Vamps and the City

Attention: everything we have been waiting for in vampire fiction has finally happened in this book:<br>Vampire Pig<br>Blisskey (blood whiskey)<br><br>We can all die in peace now.<br><br>That's right, there is a pig who was turned into a vampire. Okay, so he didn't exactly last long, but he was there and that's all that counts.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1478501913i/21078536._SY540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>Apparently there is a guy on deviant art who does comics with Hampire, the vampire pig. I think we all need to take a minute to appreciate this. And, the fact that you can find <i>anything</i> on the internet. It's a wonderful time we live in.<br><br>So, the heroine of this book was a little bit annoying, but it was still a fun and quirky read. She was just too whiny for my taste. <i>Poor me, turned into an undead creature of the night who drinks blood. I'm so sad to never see the sun and give up everything and everyone I've ever loved to keep the vampire secrets.</i> Blah.Blah.Blah. Cry me a river, girl. We've all got problems. Right now I'm feeling kind of sad that we ran out of cake. Stupid family, eating all the cake. But, you don't see me whining about it. Okay, I'm whining a little. But, still. Buck up and be the best damn undead evil creature of the night that you can be! Here's a cake to cheer you up:<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1384133091i/6787493.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>Too bad you can't eat it!! Bwuahaha!<br><br>Though the best part of this book is that the vampires are doing a reality show that is somewhat like The Bachelor. Yes, there is a hot tub.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1478501913i/21078537._SX540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>We really do..<br><br>And, we learn that vampire men can be a little metrosexual.<br><br><b> <i>Darcy passed one group, noting the heavy makeup and clothes that showed too much skin. Sheesh. Whatever happened to manly men? She turned to check out the females instead.</i> </b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1478501913i/21078538.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>They just want to sparkle!<br><br>There are lots of fun mishaps on the reality show and lots of laughs in the book. It's a cute, cheesy, silly series and I love it.

People did not seem to like this book as much as the other Love at stake series.<br /><br />Well I did!<br />In this day and age a lot of people love to watch reality shows.<br />I’m not one of them but I acknowledge that they can have spark.<br />This particular vampire show made me shed laughter tears all over the place.<br />I love the humor in these books!<br /><br /><i>‘You see. It is easy!’ Otto started to lower the chair when he yelped ‘Aagh!’ The chair tipped spilling Maria Consuela onto the floor whit a splat. Her scream was cut off when the chair landed on her head.<br />‘Aagh!’ Otto doubled over ‘I broke a nail. De fingernail bent backward!’<br />Gregori rushed forward and pulled the chair off Maria Consuela ‘Are you all right?’<br />‘No’ she scrambled to her feet, glaring at Otto ‘You clumsy fool! I haven’t been so abused since the Spanish Inquisition!’<br />‘But de Otto is hurt’ Otto stuck his sore finger into his mouth and sucked.<br />Darcy’s eye twitched. </i><br /><br />I was one the floor myself after this. Doubled over from laughing.<br />But other then the humor this was a complex book. I loved how Austin watched her old videos, or how Darcy hated it all, hated Connor…I even loved the things that happened in the background with Vanda and Maggie. <br />Oh and the biological/scientific revelations that Romans company are doing are just so real! Aside from the synthetic blood we now have getting back to being human, paranormal babies and daytime drugs!<br />And I can completely see how it could be done.<br />The author know what she is talking about!<br />And like a little cherry on top, again in the background, we have our introduction to Emma, a plot part revolving around the Stake out team, their dynamics and the subplot whit the Malcontents. <br />All in all a book worth reading. And a series you are sure to love.<br />

