by When mild-mannered Casey Schwartz wakes up in jail with no memory of how she got there, she realizes two things: Something weird is going on, and Orange is definitely not her color. After her sister, Wanda, bails her out, Casey has more to deal with than a foggy memory–like abrupt mood swings and fireballs shooting from her fingertips. But things really go south when a vampire shows up on her doorstep.
Clayton Gunnersson is a seriously hot vampire. And seriously taken–by a demon in a ritual gone wrong. Clayton tried to free himself from his unwanted bond but spilled some demonic blood on Casey. So now Clayton’s spurned mate is sharing her demonic powers with Casey, and she’s not happy about it. Neither is Casey, who can’t escape this bizarre love triangle. It’s hard enought possessed by a demon. Falling for that demon’s boyfriend could get Casey killed–from the inside out.
It has been said that . . . Laughter is the best medicine. And for whatever ails you, Dakota Cassidy is the author for you. In a book that is based on a plot and story that involve some very serious, hell-bent-for-leather kind of stuff, the laugh-outloud kind of humor is not to be believed. Serious because it involves the life of a young woman who is just trying to find her way in life–belatedly, to be sure, but struggling to be her own person nevertheless. Funny, because Casey Swartz is made of stern stuff that erupts in razor-edged repartee and a mind that just won’t quit. Serious, because this story has characters straight out of Hell, but very funny because the interactions between vampires, werewolves, were-vampires, and demons is hilarious, crackling with fun and intelligence, and absolutely guaranteed to make any reader with a brain crack up throughout.
Casey has stumbled her way into adulthood, changing her college major repeatedly, trying to manage a wounded heart and libido, taking on a job that is really smothering her in so many ways, and as a result has distanced herself from her family. While chasing after her twin charges–the unforgettable Lia and Lita at a crowded nightclub, Clayton the vampire accidentally spills demon blood on Casey, and the effects are immediate as the blood sinks into her skin and her course in life, both the earthly and the eternal one, are changed forever. In the course of reuniting with her estranged sister, she discovers that her sister has been changed as well–into a were-vampire, now married to a vampire, and Wanda’s two best pals are Nina the vampire, and Marty the werewolf. What else can go wrong? Well . . . Casey finds out that the blood that marked and changed her belonged to Clayton demon mate, making her Clayton’s mate as well. She finds out that she can levitate and only Clayton can keep her earthbound. She throws fireballs whenever her temper gets out of control and she can even summon vermin of every kind. Holy cockroaches, Batman!! The situation keeps getting more and more complicated.
Clayton knows he is responsible for Casey’s new life, horrible though it may be, and he vows to keep her safe from the rage of his ertwhile demon mate. With the help of the vampire clan and a really funny and actually adorable demon ally named Darnell, Clayton seeks to figure out how he can be free of Hildegard and act on his attraction to Casey, growing closer to her, and knowing that either she or Hildegard, his despised demon mate, will celebrate their “anniversary” by drinking from him. The other will lose her tie to the earthly plane and will be consigned to Hell from that time on.
This is one very funny book. It is one of those paranomal, fantasy books that just has a marvelous way to getting under your literary skin, making it impossible to lay down once you’ve started reading it. I haven’t laughed this hard since I read The World According to Garp. It was irreverent, witty dialogue, ripping through the consciousness and so well done that it was never difficult to envision the scenario. Ms Cassidy has that wonderful capacity to put it out there, just as if the characters were standing right in front of you. There are so many surprises here and more than enough twists and turns in the plot and story line to keep one guessing. The push-pull between Clayton and Casey is the core of the story and out of that grows a relationship that is both heart-warming and scarey.
So even though it has been a few months since this book was released, be sure to get it and put it in your “To Be Read” pile. It, like all of Dakota Cassidy’s books, deserves to be read and enjoyed.
I give this novel a rating of 4.75 out of 5.
The Series:
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
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