Rating: Summary: Macalister does it again! Review: I first stumbled across Katie Macalister's historical novels and fell in love with her unique approach to the genre. Her humor and three dimensional characters make her work stand out from the pack of regency romances and rightfully so.Later, I found her contemporaries and saw that the same sense of humor and irreverence existed. Sex and the Single Vampire is, lucky to say, as good as her other books. The banter and sexual tension between Christian, the old school vampire who hates independent women and Allie, the former battered wife, now independent woman who hates arrogant men is lovely. The secondary characters, be they ghosts or summoners or vampire groupies, are written just as well. In fact, the dear abby ghost mentor Esme and her advice on love and sex is one of my favorite things about this book. Yes, you have the typical tortured alpha male who is looking for his other half. Only, his other half is flawed and scared and yet she sticks it out. The humor, the way the characters are all flawed in some way, it lends a touch of realism to the story that makes Macalister's books stand out. Warm, witty, sexy and entertaining, Sex and the Single Vampire is definitely worth a read.
Rating: Summary: Night and Day Review: I had a little argument with myself while I was waiting for a presciption to be filled in the store. Was I going to buy this book, or was I not? On the one hand, I wasn't nuts about the first book in the series. It left way too many unanswered questions at the end for my liking. It also left Christian, who was a really nice guy, unhappy and alone at the end of the book. Also, to be quite honest, I found Joy to be rather annoying. On the other hand, I really wanted to see if Katie could wrap up some of those loose ends from the first book, and most importantly, if Christian finally found his Beloved. In the end, the impulse shopper in me won out and I bought the book. I have never been so glad I bought something in my entire life!! The difference between this book and the first one is like night and day. Katie draws you in from the very first page with all of her quirky, but lovable, characters. I found myself laughing out loud, cheering the characters on, and eager to see what happened next all the way to the end. In fact, I'd have to say that was the only disappointing thing about this book: it ended way too soon. I'll be eagerly awaiting Sebastian and Noelle's story, which I sincerely hope will be next in what is sure to become a great series.
Rating: Summary: hollow Review: I had read the first book, A Girl's Guide to Vampires, and thought I'd give the second book, Sex and the Single Vampire, a try. I found the second book was just as bad. The plot and writing are very chaotic, and very similar to Tanya Huff's Summoning series - there are demons, holes to Hell in the basement requiring a Guardian to seal it, and a summoner. This is not to mention the obvious spoofing of Christine Feehan's Dark series that's so central to the book - what MacAlister calls the "Morovian Dark Ones" - haunted Eastern European vampires from the Morovian mountains looking for the right woman to save them from eternal darkness and loneliness, complete with steps to joining, etc, with little details that are so stolen from the Feehan series. It seems like the entire book is made up from other author's ideas and works - the haplessness of Bridget Jones, the plot devices of Tanya Huff's Summoning series, and the vampire legends of Christine Feehan's Dark Series. Even the demon-lord-and-his-minions thing is very reminscent of R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series. Rather than finding the story and side characters funny, I found they distracted from the romance and were very annoying. Kind of like if there'd been eight annoying talkin donkeys in Shrek. On the good side, the heroine is worthier than the heroine in the first book - not as silly, selfish, or stupid. But that's not saying much. For actual funny, original, chick-lit meets vampire romance, I would instead highly recommend "Undead and Unwed" by MaryJanice Davidson.
Rating: Summary: "Woogie Woogie Woogums!" Review: I love to laugh. If you do, try Katie MacAlister's vampire novels. They're great! Where A Girl's Guide to Vampires, the first novel in this series, was humorous because of the confusion between the true undead and regular folk pretending to be undead, this novel is great because we readers get to dive into the supernatural world. I found the story more riveting than the first novel's due to the heroine, Allegra's, profession as a Summoner (a ghost charmer of sorts)and the problems that arise from this. While there are a lot of similarities between Allegra and Christian and Joy and Raphael in the beginning, they soon flesh out to be different and creative characters. If your main character uses "poop" as a swear word, I say it has to be awesome.
