It Happened One BiteRelease Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Regency Vampyre Trilogy #1
ISBN: #978-1402245077
Genre: Recency Paranormal Romance
Format(s): paperback (416 pgs), e-book
I received an ARC copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
He’s lost, trapped, doomed for all eternity…
Rich, titled, and undead, gentleman vampyre James Maitland, Lord Kettering, fears himself doomed to a cold and lonely existence-trapped for decades in an abandoned castle. Then, beautiful Scottish witch Blaire Lindsay arrives, and things begin to heat up considerably…
Unless he can persuade her to set him free…
Feisty Blaire Lindsay laughs off the local gossip surrounding her mother’s ancestral home-stories of haunting cannot scare off this battle-born witch. But when she discovers the handsome prisoner in the bowels of the castle, Blaire has no idea that she has unleashed anything more than a man who sets her heart on fire…
What I’m talking about:
Although It Happened One Bite is the first book in this new series, it picks up the story line first started in Ms. Dare’s Westfield (Lycan) Brothers series. The story overlaps a bit with the 4th book of that series, The Taming of the Wolf (review HERE), and centers on five (unrelated) sister-witches of the Coig with a few other returning characters from the prior series. This book focuses on the warrior witch, Blaire. Last we saw, she and her brothers were off inspecting an inherited estate, when sister-witch and seer, Cait, predicts danger for Blaire.
In It Happened One Bite, Blair and her brothers begin the story by heading to the Highlands to Briarcraig Castle. Shortly after arriving at the abandoned estate, the trio of siblings discover a mysterious gentleman that has been locked away for an unknown amount of time. Blaire quickly surmises that the stranger, Lord Kettering, has been trapped a lot longer than a human could survive. She also realizes that her mother and fellow witches were responsible for his imprisonment. As both Blaire and Kettering attempt to uncover the truth, they find themselves falling for one another.
I have to say that I really enjoyed It Happened One Bite. The story had a bit of action, a lovely Regency romance and sexy gentlemen vampyres. Blaire is a powerful woman who holds her ground. She is strong-willed and sharp tongued. She doesn’t mince words and is an open book for the most part. I find her a refreshing change to some of the lead characters I’ve read lately.
James is a gentleman. He is caring and kind. Yet, when he has Blaire alone, he allows his inner-heat to show. He is upfront with his feelings and even when conflicted, lets Blaire know what is in his heart. I enjoyed their romance, especially the twist in the end (what happens when James discovers his true feelings).
The book also sported some wonderful side-charters. I adored James’ maker, mentor and closest confident, Matthew Halkett, the Earl of Blodswell. He is a valiant knight with a history significant within the Coig. We actually got a peek at Blodswell in The Taming of the Wolf. I sense a dramatic story behind this man and look forward to reading more of his history in the upcoming book, In the Heat of the Bite (July 2011). And readers of the earlier series will be happy to know Alec MacQuarrie is back – still heartbroken from losing the perceived love-of-his life, Cait. Alec’s life takes a significant turn while helping to defend his friend, Blaire.
Although this is a spin-off from the Westfield Brothers series, it could be read as a stand alone. However, having read the previous book, I was familiar with the characters and probably had a bit more emotional tie to them. It is a captivating tale, with engaging characters and plot. The climax was slightly disappointing, but in the end, did not diminish the story.
My Rating:
Really enjoyed – strongly recommend (A-)
Be sure to come back tomorrow for my interview with the author, Lydia Dare.
GIVEAWAY: I have two (2) copies (two winners) of It Happened One Bite to giveaway here at That’s What I’m Talking About. Thank you to Sourcebooks (www.sourcebooks.com) for sponsoring the giveaway of Lydia Dare’s latest book. To enter, please leave a comment and your email at the end of today’s review or tomorrow’s interview with author Lydia Dare. Winners restricted to US and Canada mailing addresses, only. Contest open from March 16, 2011 until Monday March 21, 2011 at 9:00 PM EDT. Two (2) winners will be selected from the comment entries using random.org.
A new author I would love to try reading. Especially since you gave a great review!
LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com
Would love to read. Thanks for the giveaway.
m.ramey@ymail.com
Thank you for your review. This looks like a very interesting and exciting book. I am always looking for new authors to read and have added this to my tbr.
rjofus(at)gmail(dot)com
I keep hearing about this one, so I guess I’d better win this so I can read it!
Yay, I love being introduced to a new series. Looks really interesting, please enter me in the contest. Or…as “staff” here, am I excluded?!?
Sounds fantastic! Count me in too!
robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com
I’ve been hearing alot about this one, count me in! tWarner419@aol.com
Another new author I haven’t read about, going to have to check out the Westfield Brother’s series.
vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com
I really enjoyed Dare’s previous books and am eagerly waiting to read this one. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the Coig members get their HEAs! Thanks for the giveaway. (Email in profile.)
Sounds like a great book. I would love to read it!
andreat78@yahoo.com
I have one of their wolf stories but I really want to try It Happened One Bite to see their vampire story. I think it sounds like a great read!
user1123 AT comcast DOT net
Sounds like the tart of another great series by Ms Dare.
kissinoak at frontier dot com
Thank you so much for an awesome opportunity to win this book! I’ve read one other review about this book and have already placed it on my TBR list! 🙂 I would love the opportunity to win a copy so I can read this sooner than later. I haven’t been able to read the first series but I still think I will enjoy it based on this review and the other one I read! 🙂
deanna.lynn.c at gmail.com
I am in desparate need of a change of pace with my usual reads, this sounds like it fits the bill. Thank you for the review!
sspaw@nc.rr.com
I enjoyed your review and love the idea of a mix of paranormal and historical. I have the Westfield Brothers series, and I’m looking forward to reading this latest book by Lydia Dare.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
Thanks for the review! This sounds like a really good read, I’m going to check it out 🙂
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
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