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Love at Stake #6
Secret Life of a Vampire
Nothing's sexier than an man who can keep a secret.
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, the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova. 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? And why is he so interested in the recent disappearance of young women all over town? Her investigation uncovers more than she wants to know, especially about this modern-day Casanova. But if she's ever to make detective, she'll need to expose all his secrets . . . if only her heart wasn't on the line.
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, the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova. 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? And why is he so interested in the recent disappearance of young women all over town? Her investigation uncovers more than she wants to know, especially about this modern-day Casanova. But if she's ever to make detective, she'll need to expose all his secrets . . . if only her heart wasn't on the line.
360 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2009
108 people are currently reading
3851 people want to read
About the author
Kerrelyn Sparks
37 books5,785 followersKerrelyn Sparks apparently has issues with reality. After writing more than a dozen books about vampires, she has now completely gone off the deep end and wound up on another planet. But how thrilling that she can share this magical new world with her readers! Although she is best known (so far) for the Love at Stake series, which has hit as high as number 5 on the New York Times list and 22 on the USA Today list, she hopes her readers will love The Embraced as much as they did her merry band of vamps and shifters. To learn more about her paranormal, historical, and upcoming out-of-this-world fantasy romances, please visit Kerrelyn on Facebook, Twitter, or her website at www.kerrelynsparks.com.
Kerrelyn loves hearing from readers, even those who howl at the moon. Letters may be sent to P.O. Box 5512, Katy, TX 77491-5512. If you would like bookmarks and signed bookplates, please mail a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope to her P.O. Box, and she will send those items to you.
Kerrelyn loves hearing from readers, even those who howl at the moon. Letters may be sent to P.O. Box 5512, Katy, TX 77491-5512. If you would like bookmarks and signed bookplates, please mail a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope to her P.O. Box, and she will send those items to you.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
November 16, 2016
If you meet a guy who can alter people's memories, move super fast and is super strong, and can teleport, what would you think? Well, Lara and her best friend are thinking that maybe Lara's new guy is an alien or something. They decide to investigate.
LaToya: "Hey, I wonder what aliens eat. I hope your Jack isn't here to harvest us for food."
LaToya also insisted that Lara should try to inspect Jack for extra belly buttons, gills, tentacles, or scales. Someone (other than me and my freaky friends) has been reading alien-smut! I approve!
This book had a lot more humor than the previous ones. It starts when Lara, a rookie cop, is called to a hotel room because there is a bachelor party that has gotten out of control. I'm talking "The Hangover" out of control. There was sword-fighting, sex toys that are vamp-bitable, and bagpipes. These guys know how to throw a party.
Although the vamps do a good job erasing everyone else's memories, Lara's couldn't be altered because of a previous brain injury. Obviously, Lara is now on a mission to figure out what the hell is going on. And, while I liked her tenacity, I didn't really like Lara that much. She was kind of stupid, kind of bratty, and, okay - more than kind of stupid. Since she was a former beauty queen, I'm thinking she shouldn't have changed professions and stuck with what she was good at.
Sadly, this is real. I wish it was a joke.
But, in spite of Lara having the brain-power of a goldfish, the story was still a lot of fun. Dumb things can be pretty entertaining in their own way.
Exactly!
LaToya: "Hey, I wonder what aliens eat. I hope your Jack isn't here to harvest us for food."
LaToya also insisted that Lara should try to inspect Jack for extra belly buttons, gills, tentacles, or scales. Someone (other than me and my freaky friends) has been reading alien-smut! I approve!
This book had a lot more humor than the previous ones. It starts when Lara, a rookie cop, is called to a hotel room because there is a bachelor party that has gotten out of control. I'm talking "The Hangover" out of control. There was sword-fighting, sex toys that are vamp-bitable, and bagpipes. These guys know how to throw a party.
Although the vamps do a good job erasing everyone else's memories, Lara's couldn't be altered because of a previous brain injury. Obviously, Lara is now on a mission to figure out what the hell is going on. And, while I liked her tenacity, I didn't really like Lara that much. She was kind of stupid, kind of bratty, and, okay - more than kind of stupid. Since she was a former beauty queen, I'm thinking she shouldn't have changed professions and stuck with what she was good at.
Sadly, this is real. I wish it was a joke.
But, in spite of Lara having the brain-power of a goldfish, the story was still a lot of fun. Dumb things can be pretty entertaining in their own way.
Exactly!
June 25, 2019
STILL IN LOVE WITH THIS SERIES, EVEN IF THIS BOOK DIDN'T FULLY LIVE UP TO THE REST
Love at Stake is my go to series when I am in need of something light and humorous with a good portion of smut. And while this book still had all those things, it was somewhat disappointing, unfortunately. However, that does not diminish my love for this series! I will definitely be back for more ❤️
THE THINGS I LIKED
The humour: Like I said, the major plus with this book (and the entire series) is definitely the humor! In my opinion, many paranormal books try to be humorous but only end up slightly awkward. That is not the case here! And I love it!
The quirkiness: Okay, this wasn't as pronounced in this book as it was in many of the previous ones, but come on, how can you not love a book series that involves a vampire reality dating show?! Or, in this case, a vampire descendant of the legendary Casanova and a vampire cult!
THE THINGS I DIDN'T REALLY LIKE
Jack/Lara: Any paranormal romance book needs a strong leading couple. I am sad to say that Jack and Lara just didn't do it for me. They both felt like really shallow people who cared mostly about looks and where driven by lust. In Lara's defence, though, I did like that she always emphasized that she wanted to use her head and not her face.
Romance?: It's called paranormal romance for a reason. Yes, lust and sex is a part of romance, but there has to be something else. Lara and Jack had loads of lust for each other. I just didn't catch the part where they moved from lust to love. I didn't understand that part... Seemed like all lust to me...
FOLLOW MY BLOG FOR MORE BOOK GOODNESS
Love at Stake is my go to series when I am in need of something light and humorous with a good portion of smut. And while this book still had all those things, it was somewhat disappointing, unfortunately. However, that does not diminish my love for this series! I will definitely be back for more ❤️
THE THINGS I LIKED
The humour: Like I said, the major plus with this book (and the entire series) is definitely the humor! In my opinion, many paranormal books try to be humorous but only end up slightly awkward. That is not the case here! And I love it!
The quirkiness: Okay, this wasn't as pronounced in this book as it was in many of the previous ones, but come on, how can you not love a book series that involves a vampire reality dating show?! Or, in this case, a vampire descendant of the legendary Casanova and a vampire cult!
THE THINGS I DIDN'T REALLY LIKE
Jack/Lara: Any paranormal romance book needs a strong leading couple. I am sad to say that Jack and Lara just didn't do it for me. They both felt like really shallow people who cared mostly about looks and where driven by lust. In Lara's defence, though, I did like that she always emphasized that she wanted to use her head and not her face.
