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Wings in the Night #11
Lover's Bite
Once bitten, twice shy…
Before she joined Reaper in hunting Gregor’s gang of rogue bloodsuckers, spoilt Topaz was gunning for just one vamp: Jack Heart. The gorgeous con man had charmed his way into her bed, her heart and her bank account, taking her for half a million dollars and vanishing without a word.
Now she and Jack – maddeningly attractive as ever – are supposedly on the same side. As Reaper’s ragtag outfit scatters, Topaz sets out to solve a mystery that’s plagued her all her lives, mortal and immortal. And what stake does Jack have in discovering the truth about her past?
A MUST-READ for fans of SHERRILYN KENYON and CHARLAINE HARRIS
403 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2007
About the author
Maggie Shayne
272 books2,540 followersI live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
May 17, 2008
I love to sink my teeth into a paranormal romance. I am a sucker for the dark, dangerous, sexy characters, and the life (undead or not) that they live. I believe as a fellow paranormal romance junkie, we demand a well written world of vampires and shape-shifters. Weave in some well placed magic and we are instantly intrigued. Between the well written characters and intriguing storyline, Lover’s Bite by Maggie Shayne delivers on all accounts.
First, I would like to point out that this is the second book in the series. In the first book Demon’s Kiss, we learn about a mixed group of paranormal beings called “The Chosen”. Each character is complex and has skeletons in their past that they have to overcome. They are led by Reaper, who he himself has issues he is working to get through. The clan depends on each other, even though they definitely have trust issues with one another. Lover’s Bite pretty much begins quickly where Demon’s Kiss ended.
Topaz is a vampire seeking the truth of her mother’s death. Her famous mother Mirabella was gunned down in front of an adoring crowd, and her body stolen, leaving Topaz with unanswered questions, and an unhappy existence for many years. There is the question of her paternal father who she has no idea who is, plus someone seems to be threatening her life as she gets closer to the truth. Hurt and betrayed by just about everyone in her mortal and her immortal life, she is driven to find out the truth about her mother and the mystery that surrounds her life and death.
Jack is a thief and a liar. A vampire who has been unloved and uncared for most of his existence, and so he has learned to con people to survive. When he betrayed Topaz by pretending he had feelings for her. He fled with her inheritance without a second glance. For the first time, he becomes plagued by a guilty conscience. He finds himself not being able to spend the money he took from her. Tired of feeling horrible about his actions, he decides he must have Topaz’s forgiveness and sets out to win her trust, and appoints himself to help her find out the truth about her past.
I really liked both Topaz and Jack. Topaz has been used by people who just have wanted her for her money, so she is an understandably leary of others. She tries to hate Jack, but the love she has for him will not allow her to do so. She is a determined, strong-willed heroine, who I found myself rallying behind as she seeks the truth about her past. Jack is a pretty complex character within himself. He denies strong feelings for Topaz, but is so guilt ridden about his deception towards her, he works hard to gain her trust and to revive her affection she has towards him. They are very well developed, and watching their relationship change from mistrust and betrayal, to trust and acceptance was wonderful to read.
There is a lot of well written characters in this book. It sets up the background for the next book in this series, and I quite frankly found myself being interested in all of “The Chosen” characters in this book. There is a lot of suspense and mystery as well as action, well written dialog and character development.
I do not think you have to read the first book Demon’s Kiss to understand the world of “The Chosen”. But, I do think it would be helpful and easier to understand, their world and where the characters are coming from.
Maggie Shayne is truly a talented writer. She makes you care about her characters, and impatiently wait to see the outcome of their lives. I truly enjoyed Lover’s Bite and I am looking forward to the next book Angel’s Pain in this series. For more information about this series and other Maggie Shayne books her website: www.maggieshayne.com is very informative, plus she has a great mini video of the first book in this series, Demon’s Kiss that is very fun and sexy!
First, I would like to point out that this is the second book in the series. In the first book Demon’s Kiss, we learn about a mixed group of paranormal beings called “The Chosen”. Each character is complex and has skeletons in their past that they have to overcome. They are led by Reaper, who he himself has issues he is working to get through. The clan depends on each other, even though they definitely have trust issues with one another. Lover’s Bite pretty much begins quickly where Demon’s Kiss ended.
