Susannah Sandlin - Omega

The third book in the Penton Vampire Legacy series, published February 5, 2013.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: I still think those covers are creepy



Will Ludlam is tired of hiding. He doesn’t regret turning his back on his father’s cruel Tribunal legacy, but he never intended to live like this, secreted away with the vampires of Penton in their underground fortress, Omega. Charged with caring for bonded humans fleeing the vampire war, Will longs to join the fight. But first he must earn the trust of the beautiful soldier tasked with keeping Omega safe…
Randa Thomas is one of Penton’s newest lieutenants, a former US Army officer now devoted to the vampire rebellion. She has little patience for Will Ludlam, and can’t understand why the privileged son of one of the vampire elite has the trust of her scathe’s leaders. But as the Tribunal closes in and Omega prepares to make one last stand, Will’s polished charm – and Randa’s guarded heart – finally give way to the warrior within.


The third book in the series, and I am glad to know it is not the last one. This series just keeps getting better and better, and I enjoyed this story a lot. At the end of book 2, the Penton vampires and their bonded humans were forced to flee for safety underground and they were not really ready for that just yet. Living underground is hard for humans, especially when there is not much to do for them. A lot of vampires and humans were killed when Matthias Ludlam attacked the town, and more have asked to leave Omega and return to a normal human life. As they are not prisoners, Aidan has allowed this, but now the ratio of vampire to human is 4 to 1 and the vampires are on a very restricted feeding schedule. If new humans want to leave, they will have to ask their vampires to leave as well, and Aidan is not happy with that decision. He promised them safety and a good life, and he can’t keep that promise thanks to Matthias. They have to find a way out of this mess, but killing Matthias is sadly enough not the answer. That would put the whole Tribunal at their throats in no time. But the do need to know what he is doing. The newest lieutenant, a former psychiatrist, volunteers to infiltrate Matthias vampires to find out what he is planning. He never met Matthias, as he is from the UK. The UK Tribunal leader thinks that Penton’s way of life is the only answer to keep his vampires alive in those times of starvation, and he secretly backs Aidan.

What Cage does not expect, is that Melissa, Aidan´s fam, is still alive. Sort of. After breaking her neck in full sight of Aidan and his people, he had her turned. She is a new vampire, and he is starving and torturing her to find out information about Penton and where they have fled to. Cage just can´t leave Melissa there, he will have to blow his cover to get her out of Matthias hands. He also meets Shelton, Matthias´ second in command, and sees firsthand the cruelty and depravity of the man and understands what Will has suffered at his hands.

In the meantime, Will and Randa learn to deal with each other, and discover they are both hiding their vulnerabilities and insecurities from the world. Will was never a beloved and privileged son as Randa thinks, his father called him stupid and an idiot as he could not even learn how to read. Today he would be diagnosed as a dyslexic, but back then, such a thing did not exist. Now he knows, and he has learned to deal with it. He is a wizard behind a laptop, and manages what ever needs to be done at Penton, and at Omega.
Randa grew up with a military father and four bigger brothers, and she has always tried to belong with the guys, to compete with them. And now again she does not feel like she belongs, she hates being a vampire, but she has to learn to live like one. And Will does show her some of the benefits. But her father might just be their only solution to Penton’s problems …


As said, I enjoyed this third book a lot. I have had an interest in Will since book 1, and now we finally get more of his background. I admire him for what he has made of himself after the cruelty at his father’s hands. He keeps women at armslenght, although he really enjoys their company and to make love to them, but he also thinks himself unworthy because of what happened to him. Will is becoming a master vampire, and I enjoyed the new world he discovered. And I loved that he is stronger than his evil father.
Randa also had an interesting past, she is soldier, and was taken and turned while on duty in Afghanistan. She has only been a vampire for 5 years now, and she really misses her family. She keeps up to date with them through her twin brothers’ blog, but he suddenly stopped blogging a month ago, and she fears the worst. She wants to prove to Aidan that she is a good soldier, and that he was not wrong in taking her in his scathe. She is good in strategy, and proves it when Aidan and Mirren want to go off on a suicide mission to Penton.

Together they are a great couple, and it was good and refreshing that they did not hesitate when they finally liked each other, and did not fight their attraction, but went for it. After all, life, or unlife, can be short. They are a good team together.

As a second story line, I enjoyed Cage and look forward to his book. He helped Hannah, and I love him for that alone. I want to learn more about what Melissa is going through, and why her connection with her husband Mark is completely gone.

So, if you have not yet started this series, what are you waiting for? This series is original and refreshing. Yes, it does have some hot love scenes, and I also like the recurring couples as they all kind of live together. It is a great adventure and I want to know what happens next. Will they rebuild Penton, or will they go all over the world to help build other communities?

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian