A Mate for York (The Program Book 1)

This is the book that hooked me on Charlene Hartnady as a writer.
Would you ever date a vampire?
If you needed lots of money fast would you agree to be a breeder for vampires?
What if the vampires were all extremely hot and huge buff?

Cassidy weighed all her options and decided to sign up and see if she would fit into the program. Was she scared? YES

York, one of King Brant's best..the elite guard has decide he wanted to be in the program. Now he has to pass 3 tests and they are not easy ones at all.

one simply word.......... BLOODLUST..............

Grab this book and see if Cassidy and York survive the trials.

This is the book that hooked me on Charlene Hartnady as a writer.
Would you ever date a vampire?
If you needed lots of money fast would you agree to be a breeder for vampires?
What if the vampires were all extremely hot and huge buff?

Cassidy weighed all her options and decided to sign up and see if she would fit into the program. Was she scared? YES

York, one of King Brant's best..the elite guard has decide he wanted to be in the program. Now he has to pass 3 tests and they are not easy ones at all.

one simply word.......... BLOODLUST..............

Grab this book and see if Cassidy and York survive the trials.

Cons: The plot of this book was designed so that the author could write about sex. Sexual chemistry and being forced to hold back because it's against the rules in the 'breeding program'. Of course, they break the rules and have explicit sex anyway. I have been reading romance for 25 years, so I'm no prude, but I like a good plot with interesting characters and some 'build up' to that moment.

As far as romance~ yes, there was chemistry and sweetness, but the H and h have sex the first day they meet, so there is no time for real romance or build up. I prefer more complicated characters with a romantic plot, such as historical romances usually present.

Every other word is the "F" word which makes the book seem rather juvenile. It's almost like the author wanted to see how often she could insert that word~ it was that bad. It takes away from the book, rather than ads to it. Overall, the writing was not bad, but it was definitely cheesy at times and that was difficult to get past. I had to roll my eyes a few times. The author also repeated herself a lot, very similar scenes and dialog playing over and over.

Pros: York is very lovable. He is sexy, sweet, posessive, wants a family and kids. He immediately has a special attraction to Cassidy and she to him. I did like both characters, although she portrays Cassidy as rather plain 30 year old with saggy boobs, perhaps a little heavy. She didn't sound attractive at all.

The book moved fast enough that I didn't get bored and quit reading, which happens often with me. So it gets an extra star for keeping me interested.

A good story of a vampire who dreams about having a wife who loves him and children that are born of that love. One of the Kings elite guards is York, who has been promised by the King to be allowed to chose a human to mate with. Cassidy Parker is one of the human females that has been given a chance to earn lots of money and be apart of the program the vampires have established to provide mates for 10 lucky vampire males. Vampire females are not able to have children, so the males must select a human female if they want to have a family and children. York and Cassidy meet and it does not go well at first. The story is really interesting given the lengths that York will go to have Cassidy.

I enjoyed the plot, I wish there was more descriptions, I wasn't able to get as full of a visual and as lost in the book as I would have liked. I also disliked that the ending was fully wrapped up. It was as if there should be a second book to the story.

Title: A Mate for York
Series: The Program
Designation: Book One of Series, Standalone Novella, NO Cliffhanger
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Charlene Hartnady
My Rating: FIVE DELICIOUSLY SEXY STARS*****
Yowza! Charlene Hartnady has obviously been hard at work and her phenomenal creativity and imagination have definitely been working overtime as demonstrated by A Mate for York, the first release in her brand new series, The Program. And may I just say WOW! I love it! The story is original, unique, well crafted, cute, fun, romantic and seductive. Heck, I'm 63 and even I wanted to apply for "The Program." The narrative is exceptionally well written in the third person with alternating his and her points of view. The dialogue is smart, snappy, well executed and flows seamlessly. The entire book is extremely well edited which is always a big plus for me. The characters shine as brightly as the beacon of a lighthouse. They are captivating, fascinating, engaging, endearing, sexy as sin and at times, laugh out loud funny. Another big plus for me is the recurring appearance of characters from Charlene's previously released books which reinforces not only the validity and believability of the series but also the familiarity of the world in which the book has been written. It is always such a treat to see how our favorite characters are doing. Charlene skillfully combines all these elements into a delicious tale filled to the brim with a little light humor, fun-filled adventure, a dollop of suspense, a generous measure of a romping good time and loads of dreamy romance! Where can I sign up for "The Program?"

