Cathie Linz (1954–2015)

This novella could have done with quite a bit less "As you know, Bob" exposition. It was everywhere! I appreciate the author wanting to familiarize us with the universe but this was overkill. There was a lot we didn't need to know to understand this particular story.

Here's why I kept reading: the total cheese factor. Simon was a vampire in King Arthur's court, sired by Merlin. Pru is a witch descended from the line of Morgan Le Fay. And after Simon banged Pru because of a prophecy she show more cursed him so he couldn't get it up. Seriously, this is what I want in my holiday reading, lots of laughs and some good adventure.

I probably won't read the main books in this series but this one was fun and I don't regret reading it.

(Provided by publisher) show less

Marissa Bennett is going home. She's just been through an emotionally devastating divorce so she's headed to the small Ohio college town she once couldn't wait to leave and where she is the new YA librarian. She arrives home in the middle of one of the town's many parades, literally right in the middle. Having taken a wrong turn, she is now a part of the parade until the sheriff waves her off the route and chastizes her. Worse than the embarrassment, it turns out that the sheriff is Connor show more Doyle, the first boy she ever loved and to whom she gave her virginity when she was in high school and he was at the local college.

Much as Marissa would like to avoid Connor, there's no way that she can. She ends up getting an apartment next door to his and then her pet project to connect with youth at risk is combined with a similar outreach Connor has developed. The two of them fight their attraction to each other despite their enforced proximity. Connor is haunted by the demons that drove him from his law enforcement job in Chicago to this tiny bucolic Ohio town. He still has nightmares about having a child die in his arms after gang related violence in Chicago. Marissa, on the other hand, is still reeling from the death of her less than one year old marriage to a cheating husband. She signed the divorce papers on what should have been her first wedding anniversary. Neither of them feels safe committing to anything close to a relationship and yet as they work together with the kids in their program, they draw ever closer.

In addition to Marissa and Connor, there are quite a few minor characters, including Connor's loony mother and grandmother, determined to marry him off, Marissa's menopausal and emotional mother, Marissa's self-absorbed and oblivious father, her irritating sister, and assorted townsfolk. Some of the characters are colorful and add entertainment value to the book while others serve less purpose. Marissa as a character is a bit annoying. She's got the self-esteem of a field mouse. Her divorce, while the catalyst for her return home, seems to have affected her less than the family dynamics between her parents, her sister, and herself despite the fact that much of the chaos of this situation is chalked up to her mother's menopause and is supposed to be a recent development. As for Connor, he supposedly doesn't recognize Marissa when he first sees her despite noting the unusual color of her eyes. This is a woman with whom he carried on a secret relationship and with whom he worked at a pizza place for a year and he's back in her home town. Odd.

The chemistry between Marissa and Connor was a little on the light side but given how reluctant either of them are to be together, it works fine. Some of the plot threads are given very short shrift and either should have been developed more or not included even to the extent that they were. Marissa's antagonistic relationship with her sister was not well-examined (or really explained at all). And the interactions with the youth group on both Marissa and Connor's part were few and far between. Given that a situation with the kids is pivotal to the story, the kids themselves and their relationship with the adult authorities (Marissa and Connor) aren't all that well handled. The resolution to this situation is also summed up too quickly for satisfaction. Over all a light and decent modern romance, this one won't wow the socks off of you but it's not a bad effort. show less

Review is also posted here: http://sofia-loves-books.blogspot.gr/2013/06/sleeping-with-entity-by-cat-devon.h....

Many reasons contributed to the 4 star rating. One of them is the taste Daniella has. She has watched True Blood and Twilight and listened to Muse while she was baking. I love Muse, True Blood and Twilight so I was a little more warmed into the book after that. It had one or two Twilight jokes (not against the movie, just to tease a character). I could see the similarities between show more the book and the vampire stories above but it had originality too. The author used her imagination. though I think she has seen many vampire movies/ TV series. In this world exist vampires, druids, witches, zombies and werewolves.

I liked Daniella's reaction when she found out what Nick really is. It is not normal to learn that someone is a vampire and say "Ok, why didn't you said anything sooner? Are still on for tonight?". I wanted to see someone freak out even a little and Daniella did that. I read some reviews for this one and some were complaining about Dani and pink. It's her favorite colour and she has a pink vespa and a pink fridge but not all her world is pink. Everyone has some stuff that have their favorite colour, some more than others but if you hated orange would you want to paint a room in your house orange? I don't think so.

While you might not get a 6-pack from laughing you will not get blues either. It's not overly funny but it's not funeral appropriate. There is a tiny of humour and it worked well. It had a plot and it was almost like a plain romance book. (by plain I mean non paranormal). Nick and Daniella had a conflict of interest first. She wanted to open her cupcake store and he wanted to keep the vampire existence a secret from the human world. Pat and Bruce were great secondary characters and I would love to see more of their story. I still have my doubts for Xava (or is it Xandra, you will have to forgive me I cannot recall the name exactly). I think there is story behind her that is untold.

It might not be a book that you will read again but you should give it a try. show less

A fine story with a cast of original and eccentric characters. What lifted [b:Mad, Bad and Blonde|7106198|Mad, Bad and Blonde (West Investigations #1)|Cathie Linz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1276233623s/7106198.jpg|7364803] far above similar prickly love-hate romances was the effortlessly sparkling dialogue.

The mysterious death that forms the pivot of the story is perfectly placed, adding not only intrigue and tension but also a focus for the the relationship between the two main show more characters: Caine, an ex-Marine trying to prove that the circumstances of his father's death were covered up, and, Faith, a children's librarian who finds herself maddeningly attracted to the man committed to proving her PI father was involved in the cover-up.

One of the few books in this genre that I read in one sitting, not because of page-turning suspense but the sheer joy of the stormy but scintillating relationship between Faith and Caine.

A wonderful read that thoroughly justifies the Starred Review it received from Publishers Weekly. show less