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Blood of the Maple (Maggie's Grove #1)

by Dana Marie Bell (Goodreads Author)

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 317 ratings · 68 reviews

A seduction-gone-wrong leaves vampire Parker Hollis with a new vegetarian lifestyle and on the run from a vengeful witch. Moving to small-town Maggie's Grove, Parker meets a redheaded dryad with green, leafy blood that draws him in a way he hasn't experienced in decades. His new neighbor smells divine, and it isn't long before craving gives in to need.

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ebook, 210 pages

Published April 11th 2011 by Carina Press

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Jun 14, 2011 Maja rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, glistening-fangs, netgalley, huge-disappointment, werewhatevers, readalong, reviewed-in-2011

Beach books seem to be coming at me from all sides. Blood of the Maple is one of them. It’s a perfect book to read while sunbathing.

I had many, many problems with it but I’ll be kind enough not to list all of them.

First of all, I didn’t believe it's possible for a book to have too much paranormal, but apparently it is. I don’t think there’s anything that hasn’t been thrown into the mix. Dryads, vampires, were-this and were-that, witches, Renfields, ghosts, human sensitives and god only knows wh...more Beach books seem to be coming at me from all sides. Blood of the Maple is one of them. It’s a perfect book to read while sunbathing.

I had many, many problems with it but I’ll be kind enough not to list all of them.

First of all, I didn’t believe it's possible for a book to have too much paranormal, but apparently it is. I don’t think there’s anything that hasn’t been thrown into the mix. Dryads, vampires, were-this and were-that, witches, Renfields, ghosts, human sensitives and god only knows what else, all living in this small town and getting along just fine – which brings me to my second problem: a single witch succeeded in terrorizing them all for months!

I hated the instalove, insta-marriage, insta-mating for life part. They mated on their second date and never even considered that they made a mistake. Same goes for the other couple, Brian and Greg. That’s one of the things I hate about PNR in general, but it was even worse than usual here.

Parker’s macho ~~crap~~ attitude was hilarious when it really wasn’t supposed to be. I never saw him as a dangerous, strong guy. I think that’s where the author truly failed: he didn’t seem real at all. She wanted him to be too many things at once and I just didn’t buy it. So when he delivered this speech:
He pitched his voice so that it could be heard clear across the town, using his vampiric powers to whisper into every home, every dark alley, every corner of Maggie’s Grove. “Know this. Amara is mine. Mine to protect. My sotiei. Anyone who even looks at her wrong will deal with me, and I will not be compassionate. I will make you pay in ways you never dreamed. (…) You won’t be able to hide from me. I will find you in your deepest nightmares. I am your worst fear. And when I finally collect the debt owed, before you die, you’ll know exactly how Amara has felt all these years. You will know what it is to be a true freak. Do we understand each other?
…the book was pretty much over for me.

And last, but not least, call me old-fashioned (view spoiler) but I don’t think it’s cute, attractive or even funny when a woman behaves like a caveman. I’m all for strong, independent women, but there’s a line you just don’t cross. The last scene (oh, come on, it’s not even a spoiler, we all know there’s a HEA) when Amara throws Parker over her shoulder and carries him home almost made me cry in frustration. There’s a natural order of things, and guess what? That’s not it!!!

Read this book when you're tired and just want to relax, when you're at the beach, or both. Otherwise, don't bother.
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Jun 17, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 2 of 5 stars