Romance?: It's called paranormal romance for a reason. Yes, lust and sex is a part of romance, but there has to be something else. Lara and Jack had loads of lust for each other. I just didn't catch the part where they moved from lust to love. I didn't understand that part... Seemed like all lust to me...
FOLLOW MY BLOG FOR MORE BOOK GOODNESS
May 25, 2017
I liked the story and I like Jack. Lara I didn't like. She made the story a 3 for me and she made me want to slap and shake her!
April 1, 2009
I would categorize Kerrelyn Sparks' latest paranormal in her vampire series, "Secret Life of a Vampire" as one of the sweeter, yet still hot, in this whole series. Her hero is more Gamma than Alpha, her heroine is an ex-beauty queen turned cop, and there's not much blood spilled unless it comes from a glass.
The vampires in this series are divided into two camps; Malcontents who want to rule the world and feed from humans at will, and the good vamps who feed off bottled blood and battle the Malcontents. Even though this same good vamps vs bad vamps has been done over and over, Sparks adds enough twists to distinguish her series from the rest. Her good vamps have their own 'Black Pages', their own Vamp Network cable TV station, and their own Vampire Fusion Cuisine.
This story begins at a wild vamp bachelor party that gets raided by a pair of cops due to the noise of the bagpipes. Yes, I said bagpipes. The humor in this series isn't just in the dialogue. I mean kilt wearing, sword-bearing, sexy vampires in New York City? Be still my heart.
Anyway, my enjoyment of this series is its refusal to bow to the popularity of the more serious and darker vein (couldn't resist) of stories that currently abound. Fun and funny, sweet yet with enough heat to satisfy most romance readers, I confess to being hooked.
The vampires in this series are divided into two camps; Malcontents who want to rule the world and feed from humans at will, and the good vamps who feed off bottled blood and battle the Malcontents. Even though this same good vamps vs bad vamps has been done over and over, Sparks adds enough twists to distinguish her series from the rest. Her good vamps have their own 'Black Pages', their own Vamp Network cable TV station, and their own Vampire Fusion Cuisine.
This story begins at a wild vamp bachelor party that gets raided by a pair of cops due to the noise of the bagpipes. Yes, I said bagpipes. The humor in this series isn't just in the dialogue. I mean kilt wearing, sword-bearing, sexy vampires in New York City? Be still my heart.
Anyway, my enjoyment of this series is its refusal to bow to the popularity of the more serious and darker vein (couldn't resist) of stories that currently abound. Fun and funny, sweet yet with enough heat to satisfy most romance readers, I confess to being hooked.
April 17, 2015
CUTE FUN PREDICTABLE AND ADICITABLE WITH THE EVER PRESENT HEA.
Great narration
The only thing I didn't care for the character Latoya-terrible character TSTL
Great narration
The only thing I didn't care for the character Latoya-terrible character TSTL
September 15, 2017
Reviewed for THC Reviews
I’ve been a big fan of Kerrelyn Sparks’ Love at Stake series, since I read the first book five and a half years ago. That’s why I was utterly dismayed to discover that it’s been over four and a half years since I last read one. I guess when someone has as many books on their TBR pile as I do and reads as slowly as I do, it’s bound to happen. Something winds up on the back burner whether intentionally or not, but it’s still sad, especially when they’re books that I love as much as these. All of the books up to this point have been keepers for me, and although I was definitely very happy to get back to this world, Secret Life of a Vampire wasn’t quite up to the high standard set for me with the first five novels. That’s not to say it isn’t good, because it is. Or that I didn’t like the characters, because I did. I simply saw a few weaknesses that were just enough to knock it down a star. I felt like the beginning (or really the first 2/3 or so of the book) wasn’t quite all the way there for me, but still, the last hundred pages or so made up for some of that. So when it came time to decide on a rating, I did waffle a little. Ultimately, I decided to go with four stars, but know that it’s a very strong four star rating.
Giacomo aka Jack has been a part of the series since book #3, Be Still My Vampire Heart. I always got the impression of him as the smooth-talking Italian Casanova, and he actually is a Casanova, being the illegitimate son of the legendary lover. He is very flirtatious and seems to know how to get a woman’s attention, but I liked that deep down he’s really nothing like his father. If anything, he’s a little uncertain of himself at times, and he’s not particularly into sleeping around. He’s obviously a man who prefers relationships to casual love affairs, and when he finds a woman to shower his attention on, he loves with his whole heart. From the moment he first sees Lara, Jack is very attracted to her and jumps in with both feet, trying to seduce her. He’s the first to declare his love, and while it was perhaps a little early in their relationship for that, I did like his style and him teleporting her to Venice to romance her was very sweet. I also love his protective nature and how he drives himself to find the bad guy to keep Lara safe. Where I saw a little bit of deficiency in his characterization is that it’s not revealed until pretty late in the story that Jack was turned into a vampire against his will, and it’s not until the very end that the circumstances of that are explained. He also lost his first love and had two other women he loved reject him when they found out he was a vampire. Because of these things, Jack could have been a tortured hero like I felt some of the other heroes have been (at least to some extent), but instead his backstory seemed to be glossed over. It just didn’t play a big part in driving his character. Overall, Jack was a really sweet hero who I liked a lot, but I just didn’t quite fall head-over-heels for him like I did with some of the earlier heroes.
Lara is a former Southern beauty queen turned New York City cop, which was an interesting dynamic that I would have loved to see explored a little more deeply. Driven by her mother to compete in pageants from the time she was a little girl, it wasn’t until she was older that she made the choice to get out of that life because it just wasn’t for her. But around that same time, she was in a car accident that seriously injured her, causing some brain damage from which it took a while for her recover. During that time, she determined that if she could make a full recovery, she was going to do something meaningful with her life. So she and her hospital roommate, who’d been shot in a robbery, banded together as best friends, moved to New York, and became police officers. Lara meets Jack when she and her partner (a guy, not the woman who’s her friend) respond to a report of loud music and partying in a hotel room, where Jack is throwing a bachelor party for Ian (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire). Jack tries to use mind-control on her and wipe her memory, but it doesn’t work. She knows there’s something off about the guy, but at the same time, she’s attracted to and intrigued by him. When a girl on a nearby college campus goes missing and her friends appear to have had their memories wiped, she wonders if Jack had anything to do with it, while hoping he didn’t. After he admits that there are others out there like him, they start working together to find the bad guy before more women are kidnapped.
I had a similar problem with Lara as I did with Jack in that I didn’t feel like her backstory played enough of a role in her present motivations, but even more so than that, I was a little bothered by the fact that she and her roommate spend quite a bit of time speculating on exactly what Jack is since he refuses to tell her for a while. During that time, they come up with all manner of things such alien, bionic man, android, mutant superhero, but never once does vampire cross their minds even though all of his characteristics point to it, which made them seem a little dense. Then when Jack finally confesses that he’s a vampire, her first reaction is “that’s impossible, they don’t exist,” and when faced with accepting it, she can’t at first because he’s suddenly now a monster. Her reactions just seemed inconsistent to me. Luckily she isn’t too stubborn in her mindset and gradually turns around, so that in the end, I still liked her.
