All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire
Love At Stake Series, Book #5
by Kerrelyn Sparks

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Toni Davis’s Christmas Wish List

1. Springing my best friend from the psych ward.
2. Living somewhere that doesn’t have coffins in the basement. Occupied coffins.
3. Finding Mr. Right. Please make him tall, dark, handsome, and ALIVE.

This Christmas isn’t so merry for Toni. Her best friend’s been locked up in a mental hospital ever since she told the police she was attacked by vampires, and the only way for Toni to get her out is to prove that bloodsuckers really do exist. So she’s taken a job as a bodyguard for the Undead, but she gets more than she's bargained for, especially when she meets Ian MacPhie, a Scottish rascal looking for Ms. Right.

Although Ian’s nearly five centuries old, he looks and acts like a twenty-seven-year-old hunk. How can a dead man be so damn sexy? Could Mr. Wrong be Mr. Right? One forbidden kiss could lead to an eternity of passion—and all it takes is one moment under the mistletoe . . .

Toni had a very rewarding goal in life (to open up an orphanage for abandoned children) that she and her two closest friends were working years towards before vampires attacked and ruined everything. Now, Toni's best friend (and financial support) is in a mental ward and Toni finds herself in a reckless vampire job that could one day set everything right again ... or at least she hopes! If she can prevent herself from being tempted by the newly returned Scottish warrior, Ian, or accidentally revealing her plan of action in proving that vampires truly exist, she could set everything back to their original course. Yet, as things begin to heat up with Ian and the vampire society line between good & bad becomes more visible, Toni finds her future plans have changed whether she likes it or not.

For me, this was an okay book from the Love to Stake series - not one of my favorites and definitely not one of the worst. Thus, it was an overall so-so read. I wasn't that much of a fan of Toni, becasue she was either too tough or lacking from too little confidence for me to truly enjoy as a character. And, I couldn't escape the memory of Ian as a young boy as well - so sadly I was kind of ruined from the beginning with really losing myself in their budding relationship. It's always a joy though to catch up with other favorite characters from past books in the series and becasue of that I continue to follow the story and enjoy the ups and downs of each tale. Plus, the Christmas feel to this book really made for a festive read!

Likes: I'm also not that much of a fan of small talkative children in romance stories, but Constantine was quite adorable.

Dislikes: Ian's dating insecurities were somewhat boorish and vexing at times.

Rating:

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Sexiest Vampire Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks

Sexiest Vampire Alive
(Love at Stake Book #11)
by Kerrelyn Sparks

Genre: Paranormal Romance

He was both a playboy and a vampire…and impossible to resist.

At the end of Vampire Mine, a terrible thing happened—a video was released that proved the existence of vampires. Now Vamps fear the worst, the Vampire Apocalypse! Will mortals start hunting vampires down and staking them in their death-sleep? At an emergency meeting, Coven Masters from around the world decide how to proceed. They need an emissary to open negotiations with the President of the United States. They want their emissary to be modern, safe, and harmless. A Vamp who has never bitten a mortal. A Vamp who has been entirely bottle-fed. Their choice—Gregori!

Now Gregori has the fate of the entire Vamp population on his shoulders. He’s given a special assignment that involves taking the president’s daughter on a dangerous mission. Will he succeed and save his friends? Or will he succumb to his playboy ways and doom them all?

Gregori has been a vampire for only 18 years, to many he is still a bottle-fed fledgling but to his mother, he's wasting precious baby making years by sleeping around and not finding "the one". Although he's highly successful at his job and is desired by many women, he's uncomfortable with his vampire status and is constantly reminding himself that he 'fits in' even though he may not feel it. When the vampire clan's secret identity becomes a critical problem, Gregori is ordered to protect all vampires by being a secret counsel to the President, a role he's trying to take extremely serious even though he's insanely attracted to the "first" daughter. To get what he wants, Gregori must accompany the President's daughter on a personal family mission of their own to China, but as one thing leads to another and danger looms too close for comfort, Gregori and Abigale must make a leap of their own into trust and love.

Kerrelyn Spark's book are usually a hit & miss for me, but this one was pure fun. What I enjoy most about her series is that her characters are crazy kooky and the male leads seem to contain a nice mixture of masculinity and vulnerability. The story was well written with lots of silly twists I didn't see coming. The chemistry created between Abby (aka "Scholar") and Gergori (aka "Gory") was constantly sizzling & intense. Plus, the side characters really added some enjoyment to the overall story without overshadowing a scene or coming off as annoying. Great Fall read!!!

Likes: "Sex on the Ceiling" OK that's HOT!!!

Dislikes: I listened to this on audio-book and some of the accents were a little (ok, A LOT!) off - which in itself was comically horrible!

Rating:

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The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks

The Vampire and the Virgin
(Love at Stake Book #8)
by Kerrelyn Sparks

Genre: Paranormal Romance Fantasy

Olivia’s packing list:

1. Sunscreen
2. Bathing suit
3. Flip-flops

FBI psychologist Olivia Sotiris is looking for a cool ocean breeze, sand between her toes, and a break from her crazy, and sometimes dangerous, life. But when she escapes to the Greek island of Patmos, all she gets is a meddling grandmother trying to marry her off. None of the men there interest her—except a mysterious Scotsman named Robby MacKay.

Robby’s packing list:

1. Synthetic blood
2. More synthetic blood
3. Jogging clothes (even a Vamp has to stay in shape!)

Robby needs to cool off, too, since all he can think about is revenge on the Malcontent bloodsuckers who once held him captive. But then he meets Olivia, the beauty with wild curls and a tempting smile. When a deadly criminal from one of her cases back home tracks her down, Robby will have to save her life, along with giving her a first time she’ll never forget …

Suffering from being kidnapped and traumatically tortured, Robbie is ordered away from his security job on a three month vacation to heal some wounds and clear his mind. Having some creepy personal ties to a deadly serial killer, Olivia is also ordered away from her FBI job in a chance to escape her growing fear. Neither can truly escape their dark pasts, but they do find some comfort with each other while in Greece. When the past does finally catch up to them, Robbie and Olivia's relationship isn't something most could except, but can they make it their new reality?

I expect Kerrelyn Sparks books to be pure fun vampy fluff when it comes to paranormal tales. They're usually easy to read books full of silly vampire adventures and hot romances, but I found it difficult to enjoy Robbie and Olivia as realistic characters throughout The Vampire and the Virgin. Something about them didn't really ground them enough to make me feel compassionate to their struggle of being together. I'm not sure if it is the series in general that is making me lose interest bit by bit, the weak plots I've been trying to overcome later in the Love at Stake Series or just my reading taste changing over the years, but I'm not enjoying Sparks books as much as I use to.

Another flop in reading for me is the whole "instant love" effect that takes over the main characters and believe me . . . they talked about it a lot throughout this one, but, as always, the instantaneous attraction/sex/love wasn't really working for me. I wanted more depth to the story, I wanted more details to the characters lives, I wanted more of a lot of things and it just wasn't there. Thus, I felt the overall story was lacking for basic substance. It was a bland tale, but if you're loyal to the series - check it out . . . if not, you could easily pass for something better in the vampire romance area.

Likes: Olivia's Grandmother had her moments.

Dislikes: I hate how Sparks seems to be getting desperate in adding characters to the series, thus she appears to be adding new ones ever other book now and, sadly, they're not really the wow-I-need-to-come-back-and-read-more-about these-great-character characters.

Ratings:

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