Topaz is a vampire seeking the truth of her mother’s death. Her famous mother Mirabella was gunned down in front of an adoring crowd, and her body stolen, leaving Topaz with unanswered questions, and an unhappy existence for many years. There is the question of her paternal father who she has no idea who is, plus someone seems to be threatening her life as she gets closer to the truth. Hurt and betrayed by just about everyone in her mortal and her immortal life, she is driven to find out the truth about her mother and the mystery that surrounds her life and death.
Jack is a thief and a liar. A vampire who has been unloved and uncared for most of his existence, and so he has learned to con people to survive. When he betrayed Topaz by pretending he had feelings for her. He fled with her inheritance without a second glance. For the first time, he becomes plagued by a guilty conscience. He finds himself not being able to spend the money he took from her. Tired of feeling horrible about his actions, he decides he must have Topaz’s forgiveness and sets out to win her trust, and appoints himself to help her find out the truth about her past.
I really liked both Topaz and Jack. Topaz has been used by people who just have wanted her for her money, so she is an understandably leary of others. She tries to hate Jack, but the love she has for him will not allow her to do so. She is a determined, strong-willed heroine, who I found myself rallying behind as she seeks the truth about her past. Jack is a pretty complex character within himself. He denies strong feelings for Topaz, but is so guilt ridden about his deception towards her, he works hard to gain her trust and to revive her affection she has towards him. They are very well developed, and watching their relationship change from mistrust and betrayal, to trust and acceptance was wonderful to read.
There is a lot of well written characters in this book. It sets up the background for the next book in this series, and I quite frankly found myself being interested in all of “The Chosen” characters in this book. There is a lot of suspense and mystery as well as action, well written dialog and character development.
I do not think you have to read the first book Demon’s Kiss to understand the world of “The Chosen”. But, I do think it would be helpful and easier to understand, their world and where the characters are coming from.
Maggie Shayne is truly a talented writer. She makes you care about her characters, and impatiently wait to see the outcome of their lives. I truly enjoyed Lover’s Bite and I am looking forward to the next book Angel’s Pain in this series. For more information about this series and other Maggie Shayne books her website: www.maggieshayne.com is very informative, plus she has a great mini video of the first book in this series, Demon’s Kiss that is very fun and sexy!
December 16, 2010
How do you feel if someone that suppose to love you, abandon you? Hurt and unloved.
Hero: Jack Heart
Heroine: Topaz
Love Scene Level: To me: Leave it to your imagination.
I have given myself a genre challenge to read genre that I don't read and paranormal is a genre that I don't read, but I have for this genre challenge. I've picked this book to be my first challenge book. This book is number 14 in the series.
In this story, both the hero and heroine are tortured. They share two things in common. They are both vampires and they have both been abandoned by their mothers. Topaz mother's was a famous actress, who was shot, when she was a baby. Jack's mother left him and never looked back.
The two are looking for the man that killed Topaz's mother. The man that could be Topaz's father. Her mother was involved with many men. And one thing for sure, the man that raised Topaz wasn't her father. Just a money hungry man. Topaz didn't receive love from him. It seem as if no one loved her, even the man that she fell in love with. The hero - Jack. He was a con man and he conned her.
At first, I was feeling the tension between Topaz and Jack and then after a while, I was like what! If you read the book, you'll probably see why I have stepped into What! shoes.
This is the first book that I have read about vampires and I hope all the vampires books aren't like this. Although, I am not a fan of paranormal, I do watch BBCA Being Human and I love Mitchell.
Mitchell is a vampire. He can go out in the daytime. The vampires in this book can't go out, until sunset. I didn't understand why they slept from sunrise to sunset. And maybe, I haven't read right, but it seems as soon as they woke up, they were going back to sleep. It's like sunrise was coming within minutes of them waking up. I didn't like that about this story.
Another thing that I didn't like about this story is that the humans were tougher than the vampires. Yes, you heard me right. The CIA agents were tougher than the vampires. Don't describe the vampires as being tough and have them be defeated by the humans. The poor hero! All I can say, the ending shows just how much he wanted to be tough.
