whole other world involved - the story itself is never overwhelmed by any of that. It flows.

All the characters were fully realized, including the secondary characters. Even if they didn't have many scenes I still felt as though I knew them. And Jax? By the end of chapter four, she had become my new most favorite heroine. The scene at the end of chapter four cemented that and also happens to be, in my opinion, hands-down one of the coolest scenes I’ve ever read.

Marcus Cross is sexy in a way that puts the average, sexy alpha male to shame. He is a true predator, and feels no need to apologize for what he is. He completely owns it. But it’s his ability to be gentle when Jax needs it that stole my heart. Here is a man that, once he comes to terms with his feelings, is willing to die for the woman he loves - and knows he is most likely going to have to. Marcus is a hero in the truest sense of the word.

The dialog throughout Enemy Lover always felt natural. Everything about the story just seems realistic. Karin Harlow made me believe that other-worldly beings could truly walk among us. This book doesn’t have the feel of a “fantasy” at all; it feels like gritty, in-your-face reality.

The sexual tension was incredible. The sex scenes were fierce and primal, and yet I would label them love scenes, really - the feelings between Marcus and Jax are beautiful. Each scene built on the last so that their feelings were a natural progression.