Story:
Lucern Argenau writes books: factual books about the (love) life of his family. But of course he can't admit that they aren't works of fiction; that would mean revealing that they are a family of vampires... And so his books are marketed as romantic fantasy novels - much to his chagrin. And
they are hugely successful, too!
Not that Lucern would mind that on principle, but it means that…mehrStory:
Lucern Argenau writes books: factual books about the (love) life of his family. But of course he can't admit that they aren't works of fiction; that would mean revealing that they are a family of vampires... And so his books are marketed as romantic fantasy novels - much to his chagrin. And they are hugely successful, too!
Not that Lucern would mind that on principle, but it means that his publisher starts nagging him to do autograph sessions and readings and attend conventions - and these are pretty much the last things Lucern wants to do. So he rudely answers each and every letter from his editor with a resounding "No." Kate C. Leever, said editor, is getting desperate and decides to resort to desperate measures: if nothing else will change his mind, she's fully prepared to visit him and convince him in person. And so Lucern ends up in his own personal version of hell: surrounded by a veritable swarm of swooning female fans.
Pros:
This is the third book from the Argenau series that I've read. Lucern and Katie are by far my favorite characters, so far! They seemed well-suited for each other, and the sparks between them were believable. Lucern is an interesting character: he can be incredibly rude and harsh, but he's hiding a kind, soft heart - even from himself. I really liked Katie's co-worker Chris - the poor guy doesn't have it easy with the two love-birds, but he takes it in stride with good-natured patience.
I loved how the author played with reality and fiction in this book: after all, the novels that Lucern writes are real (though of course written by Lynsay Sands). The humorous look into the world of book publishing and book conventions was very interesting to me - I wonder how much of what happens in this book is based on real people and real events! The book accomplished one thing for sure: now I really want to go to a book convention for romance novels!
The writing is easy to read and flows well - I finished the book in no time at all. Several of the scenes and dialogues were wonderfully witty and funny. (Who would've thought that buying condoms could be such an ordeal!)
Cons:
The biggest con for me was the suspense - or lack thereof. While the book was funny and entertaining to read, I quickly started to miss... something. Things were going to smoothly! Where's the villain, or at least the huge conflict? There are a few scenes that are packed with action and where Lucern and Katie are in mortal danger, but there seemed oddly disconnected from the rest of the book and were quickly and neatly resolved. For the rest of the book, the only complication is that the two of them doubt each other's commitment, a very common thing in romance novels.
The sex scenes were a bit too numours for me - but that, of course, is a matter of preference!
What seemed illogical to me: Katie is Lucern's editor, which means that she should know his books extremely well. Once she realized that they are not fiction but accounts of real happenings, she should be a true expert on all things vampire, but she wonders and worries about things that she should already know, like the fact that vampires aren't dead, and that garlic and crosses can't harm them.
The story follows the exact same pattern as the previous two books, just with different main characters. I felt a bit fed-up with it a few times.
Summary:
The book provides pleasant, easy to read entertainment without much depth. If you like your vampires dark and dangerous, this might not be the book for you... If you're looking for a nice love story with nice vampires, on the other hand - give it a try! This is a nice book for the beach (or the sunbed in your garden).