I like how Mrs. Maggie did her love scenes. She starts to tell you what the hero and heroine are doing and before you know it, they are done. To me that's a leave it to your imagination scene. A TV or movie love scene.
The ending was questionable to me. It didn't seem believable to me. I don't know if Mrs. Maggie written a book 15 and beyond. If she written a book 15, I hope she explained things in that book.
In this book, the vampires are after a horrible man that have done some horrible things to some of them. His name is Gregor. I guess he appears in book 15 - beyond. Because he was never in this book.
Will I read another vampire book for my challenge? The answer is yes. I'll give paranormal another try.
Hero: Jack Heart
Heroine: Topaz
Love Scene Level: To me: Leave it to your imagination.
I have given myself a genre challenge to read genre that I don't read and paranormal is a genre that I don't read, but I have for this genre challenge. I've picked this book to be my first challenge book. This book is number 14 in the series.
In this story, both the hero and heroine are tortured. They share two things in common. They are both vampires and they have both been abandoned by their mothers. Topaz mother's was a famous actress, who was shot, when she was a baby. Jack's mother left him and never looked back.
The two are looking for the man that killed Topaz's mother. The man that could be Topaz's father. Her mother was involved with many men. And one thing for sure, the man that raised Topaz wasn't her father. Just a money hungry man. Topaz didn't receive love from him. It seem as if no one loved her, even the man that she fell in love with. The hero - Jack. He was a con man and he conned her.
At first, I was feeling the tension between Topaz and Jack and then after a while, I was like what! If you read the book, you'll probably see why I have stepped into What! shoes.
This is the first book that I have read about vampires and I hope all the vampires books aren't like this. Although, I am not a fan of paranormal, I do watch BBCA Being Human and I love Mitchell.
Mitchell is a vampire. He can go out in the daytime. The vampires in this book can't go out, until sunset. I didn't understand why they slept from sunrise to sunset. And maybe, I haven't read right, but it seems as soon as they woke up, they were going back to sleep. It's like sunrise was coming within minutes of them waking up. I didn't like that about this story.
Another thing that I didn't like about this story is that the humans were tougher than the vampires. Yes, you heard me right. The CIA agents were tougher than the vampires. Don't describe the vampires as being tough and have them be defeated by the humans. The poor hero! All I can say, the ending shows just how much he wanted to be tough.
I like how Mrs. Maggie did her love scenes. She starts to tell you what the hero and heroine are doing and before you know it, they are done. To me that's a leave it to your imagination scene. A TV or movie love scene.
The ending was questionable to me. It didn't seem believable to me. I don't know if Mrs. Maggie written a book 15 and beyond. If she written a book 15, I hope she explained things in that book.
In this book, the vampires are after a horrible man that have done some horrible things to some of them. His name is Gregor. I guess he appears in book 15 - beyond. Because he was never in this book.
Will I read another vampire book for my challenge? The answer is yes. I'll give paranormal another try.
May 3, 2018
Continua la lotta tra i vampiri e gli agenti della CIA, oltre alla caccia a Gregor, il vampiro cattivo e crudele. Avevo iniziato questa serie appena era uscita, quindi ho conosciuto Rihannon, Gilgamesh e un altro vampiro di cui adesso non ricordo il nome, poi la serie si era fermata per un periodo e quando è ripresa me la sono persa, quindi riprendendo in mano questo libro sono rimasta un po’ spiazzata dagli avvenimenti accaduti ai vari personaggi. Comunque, ragazze, è leggibilissimo, anche perché la storia è indipendente dai precedenti, togliendo il fatto che non si conoscono le vicende dei personaggi secondari.
Qui troviamo Topaz, figlia di un’attrice morta quando lei era ancora in fasce e data in adozione all’ipotetico padre (ipotetico perché Mirabelle, la madre, aveva tre relazioni all’attivo in quel periodo); quest’uomo, però, non è il suo genitore biologico e vuole solo avere accesso ai soldi della ragazza. Quindi Topaz cresce non sentendosi amata, rifiutata da tutti, e in più scopre di essere malata e che non arriverà ai 30 anni (lei è una prescelta, ovvero una dei pochi umani che possono essere trasformati in vampiri e quindi da questi ultimi sorvegliati e protetti). Dopo questa notizia, si scatena in giornate folli a base di sesso e alcool, fino alla sera in cui, ubriaca e prossima alla morte, viene trasformata da una vampira, la quale la abbandona appena rinata con una lettera di istruzioni su cosa è diventata e cosa deve o non deve fare (…). Il massimo per una persona che non si sente amata e desiderata, lasciata due volte!
