Sex, Lies and Vampires (The Dark Ones, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Katie MacAlister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2005

Are you responsible for lifting a centuries-old curse from the sexiest vampire you’ve ever seen?

Does a demon lord want to destroy you?

Have you somehow inadvertently bound several mummies to your soul?

Are you the last hope for a lost little boy?

If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above . . . you’re in big trouble!

Those are a few of the problems facing Nell Harris, a real charmer—no, really . . . a real Charmer—once she hooks up with Adrian Tomas. A devastatingly hot Dark One who’s earned the unfortunate title “the Betrayer” for selling out his own kind to a very nasty demon, Adrian needs Nell in the worst way. Though she’d be way better off keeping her distance, Nell can’t help but find this tormented, undead Betrayer dude just a little too tempting. And this time her penchant for bad boys might cost her more than her heart . . . but her immortal soul as well!

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As far as she can tell, Nell Harris is either going insane or she is in love. Nell thought she had been summoned to Prague to work on an inscription in a rare fourteenth-century breastplate. Instead, she is immersed in the world of the Moravian Dark Ones (think vampires) when she is swept up in the search for a boy held captive by the demon lord Asmodeus. Although Nell would like nothing better than to use her powers as a "Charmer" to help find the missing boy, the last time she dabbled in magic the consequences were dire. Then Nell meets Adrian Tomas. Bound to serve Asmodeus and forced to betray his fellow Dark Ones, Adrian desperately needs Nell to charm away his curse. One look into Adrian's haunted eyes, and Nell discovers she will do just about anything to save the soul of her new beloved. The third in Mac-Alister's wickedly sexy and wildly humorous Dark Ones series, this is another wonderfully original, practically perfect paranormal treat. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Despite her love for novels, Katie MacAlister didn’t think of writing them until she was contracted to write a non-fiction book about software. MacAlister resolved to switch to fiction, where she could indulge in world building, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes. More than thirty books later, her novels have been translated into numerous languages, recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell.

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505525550
• ISBN-13: 978-0505525550
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For as long as she can remember, Katie MacAlister has loved reading. Growing up in a family where a weekly visit to the library was a given, Katie spent much of her time with her nose buried in a book. Despite her love for novels, she didn't think of writing them until she was contracted to write a non-fiction book about software. Since her editor refused to allow her to include either witty dialogue or love scenes in the software book, Katie swiftly resolved to switch to fiction, where she could indulge in world building, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes.

Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than thirty books later, her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and placed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell.

Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online. You are welcome to visit her at http://www.katiemacalister.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming and funny, February 24, 2005

By 

A. Reid (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sex, Lies and Vampires (The Dark Ones, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Katie MacAlister's Dark One series are either a gently mocking tribute to or an affectionate spoof of the paranormal romances of Christine Feehan. Since I've never developed a taste for Ms. Feehan's work, I'm not sure which. Either way, I like what MacAlister does. Her stories are an appealing blend of romantic comedy and adventure. The brooding never gets too serious, and the tragedy never gets to heavy, not even when in summary it sounds like it should be devastating stuff.

This novel is one of a piece with the rest of the series, though perhaps not the best entry in it. Nell Harris is a spunky, spicy heroine, marked by an earlier failure but not--you know--overly bummed out about it. Her tormented soulmate may wallow in thoughts of his own depravity, but the novel does not. Like Nell, the story seems more concerned with helping him get over his horror than inviting us to share it.

To me, there are two noteworthy shortcomings in this novel. First, the development of Nell as a character is a little shallow. We know what she does for a living, but that's about the extent I remember of her backstory, 10 minutes after finishing the book. She's fun and funny, but sometimes MacAlister seems to sacrifice a little more depth and detail for the sake of a one-liner than she needs to. Second, there is a certain redundancy of style and plot to this story to which serial fiction is prone. If you've read MacAlister, you've got a pretty clear idea where the story is going from soon after the start. Connecting the dots to the happy ending is not that hard. And the minorly-handicapped-paranormal-female-lead of this novel is not really that dissimilar from the minorly-handicapped-paranormal-female-lead of MacAlister's last.