Man is turned into vampire.
Vampire lives with a witch for a roommate.
Vampire has a booty call with another witch (not the roommate).
Witch is obsessed with being more than just a booty call.
Witch curses Vampire. Vampire must now drink from the blood of plants instead of humans.
Roommate dies (no this really isn’t a spoiler, it happens early and is necessary for the rest of the book).
Vampire still can talk to roommate who is now a ghost.
Ghost aka former roommate tells vampire he must move to Maggi...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Three rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the most part, this was a cute, fun read. I like Parker. He's not your typical vampire hero: dark, angsty, brooding, ridiculously super-powered... well, you know the kind I mean. Parker is friendly and outgoing. He hasn't retreated into his sanctum and kept life at a distance, he lives it. He's generally laid back, which made a nice contrast for when he did go all stereotypical vampire. It was all the more startling and menacing, somehow, to have this mild-mannered botanist go all 'I will ki...more For the most part, this was a cute, fun read. I like Parker. He's not your typical vampire hero: dark, angsty, brooding, ridiculously super-powered... well, you know the kind I mean. Parker is friendly and outgoing. He hasn't retreated into his sanctum and kept life at a distance, he lives it. He's generally laid back, which made a nice contrast for when he did go all stereotypical vampire. It was all the more startling and menacing, somehow, to have this mild-mannered botanist go all 'I will kill you if you touch her', and make it stick. He's also self-deprecating with a strong sense of humor -- which is almost a necessity, considering the diet problems he has.

Speaking of: my initial reaction to the idea of 'plant blood' was annoyance. Surely that's just sap, and if it's just sap, why not say so? What's with all the 'plant blood' nonsense? But it's actually more complicated than that, and there's a reason why what he has to eat to survive is so messed up. (view spoiler) "Plant blood" is still something of a misnomer, but there isn't really a way to describe it in just a few words.

Amara was also a refreshing sort of character. I can't really think of any other dryad romances I've encountered. (There's sort of one in the Belgariad, but it's not the focus, nor is it anything like this.) And the two of them together are almost shockingly adorable. Dryads and vampires really shouldn't go well together, and yet these two do.

Much as I liked the characters and the town and fun things like all vampires having very special butlers to keep them out of trouble, this wasn't quite a four-star read for me. It started out as one, but about halfway through the problems crept in:

--Editing. Although far better than much of what I've read lately, there are still a lot of sentences with extra ands, thats, hes, etc. Most likely because they were edited and rewritten without being put back together properly. Worse, though, are a few glaring errors like having a character go 'next store' instead of 'next door'; and a reference to there being 52 states. (O_o)

--Male dryads. Authors are getting away with a lot under the guise of 'artistic license' these days, but this one really doesn't work for me. Especially since the author knew enough to differentiate hamadryads (albeit her own version of them) from dryads. If she needed a male forest spirit, she could have messed around with fauns or talking trees. (Suspect she went with dryad because it's hard to have half-goat or an actual tree be paired off with a human.)

