Tag Archives: Kerrelyn Sparks

Sexiest Vampire Alice by Kerrelyn Sparks

Posted on October 3, 2011 by TBRG| 3 Comments

Title: The Sexiest Vampire Alive

Series: Love at Stake bk 11

Author: Kerrelyn Sparks

Genre: Paranormal

He was both a playboy and a vampire…and impossible to resist.

At the end of Vampire Mine, a terrible thing happened—a video was released that proved the existence of vampires. Now Vamps fear the worst, the Vampire Apocalypse! Will mortals start hunting vampires down and staking them in their death-sleep? At an emergency meeting, Coven Masters from around the world decide how to proceed. They need an emissary to open negotiations with the President of the United States. They want their emissary to be modern, safe, and harmless. A Vamp who has never bitten a mortal. A Vamp who has been entirely bottle-fed. Their choice—Gregori!

Now Gregori has the fate of the entire Vamp population on his shoulders. He’s given a special assignment that involves taking the president’s daughter on a dangerous mission. Will he succeed and save his friends? Or will he succumb to his playboy ways and doom them all?

This is one of those series that I devour as soon as there is a new book out. So when I go the email about this book I immediately said yes and then proceeded to read it in about 3 hours.

Gregori has always been one of my favorite characters, and this is his time to finally shine. You see Gregori has all these feelings of self-doubt and that hasn’t done anything to contribute to the war against the malcontents. It doesn’t matter that he is the head of marketing for Romantech. So when he is asked to be part of the team that goes to the President to tell them that yes Vampires are real he sees this as his opportunity to finally be an asset. He never expected however to have this instant connection with the one person he needs to stay away from.

Abigail is the President’s unknown daughter, not that she is really an unknown daughter she just prefers to stay in the background and concentrate on her science, or rather on finally finding a cure what is slowly killing her mother. So when her dad the president strikes an agreement with the vampires, if they take her deep into China to find a plant that may have the properties that she needs to find a cure for mom, she is all over that like white on rice. Never mind the fact that Gregori is handsome as sin and causes her to feel things that she would really rather not.

I have to say that I didn’t think that anything could make me change my favorite storyline and h/h in this series. I mean I have loved Ian from the very first book, and what he went through so that he could finally have what everyone around was having was amazing and he had the perfect heroine in Toni. That is until I read this book.

The conflict between these two is so heartfelt. Then there is the thing that Gregori does that he knows will make her hate him for the rest of her life but what he has no choice in doing. Their’s isn’t an easy road to love, not because they don’t love each other, but because of who they are and the fact that their chooses affect not only them but so many other people.

There is also a small secondary story regarding Sean Whalen and I have to say that it is about time. I can hardly wait to see where she goes with this one.

If you are a fan of this series then you won’t want to miss the this book.

Grade A-/B+

Other books in the series…

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

Vamps and the City

Sugarplums and Scandal (anthology)

Be still my Vampire Heart

The Undead Next Door

All I want for Christman is a Vampire

Secret Life of a Vampire

Forbidden Nights with a Vampire

The Vampire and the Virgin

Eat, Prey Love

Vampire Mine

Posted in Paranormal, Review

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Interview with Kerrelyn Sparks + giveaway

Posted on April 1, 2011 by TBRG| 83 Comments

We would like to welcome Kerrelyn Sparks to our blog today. She is the author of the very popular vampire series Love at Stake, her latest book Vampire Mine came out this week.

TBRG: Before we get started can you tell us a bit about the book?

KS: Vampire Mine stars one of the most famous grouches in the Vampire World—Connor Buchanan.  Readers have been wondering about Connor since the first book in the Love at Stake series. Why is he so opposed to love?  It will take a very special heroine to make Connor fall in love, and I’m delighted to say he falls hard.