Rating: Summary: the "Guide" was better... Review: I loved the first book (A Girl's Guide to Vampires) as it was a sassy, funny, vacation from reality. Therefore I expected more from this volume than what I got. The author laid good groundwork for the main characters' personalities and foibles, especially since Christian was in the first book. However, she ended up having the same catch phrases and mannerisms in her new characters as was in some of her old ones. Nothing spoils the story for me like not keeping individuals individually unique! Also, the author tried to tackle too many tough paranormal problems with too few plot twists and certainly too few characters. For example, she jumped from Moravians/Beloved problems, Summoners/Ghosts problems, Psychics/Magical battles, to Summoning a Demon and using him for attacks, to Gaurdians/Exorcisers of Hell-holes-in-the-basement who study and write books on werepeoples... Too much too fast unless you are truly going to do a MyST of paranormal romance novels. The first one was good, but she dropped the too numerous balls she was juggling in this one. I can't recommend this one highly and unfortunely the third book in this series appears to jump even further into demon summoning with funny quips around the closed circle or salt or blood. At best, 3 stars.
Rating: Summary: Not Very Good Review: I purchased this book strictly on the recommendations from other Amazon readers. I was looking for a romance story with a fun, vampiric element. I did get the vampiric element, but I found the humour to be a bit underdeveloped and at times very childish. I think there were only three or four parts where I laughed out loud. Plus, romance books based strictly in the first person are confusing and difficult at best. I have only read two to date that are worthy. I have the sequel to this book, and deep inside I am hoping it offers more then this first one did. Interestingly, the author gives thanks to Christine Feehan whose Dark series are the hottest vampire romances on the market. And, although CF's books have been lacking of late, please don't look to this book to offset what you haven't been recieving in a Feehan book. If you are looking for fun vampire romance in the first person then I suggest Mary Janice Davidson's "Undead and Unwed". That book is absolutely hilarious.
Rating: Summary: Fun and Entertaining Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read from the first page. I don't usually like books written in the first person but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go. All the characters were well defined and humorous. Great villains too. A good read.
Rating: Summary: UGH-this book sucks Review: I tried, I really tried to like this book but the wording, the characters, the heroine and the "handsome vampire" are just dull, dull, dull.
No snappy plot, no mystery, no suspense, no PLOT, no movement, it just dragged on into bloody (or NON bloody) eternity.
And WHO TALKS LIKE THAT? The whole cast of characters sounded like they walked straight out of one of those sappy English sitcoms.
Just HORRIBLE.
I wish I could ask for my money back.
And I'm only HALF WAY THROUGH! PRAY FOR ME!
Rating: Summary: Fun vampire romantic comedy... (3 1/2 stars) Review: I wanted to read a vampire novel that was funny and romantic. Sex and the Single Vampire is a fun, sexy and quirky romantic comedy that was perfect for an afternoon sunbathing beach session. The romance centers on Allie and Christian. Allie has to summon a ghost if she wants to move forward in her career. But the tortured man she thinks she's summoned is actually a vampire -- or rather, a Moravian Dark One, as he prefers to be called. Whatever he is, he is an eccentric, domineering and gorgeous author who cannot stand the daylight and is on a liquid diet. He is also searching for his Beloved (with a capital B). Could Allie be the one? With a strange eye condition, an almost immobile leg and a painful romantic past, Allie is hardly Beloved material, or so she thinks... There are some fun twists throughout the novel.
The novel is definitely funny, not laugh-out-loud funny like MaryJanice Davidson's Undead and Unwed, but very amusing nevertheless. I like the scene in which Allie fakes illness in order to save two ghosts from being researched by a corrupt paranormal organization. My favorite thing is the sexual tension between Christian and Allie. Christian is quite a sexy vampire. The one thing I didn't like was the ghost Esme. She annoyed me to bits. I know that the aforementioned character is meant to be irritating, and she indeed irritated Allie, but she also irritated me. Other than that, Sex and the Single Vampire is a great romantic comedy. Katie Macalister is an author that I will look to in the future. I recommend this book as a fun beach and/or vacation read. Enjoy...
Rating: Summary: Excellent! Review: If you liked 'A Girl's Guide To Vampires' you're going to LOVE 'Sex and The Single Vampire'. For all of you who felt for Christian, worry no more. Allegra is his perfect match. The book is fast-paced, action-packed, sexy and funny. Katie Macalister has truly outdone herself. (And yes I even laughed out loud.) The only bad thing I can say about this book is that it had to end. This one is a keeper, so hurry up and get a copy.
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