Kerrelyn Sparks

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks
The Embraced #3

As I began to read the introduction and backstory to this book I began to smile remembering the two books that preceded this one. Yes, I smiled :) Why? Because books like these remind me of the fairy tales I read as a child BUT these are all grown up. There are princesses and dragons, trolls and elves, magic and mysteries, romance and oh so much more…they are fun tales filled with adventure and action and friendship show more and quests with evil thwarted and a hook for the next book in the series. When I finished I thought, “Hooray! There are at least two more books to read before this series ends!”

So, what is the story about? It is about five young women who are “embraced” due to what was happening in the sky when they were born. Each one has a talent that some consider a curse. They were all sent away and raised together away from the general population and became closer than blood sisters. Two of the sisters have had their stories told and two remain but in book three, this one, Gwennore meets her mate. Gwennie is an elf and her love is a dragon shifter…and what a story theirs is!

Who wouldn’t want to meet and be saved by a dragon? Who wouldn’t want to feel needed and loved and cherished? Who wouldn’t want to be able to do something good for a people that were in need of her skills? And, who wouldn’t want to find their own true love? Silas and Gwennore are a match made in the heavens and their story made me smile when I read the last page, too :)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars show less

Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks
Paranormal Romance- Sept. 28th, 2010
4 1/2 stars

Light, humorous and fun. Eat Prey Love will delight Kerrelyn Sparks fans and any reader looking for an entertaining ‘pick me up’ read. This paranormal romance is bursting with charming new characters and delightful returning characters that make it feel like one happy, if wild family to return to.

In Eat Prey Love, Caitlyn Whelan is a human who has just discovered that her sister Shanna is still alive. (Her show more father has kept them apart and isolated Caitlyn.) Apprehensive, Caitlyn is unsure of her welcome when her sister invites her to her home. All she knows is she wants to be reunited with Shanna and have a sister to love again. But Shanna has already started a new family of her own and is now married to a handsome vampire! As unbelievable as it seems Caitlyn soon finds herself also in the company of shifters, too. She tries to keep an open mind. But soon hormones flare out of control as she is instantly attracted to a sexy panther shifter named Carlos.

Although Carlos has a deep attraction to Caitlyn, he quickly distances himself. He must mate with his own species. This is because the panther weres are almost extinct. His village was attacked by vengeful humans and Carlos was only able to save a handful of the panther children. Now he feels it is his duty and responsibility to find a panther mate to continuing their species. But Caitlyn is determined to fight for him...

I liked Caitlyn’s spunky attitude. Unlike many heroines who give up under seemingly impossible odds, she is confident enough in herself to recognize that she and Carlos deserve a future. It was fun to read her pursue him and Carlos trying to keep his hands off of her! The characters are very engaging although I was a little frustrated with Carlos for not giving in sooner!! The author doesn't stint on the plot which includes: a super villain cult, out of control hormones and some mischievous matchmakers. Poor Carlos doesn't stand a chance!

Kerrelyn Sparks does it again! Her characters sparkle off the page and put a huge smile on my face. But lighthearted doesn’t mean light weight. Eat Prey Love has a couple of plot twists that I didn't see coming. I liked how the author really delves into the vampire and shifter culture. And how she flawlessly introduces new vampire characters from around the world, more please!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club show less

This is pure bubble gum for the brain! Darcy is still struggling to find her place in the vampire world after a violent encounter four years ago ended her human life. She's grieving her humanity and tries to distract herself from her troubles by directing a vampire reality show, unaware that Austin, Vampire Slayer and CIA Operative for the "Stake Out" team is working undercover as one of the contestants. Austin falls head over heels, but his principles are challenged when he finds out Darcy show more is one of the undead.

The scenes with the show's contestants were extremely entertaining and just the kind of "out there" humor I needed after reading a couple of "tear-jerkers." The relationship moved too fast, but something about this series has me suspending all belief and just enjoying the ride. It was nice to get a small update on Shanna and Roman, too. I loved the way the book ended, even if it was a bit predictable. Overall, the book flowed nicely and was a lot of fun to read. show less

I don’t know why I keep letting so much time pass between my reading of these Love at Stake books, because they’re nearly always perfect reads for me. Forbidden Nights with a Vampire was no exception. This one pairs Vanda and Phil, two characters I’m pretty sure have been on the canvas since the series began. Vanda is a former member of the Coven Master’s harem, while Phil works for MacKay Security and Investigation as a daytime guard, looking out for the vampires while they’re in show more their death sleep. These two have been attracted to one another for as long they’ve known each other, but Phil never would have dared break trust either with Vanda or his employer by giving in to her flirtation during those years. Now things are different, and he’s more than ready to pursue her. However, when he agrees to be her anger management sponsor, it throws another potential “forbidden” aspect into their relationship. But that’s nothing compared to them finding out that the evil Casimir has a list of Vamps he intends to kill and that Vanda is on it. Not to mention, things really start heating up with an escalation in the conflict with Casimir and the Malcontents. There’s a lot going on in this book to keep the reader engaged, and I loved every minute I spent reading it.