The heroine is Marielle, a fallen angel who discovers herself trapped on earth in a human body.  She wants more than anything to find her way back to heaven, but she’s intrigued by all the new sensations that come with being human. She can smell, taste, and feel, and even more disturbing, she is flooded with feelings for Connor.  Will she make it back to heaven, or will she find heaven here on earth?

TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

KS: Authors I admire like Jayne Ann Krentz (Amanda Quick), Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux, JK Rowling, and Karen Marie Moning.  I love their senses of humor and admire their incredible writing.

TBRG:  What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?

KS: I would be afraid to meet a real vampire!

TBRG:   Where is the one place you have always wanted to go , a place on your bucket list?

KS: Ireland!

TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?

KS:  Recently, I’ve been totally hooked on the fever series by Karen Marie Moning.  I also love Lynsay Sands (just finished reading The Countess), Jayne Ann Krentz, Eloisa James, Janet Evanovich, and others.

TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?

KS: More reading!!!

TBRG: Who is on your playlist when you are writing?

KS: For Vampire Mine, I played Apocalyptica for the battles and dramatic scenes.  For Marielle, I played Enya, and for Connor, I played Elizabethan-era songs like “In Darkness Let Me Dwell,” written by John Dowland and sung by Sting.

TBRG: Where do your ideas/characters come from?

KS: I can draw inspiration from almost anywhere—music, movies, TV shows, other stories, daydreaming, people watching, my own past experiences, and brainstorming with my friends/critique group.

TBRG: Are you a planner or a fly by the sear author?

KS: Fly by my seat.  Although I suspect my subconscious is doing a lot of planning that I’m not aware of until things magically come together.

TBRG: What has been the best part of writing this series?

KS: How well it has been received by readers!  I’ve grown very fond of the characters, and it’s very exciting when readers share that fondness.

TBRG: I read a lot of vampire books and the one thing I like best about your series is that it is very different from the other vampire books out there. Did you set out to intentionally be different or did it just happen?

KS: I didn’t realize my series was different!  But that’s probably because I intentionally avoid reading other vampire series.  I know I’m missing some great books (like the ones by JR Ward, Charlaine Harris, and Lara Adrian), but I don’t want to subconsciously influence my writing.  I tend to read historical or contemporary romance, or paranormal series that focus on something other than vampires.

TBRG: I have just finished the book and I have to ask, the way that it ended it made me wonder is this the last book in the series?

KS: I can see how you might think that, since a major villain is finally defeated in Vampire Mine.  But a new villain, Master Han, was introduced in Eat Prey Love, and he will continue to cause trouble.

TBRG: What is next for you?

KS: Book # 11 is next!  Sexiest Vampire Alive stars that naughty playboy vampire, Gregori, and it releases at the end of September, 2011.

Kerrelyn Sparks’ first paranormal romance, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, zoomed out of the bat cave so fast it became Borders bestselling debut romance of 2005.   Each book in the Love at Stake series has become aUSAToday bestseller.  When the fourth book,The Undead Next Door, landed on the New York Times bestseller list, even the Undead sat up and took notice, which made Kerrelyn a bit nervous. She lives in the Greater Houston area with her husband, children, and a house full of garlic.  So far, there are no vampires in her family. Werewolves are another matter entirely.

 

 

Nothing on earth can make this vampire fall in love…

After 499 years of existence, Connor Buchanan has arrived at an inescapable conclusion: he is a cold-hearted SOB.  He’s been watching his friends—those poor romantic fools—plummet off the cliff into love like a dazed herd of sheep.  But not Connor.  He knows that love leads to nothing by heartache.

Until Marielle…

She is an angel cast down from heaven for disobedience.  Trapped in mortal form, she finds a protector in Connor, a Scottish vampire haunted by a dark past.  Marielle hopes to heal his broken heart and earn her way back home, but suddenly she has these…feelings. This strange yet pleasant physical yearning—for a vampire!  Is this the work of a demon luring her into hell, or has this angel found heavenly bliss?

