A Taste of Crimson by Marjorie M. Liu

Keeli Maddox lives in Crimson City, formerly known as Los Angeles. Now it is ruled between three factions: the human government, the Vampire Clans and the Werewolf Packs. Keeli is a werewolf, but she's flying under the radar, posing as a merely human server in a small bar/restaurant. This is the end of the line for her, since humans know that the virus that makes Werewolves is transmissible from Weres to humans, nobody wants to be served by Weres, so she is barred from working in food service. Unless, like her current boss, nobody can tell them what to do or who to hire-or not hire.

But when Keeli ducks the health inspector by taking refuge in the alley behind the bar, she's outed when she gives into her fury to stop a rape taking place near the mouth of the alley. In fact, her rage nearly kills the rapist, but a vampire enforcer named Michael talks her down and prevents her from killing the rapist. But Michael is no ordinary vampire. He's also working with the Police, and now his job is to find out who is killing other vampires. It looks like the work of a Werewolf, but the Head of the Packs in the city, who just so happens to be Keeli's grandmother, says that none of the wolves are responsible.

Michael sees an opportunity to form a partnership with a werewolf and track down the killer, because the Werewolves will not accept the word of a vampire as to who the real killer is- especially if it is the work of a Were. Hopefully, if Keeli joins in with him and the human police, they can discover the true killer and have it be accepted by all. But when he broaches the idea to Keeli, in the cell where she is being held overnight for her assault on the rapist, she turns him down cold.

But later, after she's had the chance to think about it, she agrees. Without her job at Butchies, she can't support herself outside the Werewolf Warrens under the city. So, she takes Michael to the Werewolf Warrens- at first to hide from those who would kill them both, then to investigate amongst the werewolves of the Maddox.

What she didn't count on, and neither had Michael, is their attraction for each other and the real caring for the other that transcends species boundaries. Vampires and werewolves hate each other, despise each other. But that's not what they feel in their hearts, and it's a surprise to both of them. Instead, they find someone to love, someone who actually cares about them and supports them- not for power or pack, but out of love and affection.

But deep in the Werewolf warrens, Keeli's grandmother is getting old, and with her own mother and father long dead, the pack will pass to another, because Keeli doesn't want any part of the position. But she may not have a choice, if the pack leadership passes to someone who is absolutely Xenophobic towards Vampires. The Vampires are in talks with the Werewolves about being allowed access to the tunnels underneath the city, but the entrenched Xenophobia on both sides is making the talks go nowhere.

If Keeli is forced to take over, she'll have to battle her own grandmother, which she doesn't want to do. She loves her grandmother. But even if she could battle her grandmother for leadership of the Maddox pack, will the rest of the pack accept her with Michael, a vampire, as her mate? But once she and Michael learn the truth about the murders and who is behind them, she may not have a choice if she wants to punish the one behind the attacks.

This was a refreshing change. A vampire and a werewolf who find love and acceptance with each other, not an unaligned human. Keeli knows she should hate Michael, but he's never treated her anything less than gently and respectfully, and she is at first conflicted over being attracted to him, but cannot help herself. And neither can he- something about Keeli raises his protective instincts.

Neither of them are the usual sort of vampire or werewolf- Michael is a despised slayer because he killed his sire, who used and abused him terribly before he fought back. For that transgression, he was made the first slayer and enforcer, the blueprint for all the others who came after him. And Keeli was raised with love, coddled and protected by her grandmother. Her attempt to live on her own, outside the warrens, is to show everyone she knows that she can do it, and that she isn't too weak to live and protect herself on her own.

Seeing how they resisted their feelings but eventually gave into them was heartwarming, and the sex was less hot than loving. I mean, it was hot, but not searingly hot. The sex is good, but it's more about how they love and support each other rather than banging the headboard into the wall. The sex scene among the clouds? Now that was pretty darn magical, as well as wonderful to read.

What I really loved in this book was the close look at how the Werewolf packs live and work, and of their civilization below the ground. It was fascinating, and also to see that Keeli and Michael were not the first of their kind to fall in love. The pair before them were eventually forced apart, but with Keeli and Michael's example, perhaps the other two, and others, period, can come forward and claim their love.

This is an amazing series, filled with wonderful writers and an interesting backstory that allows for all sorts of supernatural creatures, from Vampires and Werewolves to Demons and androids. I wish this series was still being written, but sadly, it has ended. This is one of the better books in the series, and Marjorie M. Liu is a great writer. I heartily recommend all three books, writer and series.