Customer Reviews

High Stakes (Vegas Vampires, Book 1)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When tough as nails prosecuting attorney Alexis Baldizzi rescues her sister from the clutches of vampire Ethan Carrick by agreeing to stand in as his pretend girlfriend, she quickly realizes that she is in for an interesting battle, but just this once she seems destined to lose . . . her heart.

When Alexis Baldizzi learns that her sister, Brittany, has left behind her dental practice and moved into a suite at a luxury casino owned by Ethan Carrick, she is determined to get her out. She is humored when Brittany tells her that Ethan, his friends and employees are all vampires, further disbelieving when Ethan tries to explain that he is a candidate for the vampire presidency and is in need of a temporary, intelligent, non-vampire girlfriend, to soften his image. Alexis agrees to play the part and is eventually shown evidence to support Ethan's vampire defense. Ethan is the most gorgeous man that Alexis has ever known, and once she stops fighting both him and her attraction to him, she discovers that the saying "Bite Me" has taken on an entirely new meaning.

Ethan Carrick has been around for nine hundred years and not once in that time has he met a woman who fascinates him the way Alexis Baldizzi does. He thought his dentist, Brittany Baldizzi, was perfect to play the part of his girlfriend; she's tall, beautiful and perfectly sweet. That thought quickly evaporated once he met her sister, Alexis, a cute little pixie of a woman with the tenacity of a pit bull and handfuls of luscious curves. Ethan finds her to be a refreshing challenge and enjoys her company as he has no other woman in centuries. When attempts on Ethan's life escalate into threats against Alexis, there is nothing in the world he won't do to protect her.

Erin McCarthy repeatedly shows her gift of incredible talent by writing stories with creative wit and humor, while maintaining those character qualities that we all want in a great romance. HIGH STAKES gives readers just that with characters who, despite one being a vampire, have the most simplistic wants and needs; whose emotions and desires are shared by everyone. Ethan and Alexis are both self-assuredly aggressive and determined to have their way; the banter between the two of them is cleverly written and will have readers laughing, just as their passions will make your heart beat just a little bit faster. This is not a book to be missed whether you are a long-time vampire reader or just cutting your vampiric teeth; you won't be disappointed.

I like Erin McCarthy, though some of her output is better than others. But am I the only one noticing that she is now cranking out 4 books a year? An incredibly prolific pace.

Unfortunately, the rush job shows in this latest by McCarthy in which she contrives a poorly thought out vampire story. First, let me point out, despite the trade size the print is very large, the borders and space between lines overly wide. Not a lot of prose per page -- my English teacher didn't let me get away with it in high school, McCarthy certainly can't when she's charging $13 per book!

Second, not much happens in the story. There is no development of the romance, the plot is nonexistant, the characters never evolve, and nothing HAPPENS. There is a lot of filler with a lot of useless chatter and what passes for sense of humor. (McCarthy succeeds better in her previous books in being funny.) This book needed a really good editor to cut out the blather and make McCarthy devote a little more time coming up with a better plot.

I really liked Mouth to Mouth and The Pregnancy Test. I kinda liked Smart Mouth and Heiress for Hire. Wasn't so fond of Houston, We Have a Problem or A Date With the Other Side. This one, High Stakes, ranks way below all of them.

EDIT: I see now that her next book is probably a 'sequel' to this one, which would explain why this one is so sparse. Her greedy publishers(?) took what would/should have been one book and split it in two. For shame!

In Ethan's world, vampires are civilized beings who have wealth, power, and their own chosen leaders, voted on by their peers. This year, Ethan is up for re-election, and he knows one way to clinch the win is to have a lovely, biddable wife at his side. He believes he's found her in Brittany Baldizzi. She is a sweet-tempered dentist with a soft heart and a fabulous figure - the perfect political wife. He sets out to woo her as his bride, and the taste of victory is within reach....but not if fiery-tempered Alexis has anything to say about it. Alexis will do anything to protect Brittany, even sacrifice herself to the blood-sucking monster out to trap her innocent and naive sister.

Ethan is instantly attracted to Alexis. He adores her outspoken ways, and lush, womanly figure. For an undead guy, he's never felt so alive in all his 900+ years. However she wants nothing to do with him. He is a politican, after all. But his hot kisses tempt Alexis to the dark side, and Ethan knows he wants nothing more than to make this woman his - forever.

Erin McCarthy uses her trademark humor to ramp up the heat in this vamp tale located right in the heart of the city of sin. Vegas becomes the center of political scandal in the Vampire Nation as jealousy mixes with blood and lust in one opponent's bid for the presidency, and politics never looked so good, or so forbidden, as Ethan tries desperately to protect the woman he loves from danger and the uglier side of his world. All is not what it seems in Sin City, and even Brittany is tempted by the seductive vampire world. McCarthy fans will rejoice at yet another delicious tale from her repertoire and definitely want another installment. In the ever-increasing trend of solemn and tragic vampire tales, it is a bit of a relief to find humor and romance amongst the undead, and you get that and more in this engaging new series. Nobody does sexy, humorous stories better.