Just like with most of the other books in the series so far, there were a number of notable secondary characters, some of whom already had their own books or get their own books in the future. Connor (Vampire Mine) and Robby (The Vampire and the Virgin) are the two main Highlanders taking care of business at MacKay Security and Investigations where Jack works, too. As always, Phineas (Wanted: Undead or Alive) cracks me up. Phil, the wolf shifter who becomes the hero of the next book, Forbidden Nights with a Vampire, assists Jack with his investigation into the disappearance of the girls, while seeming to be hiding a few secrets of his own. Carlos (Eat, Prey, Love), the sexy panther shifter puts in an appearance acting as a guard at Roman’s townhouse, where Jack is staying. Shanna (How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire) gives Lara a little advice and encouragement, and I loved seeing her and Roman’s children, Constantine and baby Sofia. Roman as well as Angus and Emma (Be Still My Vampire Heart) are seen very briefly at Sofia’s birth. We get to see Ian (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire) at his wedding. Apollo, the main villain of the story who is kidnapping the girls, not surprisingly has connections to the evil Casimir, leader of the Malcontents and mortal enemy of all the good vampires. Then there’s Lara’s best friend, LaToya, who helps keep her grounded, and there’s one of the missing girls, Sarah. I thought both of these ladies showed some promise as possible future main characters. It looks like Roman may have a place for Sarah in his organization, but unfortunately neither of the women become heroines of their own stories, which is slightly disappointing.
Overall, Secret Life of a Vampire was an enjoyable story and if the characterizations had been built up just a little more, I probably would have liked it even better. Another thing that could have been improved a bit is the humor aspect. This series tends to be a little more lighthearted, and several of the previous books had me in stitches at some points. This one has a couple of humorous moments that amused me, but it wasn’t quite as funny for me as some of the others were. It simply didn’t reach that perfect ratio of comedy and deeper emotions that I’d previously found in the other novels. The final thing that bothered me a bit is that the level of trust in Jack and Lara’s relationship wasn’t quite up to par for me. Jack hides his true identity from Lara for an almost frustratingly long time and his excuses didn’t quite ring true to me. There are other mortal women who’ve already mated vampire men, and while I could sympathize with his past loves rejecting him, that part of his past wasn’t brought out in stark enough relief for me to feel his pain. Then when he finally does confess, Lara instantly doesn’t trust Jack for no other reason than because he’s a vampire. She was OK with the possibility of him being any of those other things she speculated about, but not with him being a vampire, which seemed a little overblown. But eventually they get past all that and do come to trust each other, so it wasn’t all bad. Otherwise, Jack is a lovable and sexy hero, and while Lara had a few weaknesses, she became more likable as the story progressed, so Secret Life of a Vampire ended up being a good book anyway. I’m very much looking forward to continuing the series, and hopefully this time it won’t take me years to get around to reading the next one.
I’ve been a big fan of Kerrelyn Sparks’ Love at Stake series, since I read the first book five and a half years ago. That’s why I was utterly dismayed to discover that it’s been over four and a half years since I last read one. I guess when someone has as many books on their TBR pile as I do and reads as slowly as I do, it’s bound to happen. Something winds up on the back burner whether intentionally or not, but it’s still sad, especially when they’re books that I love as much as these. All of the books up to this point have been keepers for me, and although I was definitely very happy to get back to this world, Secret Life of a Vampire wasn’t quite up to the high standard set for me with the first five novels. That’s not to say it isn’t good, because it is. Or that I didn’t like the characters, because I did. I simply saw a few weaknesses that were just enough to knock it down a star. I felt like the beginning (or really the first 2/3 or so of the book) wasn’t quite all the way there for me, but still, the last hundred pages or so made up for some of that. So when it came time to decide on a rating, I did waffle a little. Ultimately, I decided to go with four stars, but know that it’s a very strong four star rating.
Giacomo aka Jack has been a part of the series since book #3, Be Still My Vampire Heart. I always got the impression of him as the smooth-talking Italian Casanova, and he actually is a Casanova, being the illegitimate son of the legendary lover. He is very flirtatious and seems to know how to get a woman’s attention, but I liked that deep down he’s really nothing like his father. If anything, he’s a little uncertain of himself at times, and he’s not particularly into sleeping around. He’s obviously a man who prefers relationships to casual love affairs, and when he finds a woman to shower his attention on, he loves with his whole heart. From the moment he first sees Lara, Jack is very attracted to her and jumps in with both feet, trying to seduce her. He’s the first to declare his love, and while it was perhaps a little early in their relationship for that, I did like his style and him teleporting her to Venice to romance her was very sweet. I also love his protective nature and how he drives himself to find the bad guy to keep Lara safe. Where I saw a little bit of deficiency in his characterization is that it’s not revealed until pretty late in the story that Jack was turned into a vampire against his will, and it’s not until the very end that the circumstances of that are explained. He also lost his first love and had two other women he loved reject him when they found out he was a vampire. Because of these things, Jack could have been a tortured hero like I felt some of the other heroes have been (at least to some extent), but instead his backstory seemed to be glossed over. It just didn’t play a big part in driving his character. Overall, Jack was a really sweet hero who I liked a lot, but I just didn’t quite fall head-over-heels for him like I did with some of the earlier heroes.
Lara is a former Southern beauty queen turned New York City cop, which was an interesting dynamic that I would have loved to see explored a little more deeply. Driven by her mother to compete in pageants from the time she was a little girl, it wasn’t until she was older that she made the choice to get out of that life because it just wasn’t for her. But around that same time, she was in a car accident that seriously injured her, causing some brain damage from which it took a while for her recover. During that time, she determined that if she could make a full recovery, she was going to do something meaningful with her life. So she and her hospital roommate, who’d been shot in a robbery, banded together as best friends, moved to New York, and became police officers. Lara meets Jack when she and her partner (a guy, not the woman who’s her friend) respond to a report of loud music and partying in a hotel room, where Jack is throwing a bachelor party for Ian (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire). Jack tries to use mind-control on her and wipe her memory, but it doesn’t work. She knows there’s something off about the guy, but at the same time, she’s attracted to and intrigued by him. When a girl on a nearby college campus goes missing and her friends appear to have had their memories wiped, she wonders if Jack had anything to do with it, while hoping he didn’t. After he admits that there are others out there like him, they start working together to find the bad guy before more women are kidnapped.
I had a similar problem with Lara as I did with Jack in that I didn’t feel like her backstory played enough of a role in her present motivations, but even more so than that, I was a little bothered by the fact that she and her roommate spend quite a bit of time speculating on exactly what Jack is since he refuses to tell her for a while. During that time, they come up with all manner of things such alien, bionic man, android, mutant superhero, but never once does vampire cross their minds even though all of his characteristics point to it, which made them seem a little dense. Then when Jack finally confesses that he’s a vampire, her first reaction is “that’s impossible, they don’t exist,” and when faced with accepting it, she can’t at first because he’s suddenly now a monster. Her reactions just seemed inconsistent to me. Luckily she isn’t too stubborn in her mindset and gradually turns around, so that in the end, I still liked her.