Poi incontra Jack Hart, ex collaboratore CIA, si innamorano e lui la deruba (eh sì, lui è un truffatore), Topaz entra in crisi per quattro mesi e, quando poi si è ripresa, zac… lui ricompare e iniziamo a conoscere le loro vicende narrate nel libro. Capiamo perché Jack è diventato un truffatore, capiamo perché si aggrega a Topaz e agli altri vampiri nella caccia a Gregor. La CIA dimostrerà sempre di essere squallida come nei precedenti libri ma, nonostante le disavventure, Topaz e Jack riusciranno a schiarirsi e lui capirà che è innamorato di questa bellissima vampira.
Se amate i vampiri, questa serie fa per voi: leggera e intensa, divertente e commovente, riesce a smuovere un po’ tutti i vari sentimenti. Quindi buona lettura e non perdete il prossimo appuntamento con la storia di Briar.
Qui troviamo Topaz, figlia di un’attrice morta quando lei era ancora in fasce e data in adozione all’ipotetico padre (ipotetico perché Mirabelle, la madre, aveva tre relazioni all’attivo in quel periodo); quest’uomo, però, non è il suo genitore biologico e vuole solo avere accesso ai soldi della ragazza. Quindi Topaz cresce non sentendosi amata, rifiutata da tutti, e in più scopre di essere malata e che non arriverà ai 30 anni (lei è una prescelta, ovvero una dei pochi umani che possono essere trasformati in vampiri e quindi da questi ultimi sorvegliati e protetti). Dopo questa notizia, si scatena in giornate folli a base di sesso e alcool, fino alla sera in cui, ubriaca e prossima alla morte, viene trasformata da una vampira, la quale la abbandona appena rinata con una lettera di istruzioni su cosa è diventata e cosa deve o non deve fare (…). Il massimo per una persona che non si sente amata e desiderata, lasciata due volte!
Poi incontra Jack Hart, ex collaboratore CIA, si innamorano e lui la deruba (eh sì, lui è un truffatore), Topaz entra in crisi per quattro mesi e, quando poi si è ripresa, zac… lui ricompare e iniziamo a conoscere le loro vicende narrate nel libro. Capiamo perché Jack è diventato un truffatore, capiamo perché si aggrega a Topaz e agli altri vampiri nella caccia a Gregor. La CIA dimostrerà sempre di essere squallida come nei precedenti libri ma, nonostante le disavventure, Topaz e Jack riusciranno a schiarirsi e lui capirà che è innamorato di questa bellissima vampira.
Se amate i vampiri, questa serie fa per voi: leggera e intensa, divertente e commovente, riesce a smuovere un po’ tutti i vari sentimenti. Quindi buona lettura e non perdete il prossimo appuntamento con la storia di Briar.
January 28, 2024
Lover's Bite was a half decent read. It was full of excitement, and the love story was alright. I liked Topaz and Jack, they were definitely interesting characters. But I can't say that I loved it.
I couldn't give it more than three stars because as a vampire romance it just wasn't very compelling. Maybe I am getting tired of Maggie Shayne's take on vampires, but they just are not powerful enough to be the awe-inspiring creatures of the night vampires are supposed to be. These are really just humans with fangs who steal blood from hospitals and blood banks because they are too pathetic to hunt. They don't want to hurt any innocent little humans by feeding on them, yet it's okay to pilfer from the donated blood supply not giving a thought to the innocent people who might die because the blood they needed for transfusions was stolen by lazy vampires. Vampires who aren't a danger to humans are boring.
The investigation surrounding Topaz's mother and the threat of the government agency could very easily have been written as a contemporary human romance, and actually would have been more satisfying. I honestly kept forgetting I was reading about vampires until I was reminded that they were vampires. The types of plots that work best for vampire romances are the type that simply can't work if the MCs aren't vampires.