 

****Now for the really fun part to help Kerrelyn celebrate the release of her latest book we are giving away three of Kerrelyn’s books, yes you read that right THREE of her books. We are giving away the first book in this series How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire (Heather’s favorite hero in the series) and Vampire Mine. Three commenter’s will receive one the books.

To be entered in the contest you need to do a couple of things.  Tell us which of these books you would like to have. Tell us who your favorite paranormal author is and why (Kerrelyn is one of Heather’s). If you have read Kerrelyn which of her hero’s is your favorite and if you haven’t read her before who is your favorite paranormal hero and why?

Make sure and leave your email address in your response so we can contact you.

***All I want  for Christmas and Vampire Mine are open to everyone and How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire is US only. Contest ends on Friday April 8th.

Posted in Interviews

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Eat Prey Love

Posted on September 27, 2010 by TBRG| 3 Comments

Eat Prey Love

Love at Stake Series

Kerrelyn Sparks

This has to be one of my favorite Vampire series on the market. The characters are ones that you could imagine living next door to you, in fact I think that was the title to one of the books in this series.

Carlos Panterra is looking for a mate, a woman who will love and care for the young orphans he’s recently taken under his wing (or paw, as the case may be). When the shape shifter spies the beautiful Caitlyn, it’s like sunshine amidst the darkness. At last, he’s found the perfect woman, except . . .

Caitlyn Whelan is mortal. Worse, her father is the head of a CIA agency bent on hunting the undead. Still, Caitlyn knows that Carlos is the man for her, shape shifter or not. So she jumps at the chance when her sister offers her a job to work with him, determined to show Carlos their attraction is more than just animal magnetism. But danger lurks in the night, and their unleashed, untamed passion might just get them both killed . . .

Carlos now there is a character that we have all wanted to know more about, and yet he has always been so secretive well all that ends here in this book. Caitlyn is Shanna’s younger sister and a bit over protective but not as much as their father was when he went so far as to separate them for most of their lives.

This may become my favorite book in the series, I had to re-read the book when I realized that I had forgotten to save my original review and it had been a couple of weeks since I had read it.

Carlos will only mate with another panther because he feels like he has the weight of his race on his shoulders (which we find out why), no matter what his feelings are for Caitlyn. Caitlyn however takes one look at Carlos and knows that he is it for her. As these two emabrk on a mission that could change both their lives we get to travel to a fascinating country in Southest Asia and meet more great characters.

If you didn’t know that Carlos was a panther and all his friends were vampires well except for a bear and a couple of wolves you would think that this was just a contemporary romance book as that is how it reads, which I think is the reason that I love this series so much.

Grade A

Posted in Paranormal, Review

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Paranormal Activity

Posted on September 3, 2010 by TBRG| 14 Comments

When I first started reading romance books there was two genres, contemporary and historical. There were no ff&p books. Fast forward about 15 years and you have a couple of authors that finally publish ff&p romance, there were only a couple of authors published at that time so if you liked that genre you had to read those authors. Fast forward 10 more years and now it is a huge genre with any number of authors for you to choose from and some of the authors that we never thought would go there have even written books with a little paranormal activity.

I for one am really glad that this genre exists because this is one of my favorite genres. I am fairly picky however when it comes to my paranormal stories, if they are creating their own world than it has to be completely believable. If they are writing a paranormal with immortals that live amongst us, the reasons for the immortality have to be believable, and they have to have historical accuracy.

Melanie likes those that are different and take twist that is unexpected to make it more enjoyable. Something that hasn’t been seen before in the genre, yet still has to be somewhat believable.

We each have those ff&p authors that are auto buys for each of us.

On the top of my list are Nalini Singh, Christine Feehan, Kerrelyn Sparks, Kresley Cole, Gena Showalter, Lara Adrian, Jessa Slade and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Melanie’s auto buys are Erin Kellison, Leslie Parish, Christina Dodd, Brenda Joyce,  Sherrilyn Kenyon and Melissa Mayhue.