But, really, I don't pick up these kinds of novels for their plot twists. I pick them up to delight me and to charm me, and _Sex, Lies and Vampires_ proved very effective at doing that. Nell Harris may not stand out as the most memorable heroine of all time (or even of MacAlister's library), but I enjoyed the time I spent with her. And that's enough reason for me to recommend this book.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good first half, but goes downhill after that..., March 30, 2005

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CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sex, Lies and Vampires (The Dark Ones, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second book I have read from the Dark One series (this is the third installment) and I have to say that this series is not as exciting as some of the vampire romance books I have read out there. Sex and the Single Vampire had its comic and romantic moments, but it was nowhere near as fun as, say, MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series. Nevertheless, I decided to give Sex, Lies, and Vampires a whirl. I enjoyed the first half very much in spite of some minor inconsistencies, but the story goes downhill after that. Nell Harris is a historian interested in an ancient armor breastplate. But she gets a rather interesting request from the owner. The woman -- a Dark One -- wants Nell to help find her kidnaped nephew and remove the curse from a demon lord. The woman is convinced that Nell is a Charmer, someone who unmakes curses and creates protective wards. Nell insists that she is not a Charmer and does not want to use her magical powers after losing her best friend during an experimentation. Reluctant, she agrees to help. She is warned against a Moravian Dark One gone rogue called the Betrayer. But when Nell meets said Betrayer, she not only has a strong connection with the sexy vampire, but she is also convinced that he is not the monster his comrades make him out to be. Before the reader knows it, Nell has to deal with a lot more things than to help save a kidnaped child.

The first half was somewhat good. There is some intense, albeit brief sexual tension between the protagonists and there is some action. However, as said earlier, the plot goes downhill about halfway through the book. The plot twists make the novel even more disjointed than it already had been. The characters that are introduced later in the story annoyed me at times to the point that I felt the urge to close the book and never open it again. The boy Damian was especially irritating. There was some romantic potential between Nell and Adrian, but somehow the romance gets lost somewhere in the middle of all of the other things going on. The plot is overall disjointed. I had a difficult time following the subplot surrounding the Dark Ones and the magic. And the redundant dialogue did not make things better. How many times did Nell say she wasn't a Charmer? Thank goodness I didn't do the "drinking game" of swallowing a shot of tequila every time I read a certain phrase here, because I would have been completely plastered within the first half of this book! All in all, this is not a great offering from a series I had lukewarm feelings for to begin with. Katie MacAlister has disappointed me with this book. Alas, I did enjoy the first Guardian novel, You Slay Me, very much. The aforementioned series will be centered on one heroine instead of being a spin-off character series like this one. Anyway, if you are a big fan of this author and of the Dark One series, you may want to give this one a try. However, do not be surprised if this offering disappoints you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Can't Help Loving the Dark Ones!, April 3, 2006

By 

Anna Hope (PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sex, Lies and Vampires (The Dark Ones, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Katie Mac is one of my favorite authors & I can't help loving this book!

Nell is employed by Mellisande, Christian Dante's cousin ( he's our main reaccurring character in the 3 books of the series), to act as a Charmer & save Mellisande's nephew. Not told this when she was flown to the Czhech Republic, Nell refuses. She hasn't reversed a curse since a fatal college accident that left her with a stroke 10 years ago.

When Nell is persuaded to look around Christian's castle she runs into Adrian, a.k.a. THE BETRAYER. She's the only one in nearly 5 centuries who doesn't fear him though & Adrian quickly realizes she is the Beloved who can save his soul. He didn't believe she existed. Now Nell helps him to save Mellisandes nephew, (shocker>>>!! Adrian's son!!!) & destroy the baddy in a most abrupt fashion, so that they can share eternity together. Throw in a few mummies cheerfully folling Nell like puppies, cameo's by one of you favorite ghosts from a previouse book, & a few well loved reaccurring characters ( & one that goes bad!) & you get a great novel that will be hard to put down!