One Bite Stand

Woo woo - we are back to the Woo Woo Inn!! And about time. Nina Bangs has two series running, but I simply love when we head back to Ganymede's and Sparkle's stomping ground. Bangs has to be one of the best at utterly sexy, wacky vamps, and other were-creatures that tramp through the lobby of the Inn. She has a sly humour that catches you from the start, and has you laughing out loud. The rare person occasionally doesn't get her. Well, that is your right. Your loss. For those of us who adore her, no one can touch her style. She is likely the best at this, the most underrated author out there. No matter how down I am when I pick up a Bangs' book, it's like a dose of happy juice! Few writers can do that every time. This story she gives us a heroine who is a Harpy. (I still loved the werekitty though!). Put aside the blue and purple creatures you saw in "Jason and the Argonauts" in the 1960s. This Harpy, Daria, doesn't fit that mode, atall! Seems her mommy dearest was playing footsie with Apollo, so instead of a Harpy Daddy, she got a sun god for a Pop. It really messed up her genes! She tries very hard to be a big bad Harpy, but just doesn't quite make it. Instead, she flits into the radar of one Declain Mackenzie, vampire. She is up to no good at the Woo Woo Inn, and her plans could see Declan soaking his feet in the hot water of Hades, but Declan cannot resist the intrigue delectable Daria poses. They are facing an Armageddon that could see the Woo Woo Inn short of guests if they cannot stop it. Of course, never fear, Sparkle and Ganymede are not about to let things progress smoothly when there is mischief to stir. I sincerely hope this is not the last stay at the Woo Woo Inn, because Ganymede, Sparkle and I would be very displeased! Just the thing to chase away the mid-winter blues.

Paranormal creatures both serious and silly abound as Nina Bangs does a nice job of producing another funny sexy paranormal romance which is saying a lot when the heroine is a Harpy! Okay so Daria doesn't exactly fit the Harpy image, ugly, nasty and foul (pun intended), but not for lack of trying. Can she help it that her mom got `busy' with Apollo instead of some harpy male with strong ugly genes? Though it is amazing what awful hair and clothes in addition to her brothers magic to `help' her face along can do for her image. But even though through the illusion she's not so easy on the eyes there still something about Daria that catches Vampire Declain's eye. After 900 years of One Bite Stands, Declain is pretty bored with beauty anyway - now interesting, that's another story - and there's just something about Daria that intrigues him. Though Daria's secret reason for being at the Woo Woo Inn could win Declan an eternity in Hades if Daria can keep her eye on the prize and do her harpy worst. But with the Norse version of Armageddon on its way, and a reunion with a family that is evil enough to make even uber tough Declan shudder, Declan may be glad that Daria has a lot of Harpy power, in addition to her hidden heart or gold if there is a chance for any kind of ever after for them, happy or not. One of the reasons that these books are so good is that the leads are the 'straight men' in the comedy team free to focus on the steamy stuff leaving the goofy or silly to our favorite cosmic troublemakers, Sparkle and Ganymede. Though this time Sparkle loses her luster a bit and even wears the same outfit twice since there is a mysterious cosmic entity stirring up trouble for Sparkle and Ganymede and their long-long-long standing relationship. While Declan is a fine romantic hero, it's Daria that really steals the show, its fun watch her struggle against her inner nature and try to cultivate mean and ugly when she really just doesn't have it in her, she is just too helpful and caring. But having been raised around tough and scary females Daria still has a strength and determination that make her admirable as well as likeable and it is always satisfying to see a character finally find themselves after years of trying to please others and live up to expectations that just don't fit. While it sounds like this is the last stay for us at the Woo Woo Inn, where the paranormal creatures go to get away from it all and let their fangs and claws hangout, there are plenty of older Nina Bangs books around with Sparkle making other impossible matches if you've missed them. Some of the early one's are rough, but they all have that same silly spark of fun and yummy sexy paranormal heroes, if you like Katie McAllister (without the neuroses) or MaryJanice Davidson, you'll appreciate Nina Bangs.

I loved this book due to the fact that it offered a light entertaining read. With all the deep, heavy, intense and extensive plots in most fictional books on the market it is nice to be able to pick up a book that doesn't make you think too much. This was a book that you enjoy curled up on the sofa or in your bath tub filled with bubbles while drinking strawberry champagne (okay, so I'm channeling Sparkles, lol). There was a hidden deeper message within the storyline, it was more about accepting yourself for who you are, and not trying to be what your family thinks you should be.

Always the first in line for a Nina Bangs novel! LOVED the suspenseful plot in 'One Bite Stand.' The kind of tense feeling you have in your stomach watching a horror movie and thinking 'don't go in the house!' Nina lets the reader see enough ahead that we're emotionally engaged in all the best intentions but wrong decisions Declan and Daria make to get what they want without getting involved. The result is a rollercoater of plot twists, sexual tension and zany secondary characters- all wrapped up in Nina's unique, bestselling humor. LOVED IT!

Daria is undergoing a certification test to determine if she is capable of performing as a harpy. To pass she must bring a soul to Hades of Tartarus; if she fails the punishment is the worst that one could imagine; for instance one year of humiliating public wearing of a zombie's castoffs. To find a worthy victim to take to her superior Tartarus, she obtains the night manager position at the Woo Woo Inn. Declan realizes that something deadly has stalked and killed two of his peers. He fears for the lives of the surviving vampiric council members as he thinks they are the intended victims of the culprit. He thinks a Harpy working the Woo Woo Inn desk is hilarious, but also finds he is attracted to Daria, a taboo for a vampire. Daria realizes Declan is her ticket to the top of Hades, but cannot bring herself to take his soul as she is attracted to the vampire, a taboo for a Hades employee IAW the Harpy Handbook. As their attraction turns to love, they realize a confrontation with a serial killer of the supernatural species awaits them. ONE BITE STAND is an amusing lighthearted paranormal romantic suspense as the harpy and the vampire prove strange NIGHT BITES attractions make for a fine romantic fantasy. The suspense grips the readers, but is not needed and distracts from the fun relationship between the delightful Ds make this an entertainingly "Wicked" zany tale with quite a bang of a main plot. Harriet Klausner