Zoey is down on her luck, homeless and jobless over Christmas. When she’s attacked in an alley, she’s rescued by two century old Irish vampires named Ian and Connor. It’s up to them to win her heart over Christmas.
The Inspiration for The Love Bites Series- Lauren Smith
I love reading paranormal romances and I’ve been wanting to write a series for a long time about sexy vampires. There are a lot of dark paranormals on the market with edgy action scenes and gritty adventures, which I love reading. But I realized there was a big lack of what I’m calling the softer sensual paranormals. With my Love Bites series, I’m offering readers a fun little series of novella length paranormal romances that gives them a sweeter, but still sexy as heck.
Paranormal romances can be very fun when they’re dark and brooding, but half the fun of vampires, shifters, fae and all those other fun supernatural creatures is how interesting they can be when tossed into a normal world like ours. So rather than have readers immerse themselves into a supernatural world they aren’t familiar with, I present readers with a world they know and live in, and show them how entertaining and often hilarious supernatural creatures can be.
So for example, rather than right a vampire fight scene with blood and gore, you get to read about a Vampire who is over 200 years old trying to figure out how to buy a modern sensible human woman some sexy lingerie. Or you might have two alpha male vampires building insanely intricate gingerbread castles in order to impress their human female lover. If you love how these scenarios might turn out, then you’ll love taking a bite out of the Love Bites series this winter.
About Lauren Smith:
Amazon Best-Selling Author Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
Connect with Lauren: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
Synoposis:
Zoey Blake is about as far down on her luck as she can get. A car crash took her parents, leaving her destitute and on the street. When she’s attacked by another homeless person, her lifeblood drains away as her fading vision is filled with the face of a handsome stranger.
Ian Kennedy, a century old Irish vampire, never could resist rescuing a stray. As a few drops of his blood heals Zoey’s wounds, he realizes she’s a sweet, tempting, flesh-and-blood woman. But there’s one problem. Connor, who made Ian promise decades ago: no more mortal lovers.
After another vampire murdered his soulmate, Connor O’Shea swore never to let a mortal woman pay the price for loving him. Until he feels Zoey’s skin and tastes her lips. She makes him want to break that vow.
Zoey finds herself caught in their web of seduction. But as Christmas draws near and her grief deepens, happiness seems far out of reach. And Ian and Connor join forces to prove their love is sacred, special…and forever.
Warning: This book contains two scorching-hot Irish vampires, one lady with plenty of pluck but zero luck, naughty lingerie, and enough Christmas cheer to redeem even the darkest creatures.
Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
Add The Bite of Winter to your GOODREADS TBR pile!
Review:
This wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I did end up liking the story quite a bit. Zoey, Ian, and Connor are all sympathetic characters, and I really liked the idea of Zoey being able to bring the centuries-old vampires back to “life” again by bringing a touch of humanity back into their lives. The three of them had some interesting chemistry going on, and watching them prepare for a Christmas together was fun.
And I love that two big, bad, jaded vampires have been adopted by three stray cats. Too adorable.
The one part that was a little questionable is how quickly Zoey went from homeless girl who can’t and won’t depend on or trust anyone and who has been attacked in an alley and left for dead to a girl who is letting two vampires (!) take care of her. Shouldn’t she have been a little less accepting of the whole creatures of the night are actually real and I’m staying with two of them thing? Slightly more freaked out, perhaps? Part of it could be explained away by the whole they-have-glamour idea, but surely not all…?
Overall, though, this was an enjoyable story. I’ll be watching to see what Ms. Smith is going to be doing with the rest of this series.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.