Loose Diamonds by Daria Karpova

I've had this book for quite awhile and never got around to reading it. No real idea why. Maybe because I heard there were vampires in it and I really haven't been in the mood for vamps. But the other night I couldn't decide what to read, so I started it. And finished it.

Blurb from Loose Id:

Cherise Sartori, a jaded heiress to the biggest jewelry empire in the world, has done it all and lived to tell Vogue about it. So a locked case delivery on the way to wild party in Rio seems like old hat. Until everything goes wrong. First Cherise is kidnapped. Then she learns that her kidnapper believes in vampires. And she believes Cherise knows something about them because of some scattered memories and strange dreams of ancient crypts, ancient secrets…and lots of blood.

If being bait for something evil in the jungle isn’t bad enough, she seems to have attracted the attention of rogue archaeologist Leif Gerritsen. Cocky, handsome, and downright dangerous, Leif has her thinking about sex -- and him -- from the moment she meets him.

But in the fight for survival, distraction can be deadly.

Loose Diamonds is a very fast-paced book. It doesn't really let you sit back and think about it as it goes from one action-y scene to another. Daria Karpova is very adept at setting the scenes and I was impressed at how well I visualized everything even though she never stops and describes things in the middle of the action. The only problem I had with the story is that I'd completely forgotten that it was a novella. I'm reading it in LIT format, so I don't know how many pages it has while I'm reading it. I get to the end and I'm like, "wtf? It's over? That's IT? I want MORE!" I wanted more in a good way, but I was a bit disgusted that it ended and I didn't get more. I hope the author has plans to expand the story. The romance is very understated and it's more lust than love as it takes place in a matter of days, not to mention Cherise isn't really in contact with Leif for a lot of the story. There is a paranormal aspect, but I thought of this as more of an action story, than a paranormal, even though it's a fairly important part of the story.

So...if you're looking for something fun and fast-paced with lots of action in a short story, I recommend Loose Diamonds. Just don't go in expecting much real romance. I did enjoy it, even with my wtf moment at the end. I'll definitely look for more of her work when she releases something new, which she hasn't yet. I hope we meet Cherise and Leif again.