Vamps and the City is the second book in the Love at Stake series from Kerrelyn Sparks. This one only got 2 stars from me. It wasn't bad. I just didn't really care for it. But since I didn't hate it, I didn't give it 1 star.<br /><br />In this book, Darcy Newhart is the focus. In book 1, she was less than a bit player. In fact, I could barely remember her. I had to go on Kerrelyn Sparks' website to remember who and what she was. Here, she is lacking purpose and is very bored. I wasn't sure if she was a vampire or not (she is). She's part of Roman's displaced harem but she's a modern woman and wants to DO something. So she goes to DVN (Digital Vampire Network - TV for vampires) and applies for a job. She convinces the scumbag of a station manager to let her be the director for a new show. A dating reality show. But she comes up with her own twist. She will get the displaced harem women to be judges. She will get vampire men AND mortal men to audition and she'll call it The Sexiest Man on Earth. Vampires think they're so superior anyways; it might do them good to be taken down a notch or two, by NOT being voted Sexiest Man. Somewhere along the way, the competition becomes a way for the harem to choose their new "Master".<br /><br />One of the mortals that apply for the dating show is Austin Erickson. He's on the Stake Out detail. As we learned in Book 1, the Stake Out detail is a small group from the CIA who are aware of vampires' existence and are fighting to kill them all. He gets sent in to the auditions, undercover, and gets accepted. Along the way, he falls in love with Darcy. Darcy falls in love with him.<br /><br />And that's all fine and wonderful. But I, for one, did not connect with the characters at all. Here I am, reading a paranormal romance novel. Presumably, I'm reading it because I like the paranormal elements: magic, vampires, shapeshifters, whatever. But Darcy doesn't want to be a vampire. Austin dislikes vampires (at first). So why am I reading this??? **SPOILERS** So at the end of the book, there's this miraculous "procedure" that is being tinkered with that can turn a vampire back into a human. Oh and how wonderful, it works on Darcy! She and Austin can be together, as humans! Yay! Whatever. By the end of the book, Austin of course realizes that not ALL vampires are bad. There are the good, normal ones and there are the evil ones, dubbed "Malcontents". He and Darcy end up working for a company that works for the vampires, trying to find the original Malcontent that everyone thought was destroyed a long time ago. Yeah, because having two normal humans with no extra gifts chase after vampires is gonna work out so well. Sure.<br /><br />So I didn't love this book. But maybe books are like music albums: the second one is never the best one. I'll do one more of this series but if it isn't good, I won't be reading any more of them. I love to read but I don't love reading things that bore me. And this book bored me to tears.

This was quite a disappointing follow-up to How to marry a millionaire vampire! I really enjoyed the first book in the series but this book proved very cheesy and the heroine's constant whining was really annoying. The book also lacked the inventiveness and humor of the first installment. I think that what disappointing me most is the ending of the book and the choice made by Darcy... I definitely hope the third book in the series (Be still my vampire heart) is better than this one!

Audiobook-<br />Cute fun story, light humor, light drama, extra cheese.<br />I like this series there is a sense of fun that you don't find with many paranormal romance reads. It's a perfect audiobook for those long drives, walks... when you just want something light to chuckle at and forget the time.<br />What happened when humans are sneaked onto the Sexiest Man in the Universe which is supposed to have only vampire contestants ? Will the sexiest man be human ? No, it is impossible, just ask the vampires. Yes, their egos are overinflated. Well, what about when vampire slayers sneak in and infiltrate the show ? They are vile horrible creatures, wait no the vampires are vile, or well crisp who is the big bad ? Romantic, Westside Story love, with nasty family action, evil blood suckers and well aged ladies.<br />I have one complaint, the narration was very good for most of it but a few of the voices . A couple sounded like old time smokers who had spent their life in a dirty bar.

A vast improvement on the first in the series, I'm glad I kept reading. Fun and slightly surprising. PRN books have become a little predictable. <br><br>Boy meets mortal, mortal falls in love with vampire, vampire can't live without mortal. Sparkling may occur. <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1385075700ra/7061326.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <br>(Isn't that the best picture ever?)<br><br>Normally, I want to shake the crap out of the mortal.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1385076115ra/7061378.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>But there's always a HEA, and that makes me happy.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1385076115ra/7061379.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I liked this story. First because the <b>female</b> vampire wasn't completely pathetic. She hates being a vampire, but she's not <i>completely</i> whiny about it. She actually gets to know the main character (kinda) before declaring her love. <b>Shocking!</b><br><br>It's a good read. I'm on to the next. <br><br><br>

4.75 Stars<br /><br />So well written that it flows like a silky stream of decadent cream. <br />Before you know it, you have drank every last drop!! <br />The characters and situations they find themselves in are often highly comical and sometimes a little scary. It is a perfect blend. <br />Kerrelyn Sparks '<b>Love At Stake</b>' series has made it to my top 10 Series Following file! <br />And this was only the 2nd book in the series.<br /><br />Warning: The sex scenes are on the mild side. They are there. They are adult. But they are NOT erotica.