Just like with most of the other books in the series so far, there were a number of notable secondary characters, some of whom already had their own books or get their own books in the future. Connor (Vampire Mine) and Robby (The Vampire and the Virgin) are the two main Highlanders taking care of business at MacKay Security and Investigations where Jack works, too. As always, Phineas (Wanted: Undead or Alive) cracks me up. Phil, the wolf shifter who becomes the hero of the next book, Forbidden Nights with a Vampire, assists Jack with his investigation into the disappearance of the girls, while seeming to be hiding a few secrets of his own. Carlos (Eat, Prey, Love), the sexy panther shifter puts in an appearance acting as a guard at Roman’s townhouse, where Jack is staying. Shanna (How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire) gives Lara a little advice and encouragement, and I loved seeing her and Roman’s children, Constantine and baby Sofia. Roman as well as Angus and Emma (Be Still My Vampire Heart) are seen very briefly at Sofia’s birth. We get to see Ian (All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire) at his wedding. Apollo, the main villain of the story who is kidnapping the girls, not surprisingly has connections to the evil Casimir, leader of the Malcontents and mortal enemy of all the good vampires. Then there’s Lara’s best friend, LaToya, who helps keep her grounded, and there’s one of the missing girls, Sarah. I thought both of these ladies showed some promise as possible future main characters. It looks like Roman may have a place for Sarah in his organization, but unfortunately neither of the women become heroines of their own stories, which is slightly disappointing.
Overall, Secret Life of a Vampire was an enjoyable story and if the characterizations had been built up just a little more, I probably would have liked it even better. Another thing that could have been improved a bit is the humor aspect. This series tends to be a little more lighthearted, and several of the previous books had me in stitches at some points. This one has a couple of humorous moments that amused me, but it wasn’t quite as funny for me as some of the others were. It simply didn’t reach that perfect ratio of comedy and deeper emotions that I’d previously found in the other novels. The final thing that bothered me a bit is that the level of trust in Jack and Lara’s relationship wasn’t quite up to par for me. Jack hides his true identity from Lara for an almost frustratingly long time and his excuses didn’t quite ring true to me. There are other mortal women who’ve already mated vampire men, and while I could sympathize with his past loves rejecting him, that part of his past wasn’t brought out in stark enough relief for me to feel his pain. Then when he finally does confess, Lara instantly doesn’t trust Jack for no other reason than because he’s a vampire. She was OK with the possibility of him being any of those other things she speculated about, but not with him being a vampire, which seemed a little overblown. But eventually they get past all that and do come to trust each other, so it wasn’t all bad. Otherwise, Jack is a lovable and sexy hero, and while Lara had a few weaknesses, she became more likable as the story progressed, so Secret Life of a Vampire ended up being a good book anyway. I’m very much looking forward to continuing the series, and hopefully this time it won’t take me years to get around to reading the next one.
July 6, 2025
4.5 Stars.
Well written, entertaining and satisfying.
First part of the book is hilarious! Then it gets more serious as it gets into the criminal element and the romance between Lara & Jack (Giacomo). Not to say there aren't a lot of grins throughout the rest of the story. There definitely is. And Jacks anxiety to protect his friends & their secrets while trying to protect Lara and show her how much he cares for her is epic.
Lara is a strong young woman determined to make a difference in the world.
A VERY SMALL section toward the end could have been more fierce and exciting where there is fighting involved. That is the only reason I didn't give 5 stars.
Well written, entertaining and satisfying.
First part of the book is hilarious! Then it gets more serious as it gets into the criminal element and the romance between Lara & Jack (Giacomo). Not to say there aren't a lot of grins throughout the rest of the story. There definitely is. And Jacks anxiety to protect his friends & their secrets while trying to protect Lara and show her how much he cares for her is epic.
Lara is a strong young woman determined to make a difference in the world.
A VERY SMALL section toward the end could have been more fierce and exciting where there is fighting involved. That is the only reason I didn't give 5 stars.
October 4, 2016
Al principio no me enganchaba mucho pero a partir de la segunda mitad la cosa ha ido cambiando y todo el caso de Apolo y los dioses me ha gustado y me he reído muchísimo con algunas esenas. El final muy bonito aunque haya habido veces que he querido golpear a los protagonistas por cabezones.
December 28, 2010
OMG, so far out of all the Love At Stakes books, this one is my favorite. I love Jack. He's the son of Casanova. He's the perfect man in Lara's mind, but she knows he's hiding something.
The story starts out with Jack or other wise known as Giacoma di Venezia, and friends are at a elite upscale hotel in New York celebrating Ian McPhie's upcoming wedding by throwing him a bachelor party. Even stuffy Lazlo is in on the partying but he gets sick. The party gets a little loud and the NYPD is called in. Officer Henry and Officer Lara Boucher are called to find out about the disturbance. This is where is starts to get good. As soon as Jack opens the door to speak to the Po Po as Phineas McKinney (aka Dr. Phang or the Love Doctor)puts it so descriptively. Jack takes one look at Lara and is instantly attracted to her. He thinks she looks like a woman who should be walking runways instead being in Uniform.
Everybody leaves Jack to clean up the mess at the Hotel room. Did I mention that the room looks like someone has been killed there because of the bleer and other drinks mixed with blood that are spilled on the floor and chairs. There was even blood splatter on the wall where one of the Scottish Vamps sliced himself to become blood brother to everyone in the room. When the police step in they see Lazlow on the floor covered in blood and immediately they think Jack stabbed him.
I must say you need to read this book to see how every thing turns out. Jack is so hot. I just love Italian men, or Bohemian, or Mediterranean men. There's something about a Tall,Dark and Handsome man with Long Dark Hair. Okay need to go now. Getting a little sidetracked. Happy New Year everyone.
The story starts out with Jack or other wise known as Giacoma di Venezia, and friends are at a elite upscale hotel in New York celebrating Ian McPhie's upcoming wedding by throwing him a bachelor party. Even stuffy Lazlo is in on the partying but he gets sick. The party gets a little loud and the NYPD is called in. Officer Henry and Officer Lara Boucher are called to find out about the disturbance. This is where is starts to get good. As soon as Jack opens the door to speak to the Po Po as Phineas McKinney (aka Dr. Phang or the Love Doctor)puts it so descriptively. Jack takes one look at Lara and is instantly attracted to her. He thinks she looks like a woman who should be walking runways instead being in Uniform.
Everybody leaves Jack to clean up the mess at the Hotel room. Did I mention that the room looks like someone has been killed there because of the bleer and other drinks mixed with blood that are spilled on the floor and chairs. There was even blood splatter on the wall where one of the Scottish Vamps sliced himself to become blood brother to everyone in the room. When the police step in they see Lazlow on the floor covered in blood and immediately they think Jack stabbed him.