--Anal sex. Always a huge turn off for me, particularly since it seems like it's on some sort of 'sexy romance' check list. This story is a case in point: Amara gets pushy about wanting it, and claims to have done it a time or two before; yet the only date we hear about ended in unmitigated disaster for her, and the only men in town who don't shun her as a freak are in decidedly sex-free categories. (i.e. her boss, her father figure, her gay friend, and a man who's barely legal) The author completely set aside some of Amara's defining experiences and characteristics to throw this in. Why?(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Sabine Honig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Blood of the Maple – Maggie’s Grove Book 1 came out a while ago and this is the second time I have read it – it is that good and deserves to be read! Ms. Bell is a favourite author of mine – hence the second reading. She writes a variety of books – I love her Halle Puma’s and Shifters. Her Gray Court series is developing into a completely enthralling series that goes from good to better with each installment and now we have Blood of the Maple.
In Blood of the Maple, she is starting another serie...more Blood of the Maple – Maggie’s Grove Book 1 came out a while ago and this is the second time I have read it – it is that good and deserves to be read! Ms. Bell is a favourite author of mine – hence the second reading. She writes a variety of books – I love her Halle Puma’s and Shifters. Her Gray Court series is developing into a completely enthralling series that goes from good to better with each installment and now we have Blood of the Maple.
In Blood of the Maple, she is starting another series and this one is really fun and definitely interesting. Parker Hollis is a vampire who has a bad run-in with a witch who curses him. Now you might think that a vamp would shrug off the curse, but it isn’t any old curse. This witch who still harasses him cursed him to drink plant blood. He cannot drink human blood and any time he gets even remotely close to a female, well, suffice it to say it is as if Terri has a radar or GPS attached in some way to Parker – she turns up like a bad penny – ready to wreak havoc. How can one of the undead survive on plant blood?
What also makes this story interesting is the stages in time that take us to the present – we get to see the characters as they started out and as they develop. Parker is helped out by his friend Greg, who happens to be gay and a witch to boot. He is a great friend to Parker and if he hadn’t helped Parker, he would have died with certainty from the curse. Unfortunately Greg has cancer and in his last wish he is looking out for Parker. He gives him instructions to go to Maggie’s Grove and buy a house and have little vamplings! When Greg dies he sticks around as a ghost for his friend - how dedicated is that? Greg didn’t want to be turned if you are wondering why Parker didn’t save his best friend. He was a witch and if he became a vamp he would have lost his connection forever with what had made him the witch he was!
So Parker moves to Maggie’s Grove and finds a red headed dryad called Amara Schwendler. There is something about Amara that calls to him. She recognizes him for what he is and he finds her tantalizingly attractive, but there is something else about her. Amara is special – slightly more than a dryad as she puts it, but she feels that she doesn’t fit in, and as a dryad, how could she and Parker ever have a relationship? Here is where the title and the book cover actually begin to make some more sense, but I am not going to give it away!
Parker’s welcome to Maggie’s Grove is quite a hoot – he gets his own Renfield to look after his needs and discovers a great deal more about Maggie’s Grove that he didn’t know – ever tasted plant based ice cream? Once Parker realizes he can have a relationship and life with Amara – because she is a dryad he claims her for himself. Can Amara and Parker – who are strange outcasts on their own, but a perfect fit together find the happiness together that they deserve? What will happen when Terri targets the whole town to get Parker? Can the residents of Maggie’s Grove all work together and overcome fear and distrust of each other and mount a successful defense and defeat Terri once and for all? She does have a nasty habit of coming back! To top it off, what are the odds that a gay ghost will meet the only ‘physical psychic’/Renfield in the town, and be able to have a relationship too – his own HEA?
I loved Parker – when he discovers what Amara really means to him, his relationship with his best friend Greg and his acceptance of those in Maggie’s Grove. He is strong and resilient and he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt by the evil witch who cursed him.
Amara is really an innocent – a part of the world and of Maggie’s Grove, yet apart from it in so many ways –ways that are certainly not of her choosing. This has been hurtful to her and she deals with it developing a strength of character and yet also retains a compassion for others, regardless of how they have treated her! She loves her vamp and she is strong enough to take all that he can dish out. The sex between these two is scorchingly hot. Parker is a bit of a dominant as you would expect for an alpha vamp but Amara is able to take all that he gives. The scenes with Brian and Greg are also hilarious and the dialogue – it will have you laughing your head off.
The secondary characters also help to make this book so much more interesting. There are so many different couple combinations and there are lots of intriguing characters and hints that I for one am waiting with bated breath for the next part in this series! If you like a supernatural world with well written characters, great dialogue, tension, danger and hot lovemaking, then you need look no further than Blood of the Maple!
Reviewed for Manic Readers at http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm...(less)

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Aug 03, 2011 Jess Haines rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This was a very amusing book. The main character is a vampire named Parker who has been cursed by a witch to drink the blood of plants.

Yes, plants.

The witch who cursed him wants him to drink only from her (she botched the original spell), and he spends the majority of his time running the hell away. When he meets his new girlfriend, a dryad who is part of a maple tree, he finds her too sweet to resist.

Sometimes the humor didn’t balance so well with the serious bits. It started out very lighthear...more

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May 29, 2011 Chichipio rated it 3 of 5 stars

For someone who supposedly doesn't read PNR, I seem to be reading a lot of it lately.

The thing is, after finishing Feed, I needed a dose of what Vinaya calls fluff-fluffy-fluffest, something where you don't have to worry about what could happen to the characters because you already know everyone will get their HEA.

Luckily, Alisha's review of this book popped in my feed and I thought "why not?" So, a couple of hours later, here we are, almost ready to read tougher books again.