We have a reality show, damn sweet

I enjoy silliness and three stars means "I liked it," but there's nothing in this sequel that matches the wildly funny beginning of the <i>Love at Stake</i> series. I still remember it (<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/263179.How_to_Marry_a_Millionaire_Vampire__Love_at_Stake___1_" title="How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire (Love at Stake, #1) by Kerrelyn Sparks" rel="noopener">How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire</a>) after these years--wealthy vampire Roman Draganesti test-bites an experimental sex dummy and loses a fang, must get it fixed before sunrise or he'll be One Fang forever, finds an all-night dental clinic (!) staffed by Shanna, saves her from attack by the Russian mob, and their happy ending is only a book away.<br /><br />That's right, their wedding takes place in this book, but it's the vampire harem that Roman released--so he could pair up with Shanna--that carries this story. And what a silly bunch they are! Ranging all the way from a medieval princess to a four-year newbie (that's Darcy, our main character here), they take themselves dreadfully seriously and most of them are perpetuating the characters and clothing they had as mortals. Only Darcy's harem buddies Vanda and Maggie have modernized, and they're the youngest of the lot after Darcy.<br /><br />Vanda and Maggie have also picked up a little of the modern attitude from Darcy, while the others cannot imagine living without a master to do everything for them and run their lives. As for Darcy, she deeply regrets that bossy Connor turned her to save her life when he could have teleported her to a hospital instead to treat her injury. She blames him for being too wrapped up in his secrecy agenda, and the other side claims she was seconds from death--the jury is still out on that one, I think. But Darcy lives constantly in her memories of life as a mortal, and that's what sets up this story.<br /><br />Shanna's daddy, whom we met in book #1, heads up a small CIA team of vampire slayers who believe all vampires are evil demons to be killed on sight, and his #2 man Austin Erickson is passionately committed to their cause. He rates 10 out of 10 on the team's psychic power scale (yes, not your usual CIA crowd) with mind reading and telekinesis. He's the one who falls madly in love, lust, and everything else with Darcy as soon as he meets her, and being a CIA spy he immediately plunges into her mind and finds all those sunny scenes and happy memories. So he's convinced she's "alive" and being kept prisoner by the vampires he's infiltrating. <br /><br />It's a neat set-up, and the overwhelming insta-love is mutual, so since this is a romance novel after all, the story must be all about Overcoming Obstacles to the Happy Ending, right? No, sorry. The story between Darcy and Austin, who is posing as "Adam" for the Bachelor-type reality show Darcy is running for the vampire TV network, is hampered by Attitude more than Obstacles. I'm talking about Austin's "the only good vampire is a staked vampire" Attitude--Darcy being Genuine, Sincere, and let's root for her all the way. Even though he's surrounded day after day by perfectly nice, some of them even silly, people who happen to be vampires, Austin can't see it. Every one of them must be an evil demon.<br /><br />The TV production is fun, with the ex-harem ladies as judges and 10 male contestants to judge; the winner will be their new master and receive great wealth. (Four of the contestants are mortals in disguise--Darcy's risky idea). But Austin's thick-headedness and Darcy's many quandaries make for some tedious reading until they reach their obligatory (it's a romance novel) happy ending in a somewhat unconvincing way <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="fa441afa-8499-4b1c-af0a-7f16f5c453b3" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="fa441afa-8499-4b1c-af0a-7f16f5c453b3">the surgery didn't make sense to me</label> that leaves several threads unresolved <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="8282ee0a-3f34-4572-83ec-df32f68e3094" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="8282ee0a-3f34-4572-83ec-df32f68e3094">especially Shanna and her father</label>.

This is the second book in the Love at Stake series. I read the first one on an all night work shift...it was good, this one was way better. I love the depth Sparks brings to her characters, how you can actually see them caught between disaster and happiness and longing and pain. Its amazing. I love Darcy and Austin, they are adorable together, now I am ready to see Connor get his girl. I am a bit annoyed that Darcy couldn't see past her anger to not blame Connor so much, he just wanted to try and help and she is always, well, not very nice to him. I do have to say the ending is a bit predictable, not the end end, but the climax, it is pretty predictable, not complaining though, it is still a very good story. There is a sufficient amount of steam in this book...I'd say somewhere between the first book in this series and the third Anita Blake. I enjoyed this book and will continue to enjoy it as well one my favorites I think.