The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake #14) by Kerrelyn Sparks

vampire with the dragon tattoo, kerrelyn sparksSynopsis: Dougal Kincaid has something to prove. After being injured in a battle with the Malcontents, he’s ready for active duty protecting unsuspecting mortals from these villainous vampires who want to rule the world. But first he has to get control of himself . . . because just the sight of a certain lovely doctor has his injured hand doing some peculiar things, not to mention the sizzling sensation that burns along his dragon tattoo.

Vampires? Vampires?! As a scientist, Leah is having trouble believing that these immortal creatures exist. But there they are, standing in front of her, asking for help in solving a genetic puzzle that can save mankind. There’s even one in a sexy kilt! Just one look into Dougal’s gorgeous green eyes sets her pulse racing. But can she trust him—and the overwhelming desire that refuses to be ignored?

Review: This was my first time delving into the Love at Stake novels, or at least I think so.  What drew me to this book was mainly the title. I thought it’d be a parody of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo novel.  There was humor here and there, but this is first and foremost a paranormal romance, so the romance and drama take precedence.  I may have read a short story from this series before because one aspect sounded familiar to me; it was the VANNA angle in particular though I can’t recall where I could have read it.  VANNA is a life-size synthetic device designed to look like a human woman. There’s blood stored inside it to help curb a vampire’s desire to attack real living people.  That provided a healthy dose of comic relief in this book.  Though the story appears to be a standalone, there is an overarching plot that I feel has been developing since the earlier books. But even still I never felt lost.

The relationship between Dougal and Leah was decent but I didn’t connect to it very much. Both were a little too down on themselves most of the time.  I also think the timing was wrong for me because I read this on the heels of another book where reincarnation was at the heart of the relationship.  I wasn’t disappointed with the book, so I imagine fans of the series who have read it from the beginning should enjoy it. Though I doubt I will read all the earlier 13 novels, I might look into reading one of its stronger prequels to get a better feel for Kerrelyn Sparks’s writing at its best.

*ARC Provided by Publisher

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