How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog

SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE was such a blast, it sparked a desire to reread/finish the rest of the Love at Stake series, so I happily purchased a Nook copy of HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE. It did not disappoint! Re-reading Ronan and Shanna’s story was a delightful trip down memory lane and a reminder of why I have such a good time with Kerrelyn Sparks’s fangtastic world. The novel sports an entertaining heroine, a somewhat suicidal but completely adorable hero, and introduces the yummy kilted crew of security tasked with keeping Romatech safe.

Roman Draganesti is presented the opportunity to test a creative new way for the morally inclined Vamp to indulge in Romatech’s artificial show more blood. Things go awry when he looses his fang and must find a dentist to re-attach his tooth before sunrise, or be a lop-sided eater for eternity.

After being relocated by Witness Protection, Shanna Wheeler, is a dentist stuck working the night shift. Fortunately, her newfound fear of blood makes working the dead night shift a relief—until the mob learns her whereabouts and sents assassins to despose of her. Her life is changed in the weirdest of ways when she’s rescued by a sexy stranger in need of her services.

Ronan, the hunky owner of Romatech Industries and the genius that saved millions—in more ways than one—with the engineering of artificial blood, is a hero a girl just can’t help but want to coddle. He’s a vampire who considers himself an abomination before God and he’s deeply depressed. I don’t know anyone who needs a happily ever after more than this unwilling vampire.

Shanna was a hoot! Her first impression of the handsome scientist was that the man is both incredibly good-looking and off his rocker. He was trying to convince her to re-attach a fang that was definitely not human. She comes to care for her eccentric savior, and she’s deeply attracted to the man, but she finds him rather weird. ::snort:: It was so fun watching her reason out the man’s strange habits and overcome her fear of blood. Which, ironic much? She’s terrified of blood and the man she digs survives off it. Hah.

Ronan and Shanna were both charming characters who were sweet, quirky, and lots of fun. I loved their story and can’t wait for them to appear in more of the series. All-in-all, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE was a blast and I’m giddy to read more from Love at Stake! show less

I've been following a few tried and true paranormal vampire romance series, but haven't read any new ones in a while. I was hoping to liven things up with a whole new group of vamps, and that's exactly what happened with How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. The Love at Stake series has a slightly different mythology than the other series I've been reading, plus an added dose of humor that isn't often found in the paranormal sub-genre. Kerrelyn Sparks uses a good bit of traditional vampire lore while adding a few little twists that are all her own. The funny parts had me chuckling many times, while also keeping things from getting too heavy, but there's still a fairly good dose of seriousness, angst and emotion. All these elements came show more together to create a very enjoyable start to this new-to-me series, and a pretty impressive debut novel from this author.

Roman was a really yummy hero. He's a genius scientist, technically a virgin, and hot to boot. Romance heroes just don't get much more scrumptious than that to me. The author created a very interesting twist to Roman's character by having him be a monk in his mortal life. As a result he is a pretty tortured hero who believes that God has abandoned him and that his soul is damned to hell. Even though he thinks of himself as an evil creature, Roman is an innately good man who has never forgotten his calling as a healer. He has saved countless vampire and human lives with his invention of synthetic blood, and is working on a formula to keep vampires awake during the day which could also have implications for mortals. Roman is a man who truly cares about people and doesn't want to endanger mortals by feeding from them, nor does he want to turn any more humans for fear of damning their souls as well. Roman is also the American coven leader and as such, he has gained more than a few enemies from both the vampire and human world. I do wish that the author had brought out his genius (read geeky) nature a little more, because we don't get to see much of him at work. Overall though, Roman was a great hero. He adores Shanna and would do anything to give her a “normal” life.

