Sex, Lies, and Vampires

Don't get me wrong, I loved this book, but it's a trashy little novel, I wanted to nominate it for worst sex scene and worst opening line (even if the opening line is actually a excerpt from the middle of the book). The actual opening scene is quite funny, because being the 3rd book in the series I was actually expecting the imp to appear (as it did).

This is on more book in the Dark One series, it has more action, more danger and a bit less romance.
This narrator (Nell) is more like Allie than Joy, she shares some of Allie's characteristics, she has a physical handicap, she has dealt with the supernatural, but doesn't really believe it and she has low self esteem and lack of confidence.
On the other one this Dark One is supposed to be a show more real dark Dark One, but in the end he is just trying to protect his friends and family and the real bad Dark One is evil twin.


That is nice plot twist, I didn't see it coming, I wasn't really expecting the good twin is the really evil twin twist, but I wasn't surprised by it, the real surprise was Sebastian teaming with Saer.

And did I mention that Nell gets a couple pet mummies? Allie had her ghosts, Nell has mummies (they aren't as helpful as Allie's ghosts thou)

The only loose end for me was how Christian and Allie managed to escape with Damian.
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Vampire romance is a genre, which too often takes itself too seriously and stumbles over its own cliches. Let's take for example Christine Feehan -whom I very much dislike- and her whole one-soulmate-for-a-perfect-hero-who-can-read-minds-and-is-invincible thing. What can possibly be more boring than a hero who is so perfect and invincible that he makes you want to puke?! However, Katie MacAlister's Sex, Lies and Vampires manages to be a very refressing, enjoyable and funny book despite the fact that she uses the same one soulmate/beloved and mindreading cliches than Feehan. The difference is, that MacAlister treats the cliches with humor (you can even see a little parodical elements in the book).

I especially loved the easy flowing, show more sassy and sizzling dialogue and the relationship between the main characters. Adrian is certainly hot (and not at all too perfect) and Nell is funny, even though at the end I got a bit tired of her constant babbling. MacAlister's writing reminds me of Karen Chance, whom I also like, although there's much more dialogue and less high-octane action. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, who likes their vampire romances to have some action, funny and sexy dialogue and a main couple with sparks between them. show less

A not bad but pretty typical Vampire Romance. So not in the Horror genre, there was no real horror or sense of doom in it mostly because the main character, Nell Harris, has a great sense of humour about the entire thing and really doesn't take anything all that seriously.

When she's asked to look into a kidnapping because of her ability to work charms and defuse them, she finds herself in cahoots with a man who is considered one of the ultimate evil.

Owes a fair bit to the likes of Christine Feehan (who has a blurb on the front) but honestly I found it more readable than hers.

The author would have done well to talk to people recovering from strokes and long-term disability tho, cause apart from some comments by Nell about her disabilty I show more really didn't get a feeling that it got in the way. show less

If you like mysterious vampires known as the Dark Ones, castles filled with treasure unlike any you can ever imagine, a heroine more content to translate obscure languages than work charms, and a supporting cast of imps, betrayers, and immortals, then SEX, LIES, AND VAMPIRES is definitely the book for you.

Nell Harris is the type of woman who delights in the old-namely, in ancient artifacts. A junior professor of medieval history in Seattle, she's been lured to the Czech Republic by Melissande Banacek to view the Holy Grail of her profession-the Graven Plate, a breastplate from a suit of armor made in the late 1300's at the castle of Churburg. A legend among medievalists, no one has ever laid eyes upon the interlocking plates that detail show more the history of a knight-errant. For Nell, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Unfortunately, upon her arrival at the home of Ms. Banacek, she gets a little more than she bargained for.

Nell is not one to believe in paranormal beings or things that go bump in the night. So, when she spots a common Central European Imp in Melissande's living room, she's a little unnerved. When Melissande goes on to inform Nell that she's a Dark One, a Moravian vampire, Nell decides that the lady must be insane. Next, this strange lady goes on to tell her that Nell herself is a Charmer. A demon lord by the name of Asmodeus has taken Melissande's brother and nephew hostage, and a fellow vampire by the name of Adrian, whose also known as The Betrayer, is responsible for it all. Bound to Asmodeus by a curse, Melissande's brother and nephew cannot escape. Hence the need for Nell, who as a Charmer has the power and ability to charm the curse.

