Customer Reviews

Because Your Vampire Said So (Broken Heart, Oklahoma, Book 3)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Broken Heart, Oklahoma is a great place to live. If you're dead. Sadly for Patsy Donahue, the best (and only) hair stylist around, business is as slow has her non-existant heartbeat and she's reduced to giving shampoos to a handsome pack of werewolves to keep busy.

Life (no pun intended) gets busy as she realizes her talents to communicate with ghosts as well as raise them. Her sixteen year old son, Wilson is giving her grey hair, heaven forbid! And a sexy lycanthrope named Gabriel lights her toes on fire. But he leaves her with the burning question. Who is he and can she trust him when no one else does?


This is the third in the Broken Heart, Oklahoma series, and possibly the best yet. Patsy is one of the most down to earth characters we've been introduced to so far. She hasn't had it easy, but she's done the best she could and you won't find a more admirable, yet sassy vampire out there.

Touching on the seriousness of the subject of how alcoholism affects all members in the family with honesty and sensitivity, Michele Bardsley isn't afraid to bring such important issues into the light. This gives a realistic foundation to Patsy's story and makes her character development all the more palpable.

The obvious research into Celtic legends is apparent and adds further to the depth of the story. All the Gaelic terms (with a very handy glossary in the back of the book) are beautiful and the characters are all the more vivid because of those fine details.

So let me break this down. We have a unique world with a vampire PTA, lycanthrope body guards and a consortium forming their own paranormal community. Cool, right? Michele's raucous sense of humor is sewn throughout and will have you laughing out loud. I'm giving you fair warning because if you're anything like me, the snorts will start flying and we know that's not always pretty.

BECAUSE YOUR VAMPIRE SAID SO goes even deeper into the genesis of the vampires and the history is wrought with some cranky blood suckers who challenge even the oldest among them. Each vampire is hugely interesting in their own unique way, each one more dangerous than the last.

Patsy has it pretty rough. One of the things she has to adapt to is her power to see ghosts. Not only can she see them, but some of them just won't leave her alone, including her smoking, gambling Grandma. As Patsy comes into her own and harnesses her abilities, the dead will rise. And you will laugh until you cry!

The Broken Heart Oklahoma series is a must read, and it's going on my keeper shelf to stay.

Patsy is all that's best about 'white trash'. She lives in a double-wide trailer behind her salon. She's haunted by the ghosts of chain-smoking Dottie and her own grandma (who died with one hand clutching the arm of a slot machine). When scared she's more likely to sass back than whimper in fear. And when it comes to her son Wilson, she's a mama bear ready to rip the head off of anyone who hurts him---including him.

I won't say this book is perfect. When rogue werewolf Gabriel and Patsy first met, and for a while thereafter, I had trouble feeling the chemistry between them. Ultimately, however, they made a very hot couple (standard adults-only explicit material warning). Also, in series books like this where each book is a separate couple's story, usually the books stand alone better. In this case, since I hadn't read the first two books, I definitely felt rather lost when it came to understanding what was going on with Broken Heart and the Consortium.

Finally, there's a spot somewhat early on where a man arrives to teach Patsy what her Family powers are and how to use them. However, he appears conveniently out of nowhere, quickly teaches her everything, and then disappears out of the story again. He all but screams 'plot device.'

That might seem like too many flaws for a four-out-of-five rating, and I debated giving it lower. But the truth is, this book easily deserves a four, and I'm sure for many readers it'll be a five. It's witty and hilarious, and Patsy is one of the best paranormal romance heroines ever. It also moved me to tears at the end, which is something I most definitely did not expect from this irreverent, cackle-inducing romp.

So if you need a good laugh and want some feel-good fun, or if you're a forty-something single mom looking for a romance that's aimed at you, grab this series up and enjoy the hell out of it!

LOVED this book! Couldnt put it down. Great series, each book gets better and better! Must read series, thats for sure!

The Setting -- is still Broken Heart, Oklahoma. You see a lot of Patsy's hair salon and her trailer and a few other places you may or may not recall from a previous book.

The Characters -- are still as endearing as ever. I really did like Patsy; then again I grew up knowing this type of character in real life, so I had an excellent mental video of what Patsy was doing and how much hell she was raising. Her love interest, Gabrielle, didn't impress me as much as I would have liked. I will say that Patsy put him in his place, which made me roll with laughter and like the character all that much more. You see your favorites from before in all kinds of glorious action - because this book might be the most actiony of them all!