I don't understand why the author made the CIA the agency at work here, when the FBI was the appropriate agency for the job.
And the final reason I only gave this three stars was the scene where Topaz discovers the evidence of Jack's deception that he'd been hiding from her. She confronts him in tears, he tells her he loves her and they tumble into bed. This, I will admit, is the behavior of typical gullible women, so it's pretty realistic. But it's annoying and the author didn't even follow it up with a graphic love scene to make amends for it. All I got was a fade to black. I put the book down for a few hours until the irritation subsided and I could finish reading.
All in all, it wasn't a bad read but I can't say it was great, either. It was just, okay.
I couldn't give it more than three stars because as a vampire romance it just wasn't very compelling. Maybe I am getting tired of Maggie Shayne's take on vampires, but they just are not powerful enough to be the awe-inspiring creatures of the night vampires are supposed to be. These are really just humans with fangs who steal blood from hospitals and blood banks because they are too pathetic to hunt. They don't want to hurt any innocent little humans by feeding on them, yet it's okay to pilfer from the donated blood supply not giving a thought to the innocent people who might die because the blood they needed for transfusions was stolen by lazy vampires. Vampires who aren't a danger to humans are boring.
The investigation surrounding Topaz's mother and the threat of the government agency could very easily have been written as a contemporary human romance, and actually would have been more satisfying. I honestly kept forgetting I was reading about vampires until I was reminded that they were vampires. The types of plots that work best for vampire romances are the type that simply can't work if the MCs aren't vampires.
I don't understand why the author made the CIA the agency at work here, when the FBI was the appropriate agency for the job.
And the final reason I only gave this three stars was the scene where Topaz discovers the evidence of Jack's deception that he'd been hiding from her. She confronts him in tears, he tells her he loves her and they tumble into bed. This, I will admit, is the behavior of typical gullible women, so it's pretty realistic. But it's annoying and the author didn't even follow it up with a graphic love scene to make amends for it. All I got was a fade to black. I put the book down for a few hours until the irritation subsided and I could finish reading.
All in all, it wasn't a bad read but I can't say it was great, either. It was just, okay.
March 4, 2020
I don’t know if I’ve just grown past these books or not, I remember loving them years back. But this was not a good book for me. The characters were predictable, wooden and cliched. The story was pretty bland and highly predictable.
August 28, 2011
3.5 to 4 stars. There were parts of this I liked and parts I didn't. The beginning was quite a bit slow but it did start to pick up about a quarter of the way into the book. It was a bit predictable in parts but still enjoyable. The ending was a bit abrupt. Even though, we will see more of this couple in the next book I would still have liked an epilogue.
I liked this book well enough to continue with the next one which is Briar's story. I'm still not too sure of her and can only hope I end up liking her character at the end of her book. With the new addition of Crisa to the group, I'm sure she'll improve, at least, I hope so.
I was wishy washy about Topaz and Jack. I'm not sure I was fond of either of them for a bit. They definitely improved by the end and I truly believed that Jack did love Topaz in the end.
I liked this book well enough to continue with the next one which is Briar's story. I'm still not too sure of her and can only hope I end up liking her character at the end of her book. With the new addition of Crisa to the group, I'm sure she'll improve, at least, I hope so.
I was wishy washy about Topaz and Jack. I'm not sure I was fond of either of them for a bit. They definitely improved by the end and I truly believed that Jack did love Topaz in the end.
September 4, 2023
I haven't read books 1-13, but this book is self-contained with enough explanation about the character that it's not not hard to follow. It's fairly enjoyable to read, if you don't think about it too much.
Unfortunately neither Topaz nor Jack Heart is really a compelling character. Topaz is just boring, a really bad judge of character, feeling sorry for herself the entire time, while jumping to conclusion. Jack is a conman who somehow ends up loving Topaz but still makes very questionable decisions.
What annoys me about this book is that we have all these powerful vampires, but they are easily deceived and overcome by a few mortals.
The resolution, when the final confrontation finally happens, seem too be to easy, a bit too anticlimactic. You blink and you miss it. I wish there was more to the story of the agent with the blue eyes, since the author makes quite a big deal about his behavior, but, nope. The ending after the resolution is very abrupt. There is very quick "I love you seen" then the end.
