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Sex, Lies, and Vampires
The Dark Ones Series
Katie MacAlister

Avon Romance
August 2011 / ISBN: 978-0-06-201936-3
Paranormal Romance
Amazon

Reviewed by Leslie Halpern

Professor Nell Harris abandoned her supernatural charming powers after a disastrous occurrence many years ago. Now she’s just a boring expert assigned to work on a 14th century breastplate in Prague. However, when she arrives, she’s instead tasked with rescuing a young boy who’s been kidnapped by an evil demon lord. In fact, to her great surprise, imps, vampires, demon lords, charmers, and mummies populate most of Europe in this comical paranormal romance about Moravian Dark Ones, a.k.a. vampires.

The Betrayer (actually a handsome vampire named Adrian) captures Nell for her abilities to charm curses. Even so, she’s more angry than scared by the abduction. She rejects his description of himself as evil and fearsome. She calls him by cloying nicknames, attempting to appeal to his softer side, despite his reputation for betraying his own vampire friends and kin to the demon lord, Asmodeus. Soon they’re traipsing across several countries seeking out the kidnapped boy and Asmodeus himself in an attempt to rid Adrian of his life-long curse of servitude. During train rides and other adventures, Nell bonds with Adrian emotionally and physically, and before long they both realize she is his official Beloved (what we non-paranormal folks might call a soul mate).

The plot gets a little fuzzy about halfway through and characters seem to overlap sometimes. Virtually all the secondary characters are expendable. Other vampires and charmers appear throughout the story, mostly just to complicate things while Nell and Adrian consummate their newfound love and try to heal his emotional wounds while freeing him from the curse. There’s lots of humor woven throughout Sex, Lies, and Vampires, which helps keep the story light even with its dark themes. While a fun, entertaining read, this book’s characters are not particularly engaging. Nell’s repeated insistence that she’s not a charmer (when all factors indicate otherwise), and Adrian’s repeated insistence that he’s the evil, fearsome Betrayer (when all factors indicate otherwise) may leave the reader exhausted by the constant denials of the obvious.

Reveiwer note: Sexuality, Violence

Reviewer Leslie Halpern is the author of Passionate About Their Work: 151 Celebrities, Artists, and Experts on Creativity.
Reviewed 2011
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