I must say you need to read this book to see how every thing turns out. Jack is so hot. I just love Italian men, or Bohemian, or Mediterranean men. There's something about a Tall,Dark and Handsome man with Long Dark Hair. Okay need to go now. Getting a little sidetracked. Happy New Year everyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2011
Still yet another good story. I think I am liking where this went. Never expected this Apollo thing. This was a FAST read because I jumped the boring drawn out nothing parts...
I was not too keen on this girl Lara. She's an idiot. She's a whimp. Supposedly tough, but just not a bad girl tough cop like she should be. Just an annoying curly haired red head who nags Jack for answers and figures out she's in love with him when she's in trouble. It's almost like this story was walking up a steep hill & BAM! Huh? Yep, and then we get somewhere in the last 50 pages of a 350 something book... Sigh. You do have your token black gangsta vamp who is funny as hell & I can see him hooking up with LaToya (cop). He's so easy going & has some funny ass one liners. And he is afraid of the Po-Po because he has outstanding warrents from his prevamp days.
AND... Uhem! Dude on the cover sucks! He is NOT a long haired Italian guy, and who the heck calls men rascals except a Texan... KS is showing her geographic location in her descriptions & I am very glad no one has been as fine as frog hair! But EVERY book the Vamp guy is a Rascal??? AHHHH! Just my 2 cents... Covers that don't fit "bug the ever livin' crap" out of me... "Just Sayin'."
I do like this series & the side stories, but this one just seemed more cheesy to me. I was even skipping the boring filler BS that often comes with some of this class of book. Again I "sigh..." Don't get me wrong, I did like it overall, but it just didn't rate as well as others.
I am on a reading roll. and am off to read the next one. I read a book inbetween this and the last, & I wondered where the dragon went! Umm he isn't in this series. Sooo I have to finish this series to prevent crossover.
I was not too keen on this girl Lara. She's an idiot. She's a whimp. Supposedly tough, but just not a bad girl tough cop like she should be. Just an annoying curly haired red head who nags Jack for answers and figures out she's in love with him when she's in trouble. It's almost like this story was walking up a steep hill & BAM! Huh? Yep, and then we get somewhere in the last 50 pages of a 350 something book... Sigh. You do have your token black gangsta vamp who is funny as hell & I can see him hooking up with LaToya (cop). He's so easy going & has some funny ass one liners. And he is afraid of the Po-Po because he has outstanding warrents from his prevamp days.
AND... Uhem! Dude on the cover sucks! He is NOT a long haired Italian guy, and who the heck calls men rascals except a Texan... KS is showing her geographic location in her descriptions & I am very glad no one has been as fine as frog hair! But EVERY book the Vamp guy is a Rascal??? AHHHH! Just my 2 cents... Covers that don't fit "bug the ever livin' crap" out of me... "Just Sayin'."
I do like this series & the side stories, but this one just seemed more cheesy to me. I was even skipping the boring filler BS that often comes with some of this class of book. Again I "sigh..." Don't get me wrong, I did like it overall, but it just didn't rate as well as others.
I am on a reading roll. and am off to read the next one. I read a book inbetween this and the last, & I wondered where the dragon went! Umm he isn't in this series. Sooo I have to finish this series to prevent crossover.
January 26, 2016
This is the story of Jack (Casanova) and Lara. So this one was not about the action and the bad Vamps called The True Ones. In fact they weren't in here at all. Also the Stake Out team was M.I.A. in this one. Which is why it was small on the action side. Overall this book was just too funny. There were so many time that I was just cracking up. One of my faves was in the beginning for the bachelor party and the police arrive. Enough said, the ring stuck in the panties part OMG that was the best and last but not least the part at the end with Hades. Cant say more cause it would ruin it .
So Lara is a cop and teams up with Jack to help find the missing collage girls. They fall for each other pretty quickly with Connor being kinda grumpy and saying that his friends have lost their minds. There is a lull in the relationship of about a month so even though they fall and fall hard they are apart. But when they get to the lovin it was so sweet then just great.
At some point we get to meet some Gods, yep I believe Apollo is there along with Hades and some others. This part is funny and I truly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading Robbies.
So Lara is a cop and teams up with Jack to help find the missing collage girls. They fall for each other pretty quickly with Connor being kinda grumpy and saying that his friends have lost their minds. There is a lull in the relationship of about a month so even though they fall and fall hard they are apart. But when they get to the lovin it was so sweet then just great.
At some point we get to meet some Gods, yep I believe Apollo is there along with Hades and some others. This part is funny and I truly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading Robbies.
August 22, 2025
Read: January, 2018
Reread: August, 2025
This was fun. I liked Jack and the Vamps but Lara and her friend was super boring.
Reread: August, 2025
This was fun. I liked Jack and the Vamps but Lara and her friend was super boring.
August 1, 2017
3.5 stars - This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog
The Love at Stake series is one I discovered years ago in middle school, and I have continued to love her romances ever since. This novel is one that I hadn’t read yet, but after finishing SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE I picked up two additional books to add to my collection. It was a fun, vampy adventure full of laughs and heated romance.
Jack throws a bachelor party to celebrate his Scottish pal’s upcoming nuptials that soon gets out of hand with the arrival of bagpipes, drunk sword fighting, and synthetic blood flavored alcoholic beverages. Things become even more disastrous when police officer Lara Boucher shows up demanding to have a look inside the blood splattered hotel room.
Laura Boucher, ex-Miss Teen Louisiana and newly minted beat cop, is immediately suspicious of the wickedly handsome man, but she just can’t figure out what he is. When college girls start to go missing, she’s forced to put aside the puzzle that is Jack and use his expertise apprehend the serial kidnapper.
Jack, illegitimate son of Casanova, is a vampire who has spent his life—and death—determined not to be his father. He is incredibly attracted to the alluring police officer but he’s reluctant to do anything about his interest. If his past relationships with humans has taught him anything, she will run for her life if she ever learns the truth. However, his past regrets do not stop him from flirting with her at every opportunity.
Jack was so adorable!. He is gentlemanly, old-fashion, and surprisingly naughty. The contrasts in his personality made him an entertaining hero, and I fell hard for the big romantic.
These two were so fun together! Lara couldn’t take all the secrets and unanswered questions was made it her mission to find out just what he was hiding, whether he liked it or not. Her stubborn quest for the truth made for some hilarious, somewhat cringey scenarios. It got pretty ridiculous but Lara is one hard to resist heroine and she never gave up. There were some moments where I just wanted to cover my eyes in embarrassment for her, but I can’t help myself. She was quite the quirky heroine and I loved her for it!
Reading SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE was both a blast from the past and a new adventure into this fun vampire world. Fans of Lynsay Sands, Erin McCarthy, or Michelle Bardsley should give Kerrelyn Sparks a shot—she does not disappoint!
