I've loved Nina Bangs Mckenzie vampire series. That said however, reading A Taste of Darkness gave me a sense of deja vu...possibly because it is incredibly simillar to Bang's Night Bite's.
Reinn, who was appeared in Night Bite's when he was made Gaurdian of the Blood by the council, is our hero of this book. He seemed uber powerful & masculine in that last tale but is a little less so when you get to read his thoughts in his own story. He seem, in fact, very similarly written to Thrain from Nite Bite's.
The setting is back at the Woo Woo Inn, New Jersey. This is the Inn owned by Cindy in Nite Bite's. Only this time she & new Hubby Thrain are on vacation visiting dad at his castle in Scottland, So our cosmic trouble maker freinds from the other books in the series are back to the inn again, this time to manage it for Cindy while she's gone. Sparkle Stardust has brought a large amount of her wardrobe. Ganymede is still in fat cat form, eating everything. And Sparkle's young pal Trouble also tags along in his new favorite form of a brown dog.
Reinn shows up at the inn to kill Alan McKenzie. He doesn't want to but it's either obey the rules of being Gaurdian of the blood or get killed by the Council himself. Alan is marrying a werecat and the whole wedding party is staying at the inn. This includes the brides sister, Kisa, who happens to be the worlds only weresabertooth tiger. Ofcourse the impossible happens, aided by a little cosmic help, and Reinn & Kisa fall for each other. Plus they join together to solve who is after Kisa in a plot to trap her in her were form. In the end Reinn must choose between Kisa (ie. not killing her brother in law, Alan) and being hunted by the council.
The were's added a fun dimension to this book but overall it just felt like a rehashing of Thrain & Cindy's Story at the Woo Woo Inn. If you need a lazy beach read then go for it. If you've been waiting for a new blockbuster paranormal novel...sorry to be the bearer of bad news. This isn't it.
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A Taste of Darkness (Mackenzie Vampires, Book 3) Paperback – May 1, 2006
by
Nina Bangs
(Author)
| Nina Bangs (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Forced to preserve the bloodlines of the despicable Werewolves and the Werecats, a menacing vampire, with the help of some cosmic troublemakers, falls in love with a sexy werecat, who is his enemy. Original.
- Print length337 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDorchester Pub Co Inc
- Publication dateMay 1, 2006
- Dimensions4.25 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches
- ISBN-100843956348
- ISBN-13978-0843956344
"Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up?" by Michael Sampson
Kitty Cat should be getting ready for school, but instead, she’s practicing her purr, looking for her socks, chasing a little mouse, and more. Will Kitty Cat make it out of the house in time for school?| Learn more
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
As "Protector of the Blood,"^B it was Reinn Mackenzie's job to keep the Mackenzie bloodlines pure. Which meant any Mackenzie who mated with anyone other than another vampire was toast. So when Alan Mackenzie decides to marry werecat Julie Evans, Reinn travels to the Woo Woo Inn in Pine Barrens, New Jersey, to give Alan a choice: marriage or life. Reinn's duties as the official Mackenzie clan exterminator become a bit more complicated, though, after he meets Julie's sister, Kisa, and realizes he, too, is falling for a werecat. Bangs continues her wildly imaginative Mackenzie vampire series with another deliciously dark tale that is perfect for readers who like their paranormal romances sizzling, sexy, and wickedly funny. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Product details
- Publisher : Dorchester Pub Co Inc; Reprint edition (May 1, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 337 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0843956348
- ISBN-13 : 978-0843956344
- Item Weight : 6.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.25 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,592,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,056 in Gothic Romances
- #20,763 in Vampire Romances
- #29,110 in Romantic Erotica (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Nina Bangs is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six paranormal romances. She lives under the iron paw of her cat, Abby, in a condo with a water view. When not reading or writing, she dreams of investigating old castles in hopes of meeting a few resident ghosts.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2006
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Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2014
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Item in great condition!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2007
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Tedious reading, I wanted it to be over. Didn't hold my interest to want to know what would happen. The last 80+ pages were better since mysteries were being solved. Chars weren't that interesting. I didn't find much creativity to delight me other than Sparkle's damage to the enemy at the end.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2015
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Mackenzie Vampires are brilliant and yummy
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2007
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If you love paranormal romance stories, anything by Nina Bangs and you can't go wrong. I loved this book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2006
I have been a long time fan of Nina Bangs' writing, so I am always surprised by the few who don't "get" her. She has a style that is all her own. A sexy, campy, cheeky, irreverent style (might be the cause of those few naysayers) that delights in taking the vampire genre and redefining it, making it all her own. Many vampire fans want utter reverence of the night creature. Bangs goes beyond the accepted level to drag in humor, and I think maybe a few resent that. Their loss.