Vanda was born in Poland during the early part of the 20th century, which meant that when WWII started, she was right in the thick of things. After losing her entire family, being turned into a vampire, and fighting in the war, she was exhausted and sought out the peace and quiet offered by the harem of the Coven Master for the East Coast of the US. She spent decades there, but when Roman released all of the women in his harem, she started a new life as the owner of a male vampire strip club. While she was still in the harem, though, she met Phil, one of her guards, who definitely caught her eye, so she spent many nights flirting with him even though nothing ever came of it at the time. Now she finds herself the object of several lawsuits by her former employees alleging that she can’t control her temper. As a result, Roman rules that she must attend anger management classes, but no one will step up to sponsor her except Phil. Vanda doesn’t want a sponsor or classes, but Phil can be surprisingly persuasive and not easily driven away. He also saves her life more than once when one of the vindictive ex-employees comes after her. But the biggest threat comes from Casimir, the leader of the Malcontents, who will stop at nothing to see Vanda dead for her role in the killing of another high-ranking Malcontent. Prickly heroines like Vanda often don’t resonate with me, but Kerrelyn Sparks does an excellent job of showing how Vanda’s anger is a shield that protects her vulnerable heart. She lost everyone she ever cared about in the war, including a former love who was mortal, and since she believes that Phil, too, is mortal, she fears losing him as well if she allows herself to truly care about him. She also fears that if he finds out what she really did during the war, he’ll think she’s a monster. But Phil patiently chips away at that wall, showing her that they’re perfect for each other and that nothing need stand in their way. I ended up really liking Vanda, because she’s the perfect mix of a spunky heroine who doesn’t take crap from anyone and one who has sympathetic flaws and weaknesses that are easy to relate to.

After being banished from his pack for not falling into lock-step with his father’s demands, Phil went to work for MacKay S & I. While he was her guard, Vanda presented a delicious temptation, but one he was determined to resist. Now they’re both at different places in their lives. She’s no longer a harem girl, and he’s just returned to New York after a longterm assignment in Texas. When he witnesses Roman’s ruling and sees that nobody is stepping up to sponsor Vanda, he offers to support her, but it takes a lot of patience and persuasive skills to get her on board with it, two things that he possesses in abundance. As she slowly reveals bits and pieces of her past, Phil intuitively realizes why she is the way she is. But when she still tries to keep her heart locked up tight, he’s determined to break through, because he knows she’s his mate and he’s not going to let her get away this time. However, in addition to all the death threats against Vanda, she’s terrified of wolves. The Nazis sent them to chase her down during the war, so he isn’t quite sure how she’s going to react when she finds out that he’s no mere mortal. Phil is one of the most scrumptious romance heroes I’ve read in a while. He’s an alpha werewolf, who exerts his dominance when necessary, but at the same time, he’s kind, compassionate, and tender, the proverbial alpha with a heart of gold, which is my favorite kind. He’s also a delicious lover, always taking his time, even when he’s ostensibly giving the beast in him free-reign. I love how he’s so patient with Vanda, giving her time to come to terms with things, but not letting her hide from him. He also has an interesting backstory of his own and must come to terms with certain things related to his heritage. Phil was just an all-around dreamy hero who’s definitely earned a spot on my favorite heroes list.

When reading these books, I never cease to be amazed by how Kerrelyn Sparks manages to wrangle such a huge cast of characters and give them all a moment in the spotlight or at least a mention. Most of the past and future characters who have their own books are present in one way or another including: Roman and Shanna (How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire), the fearless leaders of the East Coast coven, and their adorable little ones, Constantine and Sophia; Austin and Darcy (Vamps in the City); Maggie, one of Vanda’s former harem sisters, and her husband, Pierce (A Very Vampy Christmas); Angus, owner of MacKay S & I, and his wife, Emma (Be Still My Vampire Heart); Jean-Luc and Heather (The Undead Next Door); Ian and Toni (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire); Jack and Lara (Secret Life of a Vampire), who celebrate their engagement with a big party; were-panther Carlos (Eat, Prey, Love); Connor (Vampire Mine); Gregori (Sexiest Vampire Alive); were-bear Howard (Wild about You); Vanda’s friend, business partner, and former harem member, Pamela (V Is for VampWoman); Dougal (The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo), who loses something very important in this book; and Zoltan (How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying)). As a friend of Phil’s and a fellow employee of MacKay S & I, Phineas (aka Dr. Phang) plays a significant role and as always makes me laugh. In Wanted: Undead or Alive, he’ll be paired with Phil’s sister, Brynley, who we meet for the first time. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Brynley. She helps in a lot of positive ways, but at the same time, she’s pretty prejudiced toward Vanda because she’s a vampire. I guess she’ll be getting some sort of awakening since she’ll be falling in love with one in the future. Last, but certainly not least is Robby, who goes through an ordeal in this book, so I’m very happy that he’ll be the hero of the next one, The Vampire and the Virgin. And that’s not even all of the supporting characters. We also get a visit with the colorful New Orleans coven, a group of misfit, teenage werewolves, the villainous Malcontents, and more. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of characters present in this story, and yet, the author somehow manages to weave them all seamlessly into the narrative and also writes their dialogue in such a way that I can hear all of their different accents in my head as I’m reading, which is some masterful writing skills.

Overall, Forbidden Nights with a Vampire was another awesome read in this series. Vanda and Phil were both great characters who fit together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle. Their romance is by turns emotional, tender, sweet, and smokin’ hot. The supporting characters added all the herbs and spices to create a flavorful story. Then there are the death threats against Vanda, which give the reader plenty of suspense and excitement. We also get some development to the series story arc with the escalation of the conflict with the Malcontents slowly turning into all-out war that I’m sure will play out over the books yet to come. I’m totally energized to pick up the next book, so I’ll have to remind myself not to wait so long next time around. I’m really looking forward to Robby’s story and all the rest, as well as seeing how things play out with the Malcontents. It all promises to be very exciting. show less