I have to admit, tho...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Whipped Cream 'BEST BOOK'!!

The title of this book was a puzzle to me, at least until I met the main characters in the book. Then Blood of the Maple made perfect sense.

The Sixties: a time for peace, laughter and freedom. A wide-open feast for vampire Parker Hollis, until he runs afoul of Terri, a powerful and possessive witch who wants Parker all to herself. When she catches him with another woman, she curses him to a life of drinking only plant blood, making him the only known vegetarian vampi...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Ni_kii rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, magic, psychic-powers, steamy, witches, vampires

Parker Hollis is a big slut. A smooth, good-looking Vampire, he thinks nothing of loving, feeding and then leaving, females across the world. As with most slutty men in Romance novels, karma does, eventually, turn around and bite him on the ass. In this case Karma comes in the form of a very powerful witch. Terri is a dark witch who adores Parker. When she catches him “with his fangs down” feeding from another woman, she takes great exception to the fact that she isn’t his only food source. She...more Parker Hollis is a big slut. A smooth, good-looking Vampire, he thinks nothing of loving, feeding and then leaving, females across the world. As with most slutty men in Romance novels, karma does, eventually, turn around and bite him on the ass. In this case Karma comes in the form of a very powerful witch. Terri is a dark witch who adores Parker. When she catches him “with his fangs down” feeding from another woman, she takes great exception to the fact that she isn’t his only food source. She puts him under a curse, which means that she will be the only person he can drink blood from, and that the rest of the food should come only from plants. Flash forward to years later and Parker is living with as a full Vegetarian Vampire, with an unwanted Masters in Botany, and a ghostly companion. Before his premature death, his ghostly companion, Greg, had made him promise that he would move to the little town of Maggie’s Grove and “have little Vampires”. Maggie’s Grove is a weird little place that is built for Supernatural beings. They have Vampires, Witches, werewolves and Dryads amongst other things. Parker is even assigned his own Renfield (I loved this Dracula reference....:D). Maggie's Grove also comes with Amara, his fascinating neighbour. Amara is a Dryad, which means that she is a nymph that has an affinity for plants. The rest of the town shun her because she is weird even by their standards, but she has nowhere else to go. Parker and Amara find themselves drawn towards each other and find that she is his “blood wife” (the one woman that can sustain Parker forever) However, what about the pesky little curse? Moreover, what will psycho witch Terry do to them once she finds out?

This book was funny. It isn’t clever funny, or sarcastically funny but very silly. To be honest that’s one of the reasons that I kept reading. It reminded me of a PNR crossed with early Janet Evanovich and, I’m hoping, that this isn’t just a standalone book! The concept of a Vegetarian vampire isn’t new, but the concept of a vampire that can only eat plant blood is fantastically crazy. I howled with laughter at an account of a time where Parker tried to eat the “blood” of a cactus ...the science teacher in me could have told him that wasn’t a great plan! The relationship he has with Greg, his witch, is lovely to read and I’m so glad that it continued after his death as I always enjoy a good Bromance. As much as I enjoyed reading about Parker, It took me a while to get into the character of Amara. It was absolutely atrocious how the how the towns peopletreated her and I enjoyed Miss Bells attempts to prove that, even in a community of “freaks”, it is human nature to pick on the freak of the bunch! What annoyed me slightly about Amara were the contradictions within her character. She was isolated for all her life and the story kept mentioning how she had problems with men and had very little romanctic/sexual experience. Then about half way through the book, when she and Parker finally started to have sex, she turned into a connoisseur of Kink. She knew all the tricks, knew what she liked and, even stranger, she constantly wanted anal sex because she loved it so much. It just didn’t sit well with her character I had pictured in my head and it made me a little less invested in their story. When Parker and Amara finally get it together (which they obviously do...she is part plant!) it is smoking. They pretty much have sex everywhere, every which way and often! There were bits that made my palms a little sweaty and bits that made me blush....definitely five stars for the smut :D