All would be easy if not for the fact that Nell has forgotten that ten years ago she actually believed in charms, curses, and her abilities. After a charm gone wrong killed her best friend, Nell buried herself in the past-and tangible evidence. Now she's been tricked into helping a boy who can only survive with her help-and in return, she'll have sole possession of the Graven Plate.

Greed and the desire for tenure may be the motivating factors at the start of her journey, but joining forces with Adrian, who isn't what she first thought him to be, is what keeps her going. There's more at stake than the release of a vampire and his son, and it's up to Nell and Adrian to combine their powers to rescue a society on the verge of collapse.

SEX, LIES, AND VAMPIRES is full of fun characters, quirky dialogue, and the redeeming power of love. This isn't the first book I've read by Ms. MacAlister featuring the Dark Ones, and it most certainly won't be my last. I love Ms. MacAlister's world of vampires and supernatural beings, and once you pick up one of her books, I'm sure you'll feel the same. show less

Hilarious, fun. It occurs to me that I wouldn't want to read too many KatieMac books back to back--the heroines have a certain similarity which could get wearing after a while. But in small doses, it's a fun character. The heroine is a 'charmer'--that is, she can charm spells and wards--undo evil spells, things like that. But the last time she tried, it left her best friend dead and her in the hospital for 3 months with a stroke. She's hired to rescue a young boy, and ends up in the middle of feuding vampires and back up against the very demon lord responsible for her previous disaster. Treachery, a misunderstood hero, just all around fun.

This was a fairly good read, though not quite as good as the previous book in the series, Sex and the Single Vampire. (This is the third book in the series and A Girl's Guide to Vampires the first.)

Thank Goddess we no longer see Joy and Roxy, main characters from the first book who reminded me of a couple of whiny teenagers, in this one. We do have Ally and Christian and a few other characters from the second book though and I was glad to see them return in this one.

In this installment, Nell Harris, a Professor of Medieval History at the University of Washington, is also a Charmer who can create and disarm magical charms and curses, a practice she gave up 10 years ago when she accidentally killed her best friend while trying to disarm a show more curse. She's been asked to the Czech Republic by Melissande, a Dark One (sorta like a Vampire), on the premise of translating an inscription on a fourteenth-century breastplate. The real reason behind Melissande's asking Nell to come though is because she's aware of her background as a Charmer. Melissande wants Nell to use her Charming skills to help find her 10-year-old nephew Damian who's been taken by the demon lord Asmodeus.

Immediately, Nell runs into "The Betrayer", Melissande's brother Adrian, who has been bound to Asmodeus, while searching for clues to Asmodeus's whereabouts in Christian's castle. Adrian whisks Nell off against her will when he realizes what she can do for him. Despite Adrian's curse binding him to the demon lord by his father when he was only 2 years old, Nell immediately sees the good in him and they soon realize that Nell is Adrian's Beloved. (A Beloved is a Dark One's "other half" who is able to bring light into his soul, etc.)

Melissande, Christian, and the other Dark Ones including Melissande's other brother Saer are all against Adrian and would prefer to just do away with him. But Adrian also wants to save Damian as well as have Nell remove his curse. So Nell joins forces with Adrian and while working to get the information they need to free Damian, they must also avoid the other Dark Ones trying to slow them down.

Thoughout the story, Nell's character reminded me a little too much of Joy or Roxy from A Girl's Guide to Vampires—her comments and American colloquialisms were meant to be funny, but I found them annoying more often than not. Plus, she's a bit too mouthy for her own good and doesn't think how her actions will affect what she's trying to accomplish. Fortunately, there were a number of other funny parts in the story, the mummies for instance, which had me cracking up! show less

The story itself isn't that special, however, the cast of characters and the humor make it a fun read.
B