Thursday, March 10, 2011

Review: It Happened One Bite by Lydia Dare



It Happened One Bite
~Lydia Dare


Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publish Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 1402245076
ISBN-13: 978-1402245077

From Goodreads:
Blaire Lindsay's been warned that her ancestral home is haunted. But it will take more than tales of a ghost to frighten Blaire, a battle-born witch with supernatural strength and the ability to make sparks fly from her fingertips. Hearing spectral wails, she decides to search for their source, and is surprised to find a handsome young man chained to the dungeon wall. But when Blair frees James from his bonds, she quickly discovers she's unloosed far more than she could ever have imagined...Soon the castle is overrun with vampires whose perfect manners and compelling blood lust make for some very awkward moments, and Blair and James are joined in the fight of their lives to save everything they hold dear from the forces of evil...
Blaire Lindsay is a witch - one of a coven of five powerful Scottish witches. Her brother has inherited Briarcraig Castle, so she must go with him to inspect it and see if it is hospitable.

James Maitland, Lord Kettering, has been in a magically-induced sleep for 20 years, in the bowels of the castle. The last thing he remembers is being surrounded by a group of five witches... When Blaire gets to the castle, Kettering stirs. He doesn't know how long he's been asleep, where he is, or why he woke up.

When Blaire finds him in the cellar, she is as confused as he is, but offers hospitality. She is curious about him and wants to find out why her coven's mothers would have trapped him. Kettering is intrigued by Blaire, she doesn't respond to his vampyre suggestions. As they spend more time together, attraction between them grows.

Kettering must find his ring - one of three given to his master by an ancient clan of witches, it allows him to roam in the sunlight. As soon as Kettering is awakened, his master can senses him and rushes to the castle, thankful that he is "alive" and anxious to find out what happened to him. The only problem with that is that the other vampyre tied to their group, Sarah, also senses Kettering. They know Sarah is seeking revenge and coming for Kettering.

My thoughts: I am a huge fan of Lydia Dare's werewolves, so when I heard they were doing vampires, I was thrilled! The story was cute, but did drag a bit in spots, such as hunting for the ring and pondering the reasons for trapping Kettering. I really liked the vamps though - Kettering and his maker, the Earl of Blodswell were both delightful. Of all the witches in the coven, I think Blaire has been my least favorite, and that was apparent in this book; she's very arguementative and I found myself a bit put-off by it. We do get to see some of our old friends again and catch up on what's been happening with the other witches; Alex MacQuarie has a big storyline in this book that I'm looking forward to following in future books. I'm not sure how I feel about Kettering's final situation; it's a happy ending, but seemed a bit too "easy" for this reader. All in all though, It Happened One Bite is a wonderful installment to this fabulous series!

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

8 comments:

  1. I liked it, it was sweet :) And I might have lusted over a certain Blodswell vamp ;)

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  2. I'm reading this one at the moment and I'm struggling a little bit. I think it's odd that the Lindsay's just let James stay in their mansion after discovering him in their basement. WTF? They just accepted his excuse of "it was a prank gone wrong! Can I crash here indefinitely?"

    I do like Blodswell though. I want his book ASAP!

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  3. Great review! I can't wait to get to this one.

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  4. Greart review Patti!

    Im not sold on the Historical aspect of these books =/

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  5. Blodeuedd: lol, he's a cutie, isn't he?

    Danielle: Yes, it was weird, although I think they did give a reason (don't want to spoil if it's considered a spoiler) eventually.

    Laurie: Thanks; it was a sweet read.

    Larissa: I like the historical/paranormal mix :)

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  6. Wow I must have missed this Sourcebooks post because I didn't know this was coming out! I guess it's something to look forward to now, right? Sounds good. Thanks.

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  7. I just finished the book and really enjoyed. It's funny, the characteristics you did not like in Blaire, I most enjoyed! Great review, I love getting other opinions.

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  8. I've been going back and forth on if I should give this new series by Lydia Dare a chance. The jury is still out, but I'm almost convinced to give this one a try.

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