The side characters were fun. I really enjoyed the burgeoning relationship with Greg the Ghost and Brian, the Renfield. Brain is not only Parkers Renfield (which is basically a Vampire’s fetcher/carrier during the daylight hours) but also a physical psychic. This means he can feel/touch ghosts....this led to some INTERESTING love scenes between the two and some stupid questions on my part (can a ghost orgasm?) To be honest one of the reasons I hope this isn’t a standalone book is because I would like to see how they work out their relationships with its obvious limitations! I also liked the Mayors character and felt his HEA was completely rushed and unsatisfying...there were too many loves stories going in one book to make me happy with every romances progression and conclusion!
Overall, a very funny, light read with some amazing characters that deserves to have their own stories written. I haven’t gone into the whole twist at the end, with some interesting developments in Amara's true heritage, and the final battle between Parker and Terri because it’s too damn fun to give you any hints! A surprising find with an awesome cover...well worth a read!
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Apr 13, 2011 Jess the Romanceaholic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, vampires, faeries-or-other-fey, paranormal-romance, revenge-plot, fated-to-be-mated, ghosts, 2011-read, cursed, backdoor-luvin, smuttastic, dryad, magick, stalker, outcast

This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Carina Press
Author’s Website: http://www.danamariebell.com/
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: No
Steam Level: Scorching

This is my first experience with Dana Marie Bell, but I have to say that I’m in love with her quirky characters and loose writing style.

Parker is not your average vampire. He made the mistake of shagging the wrong witch d...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Scooper Speaks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Favorite Lines: “It was like she’d handed him Christmas, his birthday and an all-you-can-eat porn star rolled into one. From the way he swallowed, he might have started drooling.” (p. 50)

Ok, the prologue almost made me regret my decision to read Blood of the Maple. While it was needed for the reader to completely understand the both the hero and heroine’s problems, it made me think the book was going to silly fluff. I’m pleased to say by the end of chapter one, I had discarded that thought and c...more Favorite Lines: “It was like she’d handed him Christmas, his birthday and an all-you-can-eat porn star rolled into one. From the way he swallowed, he might have started drooling.” (p. 50)

Ok, the prologue almost made me regret my decision to read Blood of the Maple. While it was needed for the reader to completely understand the both the hero and heroine’s problems, it made me think the book was going to silly fluff. I’m pleased to say by the end of chapter one, I had discarded that thought and continued to read a very different, but extremely exciting story.

Blood of the Maple is book one in Dana Marie Bell’s Maggie’s Grove series. Maggie’s Grove is a predominately paranormal community in Maryland. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches and dryads are only a few of the creatures living in Maggies Grove. The town caters to every abnormal living in the community except Amara. For an unknown reason she is shunned by most of the people in town. When Parker arrives the town welcomes him which shows it is capable of accepting those who are different, but their disdain for Amara is a puzzle.

I liked Amara from the get-go. She is a refreshing and mysterious character. We know that others fear her, but not why. My need to find out why she was treated like an outcast helped keep my flipping the pages of this ebook, but the romance was a solid second. Amara needed someone to love her and Parker had enough quirks of his own to make him worthy of her. I wanted her to find a happily ever after and that was possible with Parker.

The secondary characters almost stole the story. From the mayor to the mystic, to Parker’s best friend who happened to be a ghost and the ghost’s lover, Blood of the Maple is infused with people I’d love to know more about. I want to know their secrets and desires. I learned enough about them to want them to find love and HEAs.

One reason why you should read Blood of the Maple: The sex scenes involving a ghost. It’s a M/M relationship, so avoid this book if you dislike books which mention homosexuality.

I’m glad I read this book and would recommend others check it out. The story is 210 pages of steamy sex, funny innuendos and action. (This doesn’t include the 8 pages which included the cover, letter to the reader, dedication and acknowledgements.)
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Jun 06, 2011 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

While I'm not usually one to complain about steamy, well executed scenes, the sex was gratuitous in this book.

Could have used a little less exposition.

