Burning Addiction

By: BL Maxwell

Narrated by: Allen Jeffries

Brennan Clayton lived a life of privilege and comfort, until experimenting with drugs in college led to him quitting school to live the life of an addict. His days are spent doing odd jobs for cash to pay for his habit. One night, he overdoses and nearly dies.

Doctor Lucas Martel works nightshift in the emergency room at Eureka Hospital. He’s reclusive and brilliant at his job, and he’s all too aware that not everything in Eureka is as it seems. He’s also a vampire, one who chooses to blend in with humans rather than feed on them.

Something strange is happening to the homeless and addicts on the streets of Eureka; many have gone missing or ended up dead, and others have overdosed on drugs so strong, no human cure can counteract them. Not normally concerned with human tragedies, the vampires can’t stand back and let this play out, or they risk exposing their world to the humans.

Brennan must face his demons, and Lucas will discover many things about himself, and what he believes to be true: A seedy underground of rogue vampires and drugs that must be stopped, at any cost.

Warning: Contains references to drug use and abuse.

©2020 BL Maxwell (P)2022 BL Maxwell

I just loved this story, I just loved it! 😍

Writer BL Maxwell's epic ability to mix the scary with the lovable, the super hot with the absolutely adorable has had me going around in circles for the past four months. 'Burning Addiction' is an exceptional example of the author's adeptness in this unique blending of literary elements with the pacing that keeps the narrative rolling right along. In the story, we encounter Dr. Lucas Martel who races to help Brennan Clayton, a patient who has overdosed on heroin. But the Narcan, a drug used to counteract the heroin, had to be used at double the dose causing the patient convulsive seizures. But this isn't the first patient that's had this experience and many have died recently when the double dose of Narcan forms a lethal cocktail in the bloodstream of addicts. Brennan was one of the lucky ones to survive so he leaves the hospital only to find himself getting high yet again.
Brennan is fortunate enough to still have a friend in the world who cares whether he has a safe place to sleep and food to eat. In spite of his heroin addiction, Brennan works a job on a fishing boat to pay for his drugs. He also gives some money to his friend towards the rent and respects his friend enough to take his drug use off to a dark park at night. Unfortunately, Brennan finds himself in the hospital again with another overdose and a very concerned Dr. Martel who felt drawn toward Brennan the first time he came into the hospital. Intuiting tampering with the drugs by others who, like him, are vampires, Dr. Martel endeavors to look after Brennan though Brennan seems indifferent to life.
Good friend Ben shows up at Lucas's home and tells him about a mission he's on for The Twelve of the Consortium of Blood, the agency that governs the behavior of vampires, especially any that will call attention to vampires in the world. It seems that there's widespread consumption of blood from humans drugged with an altered form of heroin going on among vampires. It contributing to fatal overdoses and the disappearances of many homeless addicts in other major cities, as well. Lucas becomes concerned for Brennan's safety and makes several attempts to interact with him personally. When Brennan is physically attacked, Lucas interrupts the assailant then takes Brennan home where the intimacy between them develops.
Lucas and Ben find Brennan drained of blood and nearly dead when the assailant finally manages to abduct him. Lucas turns him into a vampire to avoid losing him altogether. With the change, Brennan is finally free of his addiction to heroin and though life is different for him, he is grateful and ready to submit to the mating bite, which will link the two permanently.
The perpetrator of the blood drugging scheme turned out to be someone from Lucas's long ago who faces the full censure of the Consortium and is subsequently destroyed. Lucas and Brennan decide to leave the area to begin their lives together someplace new. This book tied me neatly in knots. I sew and design for three incredible drag queens that sat quietly for this audiobook, loving every second of it as I did! BL Maxwell's take on addiction is a true one! Brennan does legitimate work to earn the money for his heroin. Believe it or not, such addicts do exist! I took an addiction counseling program to supplement my Bachelor's degree in Psychology, even went so far as taking the graduate courses required for licensure.
There ARE addicts that exist who wouldn't dream of hurting another living soul. They don't lie, steal, cheat, or kill! They are simply caught up in the personal escape drugs offer. And more often than not, they do more harm to themselves than they'd ever do to anyone else. There are those addicts kind and gentle enough that they manage to have a few friends and can attract one or more persons who are invested in them beating their addiction. The writer communicates this effectively in her story!
I love that the author wrote a story of addiction that did not get too overly dark and depressing, those aspects of the story are truly scary. Vampires running at speeds the human eye can't track. Drugs designed to get a human high enough that their blood is a drug for vampires? My goodness! She brilliantly takes the reader right to the edge of death and total despair before the story resolves beautifully in a happily ever after for addict Brennan Clayton. Combining this wonderful story with the unique reading talents of narrator Allan Jeffries, this audiobook is a special treat for those who love their horror with an infusion of the definitely lovely.