Unfortunately neither Topaz nor Jack Heart is really a compelling character. Topaz is just boring, a really bad judge of character, feeling sorry for herself the entire time, while jumping to conclusion. Jack is a conman who somehow ends up loving Topaz but still makes very questionable decisions.
What annoys me about this book is that we have all these powerful vampires, but they are easily deceived and overcome by a few mortals.
The resolution, when the final confrontation finally happens, seem too be to easy, a bit too anticlimactic. You blink and you miss it. I wish there was more to the story of the agent with the blue eyes, since the author makes quite a big deal about his behavior, but, nope. The ending after the resolution is very abrupt. There is very quick "I love you seen" then the end.
August 12, 2017
An abrupt ending but a great book.
June 13, 2018
This book was quite surprising as I didn't think I would of enjoyed it as much as I did.
May 10, 2019
I enjoyed this book and will read it again. I just with the end of the book was a Little more of how things were left with her mother and a little bit of what came next for Topaz and Jack.
June 11, 2023
This is Topaz and Jack's story. I'm just enjoying vampire's running around between heavier books.
November 12, 2021
Topaz is a wonderful character and I loved getting to know her better. Jack is a jerk but he does grow on you a bit.
September 25, 2008
The gang is back... Reaper, Topaz, Jack, Roxy, Seth, Vixen and IIyana. They are still on the hunt for Gregor and his crew of vampires. Mean while there is also tension on the home front between Topaz and Jack. Before Jack joined up with Reaper, he was part of Gregor’s gang. He didn’t care about anyone or anything. When Topaz first met Jack she fell hard for him, which is just how Jack liked it. He had Topaz just where he wanted her eating out of the palm of his hand and than he took off with her heart and her money. Topaz has learned her lesson and won’t make that mistake again or will she? Also it seems that is a traitor amongst the group and ready to draw first blood.
I have fallen in love with everyone in this series. The whole gang had a good sense of humor and it showed in some of the wise-crack comments they made and even the sarcastic ones as well. I can assure you that once you start reading this book that you won’t be bored. Lover’s Bite is the second book in this trilogy that consists of Demon’s Kiss, Lover’s Bite and Angel’s Pain in the Wings in the Night series. I have read books all of the books in this series and enjoyed them all. I believe you can read any of the books in this series as stand alone books. Maggie Shayne takes a bite out of paranormal and does it well.
I have fallen in love with everyone in this series. The whole gang had a good sense of humor and it showed in some of the wise-crack comments they made and even the sarcastic ones as well. I can assure you that once you start reading this book that you won’t be bored. Lover’s Bite is the second book in this trilogy that consists of Demon’s Kiss, Lover’s Bite and Angel’s Pain in the Wings in the Night series. I have read books all of the books in this series and enjoyed them all. I believe you can read any of the books in this series as stand alone books. Maggie Shayne takes a bite out of paranormal and does it well.
June 18, 2015
Topaz and Jack have a bad history together. He pretty much screwed her over (which you hear more about in the previous book) and now he can't understand why he feels guilty about it. Is he just having a crisis of conscience or has he lost his edge? Topaz is a firm believer of "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" and just isn't interested in anything Jack has to say. But he is a persistent vampire.
He joins Topaz on her quest to find out what really happened to her mother. Why is she so interested in this now? I wish I had known. It seemed a little sudden for such a major quest to pop up. The search for her mother was a great mystery with little clues left dangling just out of reach. It leads you on one direction and then another and then BAM!!! super twist!! You won't see it coming - even though I've just told you about it. You won't see it.
I miss the original set of vampires. I understand why Shayne had to move away from them, but I liked them so much more than this group. There are short appearances from one or two on occasion, but it just isn't enough for me. I wish I knew more about what's going on with Reaper as well, he's a very intriguing character, but I think he may be coming up pretty soon in a book just for him.
He joins Topaz on her quest to find out what really happened to her mother. Why is she so interested in this now? I wish I had known. It seemed a little sudden for such a major quest to pop up. The search for her mother was a great mystery with little clues left dangling just out of reach. It leads you on one direction and then another and then BAM!!! super twist!! You won't see it coming - even though I've just told you about it. You won't see it.