Kings Zane and Brant are now proud papas of a bouncing baby boy named Sam and when they aren't trying to keep Queen Tanya happy and satisfied, they're both busy implementing their new "Breeding Program" also known as "The Program." What? Breeding Program? Oh yes, I said breeding program. Zane and Brant have learned through Ward, Stephany's new alpha wolf mate, that humans are, in fact, strong enough to survive a mating with shifters and vampires other than the kings. It seems the shifters have been doing it for years, in secret of course. The Kings have finally embraced this new idea and have been hard at work drawing up the contracts with the humans and finalizing the arrangements. Their hard work has finally paid off and they're launching the first stage of "The Program" by advertising for women to volunteer to date a vampire. Huh? Yep, the initial trial will be called "The Dating Program." Wait - what? What's the difference? Well, I'm glad you asked. The difference is that there will be no mating and no sex with the participants of the initial trial. It will be blood-drinking only. What? Oh, did I forget to mention that part? This trial is for three days only and is strictly to determine if the chosen vampire males can drink blood from the human women without experiencing bloodlust. Oh my! Unfortunately, quite a few vampires suffer from the affliction which can turn calm, disciplined vampires into blood crazed maniacs who can drain a human of all their blood within minutes. Oh no! And, there's no way to tell who will succumb to bloodlust until they actually drink from a human. Yep, that's right! It can be a bit risky. But the human women have been carefully screened and those chosen for the trial will be paid $45,000.00 a day for every day they complete the program so at the end of the three day trial, they could receive as much as $135,000.00. That is, if they survive. Just a minor little problem but all precautions and security measures have been taken. Unfortunately, all of this has become a necessary risk since vampires are becoming extinct. Although it's dangerous for human women to give birth to vampire babies, most female vampires cannot safely birth children at all and have to be sterilized. Sadly, the births resulting from vampire/human unions have been only male children. As a result, there's a shortage of viable women thereby creating the problem - they need human women. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy about this newest little development and have already made an attempt on King Zane's life. So now it seems that the vampires and everyone involved with The Program may be at risk. Oh my goodness!

But no matter the danger or how insurmountable it may seem, nothing will stop York. Most of the vampire guards had decided to participant in the combat competition in order to win a position in the new breeding program - the chance to have their own female - a soft, beautiful, curvy, human female. Who wouldn't fight for that, right? It had long been York's dream to have a mate and a family. Most vampire males never do. Only the Kings had been allowed to mate humans - until now. But that was all about to change and York had already been promised a slot in the program in exchange for a favor he granted Brant's brother, Xavier, but nonetheless, York wanted to fight and earn his position. He is the Captain of the Elite Guard after all and he doesn't want to be accused of receiving favorable treatment. He is the biggest, baddest and best of all the vampire warriors. And of course, as usual, he succeeds again just as he will be successful at proving that he would never succumb to bloodlust. Piece of cake, right? Wrong! Human females are, indeed, very hard to resist, especially the ones with beautiful green eyes like Cassidy, the first female candidate he meets. And she tastes even better than she looks! He would have his female and he wants this one - rules and contracts be damned!

Cassidy is almost thirty and still has absolutely nothing to show for her life other than a death certificate for a no good selfish husband and an unexpected mountain of debt, which of course, was all because of his gambling and his weekly trips to "The Kitty's Paw", an escort agency. She had hoped by this point she would be settled into a wonderful life with the man of her dreams and two or three children but all she has is painful memories, heartache, a crappy job with a lecherous boss, a pile of debt and a zero bank balance. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If she can only be approved to participate in the vampire "Dating Program", she could make enough money to pay off her debt and have enough left over to start a new life - somewhere else. She could make it through three days, right? She just has to let them drink a little blood. Easy Peasy, right? Not when her very first vampire is hot, handsome, sex-on-a-stick York! Buckle up my ladies! We're in for another wild ride! No spoilers from me but I will say this....Beautiful human widow with gorgeous green eyes and lush curves-check! Handsome Elite Vampire Guard determined to have his human female, rules be damned-check! A large cast of wonderful characters-check! Two exasperated Kings-check! A new Breeding Program, a dash of humor, a lot of fun, a little angst, and a pinch of suspense-check! Heated attraction, fiery passion, sweet romance and dreamy sex-you bet! That and a whole lot more! Deliciously cute, seriously sexy and delightfully entertaining!