Are there any paranormal books that you love and what do you enjoy about them, what about ones that you are not liking?

The lovely Jessa Slade has put together a fabulous swag bag for one lucky commenter today

Some more responses from those fabulous authors that we love:

Nalini Singh:   http://www.nalinisingh.com/ I have quite eclectic reading tastes and depending on my reading mood, will read anything from thrillers to sf/fantasy, to any number of sub-genres of romance (of course!) and more. I read some non-fiction as well, partly for research purposes and partly just because the topic interests me. Some of my favorite authors are Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey. Anne Bishop, Christine Feehan, Meljean Brook, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Jayne Castle/Jayne Ann Krentz, JD Robb, Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux, Lisa Kleypas…and seriously, I could keep going. I love reading, and I’m always trying out new authors alongside my favorites. My most recent “finds” have been Joss Ware (love the Envy Chronicles!) and Jess Granger with her futuristic romances. As for where I read – everywhere I can!

Jessa Slade:     http://jessaslade.wordpress.com/ As a writer, I consider it my sacred duty to read. I have a breakfast book, a backpack book, a bedside book, and a bathtub book. And usually a few more besides :)  I read a lot in my genre — urban fantasy romance — but like most booksluts, I’ll peel back the cover on anything. At RomCon this year (where I met the Book Reading Gals!) I had the chance to sit with Nalini Singh, C.L. Wilson and Christine Feehan. It was like my bookshelf sprang to life!

Erin Kellison:  http://www.erinkellison.com/ Chances to relax are seldom with little kids and a book on deadline, so I have to steal time to get my reading fix. I generally choose fantasy, but really enjoy a lot of genre fiction. I had surgery last week and got to read Mockingjay in one sitting. Love that feeling of sinking into a book. My favorite place to go? The beach. Combine that with a book and a lazy afternoon and I am in heaven.

Leslie Parish:     http://www.authorleslieparrish.com/ Whenever I want to read purely for enjoyment, I tend to stay away from romance because I’m so immersed in it in my job, I just want something different for down-time.So I typically pick up a horror or thriller novel (Stephen King is my favorite) or something so funny it leaves me breathless (Christopher Moore is my go-to author for this!) I most recently read The Passage by Justin Cronin, a futuristic vampire/zombie armageddon story and really loved it.

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Secret Life of a Vampire

Posted on August 28, 2009 by TBRG| Leave a comment

Love at Stake bk 6

by
Kerrelyn Sparks

Back Cover:

Her modern Casanova was not quite as modern as she thought…

A typical bachelor party is all about beers and beautiful women. A vampire bachelor party is no different—except the men are drinking Blissky (whiskey-flavored synthetic blood). And no one can throw a party quite like Jack. When you’re the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova, you know how to have a good time. But when the party gets out of hand and the cops show up, Jack has some explaining to do…if only he wasn’t struck speechless by the beauty of Officer Lara Boucher.

Lara is sure there’s something more than a bachelor party going on. What is Jack hiding? How come no one at the hotel remembers him the next day? Why does he warn her to leave him alone when he’s obviously attracted to her? As a woman, she finds this modern day Casanova hard to resist. As a police officer, she’s determined to uncover his secrets…if she can only get the job done before he seduces her.

REVIEW: This series is one that I love completely. There isn’t a single book in this series that has let me down at all. There is such humor and witty/sarcastic banter between all the characters that you have to keep reading.

Jack is not a new character to this series, he has popped up in the other books, however we have never really gotten to know him, that is until now. From the first page of the book you know that he is a great guy. He had wanted to send his friend Ian off in style with a great bachelor’s party, that had gotten a little out of hand. He knows he is in trouble when he sees the police officer that has been called in because they had gotten a little rowdy.