The Love at Stake series is one I discovered years ago in middle school, and I have continued to love her romances ever since. This novel is one that I hadn’t read yet, but after finishing SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE I picked up two additional books to add to my collection. It was a fun, vampy adventure full of laughs and heated romance.
Jack throws a bachelor party to celebrate his Scottish pal’s upcoming nuptials that soon gets out of hand with the arrival of bagpipes, drunk sword fighting, and synthetic blood flavored alcoholic beverages. Things become even more disastrous when police officer Lara Boucher shows up demanding to have a look inside the blood splattered hotel room.
Laura Boucher, ex-Miss Teen Louisiana and newly minted beat cop, is immediately suspicious of the wickedly handsome man, but she just can’t figure out what he is. When college girls start to go missing, she’s forced to put aside the puzzle that is Jack and use his expertise apprehend the serial kidnapper.
Jack, illegitimate son of Casanova, is a vampire who has spent his life—and death—determined not to be his father. He is incredibly attracted to the alluring police officer but he’s reluctant to do anything about his interest. If his past relationships with humans has taught him anything, she will run for her life if she ever learns the truth. However, his past regrets do not stop him from flirting with her at every opportunity.
Jack was so adorable!. He is gentlemanly, old-fashion, and surprisingly naughty. The contrasts in his personality made him an entertaining hero, and I fell hard for the big romantic.
These two were so fun together! Lara couldn’t take all the secrets and unanswered questions was made it her mission to find out just what he was hiding, whether he liked it or not. Her stubborn quest for the truth made for some hilarious, somewhat cringey scenarios. It got pretty ridiculous but Lara is one hard to resist heroine and she never gave up. There were some moments where I just wanted to cover my eyes in embarrassment for her, but I can’t help myself. She was quite the quirky heroine and I loved her for it!
Reading SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE was both a blast from the past and a new adventure into this fun vampire world. Fans of Lynsay Sands, Erin McCarthy, or Michelle Bardsley should give Kerrelyn Sparks a shot—she does not disappoint!
August 4, 2022
Still enjoying rereading this series. I will say this is not my favorite couple. They were just both so bland. The plot, however, of a vampire that abducts college girls to a secret location and brainwashes them to think he's a god and they're in Paradise? Fantastic.
October 27, 2014
Book #6
I didn’t buy it. Not the book, I bought the book. I had to so I could read it. I didn’t buy the romance. It just did not work for me. They met each other briefly a few times and they are already in love with each other?
When a bachelor party for vampires gets out of hand and the cops get called, Giacomo de Venicia or Jack as he’s known by his friends gets stuck with convincing the two police officers that show up that everything is fine. He will just erase their memories and be done with it except that one of the police officers, Lara Boucher, is immune to mind control so he cannot erase her memory. One of the partygoers, Laszlo, couldn’t handle his whiskey flavored synthetic blood drink so he threw it up all over everything. Lara thinks Laszlo has been injured and calls an ambulance. When she sees her partner and the paramedics leave without helping Laszlo, she has more questions than answers but she has no choice but to also leave. She is flabbergasted when she gets to her patrol car and her partner has no memory of even going into the hotel where the party had been.
She returns to the hotel the next morning and all records of the party are erased. The hotel records show that the room where the party was held had not even been rented the night before. None of the employees remember anything and the people in the neighboring rooms don’t remember anything either except for one man. He said that he heard bagpipes and even something that sounded like a sword fight. He couldn’t sleep so he went out to a bar and got drunk and didn’t return until daylight.
Lara decides to investigate further. She figures that the bachelor party was for a Scottish groom since there were bagpipes involved so she crashes all three of the weddings listed in the Newspaper with grooms who have Scottish surnames looking for Jack. She finds him at the last one. She discovers he has a few “superpowers” like being able to erase memories and mind control.
When she discovers that the minds of a few college girls may have been erased, she enlists the help of Jack to help her discover who kidnapped a college girl from campus. Lara knows that Jack has the ability to control minds except for her own, he has super strength and speed and he can teleport. She thinks he may be over two hundred years old also. She doesn’t know what he is but she thinks he could be an alien. She makes out with him and even teleports to his palace in Venice for a romantic evening where the caretakers and a priest tell her what a wonderful man Jack is. When she finally discovers that he is a vampire, she rejects him and tells him to go away. I didn’t get this. It’s okay to be an alien and she has obviously seen what a caring man he is but it’s not okay to be a vampire? I mean, hasn’t everyone seen Twilight, Vampire Diaries and True Blood? Vampires can be good guys. They’ve got good press lately. I just had a hard time with her immediate rejection of him. I had a harder time believing Jack was in love with Lara after only spending maybe a total of twelve hours in total with her. It seemed more like lust instead of love.
After the poop hit the fan and Lara is in big trouble so she needs Jack to save her, she decides that she can accept Jack for who he is. Wow, that was convenient.
Even though I did not like Lara and I thought the romance was forced, I enjoyed the book. The story of the kidnapped girls and what happened to them was intriguing. There was the humor that has made me adore Kerrelyn Sparks writing in the story like when Jack got his ring stuck in the lace of Lara’s panties. The humor is the main reason I started reading this series. There were also the side stories and the character building of some of the background characters who may end up having their own romance featured in a book.
The next book is Forbidden Nights with a Vampire. I have it downloaded and ready to go.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
May 10, 2009
Giacomo "Jack" di Venezia is the only son of the famous Casanova - much to his annoyance. He doesn't consider himself a lady's man and doesn't want to be one. Now an investigator for MacKay Security and Investigations (that would be vampire security and investigations), he's tried to follow his heart in the past and only been burned.
A chance meeting with a beautiful NYPD officer who's called to a vampiric bachelor party because of the noise and sword fighting has him in turmoil: he's drawn to officer Lara Boucher but is sworn to secrecy about his true nature. Without honesty in a relationship, how can she trust him? But he's learnt from experience that telling the truth will have Lara run screaming away from him.
They're thrown together to investigate a case of missing red-haired girls from university campuses; the altered memories of the witnesses leads Jack to discover that a vampire calling himself Apollo is behind the disappearances, who's using mind control to hide his tracks. The police don't know anything about vampires of course, but they do see Lara with her reddish-blonde hair: a perfect candidate for kidnap victim. She agrees to go undercover, but Jack will do anything to stop her from putting herself into the hands of a Malcontent: a vampire who drinks straight from the vein.
This cover makes me giggle. I like the mock-diary look, with the pretty border and lock, and the gold on blue is nice. But the model, oh dear. I can't look past the weird beard shadow he's got going, or the slightly dopey look on his face. Not how I imagined the main character! The fake tattoo is pretty tacky, too.
This is only the second book in the series I've read, after #3 Be Still My Vampire Heart, which I didn't entirely enjoy - mostly because the heroine, Emma, annoyed me. Thankfully, Lara is a much more enjoyable and sympathetic protagonist. She doesn't over-react about things, she's not stubborn, and she's not in denial. She's pretty straight-forward, but not boring.