Frankly, the first book I read in any genre after having just read "Leaving With Vampires" (Vampire Guardians Book 4) by Jody Offen was probably going to be held to a very high standard but especially a vampire paranormal romance. For me "A Mate for York" was an okay read but it lack the depth and vividness I prefer. The plot was original enough and had good potential but the story felt rushed and somewhat superficial, thereby, failing to meet it's full potential. The writing was just okay b/c as I said it lacked consistent depth. The character development for Cassidy was good but York's was rather thin. I liked both characters but I wanted more from them and from the storyline. The supporting characters were mildly interesting but I guess we are to wait to learn more about each one in subsequent books. The novella contains some fairly explicit sex scenes but, for me, they weren't vibrant enough nor were they "transportive." The novella doesn't end in a cliffhanger per se but I was still left wandering whether York and Cassidy got that life changing miracle that they were hoping for. I then wondered whether it would be reveal in a subsequent novella. I knew from the 108 pages that the book would be short but I still was hoping for a more satisfying reading experience. I won't provide a synopsis of the story b/c I think that more than enough reviewers have done that including providing spoilers which I dislike especially without warning. I read the book via my kindle unlimited (ku) sub but I usually purchase a book that I consider a keeper. Even at .99 this short story just wasn't a keeper for me. Eventually, I may read some of the other novellas in the Series since they can be borrowed via my KU sub but for now I think that I'll move on to another author. I'm glad that other readers enjoyed it more than I did. To each his/her own!

If you have been following this series from the beginning i.e from Chosen by the Vampire Kings series to Awakened by the Vampire Prince, you would understand how important the Breeding Program arc is to this particulate dimension of Charleneverse. The entire existence of the various species is at risk of extinction and thanks to the input of the Wolves, the Vampire Kings have finally decided to ignore their Lores and actually make an attempt at inter species breeding hence the Breeding Programs that will hopefully find mates for many of the characters that we have come to love since the beginning of this series.

In this book York has been granted a place in the trial phase thanks to his role in getting Xavier and Esral together. Cassidy has the most important role in the program as well as the riskiest. Her job is to determine which of the potential candidates have blood lust. When York meets her for the first time, his instincts are instantly on alert and he senses his future mate in Cassidy. Unfortunately her role only lasts till the trial phase. So you can imagine the uproar that he causes for Zane and Brant. Funny and heartbreaking at the same time, you may just have happy tears in your eyes as you go through the story.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed reading this story. It kept my attention. At no time was I bored. This is a KU story, which is always nice b/c I am a KU member. However because I really liked it I am going to buy it.

I loved York. While not a said, he is not a player. He gets involved in the studies/trials because he wants a wife and family. He is a possessive, jealous & protective alpha hero who falls gradually in love with Cassidy. No instant love but instant lust. Talking about which, the sex scenes were hot. York and Cassidy had a lot of sexual chemistry. It was refreshing that there were no sex scenes with OW/OM or even being with OW/OM. Both York and Cassidy are faithful to each other. No needless separations. I am tired of reading romances books that contain those things, especially the first two. I can handle needless separations if the characters stay true to each other. Even authors who I usually love reading their books and I consider "safe" from having these elements are adding them. As long as this author doesn't then I will continue to read her books because she did a good job.

Where do I sign up for the breeding program? Holy Heck! This book is full of crazy white hot lust and panty melting moments. I felt a very real and deep connection to Cassidy. It is one of those "I'm so her" feels. I'm so glad she gets a happy ending. I love how Sensitive York is for a big brooding elite Vampire. He totally melted my heart. I wish there were a FEW more chapters or a epilogue to tie up the question I had( you'll know what I mean when you read the story) but I will just assume that its all good. I also want a few more because the story was that good and I didn't want it to be over so soon.