He knows he is in real trouble when he can’t control her mind. However he never realized just how much until she tracks him down at Ian’s wedding. From that moment on all decisions he makes has to do with Lara.

Lara knows she isn’t crazy, however she can’t find anything about the call that she went on where she met Jack, there are no records of the room ever being rented out. The one thing that she does know is that there is going to be a wedding the next day, so she crashes every wedding that she can find in the hopes of tracking down Jack and discovering the truth about him.

What I loved about this book is that they had both overcome huge obstacles in their pasts, Jack having to live down his father reputation, and Lara having to justify her good fortune at surviving a car accident that should have killed her.

One of my absolute favorite parts of the book is when Jack takes Lara to Italy and shows her his home. It is so romantic and beautiful.

When their work takes them into the same case, but from different perspectives, Jack tracking the malcontents and Lara looking for a missing college girl, they both have to put aside their differences and fears.

In my humble opinion this is one of the best vampire series out there. If you haven’t yet checked out this series than I suggest that you do.

I give this book a 4.75 out of 5.

You can purchase the book here and here.


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Posted on July 15, 2009 by TBRG| Leave a comment

Forbidden Nights with a Vampire
Love at Stake bk 7

Kerrelyn Sparks

Vanda Barkowski is in trouble.

As the owner of a hot nightclub, she’s more unconventional than most of her fellow vampires, and if some think her a little out of control, then so be it. But after three former employees filed a complaint about her temper, Vanda is sentenced to an anger management class. Worse, Phil Jones agreed to be her sponsor. Phil, the mortal who is forbidden to her . . .

If Vanda knew who—or what—Phil really is, she’d reconsider her attraction to him, for his true nature is wilder than anything she’d ever imagined. He has tackled the beast within and now is the perfect person to help Vanda with her rage . . . if only he can keep his cool when she makes him so undeniably hot. But with rogue vamps on the loose, will they ever have their forbidden nights?

REVIEW: As I have made no bones about the fact that I love this series, I won’t go on about that. This is the latest installment of Ms. Sparks Love at Stake series. When I saw that this book was about Vanda and Phil, I wasn’t sure what to expect. These two have been in every book in the series in one way or another, but we have had little glimpses into who they are, but nothing more than that.

Vanda has always intrigued me, you could always tell that her attitude was a front for some serious pain in her past. As Vanda begins to open up to Phil, so much about her attitude makes sense, she had lost almost her entire family in WW II, and had watched as her friends were butchered by some really bad people. In order to protect her self from anymore pain she has erected this wall of brashness and anger.

Phil has always had a thing for Vanda, so when no one will volunteer to be her anger management coach he volunteers. Phil ulterior motives, he wants to break through her wall of ice and anger and discover the woman that she was always meant to be, the one that she brings out for certain people.

As they begin to work together, there is no denying the attraction that is there, but Phil is afraid to show her who he truly is because the one thing that Vanda despises more than the Malcontemps, are werewolves, and that is exactly what Phil is.

I can’t say anymore because it will give away the book, and this is definitely a book that has some twists and turns, but they are good twists and turns, and they set up for the next book.

I give this book a 5 out of 5.

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Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks

Posted on June 30, 2009 by TBRG| Leave a comment

Be Still My Vampire Heart
Love at Stake bk 3

Kerrelyn Sparks

Emma Watson has made it her mission to get revenge on the monsters who killed her parents. As a member of the CIA’s Stake–Out team, Emma’s got no time to distinguish betweeen good vamps and bad. They’re all bloodthirsty murderers and she will not rest until they’re defeated.

When Angus MacKay is assigned to find a vampire slayer, he never expected to meet anyone like Emma Watson. Now, deeply attracted to the young woman, Angus must convince her that not all vampires are evil––before she finds out who he is and adds him to her hit list. But Angus and Emma soon have bigger problems when someone from Angus’s past resurfaces with an agenda of her own to fulfill…

REVIEW: So I have made no bones about it that I love this series. It is quirky, funny, and full of great characters. What I really like about this series, is that the characters are real, they could be regular people if not for the fact that they are vampires.