Jack was even more straight-forward, but endearing. He didn't have the arrogant macho thing going that so many of the male vampire heroes have in these books. Makes for a nice change.
The pacing was good, especially considering nothing much really happens until towards the end: what you get is a nice gradual development of characters, situation and the relationship. I must have been reading too many erotic-romances, since I thought this one was light on the physical/graphic side - but that's unfair, and detracts from the natural flow and progression of their relationship.
There's a lot of humour here and it had me laughing aloud a few times. For a quick, fun read, Sparks is right up there with Lynsay Sands and Kresley Cole - though Cole is by far the best of the paranormal romance writers, in my fangirly opinion.
A chance meeting with a beautiful NYPD officer who's called to a vampiric bachelor party because of the noise and sword fighting has him in turmoil: he's drawn to officer Lara Boucher but is sworn to secrecy about his true nature. Without honesty in a relationship, how can she trust him? But he's learnt from experience that telling the truth will have Lara run screaming away from him.
They're thrown together to investigate a case of missing red-haired girls from university campuses; the altered memories of the witnesses leads Jack to discover that a vampire calling himself Apollo is behind the disappearances, who's using mind control to hide his tracks. The police don't know anything about vampires of course, but they do see Lara with her reddish-blonde hair: a perfect candidate for kidnap victim. She agrees to go undercover, but Jack will do anything to stop her from putting herself into the hands of a Malcontent: a vampire who drinks straight from the vein.
This cover makes me giggle. I like the mock-diary look, with the pretty border and lock, and the gold on blue is nice. But the model, oh dear. I can't look past the weird beard shadow he's got going, or the slightly dopey look on his face. Not how I imagined the main character! The fake tattoo is pretty tacky, too.
This is only the second book in the series I've read, after #3 Be Still My Vampire Heart, which I didn't entirely enjoy - mostly because the heroine, Emma, annoyed me. Thankfully, Lara is a much more enjoyable and sympathetic protagonist. She doesn't over-react about things, she's not stubborn, and she's not in denial. She's pretty straight-forward, but not boring.
Jack was even more straight-forward, but endearing. He didn't have the arrogant macho thing going that so many of the male vampire heroes have in these books. Makes for a nice change.
The pacing was good, especially considering nothing much really happens until towards the end: what you get is a nice gradual development of characters, situation and the relationship. I must have been reading too many erotic-romances, since I thought this one was light on the physical/graphic side - but that's unfair, and detracts from the natural flow and progression of their relationship.
There's a lot of humour here and it had me laughing aloud a few times. For a quick, fun read, Sparks is right up there with Lynsay Sands and Kresley Cole - though Cole is by far the best of the paranormal romance writers, in my fangirly opinion.
March 28, 2017
Punya bokap playboy ternama tentu aja jadi beban tersendiri buat Jack. Tapi ketika seorang polisi cantik yang kebal hipnotis sangat gigih mengejarnya untuk membongkar semua rahasia hidup Jack, apakah akhirnya vampire italia beraksen Inggris yang super seksi ini akan menyerah?
Yah, buku yang satu ini masih memakai pakem dan formula yang sama dengan buku-buku sebelumnya dari seri ini. Karakter Jack yang gentleman, seksi dan super menawan emang khas hero novel idaman tapi terasa "tawar" untuk seleraku. Pasangannya juga ga ada perbedaan dari gadis-gadis manusia mate karakter lain. Konfliknya juga masih itu-itu juga jadi so far yang satu ini tidak terlalu istimewa dan tak memorable bagiku.
My rating : 2.5/5
Yah, buku yang satu ini masih memakai pakem dan formula yang sama dengan buku-buku sebelumnya dari seri ini. Karakter Jack yang gentleman, seksi dan super menawan emang khas hero novel idaman tapi terasa "tawar" untuk seleraku. Pasangannya juga ga ada perbedaan dari gadis-gadis manusia mate karakter lain. Konfliknya juga masih itu-itu juga jadi so far yang satu ini tidak terlalu istimewa dan tak memorable bagiku.
My rating : 2.5/5
March 17, 2016
3.5 stars. I like these light, sexy stories, but they are definitely chicklit. I appreciate all these vampires wanting to make honest women of their female consorts, but they seem to move from love at first sight, to sex, to marriage in a matter of days or at most weeks. Also, all the humans and vampires are beyond beautiful, what about just normal women, Heather was a little plumper than svelte but she was very insecure.
Likes:
* Seeing characters from previous books
* Henrik Giacomo "Jack" Sokolov (Casanova) is a gorgeous, romantic gentleman
* Jack's palazzo in Venice
* LaToya, Lara's cop roommate
Dislikes:
* Getting police and FBI in kidnapping case
* Will some of the shifters find love later in this series?
With-reservations:
sexual situations, violence, abuse, murder, kidnapping
Likes:
* Seeing characters from previous books
* Henrik Giacomo "Jack" Sokolov (Casanova) is a gorgeous, romantic gentleman
* Jack's palazzo in Venice
* LaToya, Lara's cop roommate
Dislikes:
* Getting police and FBI in kidnapping case
* Will some of the shifters find love later in this series?
With-reservations:
sexual situations, violence, abuse, murder, kidnapping
May 16, 2010
Book #6 in the Love at Stake series. This book focuses of the vampire Giacomo Casanova (Jack, the illegitimate son of Casanova). I must say that I was not looking forward to Jack’s story simply because, at least to me, he was a very minor character that I didn’t see often in the previous books. However, I was completely wrong after I started reading! So far this is my favorite story in the series yet! Ms. Sparks does a wonderful job of writing Jack’s character and the relationship, chemistry, and love between him and the heroine, Lara Boucher (a police officer).
Jack has ended up in New York to throw a bachelor party for Ian (and of course to be there for his wedding). Unfortunately, the bachelor party, which was in a hotel room, ended up being too rowdy and the cops were called. Lara was one of the cops, and unlike anyone he had met, he was unable to use his vampire mind control on her. So, Lara knows he can control minds, has super strength and hearing, and can teleport. For her, Jack is a HUGE mystery. And for a copy trying to make detective, a mystery she is unable to ignore. Jack of course can’t tell her who/what he is because of the danger it would pose to other vampires. They start to fall for each other while trying to catch Apollo (an evil Malcontent) who is kidnapping college girls. Jack has had the past loves of his life reject him for being a vampire. He wants to tell Lara what he is, but at the same time is afraid to do so.
I enjoyed this book immensely and now I want to dive immediately into book 7! This series just gets better and better. I am so glad that I stuck through the first four books in this series!
Jack has ended up in New York to throw a bachelor party for Ian (and of course to be there for his wedding). Unfortunately, the bachelor party, which was in a hotel room, ended up being too rowdy and the cops were called. Lara was one of the cops, and unlike anyone he had met, he was unable to use his vampire mind control on her. So, Lara knows he can control minds, has super strength and hearing, and can teleport. For her, Jack is a HUGE mystery. And for a copy trying to make detective, a mystery she is unable to ignore. Jack of course can’t tell her who/what he is because of the danger it would pose to other vampires. They start to fall for each other while trying to catch Apollo (an evil Malcontent) who is kidnapping college girls. Jack has had the past loves of his life reject him for being a vampire. He wants to tell Lara what he is, but at the same time is afraid to do so.
