Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Bite Before Christmas by Heidi Betts


Where do single vampires go when they're looking for romance? To Love Bites, of course, Angelina Bertolli's highly successful, top secret vampire dating agency. Angelina helps three mortals find love in this trilogy of sexy, witty, irresistible vampire novellas.

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This collection of short stories actually reads more like a novel that has a shifting focus since the stories are all linked via characters in common. Angelina, the matchmaker, is the primary linking figure, though we only see her more or less in passing until the third story, which focuses on her. The first and second stories had premises that could easily have been developed out to novel length on their own and not suffered for it, though they also work fine as short stories and don't feel like the author rushed things too much to wrap it up.  



**Spoiler Alert**
Though it would have been nice if we'd gotten to see Connor actually bite Jillian in the first story instead of just leaving it with the suggestion that she's about to give in and ask/allow him too.
**End Spoiler**

The third story, about Angelina and her lover Ian, is kind of strange, though interesting. I don't think the concept behind it could have been played out much longer than it was though without seeming forced. As it is, things come to a conclusion there just about the time you're starting to go "Ok, time for her to wake up or whatever's going to happen here cause this is going South fast." The mood throughout all three stories is fairly light, and there's plenty of sex thrown in to spice things up and keep the heat on. Probably only really gets 3 1/2 stars to me, but rounded to 4 where necessary. An enjoyable, light read when you want a feelgood read with some heat, particularly if you want a dash of holiday spirit thrown in for good measure. Reading this while seated next to a twinkling tree is optional (though might add to the fun-factor).

1 comment:

  1. Hadn't heard of this author before. I like the idea of the different short stories being connected though. Thanks for the suggestion :)

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