I was finally able to get my hands on this book, and I have to say that I wish that I could have found it before.

Angus has got to be one of my favorite characters in the series, and to read his story was amazing. Angus is definitely a highland warrior, he values honor, and courage above all else. He takes his job as protector the innocence very seriously, so when he comes across Emma taking on some vampires. Being the man that he is he can not let her continue on her path.

Emma despises Vampires, and has a mission to take out every single one that she encounters. When Angus steps into stop her from her mission, she fights him every step of the way. The one thing that she can not deny is the intense attraction that she feels for him.

As Angus and Emma work through both of the unexpected intense feelings, an old enemy is putting plans in motion that could destroy them both.

As I have said before I love this series, this book didn’t disappoint. We were able to see characters that we have meet and loved in the other books, plus had an amazing love story.

Angus and Emma’s chemistry is felt from the beginning, at the same time that they drive each other nuts. On the one hand Angus wants to protect Emma from herself, but what frustrates him about her, also draws him to her, and makes him want to be with her forever.

I give this book a 4 out of 5.

If you haven’t checked out this series yet you should give it a go..

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All I want for Christmas is a Vampire

Posted on October 29, 2008 by TBRG| Leave a comment
Rating 5
Toni Davis’s Christmas wish list
1. Springing my best friend from the psych ward.
2. Living somewhere that doesn’t have coffins in the basement. Occupied coffins.
3. Finding Mr. Right. Please make him tall, dark, handsome, and alive.

This Christmas isn’t so merry for Toni. Her best friend’s been locked up in a mental hospital ever since she told the police she was attacked by vampires, and the only way for Toni to get her out is to prove that bloodsuckers really do exist. So she’s taken a job as a bodyguard for the Undead, but she gets more than she bargained for, especially when she meets Ian MacPhie, a Scottish rascal looking for Ms. Right.
Although Ian’s nearly five centuries old, he looks and acts like a twenty-seven-year-old hunk.
How can a dead man be so damn sexy? Could Mr. Wrong be Mr. Right? One forbidden kiss could lead to an eternity of passion—and all it takes is one moment under the mistletoe .
REVIEW: I had no intentions of reading this book today, I had picked it up and was planning on reading it while in bath, however I picked it up because my husband was watching some guy show this afternoon while he was getting ready for work. The next thing I new I had finished the book and it was 2 1/2 hours later and I had accomplished nothing.
So obviously I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down, it was a page turner. I loved Ian, and have since the very first book, and more so after the last one. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that this book had it all. Once again Ms. Sparks delivers.

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The Undead Next Door

Posted on October 26, 2008 by TBRG| Leave a comment
The Undead Next Door
Love at Stake bk 4
By
Kerrelyn Sparks
Rating 4.5


Fall Reading Challenge: Title with an address or a place in it (city, State, lake, cottage, river, etc)


Three signs that something is very different with your mew man:
1. He sleeps all day . . . which would be annoying except he’s so attentive at night.
2. He’s attacked by sword-wielding assailants, yet insists he can handle it on his own.
3. He never seems to age.

Heather Westfield has always lived a quiet life, but that all changes when she helps a very handsome, very mysterious stranger. There’s something not quite right about Jean-Luc, but still, she’s never been with a man so charming, so attractive . . . so wonderful. Now if only a murderous villain wasn’t after them, they might get their happily-ever-after.

REVIEW: I have loved every book in this series so far. This one was no exception. Jean-Luc and Heather were the perfect contrast and to each other. Jean-Luc a centuries old vampire, steeped in the old ways when it comes to women, and Heather a modern day woman determined to make it on her own, and prove that she is strong. You could feel Jean-Luc’s frustration and Heather’s determination. This definitely a series that I will keep coming back to.

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