Vampire with Benefits

Supernatural Selection, Book 2

By: E.J. Russell

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A match between a vampire and shifter could be deadly - but this broken beaver doesn’t give a dam.

Silent film actor Casimir Moreau had imagined that life as a vampire would be freewheeling and glamorous. Instead, he’s plunged into a restrictive society whose rules he runs afoul of at every turn. To “rehabilitate” him, the vampire council orders him mated to an incubus with impeccable breeding who’ll mold Cas into the upstanding vampire he ought to be. Or else.

As an inactive beaver shifter, construction engineer Rusty Johnson has fought - and overcome - bias and disrespect his entire life. But when his longtime boyfriend leaves him for political reasons, Rusty is ready to call it a day. Next stop? Supernatural Selection and his guaranteed perfect mate, a bear shifter living far away from Rusty’s disapproving clan.

But then a spell snafu at Supernatural Selection robs both men of their intended husbands. Rusty can’t face returning to his clan, and Cas needs somebody on his arm to keep the council happy, so they agree to pretend to be married. Nobody needs to know their relationship is fake - especially since it’s starting to feel suspiciously like the real thing.

©2018 Ellen J Russell (P)2024 Ellen J Russell

Delightful and snarky despite 1 stupid MC

This is my first E.J. Russell read and I jumped in blind not realizing that this book is the second entry in the Supernatural Selection series but that didn’t matter much since the story is easy enough to follow and got more engaging as it went along.

Cas and Rusty were great together from the start, even when they were snipping at each other, I was rooting for them. They had great chemistry and the heat was goood. I liked Rusty in an instant and he was amazing throughout. Cas also grew on me, eventually, but he got on my nerves just as much. I guess his antics added some spice to the story – it didn’t really need it – but it allowed for the ending we got, which I quite liked.

I seriously hope we’ll see more of them in future books because Cas and Rusty’s secret is very juicy, and I doubt that Rusty’s ex will let him go, in particular when it’ll come out of nowhere to him.

Vampire with Benefits is a delightful read with a snarky and sometimes annoying vampire, and this gem of a beaver shifter who can’t shift

amazing!

I thought book one was terrific, but this one was even better. The ending was both poignant and hilarious. The narration was one point and perfect for this story. this is definitely on my "listen again", and again list.

worth it.

I enjoyed it. was sweet and a nice novel. worth it in the end glad I got it.

I highly recommend!

Honestly love the story and the narrator was AMAZING, accents and all! The end was honestly great! The only thing I would want different would be is I would like more of the story lol I hope in the next book it'll give more info on the previous couples😊 I honestly enjoyed this couple! I would love to have heard some more about the bad ppl getting karma though lol

This book was so much fun!

#ARC received by GayRR for an honest review.

This book was not what I was expecting. I say this in a good way, as the book was more than I thought it would be. For starters, our two main characters, Casimir and Rusty, are supernatural beings. One is a French vampire, and the other is an American beaver shifter. At the beginning of the novel, we meet the vampire, Casimir, who is in some trouble with the vampire council, and his punishment is essentially an arranged marriage. Although, this arranged marriage is supposed to be his perfect match according to the Supernatural agency. Meanwhile, Rusty is at this agency also looking for this perfect match.

Once both of our main characters meet, the story takes off. I won't give any spoilers, but the plot gets interesting.

From the moment our characters meet to the ending, I loved their interactions. Together they were so fun and snarky. I enjoyed seeing their growth and fondness for each other grow. This book was not what I expected because the plot is complex, especially towards the end. That twist got me!

This isn't my first romance by E.J. Russel, but it has been a while since I've read any of her books; however, I'll read more of her books in the future! Greg Boudreaux's narration was engaging and fun as always. I highly recommend this book if you're looking to laugh and be engrossed in a supernatural plot.

My Favorite Supernatural Series!

This is an incredible series by an incredible author who makes their characters, down to even their side characters, feel real and unique. They jump off the page with diverse, charming, and often funny and well thought out personalities. The plot, and how it was written, flows smoothly and naturally, and keeps the reader engaged at all times. Any reader or listener can expect to be drawn in, in the first few minutes and stay that way till the very last second.

enjoyed it

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, enjoyed the story.
I listened to this before bed of a night over the span of a week and it was an easy and entertaining listen.

🎧 Narrator comment: Greg Boudreaux is one of my favorite narrators and he's done a masterful performance bringing the characters and story to life. He suits the story and it's characters, he has good timing, rhythm, inflections and intonations and I had no trouble distinguishing the characters from each other.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 6.5
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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Cute, witty, AND sexy fun!

It was close, but I think Vampire With Benefits might be my fave EJ Russell book to date! After listening to Single White Incubus, I was so totally stoked to finally find out what went on with Rusty and Cas and it was everything I was hoping for! Seriously…it really did knock SWI out of the first place slot. The chemistry between Rusty and Cas was perfect and I loved every second of their banter. A little disappointed that we didn’t get more Zeke-time in this one, but if he’s got his own book I’ll have to settle for that. The only thing that really really irked me was that Felcher didn’t get his come-uppance. He was awful and I wanted to punch him over and over. Felcher losing his happy new life/home would have been the pièce de résistance to an amazing audiobook. On to the next one!

Good story!

I’m really enjoying this series a lot. The twists are really interesting and the romance is so good 😊

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this story and I really loved both casimir and rusty and I felt bad for them both with the situations they were put in both seen as unwelcome and rejected in their respective groups and am glad they were thrown together I was really interested in the effects Rusty’s blood had on casimir and I wish there had been more information on that and I wish there had been more of a reunion between them at the end of the book but despite that I still really enjoyed listening to it it’s a great book and I enjoyed the accents as well