Review: Much Ado About Vampires by Katie MacAlister

Paperback, 306 pages
Published October 4th 2011 by Signet

Blurb: Bitter at first bite…

Corazon Ferreira is one heck of a jaded woman. Not only did her husband dump her for a pretty, vivacious blonde, but her sister has lost her mind and married a vampire. Worse, it turns out that Cora herself was a vampire’s mate in a past life…the very same vampire she witnessed killing someone.

If only Cora hadn’t inadvertently been caught up in the ill-laid plans of a reanimated corpse and its master, she could deal with the distractingly gorgeous vampire. But it’s only Alec who stands between her and those who threaten her existence, and there’s only so much temptation a woman can bear before she starts taking her heart as seriously as her head…

My review: Katie MacAlister can always make me laugh. When I settle back to dive into one of her Dark Ones novels, I know I will be entertained. This ninth installment, as much as I enjoyed it, does show some wear. Having so many heroines in the series be tall and borderline klutzy/dizzy is becoming too formulaic for this longtime fan. Corazon was a typical MacAlister woman: independent, funny, occasionally brash, and good hearted. But I felt at times I've already seen her 'type' in this series. She did come across as annoying frequently and her 'not liking' vampires clashed with her actions, especially when she first meets Alec and is ready to jump him within minutes, despite knowing 'what' he is.

Another drawback for me was reading from Alec's point-of-view in third person. I always felt he was distant, never being privy to his innermost thoughts unless he spoke them. I can understand the author wanting to distance the human female by writing her in first person and the male in third, but I still found it distracting to shift from chapter to chapter from the comfort of Cora's private thoughts to being held back by Alec's narration. This was jarring and took away from my thoroughly enjoying the story. 

And what happened to the romance? I've been spoiled by other titles in the Dark Ones series where there was witty repartee between the vampire and his beloved. This go round Cora and Alec were going at it within minutes of meeting each other. Despite the interesting 'reincarnation' angle of the story, I still found their coupling too quick and not believable. 


Halfway through I found the pacing slowed and became burdened down with repetitious thoughts and dialogue. The plot seemed messy, especially when the demon Sally was introduced. And when I thought the story was just about over, there was a small slow paced scene with Alec dealing with the Moravian Council by himself. This and Cora's silly attempt to save him with a lich army seemed tacked on. 

This may seem like a negative review but that is not my intent. I finished the book, still enjoyed it, but there were some glaring items which popped up throughout my reading that I felt needed addressing. There is still a glut of vampire novels on the market--many are now penned by indie authors as well as by traditionally published writers--and for a long running series to remain popular it should be fresh and infused with different storylines and/or characters to keep readers interested. I have to admit I may be growing tired of this series.

Favorite excerpt: "What, I ask you, do you say to a statement that you are someone's only means of salvation?

Oh, yes, I completely disregarded the part about Eleanor also filling that role, because Alec obviously didn't want her. That thought kept me smugly content for about thirty seconds, until I realized that if I didn't do the job, Alec wouldn't have the choice--he'd have to Join with Eleanor just to save himself.

An image rose in my mind of him feeding from her, bound to her for the rest of his life. It was not a good image.

On the other hand, that whole "for the rest of his life" part had me a bit skittish. "You're kidding, right? Because I did the saving thing, already. Twice, if you count having Alec yanked out of the Akasha."

"Third time's the charm," Pia said with a smile, but judging by the look she slid the vampire next to her, she didn't really believe what she was saying."

Cover comment: From this cover pic, Alec is a hottie. And I like having the second cover pic of Corazon behind his picture.

Book source: Loaned from library.