Vampire Addiction!

I absolutely enjoyed this unique Vampire romance and paranormal adventure! The plot with the Vampires feeding off people with drug addictions was clever and added a lot of mystery and action to the story! I loved that Lucas was a very possessive "MINE" kind of Vampire but that Brennan as a human felt the pull towards Lucas as well!! The plot and romance progressed at a perfect pace! Great Chemistry between the characters and fantastic world building! I enjoyed Allen Jeffries narration! He distinguished between the characters very well and I liked his voice for Lucas! I will say I did listen to it just a speed up at 1.5 speed which I think sounded better with the pace of this story! Looking forward to the next audible Freezing Aversion with Ben!

Sure that this is a fine story

But couldn’t get past the poor vocal performance. If done with a better narrator, I am sure I would be able to finish. DNF

Another Great Story

Another Great B. L. Maxwell story. This was an interesting story of vampires and fated mates. The overall story and Lucas and Brennan's unexplainable connection made for a good experience.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Enjoyable

Burning Addiction is Book 1 in the Consortium Trilogy series. This is a vampire love story with a bit of a mystery. Brennan is an addict who overdoses and ends up in hospital. Lucas is the doctor who helps save his life. Feeling a connection to Brennan, Lucas keeps an eye on him when he can. There's definitely more going on here as homeless and addicts start disappearing. Rogue vampires thinking they'll target people who won't be missed, with their stonger drugs to drain them, messed with the wrong human. Lucas and his friend Ben go on the hunt to stop what's been happening and find out way more than they expected. I enjoyed this book, though the ending was a bit rushed. I look forward to the next book and more from this world. 
Narrator Allen Jeffries does a wonderful job and has a unique way of story telling. He drew me into the story from the very beginning. 

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

fantastic story!!

Brennan is an addict that started experimenting in college. One night he overdoses and is drained of blood. He is brought into the ER that Dr Lucas Martel works at in Eureka. Lucas is a vampire and turns him to save him. The story felt so realistic in terms of addiction. Allan Jeffries did a good job with the narrative, his voices each seemed unique but it wasn’t what I heard in my head when I originally read the story. Overall the story is fantastic, felt realistic in some areas.

Intriguing!

Story: I was very intrigued with how the story started and it definitely kept me riveted until the end! It was a pleasure to listen to this story and Lucas and Brennan were great characters! There is a lot of depth to them and their story explored some very interesting themes! And vampires. Who doesn't love them?!
Narration: Allen Jeffries has a very unique voice. It may take some getting used to, but it definitely fits the story perfectly! The performance is really good!

loved it

I loved this book. Allen Jeffries really brings this story to life and makes you love the characters even more. Brennan Clayton choices led him to where he is. He lived a good life until experimenting with drugs in college. He overdoses and ends up in a Eureka hospital. Doctor Lucas Martel works the nightshift at the hospital and is also a vampire. He is there when they bring Brennan in and brings him back. But something is happening to the homeless and addicts in town. And the vampires believe rogue vampires are behind it. Brennan must face his past. And Lucas does everything he can to save Brennan. But the question is can he?