She is an imaginative, incisive author who skillfully weaves sensuality, hot sex and belly laughs, which leaves me howling and wanting more. I have enjoyed all her works, but I think Taste of Darkness is Dead Bang Bangs - her best novel yet. From the opening lines, she had me laughing out loud - not an easy task, but how can you not with an opening so wonderfully brilliant, so Naughty Nina as this:
"Werewolves - furry pains in the butt.
Werecats - sneaky whisker-twitching manipulators.
Werejerks - every freakin' loser with a "were" in front of his name."
What a delightful opening! She grabs the reader from that point and takes them into the mind of one of her most brilliantly conceived heroes - Reinn Mackenzie. He is the oldest vamp in the Mackenzie Clan, over a thousand years old and that age has made him one grumpy vamp. He bought a home in the Colorado Rockies and shunned everyone. So what did Clan Mackenzie do to reward their elder? They made him Guardian of the Blood. Reinn has a few choice opinions on that job as well as his outlook on the Woo Woo Inn, where he finds himself at the opener the book. He thinks being protector of the blood, keeping the lines pure, a total crock. How does a vampire keep the blood "pure" when by nature they are running around having "suckfests" as the Woo Woo Inn?
Our delight Reinn, Harley-loving, sword-toting avenger of the Mackenzie clan, evokes a touch of Ash from Army of Darkness. I could just hear some of these lines Bangs penned being uttered by the droll Bruce Campbell! It would be a perfect vehicle for the talented actor.
Only our sourpuss lad is about to run into one sexy puss, Kisa Evans, one of those aggravating werefelines. She is one of the werecats the vamps feel pollute their pure bloodline and they want her removed. Only grouchy Reinn finds this particular werekitty is driving him wild with desire.
This has to be Bangs' best. The book is just so dead on target. I absolutely laughed from start to finish from the witty writing that just shows why Bangs keeps hitting the bestsellers list time-after-time. This is one gem of a tale. I don't reread my books these days because I just don't have the time. This one I will reread; it's one of those books that nests in the imagination and won't let you go. Kudos for the writer having the vision and craft to deliver this knock out book.
Keep 'em coming, lass.
Very highly recommended for the non-humor impaired!
She is an imaginative, incisive author who skillfully weaves sensuality, hot sex and belly laughs, which leaves me howling and wanting more. I have enjoyed all her works, but I think Taste of Darkness is Dead Bang Bangs - her best novel yet. From the opening lines, she had me laughing out loud - not an easy task, but how can you not with an opening so wonderfully brilliant, so Naughty Nina as this:
"Werewolves - furry pains in the butt.
Werecats - sneaky whisker-twitching manipulators.
Werejerks - every freakin' loser with a "were" in front of his name."
What a delightful opening! She grabs the reader from that point and takes them into the mind of one of her most brilliantly conceived heroes - Reinn Mackenzie. He is the oldest vamp in the Mackenzie Clan, over a thousand years old and that age has made him one grumpy vamp. He bought a home in the Colorado Rockies and shunned everyone. So what did Clan Mackenzie do to reward their elder? They made him Guardian of the Blood. Reinn has a few choice opinions on that job as well as his outlook on the Woo Woo Inn, where he finds himself at the opener the book. He thinks being protector of the blood, keeping the lines pure, a total crock. How does a vampire keep the blood "pure" when by nature they are running around having "suckfests" as the Woo Woo Inn?
Our delight Reinn, Harley-loving, sword-toting avenger of the Mackenzie clan, evokes a touch of Ash from Army of Darkness. I could just hear some of these lines Bangs penned being uttered by the droll Bruce Campbell! It would be a perfect vehicle for the talented actor.
Only our sourpuss lad is about to run into one sexy puss, Kisa Evans, one of those aggravating werefelines. She is one of the werecats the vamps feel pollute their pure bloodline and they want her removed. Only grouchy Reinn finds this particular werekitty is driving him wild with desire.
This has to be Bangs' best. The book is just so dead on target. I absolutely laughed from start to finish from the witty writing that just shows why Bangs keeps hitting the bestsellers list time-after-time. This is one gem of a tale. I don't reread my books these days because I just don't have the time. This one I will reread; it's one of those books that nests in the imagination and won't let you go. Kudos for the writer having the vision and craft to deliver this knock out book.
Keep 'em coming, lass.
Very highly recommended for the non-humor impaired!
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