I may struggle with a balanced, sugar-free diet, but I have no trouble with a balanced, varied reading diet. Some genre fiction is, to me, equivalent to eating a block of chocolate or indulging in some other yummy treat. It s also akin to watching certain TV shows, but I m not a big TV viewer myself.
When my mind feels overwhelmed with the more complex thought-processes and begs for a break, I m more likely to crack open an easy-read genre novel than turn the telly on.
I ve been reading the Love at Stake series intermittently, beginning with book 3 which I strongly disliked and then, much later, trying #6 and thoroughly enjoying it. After #9 I went back to the beginning and finally caught up. In June this year I found myself sorely in need of some fun, light reading, and turned to this series, knowing exactly what I d get.
And while it suited the purpose at the time, I do find that my ability to recall these four stories is rather vague. But here goes
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Vampire Mine by Kerrelyn Sparks
Love at Stake #10
Avon 2011
Mass Market Paperback
369 pages
Paranormal Romance
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
1
Oh angels, how I am leery of angels especially when an author decides to go for the conventional, traditional (yet modern) take on angels as per a conservative (yet modern) understanding of the Bible. I quite like it when authors play around with the trope and provide a whole new framework for the concept of angels as in Sharon Shinn s Samaria series but Vampire Mine played it safe.
That is to say, boring.
Marielle is an angel cast down from heaven for disobeying orders, three times. Each time related to her compassion getting in the way, and saving someone against orders who later went on to do terrible things. Now it is final.
Her wings have been torn from her and she has become visible; even worse, for Marielle, she can no longer hear the heavenly host or God for the first time in her existence, she is utterly alone.
She if found by Connor Buchanan, a vampire nearly five hundred years old, who has been fighting the Malcontents those vicious vampires who still feed on humans as if they were cattle. Connor s main focus is finding and stopping Casimir, their leader, once and for all, while Marielle s is to prove herself worthy in order to be taken back. Meanwhile, the Vampire Network presenter Corky has betrayed the good Vamps and aligned herself with Casimir, proving herself quite as blood-thirsty and power-hungry as the Malcontent leader.
Vampire Mine is quite light on plot, leaving plenty of page-space for Connor and Marielle to get to know each other in a secluded cabin in the woods necessary for character development when you introduce a new species of other-worldly being.
Marielle is, as you would imagine, sweet and loving and an obvious contrast to Corky s shrieky fanaticism. The blatant good-versus-evil angel, prevalent in the entire series, is particularly strong here and, at times, hard to stomach.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Sexiest Vampire Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks
Love at Stake #11
Avon 2011
Mass Market Paperback
370 pages
Paranormal Romance
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.2
The existence of vampires has been leaked to the world, and now it s up to the good Vamps to control the damage and ensure their survival.
Gregori Holstein is assigned the job of convincing the US government to declare the video a hoax, while also bringing them in on the Big Secret. To Gregori s surprise, he finds the American president amenable, but only if Gregori helps him in return or, rather, his daughter, Abby.
Abby is a scientist with hopes of finding a rare Chinese plant that could be the key to curing her mother s illness. Gregori is charged with taking her to China and keeping her safe while she searches for it.
In the process, the small group of Vamps and shifters that accompany her discover a new threat to humanity: genetically-altered humans with some vampire abilities, controlled by a mysterious Master Han, who seems to be in league with a demon. Suddenly, the dangers of Abby s mission take on a whole new dimension, and it will take all of Gregori s wits and abilities to get her out alive.
Putting aside the whole farfetchedness of the plot, Sexiest Vampire Alive was quite enjoyable. The zombie-minded Chinese warriors adds a new element, now that Casimir is dead and the Malcontents no longer a threat, but the Chinese-threat aspect is reminiscent of all those anti-Russia, Cold War stories.
I suppose the Middle East is a bit too obvious plus, culturally it is too different to enable a vampire storyline (and too sunny?). Regardless of whether the bad guys are European or, now, Chinese, America is always good . It says something that this is what sticks with me, months after reading the book, but it s also worth saying that, while reading it, it is the characters, their lively interactions, the moments of humour and excitement and sexual tension that keeps me reading.