I miss the original set of vampires. I understand why Shayne had to move away from them, but I liked them so much more than this group. There are short appearances from one or two on occasion, but it just isn't enough for me. I wish I knew more about what's going on with Reaper as well, he's a very intriguing character, but I think he may be coming up pretty soon in a book just for him.
June 7, 2008
Best Wings book Ever!
Oh lordy, did I ever enjoy this one! Out of all of them, IMO, this one’s tops.
In the last book, you get the sense that Topaz is the spoiled, rich girl. This one may begin that way, but you quickly find out that it���s far from the truth. Topaz isn’t some spoiled brat, a rich girl that everyone else gets the sense of, but rather a sad, lonely, confused woman who feels cheated and unlovable. There’s a depth to her anguish that has the reader sympathizing with her completely.
Jack sticks to her like glue, for his own con man reasons, telling himself that he’s not in love with her, no matter what his feelings are. He learns the truth - when it’s almost too late. By trying to pull the biggest con of his life, he sets in motion what happens throughout the novel.
Excellent action and suspense, twists you don’t see coming and the most perfect ending have me on pins and needles for the next novel, Angel’s Pain, which isn’t due out until October 2008. The four-month wait may just make me pull out a few hairs, LOL!
Oh lordy, did I ever enjoy this one! Out of all of them, IMO, this one’s tops.
In the last book, you get the sense that Topaz is the spoiled, rich girl. This one may begin that way, but you quickly find out that it���s far from the truth. Topaz isn’t some spoiled brat, a rich girl that everyone else gets the sense of, but rather a sad, lonely, confused woman who feels cheated and unlovable. There’s a depth to her anguish that has the reader sympathizing with her completely.
Jack sticks to her like glue, for his own con man reasons, telling himself that he’s not in love with her, no matter what his feelings are. He learns the truth - when it’s almost too late. By trying to pull the biggest con of his life, he sets in motion what happens throughout the novel.
Excellent action and suspense, twists you don’t see coming and the most perfect ending have me on pins and needles for the next novel, Angel’s Pain, which isn’t due out until October 2008. The four-month wait may just make me pull out a few hairs, LOL!
June 27, 2011
Topaz - her mother was a famous actress (marilyn monroeish?), with multiple lovers - she died when Topaz was an infant, leaving her millions... and the courts awarded her to a businessman more interested in the money than Topaz - she grew up feeling unloved... and a previous book, she fell in love with Jack - a con-man vampire who took her for 6 million dollars... and then they were working together with Reaper (a CIA hit-man vampire, who got out of their clutches) to find an evil vampire Gregor (another book)...
they have time off as Gregor has gone underground... and Topaz decides to find out what really happened to her mother 30 years ago...
And Jack joins her - he loves her, but it takes until the very end before he can acknowledge the full depth of his feelings for her...
They find out her mother is in fact a vampire also... and they go to mexico to find her... and the CIA is after Reaper, and using Jack to get him back...
they have time off as Gregor has gone underground... and Topaz decides to find out what really happened to her mother 30 years ago...
And Jack joins her - he loves her, but it takes until the very end before he can acknowledge the full depth of his feelings for her...
They find out her mother is in fact a vampire also... and they go to mexico to find her... and the CIA is after Reaper, and using Jack to get him back...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2010
The first 12 were really great. I loved the story lines and then 13 came about and I gave it a go. It seems like these last 3 that are dealing with another group of people are written in a completely different format and it's hard when at the end there doesnt' seem to be a real closure to the relationships. It would be better if they all had their own stories instead of throwing in a chapter or two here and there dealing with the intimacies of other couples and not really giving a conculsion to the initial couple.
If all the books were structured this way I'd probably not have an issue but it feels like the relationships are second to the plot which isn't why I read romances, these feel almost more like mysteries with some sex thrown in.
I do like them and they are good books but my experience with the first 12 had me expecting a certain... formula if you will.
If all the books were structured this way I'd probably not have an issue but it feels like the relationships are second to the plot which isn't why I read romances, these feel almost more like mysteries with some sex thrown in.
I do like them and they are good books but my experience with the first 12 had me expecting a certain... formula if you will.
