Red-Haired Ash Reads

Carolyn Conner is determined to celebrate he divorce from her horrible husband by enjoying a vacation in St. Lucia. She plans to enjoy the sun, the beach, and the many tours available, not get involved with a man. But when she meets Marguerite Argeneau, everything changes and she finds herself playing the part of girlfriend to her son, Christian. 

This was an interesting one because for the first time in the series, we have a relationship that isn’t just close proximity and fated mates. This one involves fake dating. When Christian is requested in St. Lucia by his mother he believes she might have found him a life mate, what he doesn’t expect is to find a 40 year old woman who is determined to keep men at arms length. This leads to an elaborate lie started by Christian’s cousin, that he is gay and needs a Beard, and Caro fits that person. It ended up being an enjoyable romance, but I do think using sexuality as a plot device wasn’t in the best taste. 

Caro was a hard working woman who has been emotionally abused by her ex-husband. She is struggling to see herself truly, and not the hateful image her husband painted of her. I liked Caro and felt her struggle with this fake relationship was very believable. I do think she was a bit of a pushover though. For example, there is a scene where she is dealing with low blood sugar and lets others push alcohol onto her, instead of water or soda. The person says they don’t have any non-alcoholic beverages, but on the trip to the location they state that they can’t bring the alcohol out yet, so clearly they have water or some other beverage. 

The relationship between Caro and Christian was enjoyable, even if I didn’t love the lie of it. Christian was a great guy and I enjoyed his struggle to hold back his feelings for Caro, and not just ravish her on the spot. It was also amusing that Julius was now able to turn the tables on him and call him out for his ridiculous behavior during the wooing process. 

Overall, this was a pretty great low-angst vampire romance. It was great seeing the last of Marguerite’s children finally find their life mate. I do wish we knew how she was able to determine life mates though. Also, I really liked all the Notte cousins and wonder if they will get their own books. 

TW: emotionally abusive and cheating ex-husband; low blood sugar situation; poisoning;

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

#1. A Quick Bite
#2. Love Bites
#3. Single White Vampire
#4. Tall, Dark & Hungry
#5. A Bite to Remember
#6. Bite Me If You Can
#7. The Accidental Vampire
#8. Vampires Are Forever
#9. Vampire, Interrupted
#10. The Rogue Hunter
#11. The Immortal Hunter
#12. The Renegade Hunter
#12.5. Bitten By Cupid
#13. Born to Bite
#14. Hungry For You
#15. The Reluctant Vampire
#15.5 The Bite Before Christmas