The Plot -- of this book is perhaps a turning point in the Broken Heart series. There are a lot of things that happen that change the way Things Have Been. I enjoyed the story, but I felt like overall it was rushed, especially towards the end. I felt the first, but when everything starts unfolding and stuff hits the fan, well, I just thought it lacked that sparkle the other books had. I was a little disappointed with this book after how much fun the first two were, but I still read it in one sitting and loved every minute of it.

What I Loved: I am really digging this world setup in Broken Heart. While these books are definitely fun and campy, they do manage to bring light to some very important topics: 1rs book-infidelity, 2nd book-teenage pregnancy, and this one Drug/Alcohol addiction. Michele has done a wonderful job of mixing the humor, vamp/werewolf/hybrid goodness, and some awareness in her books. Plus, she mentions the show Supernatural in this book (great taste there LOL)

What I Liked: I really enjoyed all the secondary characters in this book! They were well rounded and a joy to read. I also adored seeing the characters that we have come to love and the continuation of the storyline of Broken Heart, OK.

Complaints? I really wish that either Patsy or Gabriel would have been introduced a little more in the first two books. I enjoyed their love story but it wasn't as catching as the first two romances in the series.

Why I gave it a 3: I really enjoyed this book but it was my least favorite of the first 3. In the beginning, I just couldn't warm up to Patsy/Gabriel, I though she had a bigger connection to D. That being said by the end I loved them together.

Who I would recommend this too: Fans of the first 2, PNR readers that can handle a little lightness, and Chick-Lit readers that can handle a little PNR.

I enjoy this series because it constantly makes me smile or laugh. The Author is clearly a child of the eighties because the "Remington Steele" reference alone is what got me reading the first novel, and I haven't been able to stop ordering her books since. I am on #5 and I read this book only 2 weeks ago! Great entertainment, and I highly recommend!!!! N~

Plot Summary: Patsy Donahue keeps insisting that she's a simple country-music loving, 40-year-old beautician, who just happens to be a vampire, but some new faces in town think she's something special. One hunky guy in particular is eyeing Patsy like a cool drink of water on a hot summer day, and it's nice to see a mommy with a teenage son get some action. Unfortunately Patsy's hunk shows up along with some disgruntled vamps who want to crush her town, Broken Heart, which happens to be populated almost exclusively by supernatural creatures. Patsy just wants to run her beauty shop, make headway with her wayward son, and give full-body shampoos to the local werewolves. Unfortunately, it just ain't happening.

This book is overflowing with intended silliness, and I thought it was a fast, flirty read. I should offer a full disclosure before going any further, and state that I drank a Honey Moon Summer Ale while reading this book, and I tend to think everything is funny when I've had a drink. Normally I don't drink and read, but hey, it's practically a holiday today.

So yes, this book is fun, but would I rush out and buy the whole series? Eh, this type of vampire romance is more for fans who like `vampire-lite,' without that gritty dirty darkness that saturates my preferred vampire stories. However, there's something to be said for this perky, sassy style, and I'm happy that I got to sample Michele Bardsley's funny girl prose. I think I enjoyed her dedication and acknowledgement pages as much as the book itself. She's probably a hoot to hang out with.

The star of the book is undoubtedly the heroine, Patsy, and it's refreshing to see an older, divorced mother still retain her sensuality. I'm going to hit 40 sooner than I realize, and it's reassuring to know that I won't turn into an unappealing sack of potatoes by some perverse Cinderella magic. I picture my internal clock striking 40 and suddenly all of my jiggly body parts wrinkle, wither, and sag.

The book is weakest when it comes to the hero and the plot. Gabriel is just a nice piece of cheesecake for Patsy to pant for, and he's a strictly one-dimensional guy. The plot had very little mystery, no tension, and no surprises. The sex was okay, but I've already forgotten about it. Patsy basically gets a bunch of superpowers and obliterates the bad guys. Whoops, was that a spoiler? Not really, because you see it all coming like an avalanche tumbling down the mountain. Still, Patsy's folksy charm was enough to keep me entertained on this quickie read.

Two more things to say... each book in this series focuses on a different couple, so I had no problems jumping in at book three. Also, there is a glossary at the back, which I didn't find until the end. Grrrr. I prefer to see a glossary at the beginning, so it can aid new readers, or refresh the long-standing fans, but hey, nobody listens to me, so it's something I'll keep whining about for many years to come.

I got this book fast and in fabulous condition from this seller. I would definately buy from them again.

Fun read, I am looking forward to reading all 11 (or is it 10 now) of the Broken Heart Vampire stories.

Funny, Funny , Great Ha Ha. Loved This Book. Loved The Whole Series. Can't Wait for the Next Book.