Title: It Happened One Bite
Author: Lydia Dare
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
He's lost, trapped, doomed for all eternity. . .
Rich titled, and undead, gentleman vampyre James Maitland, Lord Kettering, fears himself doomed to a cold and lonely existence -- trapped for decades in an abandoned castle. Then, beautiful Scottish witch Blaire Lindsay arrives and things begin to heat up considerably. . .
Unless he can persuade her to set him free. . .
Feisty Blaire Lindsay laughs off the local gossip surrounding her mother's ancestral home -- stories of haunting cannot scare off this battle-born witch. But when she discovers the handsome prisoner in the bowels of the castle. Blaire has no idea that she has unleashed anything more than a man who sets her heart on fire. . .
My thoughts: This is the first book in Lydia Dare's new Gentleman Vampire series, with two more books due out later this year. What I found interesting about this series though, is that you meet some of the coven of witches in it from her Westfield Wolves series (A Certain Wolfish Charm, Tall Dark and Wolfish, The Wolf Next Door, and The Taming of the Wolf.)Two of which I have previously reviewed and enjoyed.
Where I have previously raved over Lydia Dare's lycans, I have now come to the conclusion that it doesn't have to be lycans to make me love her books - it is just her books! This was a quick read with quite the romantic conclusion.
Blaire is very headstrong and doesn't listen to any man in her life. She had grown up with an abusive drunken father so pretty much raised herself and her brothers. So even though one of her brothers is older than her, she is the one who pretty much rules the roost. When she discovers the man locked in the cellar of the castle that her brother has just inherited, she not only lets him out, but invites him to stay! Because she is a "battle-born" witch, she thinks that she is able to handle any situation - but she has never been up against vampyres before. It is a good thing that Lord Kettering is taken with her and vows to protect her - as he has a couple of vampyres that have been looking for him for the last 20 years.
Lord Kettering and his good friend and creator Matthew Blodswell aren't your run-of-the-mill vampyres. They are truly the gentleman vampyres that the series suggest. They do not kill for food and they never change a person into a vampyre unless the person wants to be changed. (They reminded me of the vampires from The Twilight series - difference is that this all takes place in the early 1800's.)
Being a paranormal romance, you have to ask about the sex scenes. Yes, there are sex scenes in the book, but I found them to be romantic - the kind you read while sort of holding your breath just waiting for what will happen next.
I am definitely a Lydia Dare fan and can't wait for the next book in the series. In the Heat of the Bite is due out in July with Never Been Bit following in September of this year.
~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks in exchange for my review.~
It Happened One Bite
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, March 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4022-4507-7
416 pages