I enjoyed this book immensely and now I want to dive immediately into book 7! This series just gets better and better. I am so glad that I stuck through the first four books in this series!
January 6, 2016
Giacomo di Venezia, or Jack to his friends, is a two hundred year old vampire who's throwing a bachelor party for Ian at the Plaza. What he hadn't considered was the fact that a bunch of vampires drunk on Blissky would make a mess of the hotel suite, leaving blood stains all over the place. Even the police was called after the noisy event. Not a problem for Jack who can control minds easily, so you can imagine his surprise when the cops arrive and Officer Boucher is the most beautiful woman he's seen and seems completely immune to his mind tricks.
Secret Life of a Vampire is a great addition to Love at Stake. The book is funny, romantic, entertaining and sweet. Jack, the vampire Casanova, is charming and witty, while Lara is easy to like and fun to follow through the story. Their conversations bring a fast paced intelligent humor, full on innuendos that got me laughing out loud. Same for Lara's interactions with LaToya, her best friend.
The plot is simple and easy to figure out, but in tune with the series' story line. The supporting characters are very interesting and for who's been following the series since the first book it's great to have previous characters roaming around and giving us glimpses of their happily ever after.
Again Kerrelyn Sparks delivered what she promised and made me want even more in her adorable series. Can't wait to read the next one.
Secret Life of a Vampire is a great addition to Love at Stake. The book is funny, romantic, entertaining and sweet. Jack, the vampire Casanova, is charming and witty, while Lara is easy to like and fun to follow through the story. Their conversations bring a fast paced intelligent humor, full on innuendos that got me laughing out loud. Same for Lara's interactions with LaToya, her best friend.
The plot is simple and easy to figure out, but in tune with the series' story line. The supporting characters are very interesting and for who's been following the series since the first book it's great to have previous characters roaming around and giving us glimpses of their happily ever after.
Again Kerrelyn Sparks delivered what she promised and made me want even more in her adorable series. Can't wait to read the next one.
April 20, 2009
I've been wanting to read Kerrelyn Sparks' books for a while now. So when I saw this book on the shelf at Target a couple of days ago I just had to pick it up. I know I start the series in the middle but I don't think I could have picked up a better book to start. First off the Heroine has an AWESOME name. Then the vamp is Italian...which is just delicious. Then Ms. Sparks makes it complete perfection by transporting the characters to Venice...my favorite city in the world! The story is fun, fast paced and a joy to read. I zipped through it in a day and now I want to go back and start the series from the beginning.
April 5, 2011
Loved it Loved it!!! I've had this on my shelf for months now!! So glad that I chose to finish this series!!
April 27, 2011
I must say, this is the most romantic novel of the series. Still hilarious in some scenes. Not much action but definitely a really sweet read. Jack is such a casanova! ^_^
January 6, 2016
3.5 stars
September 20, 2016
hot sexy vampires. what's not to love? also love the humor in the books
August 24, 2020
A ver por dónde empiezo... ¿Me lo he leído de un tirón? Me lo he leído de un tirón. ¿Tiene escenas divertidas? Tiene escenas divertidas. ¿Me ha gustado? Pues ...
La premisa es multiconocida: un grupo de vampiros buenos, que beben sangre sintética y no matan humanos, que luchan contra unos malos, que matan para alimentarse ¿a que os suena? y parece que el prota va a dar juego porque ¡ es el hijo de Casanova! . A la hora de la verdad estamos ante un "instalove" (que es una de los argumentos de romántica que menos me gusta) con un personaje masculino que provoca diabetes, llega a resultar pesado y cargante y un pelín patético con la llorera por la mala suerte que ha tenido en el amor y un personaje femenino, que al principio te atrae y la que ya, desde el principio, sabe que Jack borra la mente de las personas, la suya no puede obviamente, y no ata cabos, le extraña que no coma o beba con ella, y cuando elucubra lo que puede ser, le vale un lagarto del espacio antes de pensar en un vampiro (esta no se ha leído una novela romántica paranormal ni se ha visto las pelis de Crepúsculo).
La premisa es multiconocida: un grupo de vampiros buenos, que beben sangre sintética y no matan humanos, que luchan contra unos malos, que matan para alimentarse ¿a que os suena? y parece que el prota va a dar juego porque ¡ es el hijo de Casanova! . A la hora de la verdad estamos ante un "instalove" (que es una de los argumentos de romántica que menos me gusta) con un personaje masculino que provoca diabetes, llega a resultar pesado y cargante y un pelín patético con la llorera por la mala suerte que ha tenido en el amor y un personaje femenino, que al principio te atrae y la que ya, desde el principio, sabe que Jack borra la mente de las personas, la suya no puede obviamente, y no ata cabos, le extraña que no coma o beba con ella, y cuando elucubra lo que puede ser, le vale un lagarto del espacio antes de pensar en un vampiro (esta no se ha leído una novela romántica paranormal ni se ha visto las pelis de Crepúsculo).
July 23, 2023
I think I'm slightly addicted to this series 😅
March 21, 2019
Why do the cute guys always end up with such stupid women?
I loved Jack! He was soo cute, funny and totally swoonworthy. The beginning of the book was also funny and romantic. But and that's a bit but, I totally disliked how Lara acted when she discovered that Jack was a vamp. Totally, exaggerated. She either loves him or she doesn't?! And for her to act that way because he's a vamp? Stupid!
Also, I disliked LaToya! In my opinion it was a serious abuse of confidence to enter Lara's computer and to also use Lara's files and hand them over to her bosses. NOPE! So wrong!
I loved Jack! He was soo cute, funny and totally swoonworthy. The beginning of the book was also funny and romantic. But and that's a bit but, I totally disliked how Lara acted when she discovered that Jack was a vamp. Totally, exaggerated. She either loves him or she doesn't?! And for her to act that way because he's a vamp? Stupid!
Also, I disliked LaToya! In my opinion it was a serious abuse of confidence to enter Lara's computer and to also use Lara's files and hand them over to her bosses. NOPE! So wrong!
April 29, 2020
This was by far one of my favourites. Loved Lara and jack!
June 27, 2019
I loved this couple, the son of Casanova and the woman who worked as a police officer with a mind that couldn't be controlled by the vampires and the story infused with mythology! Just what I always wanted! Jack tried his best to concealed Lara from his world, but a relationship won't work without honesty, and when he finally let Lara into his world, it's up to the heroine to decide whether to follow her brain or her heart. Lara's friend, LaToya, came out with many theories about Jack, and it was hilarious. I think she would be great with Dr Phang!
Fun fact: 'Merda' was mentioned 31 times in this book!
Fun fact: 'Merda' was mentioned 31 times in this book!
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