Stakes and Stilettos by Michelle Rowan

Story: 5

Presentation: 10

Total: 15

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Contemporary Romance

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Blurb: Newly vamped Sarah Dearly wants her normal life back, but fate is fighting against her. She tries to get a regular job and gets staked in the interview, only to be rescued by a masked vampire who calls himself the Red Devil. Then a wallflower-turned-witch curses her, making her a bloodthirsty, sun-allergic nightwalker--the worst vampire there is. As if all that weren't enough, she can't get married because her 600-year-old boyfriend, Thierry, is in a centuries-long marriage of convenience he can't escape.

As Sarah's nightwalker tendencies make her more dangerous, even to those she loves, she'll have to counteract that curse, unmask the increasingly intriguing Red Devil, and get a commitment from her man. But if that's what it takes to secure her happiness, Sarah is ready...even if it means embracing her inner vamp to do it.

Review: Sexy and humorous, but with bite. I have to say that this is the only title in the series that I’ve read. Stakes and Stilettos started dark and mysterious. Sarah, still learning to adapt to life as a vampire, comes across Thierry poised on the edge of a bridge. He’s contemplating suicide, but has to postpone his plunge to rescue the sexy vamp from a vampire hunter. Well, after that I was hooked.

This book had it all – vampires, hunters, witches, and a curse turning our heroine into an indiscriminate menace to friends—human and vampire. So you are probably wondering why I gave a low score for story. Well, it also didn’t have an ending. I love to read. I want to lust after the hero (and damn but Thierry is fantasy material. Dark, dangerous, intelligent and sexy as hell.) I also want to cheer for the heroine. At the end of the book, I want to know that not only was she well satisfied in bed, but also that she found love. If there is a villain in the story, I want him to be cunning and intelligent. Have well laid plans and feel frustration when the hero and heroine spoil his/her plans. And then, in the end, the good guys kick the bad guys ass.

This book had all the makings of a climatic end. I raced through the pages, devouring each delicious bite. The best pages were coming. I could feel the peak building; I’m close to the end so I know I’m almost there.

Screech! What the *&$%? I followed the yellow brick road. The witch is dead (literally). But how is the curse lifted? What happened to the bad guy? Are Thierry and Sarah farther along in their relationship then they were at the opening of the book?

How the *&$% should I know? The book just ended. No, it didn’t end. It’s a cliffhanger of herculean proportion. No resolution for the characters. No resolution of the plot. No resolution to the conflict. So if you don’t mind waiting for Ms. Rowen to finish writing the story, than I can recommend this book. As for me, I won’t wait for the next installment. Yes, the writing is flawless. The story moved along. I just wished that at the end, there would have been a point to the journey.