July 3, 2017
Book 14 in the Wings in the Night series
This is the continuing story of “the gang,” following “Demon’s Kiss.” This is the story of Topaz and Jack. I was not the interested in these two characters, so I thought that I would not enjoy it that much. But, I was wrong. It was a fun fast read! Topaz and Jack try to find out who her father is… however, that’s not all (but I won’t spoil the story for you, you’ll just have to read it!). Towards the end of the book we have a short visit from a character from her second wings in the night series! I can’t wait for Reaper’s story!
This is the continuing story of “the gang,” following “Demon’s Kiss.” This is the story of Topaz and Jack. I was not the interested in these two characters, so I thought that I would not enjoy it that much. But, I was wrong. It was a fun fast read! Topaz and Jack try to find out who her father is… however, that’s not all (but I won’t spoil the story for you, you’ll just have to read it!). Towards the end of the book we have a short visit from a character from her second wings in the night series! I can’t wait for Reaper’s story!
January 25, 2016
This was read during my vampire phase. I basically read anything I could get my hands on with a vampire in it. Ms. Shayne is a hit or miss for me. This one was interesting because it was more than just a lover's jilted angst between Topaz and the good for nothing conman, Jack. There is a mystery and this keeps my attention as we find out the truth behind Topaz's mother's death and who's her daddy.
November 20, 2015
Story full of twists and turns. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. (One minor point I don't get, Maggie Shayne keeps using the CIA as her villains. The CIA is in charge of international covert intelligence whereas the FBI is in charge of internal US issues. So why isn't she using the FBI as her villains?)
The book starts out about Topaz and Jack but the rest of the gang returns to join in. The continuation of the story line is that the CIA is still trying to get Reaper back.
The book starts out about Topaz and Jack but the rest of the gang returns to join in. The continuation of the story line is that the CIA is still trying to get Reaper back.
January 23, 2022
Este libro fue un tanto forzado, como si lo hubieran escrito solo para completar la pandilla. Me cae bien Topaz y Jack es el tipo rompecorazones reformado, pero salvo x la cualidad vampírica de los protagonistas, no le encontré a esta historia nada especial. Fue algo así como una escala forzada para repostar, necesaria pero no agradable, porque te atrasaste, te cansaste y lo único que querías al terminar, era una cama para dormir.
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May 19, 2008This is a book about two vampires. Jack is a con man/vampire who steals money from Topaz. Topaz is trying to find out who murdered her mother years ago. I found the romance in the book lacking. It read more like a murder mystery. Jack was playing the "fence" too much for me. I did not really find there was chemistry between the two main characters.
December 9, 2010
I didn't realize this was part of a series, I really want to read the ones before because I was definitely out of it for the first 50 pages during some of the references. I liked Topaz and Gregor, it was completely predictable and this is really a 3 1/2, but I didn't want to put it down and I was completely entertained so I think it is a success!
July 28, 2011
I love a good paranormal, but Maggie Shayne's paranormals just aren't that great. Not enough description to get a good mental picture of characters and such. Also, this had WAY too many cliches. Try to come up with something more unique next time Ms. Shayne.
December 8, 2014
Action packed and fast paced.But the vampires were not used to their full extent. I mean why to have vampires if they don't let the vampires do what they generally do? Ans since when do vampires have problems with CIA. This story is more like spy vs CIA, than vampires.
December 30, 2014
Part of a series and best read in order - at least read the prior one as they link together with characters and some story lines (Demon's Kiss).
Good suspense story line keeps the pace going and there's a solid romance between two characters who were background in the previous book.
Good suspense story line keeps the pace going and there's a solid romance between two characters who were background in the previous book.
Read
May 19, 2008this book was terrible and it didnt have closure to all that events that contributed to the main characters ordeal. dont bother with this one!
July 9, 2008
This one is not as busy as the first one. It focuses more on one couple and is alot better for it.
October 2, 2008
This was such a fun read.
I really like Maggie Shayne's writing style.
I didn't realise this was the 14th book in the series *oops*
I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of them :)
I really like Maggie Shayne's writing style.
I didn't realise this was the 14th book in the series *oops*
I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of them :)
Read
November 5, 2008Lover's Bite by Maggie Shayne (2008)
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