It's unfortunate that this book suffers from the syndrome that Twilight and many other books do: meeting someone, falling in love with them within days, and eternally mating/marrying them within a few more days. Pretty ridiculous. I'd love to read some stories that allowed time to pass for relationships to realistically occur.

The bravado and chi...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance

A Lively and Sexy Romp
Vampire Parker Hollis took full advantage of the free love and hippie lifestyle of the sixties...right up until he ignored a friend's warning and dallied with someone he would long regret ever meeting. Sure, he learned a valuable life lesson: hell hath no fury like a witch scorned, but he paid dearly for that lesson. Determined to be Parker's blood wife, the batshit crazy witch captures the vampire, then casts a dark spell that will change Parker...and his existence...forev...more

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Apr 16, 2011 ALPHAreader rated it 3 of 5 stars

Parker Hollis has made plenty of mistakes in his undead life . . . the worst of which was getting caught with his fangs down. Parker cheated on his one-night-stand, which is never a good idea when the woman happens to be a neurotic, jealous and utterly bonkers witch called Terri. Terri cursed vampiric Parker to become vegetarian – not only was Parker put-off by all blood (except Terri’s) but he could only eat green, leafy juices. Literally, a vampire who can only eat green.

It has been a few yea...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Blood of the Maple is the first book in the Maggie’s Grove miniseries by Dana Marie Bell and a Fantasy Romance from Carina Press.

Book Blurb:

A seduction-gone-wrong leaves vampire Parker Hollis with a new vegetarian lifestyle and on the run from a vengeful witch. Moving to small-town Maggie's Grove, Parker meets a redheaded dryad with green, leafy blood that draws him in a way he hasn't experienced in decades. His new neighbor smells divine, and it isn't long before craving gives in to need.

In a u...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Shiran rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazing-covers, dana-marie-bell, erotica, magic, shifters, vampires, witches, favorites, luaghed-my-ass-off

4.5 Stars - Bell has a sick and twisted mind... and I'm loving every minute!!

Parker is an weirdo amongst the weird and Amara is an outcast in a city full of supernaturals. A vegetarian vampire, Parker moves to Maggie's Grove after his best friend dies of cancer. Greg is still with him as a ghost but Parker wants a fresh start, what he finds is a town full of supernaturals and a the only woman who's blood was made for his unique diet. Amara has been the outcast in Maggie's Grove for her whole lif...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Bonnie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: pn-romance, arcs-read, diiiirrrrrrttyyy, adult, netgalley

Alright so I had totally written a review, and it somehow got deleted, so in place of missing review you’re going to get this half-assed one because I really didn’t care for this book. I’d give it 2.5 stars… and I debated a while on whether it was worth rounding up. I decided against that obviously.

I had really been looking forward to this book, I thought it was going to be A LOT better than it ended up being. The story was extremely fast paced, set in this ‘Steford’ type society, just with sup

...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Norma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

The cover art is absolutely beautiful. I wished they would have a paperback instead of just the ebook. I can only imagine how nice it would have looked in person instead of on the computer.

This is romance with a dark twist. The characters were well drawn out. They really popped off the page. It was interesting to see a vegetarian vampire.

The author did spend quite a bit of time on developing the world. However, she did it so well that you can envision everything about it.

I really enjoyed this b...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Anne Dirty Girls' Good Books rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, paranormal, romance, vampire, on-my-reader

I wanted to like this book a lot more. It reminded me of Mary Janice Davidson's light paranormals. But I just never felt connected with the characters. Parker was supposed to be a really tough vampire, but he had this thing for home decorating that really threw me off, and I couldn't tell if it was intentionally funny or unintentionally. So I felt like I was laughing at him instead of with him.

I did like the characters, but I started getting the extended cast confused with each other, especially...more

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May 24, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: caleigh

http://www.rantingdragon.com/blood-of...

