Master of Ecstasy (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nina Bangs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

WARRIOR, HIGHLANDER, VAMPIRE

Meet the MASTER OF ECSTASY. Darach MacKenzie is everything dark, dangerous, and delicious. His voice is a tempting slide of sin, and he's the primitive need that lives in every woman, no matter how much she denies it. But even five hundred years of sensual knowledge haven't prepared him for the woman who awaits him in his clan's ancestral castle.

HAPPINESS IS HER BUSINESS

In a distant future, Blythe works for Ecstasy Inc. to make people happy. That's her job, and she does it well. Company policy forbids the use of sensual solutions to cure unhappiness, and Blythe agrees that sex is a short-term fix. When her abilities are called into question, Blythe travels back to the Scottish Highlands of 1785 to prove that she can make anyone happy. She hasn't counted on a centuries-old vampire for a client.

Darach believes that sexual pleasure is the key to happiness. Blythe thinks that Ecstasy Inc. has all the answers. Neither one considers love as an option. They're about to discover how wrong they can be.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Blythe's time-travel trip to 1785 was advertised as a sexual adventure, but she knows better than to mix business and pleasure. As an employee of a twenty-third-century corporation, Ecstasy, Inc., Blythe, whose job is to help people become happy, has one chance to prove to her boss that she'll never get personally involved with a client again. Then she meets her new subject, Darach Mackenzie, a very sexy 500-year-old vampire. Firmly believing that sex is the solution to any problem, Darach tries to tempt Blythe, but even though he promises that her neck is safe with him, Blythe knows surrendering to Darach could be dangerous: What about the rest of her body? Bangs puts a sinfully sensual, darkly brooding hero together with a stubborn heroine; adds an amusing cast of secondary characters, including a white cat with a gift for causing trouble; and then mixes in several different paranormal elements and equal measures of passion and humor to create her latest wonderfully creative, utterly unique romance. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

This sensuous and funny tale of time travel and vampires brims with excitement, making it a true winner! -- Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine, February 2004

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505525577
• ISBN-13: 978-0505525574
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Time Travel

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and Enjoyable, November 26, 2005

By 

Mary Kate (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Master of Ecstasy (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't believe I've ever used the word `romp' to describe a book before, but that word seems to suit Nina Bangs' Master of Ecstasy. If you're looking for something deep and thought provoking, look elsewhere. However, if you're in the mood for an enjoyable read, something light, sexy (and maybe just a little silly in parts), but with humor and a touch of magic, this paranormal romance might deliver just what you're looking for. And, if you grow attached to them, the Cosmic Troublemakers Ganymede and Sparkle Stardust appear in a number of Bangs' other novels. Enjoy!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fanciful tale by Ms Bangs!, January 31, 2005

By 

Darkcat_ak "darkcat_ak" (Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of Ecstasy (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the future, it has been proven that there is no such things as ghosts or vampires. So when Blythe goes on a working vacation in 1785 Scotland, why does she suddenly get the feeling that vampires and ghosts really do exist?

Darach just wants the meddlesome time travelers out of his ancestral castle so he can tend to his duty without endangering anyone. Except Blythe, the woman bent on making him happy without succumbing to sex is the most vexing and interesting woman he has ever encountered!

Then the villagers get unsettled. Women are traveling about by themselves, and peasants are gruesomely murdered during the night. So our time travelers and vampire must find a common ground, because there is something a lot worse than angry villagers moving about in the dark!

Nina Bangs has written a fanciful tale of magic, ancient Scotland and with a different view of the vampire. While I enjoyed the story, and the plot was interesting, the pace was a little slower than I expected and would have liked.

For me, the secondary characters stole the book. While Blythe (who is also empathic) tries to convince Darach to let her see into his past to help him find happiness, I found myself wondering what Sparkle Stardust (a Cosmic Troublemaker) was up too. I loved how Sparkle enjoyed thwarting Ganymede simply because he had renounced his status as a Cosmic Troublemaker. The fact that she was also in cat form was a hoot! Yet at the end, she proves she has a heart under all that white fur.

All in all, because the last eighty pages had me reading like crazy to know what would happen next, I have to say I enjoyed the story. So, even though I had a hard time getting into the story I would recommend MASTER OF ECSTACY.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., February 2, 2004

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Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of Ecstasy (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Taking a trip back in time might not be your ordinary vacation choice, but not everyone has reformed demon, Ganymede, for a travel agent. Since Blythe does, she takes a trip from the 24th century back to the 18th. As an agent of Ectasy Inc. she is under one rule above all else, no sex. That should be easy enough to accomplish, especially since Ganymede's not reformed demoness helper is causing Blythe's fellow male travelers to not be attracted to women. However, there is a vampire lurking around, and he is a much greater challenge. Darach finds the future woman intriguing in more ways than one, and is determined to win her, despite the insane vampires attacking the castle, the wild women looking for immortality, and the fluffy little pink tribble type things following Blythe around.

***** If Ganymede is in a book, it's a guaranteed winner in the laughs department. Adding in his associate, Sparkle, and the giggles double. Ms. Bangs cleverly mixes action, humor, time travel, and vampires to make a charmer of a novel. The only problem is now I want one of the little fuzz balls sent to harrass Blythe with affection. *****
Amanda Killgore