Shanna is a dentist who is afraid of blood. Yup, you read that right.;-) This made for some pretty funny moments when Roman came to her to get his broken fang fixed, but it was also very emotionally touching because of the reasons for her fear. Shanna witnessed a hit by the Russian mob in which her best friend was killed, and now she is hiding out in the witness protection program. She works the overnight shift at a 24-hour dental clinic where she thankfully doesn't see much action, until Roman shows up, and then her whole world is turned upside down. Shanna discovers that things she didn't believe in, namely vampires, actually do exist, but she has an uncanny ability to resist their mind control. I loved the psychic connection she shared with Roman, and the vampire mind sex was pretty hot too. What I liked most about Shanna was her kindhearted, caring nature. Of course, she's shocked and even frightened when she finds out what Roman is, but she comes around pretty quickly, always seeing the good man and not the monster he thinks he is. She actually treats Roman with a compassion that is quite foreign to him.

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire has lots of great supporting characters, many of whom get their own books in the series. I think my favorites were the kilted Highlander guards. They are led by Angus (Be Still My Vampire Heart), another coven master and one of Roman's closest allies. Among their ranks are also the charming Connor (Vampire Mine) and the cute, boyish-looking Ian (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire). There is also the handsome Frenchman Jean-Luc (The Undead Next Door), a third coven master who is allied with Roman. He's a clothing designer, but make no mistake, he's no sissy. We also have playboy, Gregori (Sexiest Vampire Alive) who is Roman's right hand man, and Phil (Forbidden Nights with a Vampire), one of his daytime guards. Next up in the series though is Austin (Vamps and the City), a vampire slayer and member of the Stake-Out team. I also noticed that Caitlyn Whelan who I assume to be Shanna's sister is the heroine of Eat, Prey, Love. Of course there are lots of baddies from the Russian coven including Ivan, their coven master and long-time enemy of Roman. All these characters came together seamlessly to make a very colorful cast.

Overall, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire was a very fun read and a great start to the Love at Stake series. The humor made the story very cute, but it still managed to maintain a certain degree of the edgy emotion I've come to expect from paranormal romance. My only two small complaints would be that the dialog could occasionally get a little long-winded which as an introvert can be a bit tiring to read. The other thing is that the narrative takes place over probably less than a week's time which is a little too quickly for me to 100% buy into the notion of a lifetime commitment by the end, but unfortunately, that seems to be par for the course with many current romances especially in the paranormal genre. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to continuing with the series. How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire has definitely breathed some new life into my paranormal romance reading. show less

I have found myself a new series to read.
The first and second chapters had me bursting out laughing so hard that tears came out of my eyes. I bought the book because I had just finished reading a few dark and serious books by some of my favorite authors but they were seriously lacking the quality that I have come to expect from them. I kept seeing this book on Goodreads and thought, “Why the hell not?” so I bought it with very low expectations. I mean, the title alone suggests uber cheesiness, right? Wrong! Well, sort of wrong…this author knows exactly what is cheesy and she knows exactly what she is doing. Is she riding the tailwinds of the vampire-craze storm? Of course, but she does it in a way that lets us know that she knows show more that we know. You know?
Usually, the lead male character is so macho and controlling that it borders on misogyny. Sometimes, they also are way too serious for my taste. Kerrelyn Sparks knows how to make a man sexy and powerful but isn’t afraid to poke some fun at him.
Roman Draganesti is a very old vampire who is the head of Romatech Industries and the inventor of synthetic blood. He loses a fang and needs to get to a dentist before sunrise or his body will heal the space in his gum where the fang should go while he sleeps. His loyal staff helps him find a dental clinic that stays open overnight.
Shanna Whelan is a dentist who works the graveyard shift at a dental clinic. She has been working there six week and has only had one client. She is so bored that her biggest excitement has been learning how to make her chair squeak to match the rhythm of the elevator music that is playing in the clinic. She goes by the name of Jane Wilson because she is in the Witness Protection Program. She witnessed a restaurant full of people along with her best friend get gunned down by the Russian Mafia while she hid. She is now afraid of the sight of blood and freaks out when she sees it. She answers the phone and someone on the other end tells her that he knows who she really is and that he’s coming to get her. She calls the US Marshal in charge of her case and gets voice mail. She locks the clinic doors but turns around to find Roman standing there. She points her gun at him but he easily takes it away from her. He ends up helping her escape the Russians and figures out the lead assassin is an old enemy of his and who is also a vampire.
I read this book until my eyes blurred. I was so into it that I tried to up the size on the font on my Kindle (my phone) but I just was too exhausted to focus. I finished the book earlier today. I already have the next book, Vamps and the City, downloaded. I hope it is as captivating as the first book and I hope she continues with the humor that hooked me on this first book.