Blood of the Maple is a contemporary romantic fantasy by Dana Marie Bell. Though it works perfectly well as a standalone, it marks the beginning of a new series called Maggie’s Grove. After sexy vamp Parker Hollis unintentionally attracts a psychotic witch admirer, he’s cursed to drink only “green, leafy blood” for the rest of his unnatural life – but unfortunately he just can’t bring himself to kill the witch in order to break the curse. When Parker’s bes...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-romance, paranormal-romance

This was a one day read, I could not put it down! I thought Dana Marie Bell's Grey Court series was my favorite but this book changed that! I loved Blood of the Maple. The characters were so unique and fun, a vegetarian vampire, a creepy stalker witch turned plant, a dryad thats more than a dryad, a witch turned ghost, I could go on and on. I really loved the sense of humor behind the characters and the book, that under tone of sarcasm made me keep reading just to see what would pop out of their...more

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May 31, 2011 Sasha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, vampires, supernatural-creatures, offensive-content

If I exclude all the references to gay sex, relationships etc, and exclude the anal sex between protagonists, this was a really great book.

Easily 3.5 stars. Love the premise, and the execution of their relationship was believable enough. I also thought Patrick was such a sweetheart, not neanderthal or uncommunicative as so many of these vampire heroes can be. And Amara was quite a surprise, in terms of her personality and her strength. I also liked the supporting characters and would love to re...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-paranormal, saucy

As far as PNR goes, this one was acceptable. The commune of Maggie's Grove seems to be prime for more stories, but it's certainly not as engaging a group as those found in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series.

I think a lot of the problem was that Parker was an, essentially, emasculated vampire. His backstory comprised entirely of him being held captive and then depending on a witch and studying plants. He has all the time in the world, there's no reason he shouldn't study plants - it's cha...more

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May 06, 2011 Vannessa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-books, netgalley-books, vampire-mostly, urban-fantasy-adult

I got this book free from NetGalley but this review is my own opinion.

I thought this book sounded hilarious which is why I requested it - a vegetarian vampire. And I have to say Parker, the vampire in question was hilarious. He can only drink herby, green blood so dines on a smoothie blended from maple syrup, various plants and a little bit of blood. He was cursed by his crazy ex-girlfriend, who was only a short fling back in the days of hippie love.

He moves to a town, completely made up of supe...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Caroline (Bon Bons and Reveries) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, 3-kisses-rating, netgalley, kindle, vampires, supernatural, romance, werewolves, dryad, fantasy, adult, paranormal, paranormal-romance, shapeshifters, witches

I had such a hard time rating this book. There were so many things I really liked about this book, but at the same time there were plenty of things that I didn’t like. Blood of the Maple is about a playboy vampire, Parker, who moves to Maggie’s Grove with his best friend and ghost, Greg. Maggie’s Grove is one of the only, if not the only, towns in the US that is completely supernatural. Shortly after arriving, Parker meets Amara, a powerful dryad who lives next door. They fall in love, but their...more I had such a hard time rating this book. There were so many things I really liked about this book, but at the same time there were plenty of things that I didn’t like. Blood of the Maple is about a playboy vampire, Parker, who moves to Maggie’s Grove with his best friend and ghost, Greg. Maggie’s Grove is one of the only, if not the only, towns in the US that is completely supernatural. Shortly after arriving, Parker meets Amara, a powerful dryad who lives next door. They fall in love, but their relationship, and the town, is threatened by Parker’s ex, an obsessive crazy witch who has been following Parker for years.
Amara is a really powerful dryad who was raised by a kind woman. For reasons unknown to Amara, but revealed later in the book, the townspeople avoid her. When they are not ignoring her, they are outwardly horrible to her. Even though most of Maggie’s Grove hates her, she has a few friends, but she is still very lonely. Amara spends most of her time in her garden and conversing with her tree.
After escaping from his ex, who was trying to make it so he could only drink from her blood, so they will be together forever, Parker is stuck drinking plant-like blood. Before Amara, Greg would make a smoothie with a few drops of his blood mixed with certain plants. After Greg dies and becomes a ghost, they move to Maggie’s Grove, where Parker falls in love with Amara and the final showdown with his ex takes place.
Maggie’s Grove is such a quant town. It’s like a supernatural version of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. Everyone knows everyone. The beings that inhabit Maggie’s Grove are shapeshifters, vampires, psychics, witches, dryads, etc. When Parker’s ex threatens the town to get to Parker, everyone comes together to fight her.
I loved the fresh take on the supernatural. The problems I had with this book had to do with all the random sex scenes. Some were appropriately placed but I felt that others were just unneeded. Yes, I know this is a paranormal romance-stressing the romance, but still. Having said that, I still liked this book and will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out.
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Apr 11, 2012 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story follows Amara a Dryad who is hated by the supernatural town she lives in and Parker a vampire with a difference - due to being a major slut he was cursed by a witch. The curse went terribly wrong as he managed to interrupt the spell and instead of always needing the witch to be his only source of food he now can only live off of a green vegetarian diet. Parker moves to a new town after his best friend Greg (Who's also a witch) dies and tells him he must start a new. The story follows P...more