I love Erin McCarthy. Even if you don't like Vampire Fiction, you will like this book.
It has Erin's typical laugh out loud humor. Fun and intriguing characters that make this book a real page turner. I didn't want to set it down.
Ethan is a vampire seeking Vampire public office. He feels he needs a wife to seal the deal.
He sets his sights on his Dentist, Brittany. She's the stereotypical girl next door. He takes her to his hotel/casino for a few days to woo her.
When Brittany's sister Alexis gets wind of whats going on she charges in ready to get her sister back.
Ethan has already begun to think Brittany is to straight for his tastes.
Brittany knows what he is and is there to save the vampires from damnation.
Alexis thinks everyone has lost their minds.
This is a fun, funny story that leaves you hanging and wanting more, as it is the first in a series of 3 so far. I am looking forward to all of them.

I cracked up at this book from beginning to end. Not one for vampire stories, I nonetheless had to pick it up because it was written by one of my new favorite authors. I was not disappointed.

I loved spunky Alexis and swooned at the handsome and mysterious Ethan. Their banter was hilarious and once again, McCarthy rewards us with style and wit like no other. This new vampire series is intriguing; though I do have to agree with other reviewers that the story ended abruptly and I wish the Vampire Nation election had been decided within this book. Since the main character was the candidate, I assume he will not be so prominently featured in the next book. Will we have to wait until the third in the series to find out? We'll see. I'm sure McCarthy will not let us down.

I'm definitely anxious to get to the next two books in this series, as each of the other main characters - Brittany and Corbin, especially -- were captivating. Their transcendent love scene will take your breath away.

This is obviously not your typical depressing and dark vampire novel. If you're in the mood for some Vegas flash and fun, treat yourself to this one!

Erin McCarthy writes funny, racy books and this one doesn't disappoint - at least not till the end. Then suddenly a new character is found to be the source of all the trouble but disappears after that reveal.

Turns out Sasha Checkikov is a short story in Erin's next book, First Blood. Well I haven't got extra to buy another book for essentially the epilogue, so I guess I don't get to find out how this story actually ends. Just the record, those of you who write serials, the pertinent bits need to be in the stories. Supplemental is ripping off your readers.

I've never read the others in the series. But I don't think that matters. The characters in this book were poorly written and without much substance. I thought Brittany was more interesting than Alexis even as much as she was written to be the one to hate on for being optimistic, sunny and attractive. Alexis was one obnoxious, caustic, ridiculous and annoying woman from the beginning. Her dialogue was painful to read and that part where she tries to beat up Ethan with her amazing black belt skills was dumb. I liken her more to an annoying yapping chiuaua than the bad girl that "I think" Erin McCarthy was trying to portray her as.

I really like My Immortal so this was a real disappointment. Not sure if I will continue with her books.

I just don't get all the great reviews for this book. Its not a bad book. Its just not at all impressive. Alexis is a lawyer who meets a vampire/casino owner/president of the vampires named Ethan who is holding her sister Brittany. She trades herself for him and in a matter of seconds they go from hating each other, to bed together, to madly in love. The supporting characters too, were fairly unimaginitive. I felt this book boldly took ideas from Lydsay Sand's Argeneau vampire series including the idea of 'diabetic' flavored blood, among other things. Even for a romance it was heavy of the sexual innuendo. At a critical scene where his true love lay dying, all he can think is that he wants to jump her bones! Then the minute she comes too, she teases him for his obvious sexual 'interest' in her. This was just too much for me. I love cute, comical, romantic vampire novels. This just wasn't much of any of those things. The thin mysteries introduced were never in any way concluded and tons of questions are left unanswered. This is not the way to finish a book, even when its a part of a series. A series book should mostly wrap things up to leave the reader satisfied, and leave just a crumb or two of something interesting to keep us eagerly anticipating the next installment. Readable...thats about the best thing I can say for this story. Unfortunately I bought the second book at the same time so eventually I may still read that.

"High Stakes" can be classified as paranormal chick lit or as a vampire romance novel. This highly amusing story revolves around Ethan Carrick, a 900-something-year old vampire who owns a successful Las Vegas casino and is up for reelection as president of his vampire peers. Thinking that securing a First Lady will secure his political future, Ethan sets his sights on the sweet, half-mortal Brittany Baldizzi, but the plan changes when Brittany's feisty sister, Alexis, enters the picture. Ethan falls harder for the 100% human Alexis than he has for any woman in the last millennium. However, Alexis is an independent woman who isn't really looking to get involved with any man, especially a vampire. Also, there's the small matter of a hit being placed on Ethan's life by his political opponent. Can Alexis and Ethan's love make it through all these crazy trials and tribulations? Read this book and find out for yourself!

"High Stakes" isn't a brilliant work of fiction by any sense of the imagination. There are some major holes in the plot, and the ending is entirely too rushed. However, if you like vampires and Las Vegas (and don't mind some very graphic sexual passages: yowza!), then I think you'll enjoy this fun, quick read. I will probably check out the other books in Erin McCarthy's vampire series.

I wasn't aware this book was part of a series when I bought it, so it's possible that some of my complaints are dealt with in later books. The story is basically a long introduction to the main characters of the series. There are at least four events/situations/problems that remain unsolved by the end of the book. For people who get frustrated by books with a constant stream of characters, this book has eight POVs. Thankfully, the author's constant POV switches are dominated by only four of the characters.
The story is pretty bland and has been done before. Conflicting Vampire politics, instant attraction between Vamp and human, 'Us against the world' stance of Vamp and human and doing the unthinkable due to sudden violence/drama. Oh, I forgot to mention that most of the Vampires seem to be a bit forgetful. One moment they have a certain talent, but it's gone in the next or apparently only works when it's not needed.
I'm giving the story 3 stars because it did have some humorous moments and I only paid a few dollars for it. Definitely not worth paying full price for.