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When you mix a vampire who desperately needs emergency dental work, a young female dentist who's in a witness protection program, two warring vampire factions, and some slowly building steam between the dentist and the tooth-impaired vamp, you have the foundation of a funny and seductive read. The varied vampires are well crafted, the action frequent, and the growing romantic attraction is done just right.

Roman was a sixteenth century monk before he became a vampire. In the ensuing five hundred years, he has remained pretty monkish: trying to make the world a better place, and dedicating himself to the science of healing. Which is how he came to invent synthetic blood, which is how he became a corporate magnate, which is how he became filthy rich. Yes, he is kind of a broody, despairing vampire; but he is broody like a monk with a hairshirt. There's no actual bad behavior, just lots and lots of hating himself.

The synthetic blood was invented 18 years before the opening of "How to Marry..." and since then, Roman hasn't bitten a single living thing. He loses his tooth when he tests out a blood-filled suck-toy (in the form of a naked show more woman); it's been so long since he used his fangs that one just falls out.

Shanna is pretty uptight. She's in the witness protection program because she witnessed a mob hit and testified against the killers. She accepts Roman's help because it's better than being knocked off by the Russian mafia, but she hates it every step of the way. Shanna is constantly finding reasons to accuse this painfully moral vampire of aiding her for various nefarious purposes; and then, once she can't keep believing that he is evil, she moans and groans about how a relationship with a vampire will never work. In the process, she helps reinforce all of Roman's self-loathing issues.

Shanna insists from the beginning that what she wants is a normal life - a normal job, a normal husband, a big house with a white picket fence, and a dog. And she is unwilling to deviate from this image, or reconsider it. She can honestly be standing right in front of Roman (nice, hunky, madly in love with her, a scientific genius, a CEO) and complain that he is not a normal man who lives in a suburban detached home.

Frankly, I hated Shanna. I thought she was awful. She is selfish, inconsiderate, and hurtful. She is prissy and moralizing. She makes Roman beg for her attention, and it was painful to read scene after scene where she makes him grovel and abase himself in order to win her good graces.

I don't have any opinion on whether this book is objectively good or bad. My personal reaction to it was much too negative. show less

I keep falling more and more in love with fresh new vampire paranormal. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had just the right about of steam and a great plot line. I have to say an Army of kilted vampire highlanders is not a bad thing to have in a book either. I have already started amassing the rest of the books in this series as well...hopefully I will receive number 2 in my swaps next week. *fingers crossed* I loved how brave Shanna was in facing off her enemies...I was a bit perturbed by her reaction being bitten though, she thought she could face down the Russian mob but not being bitten by a vampire? Well, ok I probably would have freaked a bit too. Anyway, I enjoyed this book immensely and will definitely keep up with this show more series. I am going to have to buy more bookshelves soon, or cull my collection again. show less

As a lighthearted, action-oriented paranormal romance, this is an easy read that's something of an enjoyable escape--I had a lot of fun getting to know the characters, and as I've discovered before, I kind of love Sparks' humor. That said, this doesn't stand up to Sparks' more recent books--and there's nothing wrong with that, obviously, since you'd expect an author to grow over the course of their career. The point to be noted here, though, is that readers of her more recent works might well be disappointed by the somewhat more simplistic story presented here, and I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this book quite a bit more if I hadn't had higher expectations because of reading her other (more recent) works.

So, yes, I certainly show more recommend it if you're looking for a fun and easy, action-oriented paranormal romance that's got plenty of humor. The one caveat is that, if you already are a fan of Kerrelyn Sparks, you'll want to temper your expectation. Hopefully, though, you haven't discovered her yet, so you'll have plenty to look forward to after this book, knowing her work has only gotten better over the years! show less