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May 08, 2011 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, favorite-covers, werewolves, urban-fantasy, erotica

Blood of the Maple is the start of a new erotic paranormal romance series by one of my go-to authors, for when I want something fun and refreshing, a mini-break from my usual serious reads. This book fit perfectly and surprisingly was a bit longer compared to similar books in the genre. Since it is available only as an ebook, I am not sure of the page count but I would estimate around 300 pages, a bit of a difference from the nearly standard novella length being published in this genre.

The only...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Riley Quinn rated it 4 of 5 stars

An interesting read.

I'm a huge fan of Ms. Bell's Halle Pumas series so I was really looking forward to this book. The idea of a vegetarian vampire finding true love with a dryad was clever.

I know that this was the first in a new series, but I thought the introduction to other characters and their relationships was a bit heavy-handed at times. It drew attention away from Parker and Amara and the threat of Terri, diluting some of the suspense and tension.

I did enjoy the book and read it in one si...more

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Oct 01, 2011 AquaScales rated it 5 of 5 stars

This story shouldn't work. Dryad, vegetarian vampire, ghosts and lovers. It shouldn't work but it does and I enjoyed it immensely. Dana established the world and characters completely and thoroughly enough that as a reader you don't get side tracked by the plot and instead are taken in by the characters who are poignant and very humanly funny. This story is about finding friends, family and community and who finding them sometimes takes understanding, time, perseverance and above all a sense of...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Angela James added it

Shelves: 2011, carina-press, paranormal

I'm not going to rate this, since I'm obviously a bit biased about books from this publisher ;) but I have always loved Dana Marie Bell's books, ever since I pulled her first from the slush pile, and that hasn't changed in all these books, even after I'm no longer her editor and even books published with other publishers. She's just a very talented writer and I love her voice! I read this while I was traveling overseas and it was a fantastic travel book to read. Love the world and I definitely h...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Jamie Welch rated it 3 of 5 stars

Blood of the Maple left me confused as to how I felt about it. On the one hand I thought that all the quirky, various sundry of supernatural characters that lived in Maggie's Grove were entertaining and interesting and of course the sex was hooooot in this book so hey, that's a plus. On the other hand I felt that the humor was childish and corny at best and had me rolling my eyes. I get that the author was trying to be cute and funny but I found it immature most of the time. My other gripe was t...more

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About Dana Marie Bell

Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with hon...more

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Cat Of A Different Color (Halle Pumas, #3)

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Quotes from Blood of the Maple

“He might be a vampire, hunter of the night and all-around badass, but a woman scorned was fucking scary.” — 3 people liked it

“She stared at the building covered in dead vines and wildly gyrating roses. Amara stifled a laugh as she watched them dance.
"Could you do me a favor?" Mollie pushed her sweaty bangs out of her eyes with a shaking hand.
"Hmm?"
"The roses have started doing the Macarena, and it´s freaking me the fuck out. Could you make them stop?” — 2 people liked it

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Blood of the Maple (Maggie's Grove #1)

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