And a paranormal romance series is very much like a fluffy TV show: easy to sink into and become comfortable in the world as it is presented, and I still enjoy sinking into this comfortable otherworld.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Wanted: Undead or Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks
Love at Stake #12
Avon 2012
Mass Market Paperback
374 pages
Paranormal Romance
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.3
Phineas McKinney hasn t been a vampire for long a petty drug-dealer who was attacked by Malcontents only several years ago, he was saved by the good Vamps. He now works for Angus McKay s company, which provides security and bodyguards for the Vamps and their businesses, as well as hunt bad vampires like the Malcontents.
Now he s staged a convincing fallout with Angus on live TV (the vampire network) and bringing his younger brother Freemont in on the secret of what he really is. All so he can go into hiding to chase up on a lead that Corky Currant is in Wyoming, rallying the Malcontents to her by self-styling herself as their queen.
A vampire is no good during the day, so accompanying Phineas is the wolf-shifter, Bryn and it s to her alpha-father s ranch that they are headed. As Phineas learns more unsavoury truths about life in a werewolf pack, especially for the daughter of an alpha, he comes to see Bryn in a whole new light.
The two work together as a team, utilising each other s strengths, as they hunt down Corky s whereabouts while evading the man Bryn s father has picked out for her husband, Rhett.
Wanted: Undead or Alive (we re entering into a phase of the series in which movie-title puns are common titles) was quite enjoyable, and a bit heavier than usual: the way the werewolf pack operates will make you cringe, and what happened to Brynley years ago by her father s own men is horrific. Countering that is Phineas, who is the self-styled Love Doctor a cheesy moniker that always made me pity him. I m not sure why he s been white-washed for the cover: Phineas is black, and the only black vampire character in the series (so far).
It s a shame he s been white-washed; you d think the States had stopped doing that.
This instalment focussed on the role of tradition and the oppression of women, which is perhaps another reason why I liked it more than the ones that stereotype other races. It s easy for me to hate the characters I m meant to hate, because the threat is more real and valid to me, personally. Also, Bryn is lively, fiesty and felt more real than a lot of the other heroines plus she s a shifter and so has her own strengths.
And the ending was a bit of a surprise, in terms of what happens to Phineas. As I ve said before, I do like it when authors play around with the formula.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Wild About You by Kerrelyn Sparks
Love at Stake #13
Avon 2012
Mass Market Paperback
370 pages
Paranormal Romance
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.4
Howard Barr is, as his name would suggest, a bear shifter.
He s long been mesmerised by a television personality, Elsa Bjornberg, a physically strong, big woman who hosts a home renovation show and handily wields a sledgehammer. Knowing how alone Howard is, Shanna arranges for Elsa s team and TV crew to renovate the gatehouse to her large property and for Howard, who runs security during the daytime to supervise.
That is, literally, all that I can remember of the plot and I needed the blurb to help me with that much. I liked Howard and Elsa and the premise seemed promising, more in line with some of the funnier, sillier instalments such as Vamps and the City5, but it didn t really deliver.
There is a side-plot involving Howard s family and the bear-shifter community he is originally from, and a connection the Rhett, the werewolf alpha who tried to marry Bryn in the previous book.
Yes, he turns out to be a very bad man indeed, and you ll enjoy the revenge Howard metes out for what Rhett did to Howard s girlfriend many years ago. (Really, what this series seems to come down to is all the ways men specifically men can be utter bastards and harm others, yet I would never call it a feminist series.)
So it was okay, but I don t have much to say about it.
Moving on.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Like this:
Like Loading…
References
- ^ Vampire Mine (www.giraffedays.com)
- ^ Sexiest Vampire Alive (www.giraffedays.com)
- ^ Wanted: Undead or Alive (www.giraffedays.com)
- ^ Wild About You (www.giraffedays.com)
- ^ Vamps and the City (www.giraffedays.com)
The post Mini-Reviews: Love at Stake series continues… appeared first on News4Security.