The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires (Dark Ones Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Katie MacAlister (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Portia Harding, a no-nonsense physicist, has accompanied her lifelong best friend, romance author Sarah, to England, where she is investigating everything from crop circles to seances. Left at a so-called fairy ring when Sarah runs back to the hotel for her camera, Portia inadvertently summons a spirit named Hope who bestows her gift of weather control and disappears. Swept up into the arms of gorgeous Theo and carried away--or kidnapped, as the pragmatic physicist in her contends--Portia is sure she is hallucinating. She doesn't believe in the paranormal until she discovers that Theo is a soulless nephilim (the offspring of an angel and a human) and that she must pass seven tests to be admitted to the Court of Divine Blood, which is essential since she now controls the weather, which follows her around in the form of a small cloud. MacAlister's fast-paced romp is a delight with all its quirky twists and turns, which even include a murder mystery. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
A laugh riot...invigorating and steamy. -- ARomanceReview.com

Frenzied fun. -- Best Reviews

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451220854
• ISBN-13: 978-0451220851
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,336 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 5 in The Dark Ones Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the love?, April 6, 2007

By	Wooddavis (California) - See all my reviews

The heroine, Portia, is given a power she doesn't want. To keep it, she has to pass seven trials. If she doesn't pass these trials, the power (that she doesn't want), is stripped from her. No harm, no foul, no punishment if she fails. Okay, then why would she want to pass the tests again? The fairly lame reason given is that Theo (the hero), wants to get into the Court of Divine Blood, and if she passes, she can petition for his inclusion. Why he wants to be a member of that Court is never adequately explained.

After several misunderstandings, Portia decides to help Theo (he's sexy, so why not?) During the trials, Theo is turned into a Dark One, his soul ripped away by a Demon (Bael, from the Aisling series). Somehow, this horrific loss is treated with a minor shrug, and very little concern. Five minutes after the deed he compensates by a cheerful, rollicking first-time roll in the bed with the heroine. Instantly, Portia becomes Theo's Beloved. No long centuries searching for the woman who will save him, she's there, ready and available. Very convenient. Theo's loss of his soul settles down to his annoyance that he can't taste his favorite foods until he becomes accustomed to his new blood diet. Christian Dante makes a cameo guest appearance to explain the rules of Theo's new lifestyle. That tie-in ticked me off a bit, other fans might feel the same. Theo's easy acceptance of his situation pretty much made a mockery of all the previous heroes in this genre who suffered needlessly. I'm guessing that since this is the "last" of the red hot vampires, this series is complete.

Some action, cute best friend as a straight-man for the jokes and pep talks, travels to magical worlds, self-sacrifice, the usual seven steps of a Beloved, predictable ending. PG-13 for sex and language. Not up to the usual standard of the author, not particularly re-readable.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What happened? (no spoilers), April 12, 2007

By	H. Harrelson "LadyFate" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must confess I wasn't sure if I was reading part of the much Beloved (pun intended) vampire series or not. It almost seemed as though the author got quite some distance into the novel, remembered she was supposed to be writing for the series, then had to figure a quick way into squishing this book in. While it was mostly entertaining, I had problems with a highly intelligent heroine who seemed to be unable to understand (unwilling?) some fairly simple concepts and the "deus ex machina" ending to it all.
I was just a little disappointed. It would have been a far better stand alone novel and possibly even the beginning of a new series. Of course, it won't stop me from watching madly for the next in the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Luke Warm with Possibility of Simmering, June 4, 2007

By	Anna Hope (PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This was a nice little story that was inventive but far too fast paced. The speed of the action, for me, was the largest deterent to this book being ranked higher. The characters just sort of go from hating each other to being wildly in love. Our extremely sceptical physist heroine just suddenly believes. Our 1700 year old angel? hero who has loved before just suddenly deals really well with having his soul sucked from him. Wouldn't you think that this would effect him more than anyone else due to his being half-angel?

And how exactly does the baddy know that those two will fall for each other and she will be his beloved which is integral to his plans? All the other Dark One's have had to search for centuries for their Beloved's but his is already there.

Altogether, it was a mostly satisfying read that was worth sprawling around with on a lazy day...but it deservedly shouldn't be flying off the shelves. It's just not as good as the first three books in the series. i'm relieved to say I feel it is better than the last book "Even Vampires Get the Blues" which kind of stank the place out. Though I still have real issues with young vampires going out in the noon day sun. I hope Ms. MacAlister can get this once great series back on track. An avid reader who devoured all of her other books I have to admit that I didn't even bother to purchase this one but instead waited and borrowed it from a freind.