Customer Reviews

Master of Ecstasy (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 1)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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!

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.

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

A bunch of time travelling vacationers from the future are invading the Scottish castle of a vampire in the year 1785. One of the vacation company's employees, Blythe has to remain celibate b/c of a past mistake. Blythe is also empathic. The vampire, Darach, enjoys sex above all, and guards his feelings so that Blythe can't even find them. How Blythe learns to open up and love, and Darach learns that someone could want him for his heart rather than his body (as formidable as that is), is the main plot, and a great one at that. The story is supplmented by side plots, interesting supporting characters, and some cosmic powers, villians, and vampires.

This was exactly my kind of book - vampires, fantasy, sci-fi, cosmic powers, historical - and it was well-written, the plot excellent, with real comedic aspects. A lot of romance books are now billed as "funny", which are jammed with quirky, annoying, stupid characters. This book actually was funny with cool characters without ever being annoying or stupid or ever having the secondary characters overwhelm the main characters. As people, I really liked both the hero and heroine, which is a rarity for me. Highly recommended.

MASTER OF ECSTASY by Nina Bangs is serious fun. Bangs has a smarmy, witty writing style that makes you laugh, often at Blythe's mental comebacks. Blythe is the heroine of this vampire romance, a girl from Earth in 2339 who time-travels back to Scotland of 1785 for business purposes. It's her job to make clients happy, and the client chosen for her is a 500-year old vampire named Darach, who just happens to ooze sexual danger. If that's not intriguing enough to read about, read MASTER OF ECSTASY for its other interesting couple: cosmic troublemakers Ganymede and his lusty cat, Sparkle Stardust - both evil and enjoying it. I want to read more about those two!!! Anyway, I had a fantastic time reading MASTER OF ECSTASY. I finished it in one afternoon, and giggled throughout the entire book. Darach is a hottie vampire and Blythe a strong, enjoyable heroine. The sexual chemistry is great, and very creative. Highly recommended. PS. It has a sequel called NIGHT BITES.

For me the silly and repetitive heroine and plot really distracted from what could have been a potentially wonderful hero and ruined a potentially compelling plot. Even the sultry and innovative love scenes could not save this book from a low rating.

The story goes something like this: the heroine, Blythe 53-2310 (the fifty-third `Blythe' born in the year 2310) is a clairvoyant or an emotional telepath, if you will. Blythe works for Ecstasy Incorporated and has been sent back in time to 1785 Scotland to prove herself after some questionable behavior on Blythe's part during her last assignment. Blythe is assigned what her bosses think will be a tough nut to crack: Vampire Viking Darach MacKenzie a.k.a. Black Varin Kylandssonn, the scourge of Scotland 500 years prior. Blythe's job is to bring "...calm and joy into the lives of those teetering on the edge of emotional breakdowns...[using] a variety of methods sanctioned by the Intergalactic Association for the Relief of Stress and Depression to make people happy and productive again." Blythe believes the assignment to Darach will assure her failure.

While Blythe is sure that Darach is depressed, his Vampire abilities keep her from reading his emotions. Additionally, she finds that she has come up against probably the first individual who can invade her own thoughts and emotions. It's clear that Blythe has her work cut out for her.

This was a time-travel romance-I'll give Bangs that. However, the silliness of Blythe's future-speak, the simplicity of Blythe's thoughts, as well as the nitwitted reactions of the clearly clueless heroine, rather than being charming and humorous, clanged against my common sense and made it impossible to sink into the story.

On the other hand, Darach brought to mind a character akin to Gabaldon's `Jamie' from her OUTLANDER series and really made me wish: (1) that the heroine would stop being so `funny' and (2) that the corny lightheartedness of parts of the storyline had been drawn with more subtlety so as to be in sync with the underlying darkness of the hero and his past. In brief, this book would not have been so bad if the hero had been less intriguing. Darach offered possibilities that the heroine and plot were not well-matched for in MASTER OF ECSTASY.

Darach with his strong accent, heart-rending past and terrible burden of duty seemed like a character honed and created by Bangs for an entirely different story-a story that Bangs got tired of writing and threw together with a sloppy and easy throw-away idea about a girl from the future.

Can't Remember if I've Read Bangs Before; Don't Know if I'll Read Bangs Again.

Nina Bangs is one of my favorite authors. She writes such a sexy, funny story and her new book definitely delivers. I couldn't wait to tear off the paper and dive into one of her great stories. I loved Master of Ecstasy and I can't wait for Nina's next book.

This is a great book by Nina Bangs. I loved it and wasn't able to put it down. I highly recommend it.

This book is about a vampire by the name of Darach MacKenzie and a woman named Blythe. Blythe lives in the future and takes a travel tour to the distant past which happens to be the Scottish Highlands of 1785. This is where she meets Darach. Blythe works for a company called Ecstasy INC which basically is a company that is hired out to make people happy. Blythe discovers Darach and decides that it is her job to make him happy. He on the other hand doesn't exactly feel like he is unhappy. She goes about doing her analyzing stuff to him and he resists the whole way. Darach feels sexual pleasure is the key to happiness and this is where him and Blythe have their turmoil. It was a fun story, easy reading and I like the way Ms. Bangs writes. There was some sexual content but I wouldn't consider it overly done. It actually went right along with the story and wasn't just thrown in for good measure. I thought the book was enjoyable and would recommend it for a good time travel paranormal type read.

This was my first Nina Bangs books and after I finished it, I started searching for more books by this author. She is one of my new favorites. Buy the book, you won't be disatisfied.