Secret Life of a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 6)

Officer Lara Boucher has been through a lot in order to get where she is at this point in her life. She began her life fulfilling her mother's dreams of becoming a beauty queen, but when a tragic accident leaves her unable to distinguish reality from fantasy, Lara decides that she will do something meaningful with the rest of her life. So, armed with new resolve and her new best friend, and former hospital roommate, Lara leaves for college and then onto New York City to dedicate her life to serving others. However, when she comes to a hotel to bust a rowdy bachelor party, weird things begin to happen that have Lara beginning to doubt her sanity - especially as she seems to be the only one that can remember the incident at all. But the more Lara looks into these odd happenings the deeper she is plunged into a world she doesn't understand and scares her to even think it might be real. Jack has spent his life avoiding his legacy as the son of the famous Casanova, yet that same fame makes him a favorite among everyone he meets. However, this one bachelor party that he put together definitely leads to more trouble than he ever imagined - synthetic blood all over, hungover vampires leaving trails of blood everywhere and a nosy cop, Lara who is someone that he can't control or erase her memories. But the main problem that Lara represents is that Jack can't stop thinking about her and she keeps showing up in the most inconvenient places. But the closer he comes to Lara the more he comes to love her - but will she accept who he is? Or will she be disgusted by his vampire nature? Still, all this must be swept aside as they discover that there have been a string of abductions that seem to leave a supernatural trail behind them...will Lara and Jack solve the crime in time to save the abducted women? Secret Life of a Vampire continues the Love at Stake series with the story of Jack and Lara. Jack is a disillusioned man as he has never found a woman that could see the real him beyond the Casanova name or his vampire nature, but Lara changes all that for him - if Jack lets her. Lara is intent in proving that she is more than a pretty face, but meting Jack might change Lara's life forever. Kerrelyn Sparks fills Secret Life of a Vampire with plenty of humor and sensuality, while keeping her characters dancing with anxiety and keeping readers glued to the pages just to see how Jack and Lara will get over themselves and finally come together. Secret of a Vampire Life is a fun and entertaining book that is a summer chick-flick in book form - entertaining, goofy, emotional and of course, full of romance! Sabella Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Jack (aka Giacomo de Venezia) is the illegitimate son of Casanova. Being that he is Casanova's son, he's supposed to be able to woo all women. This isn't the case. Instead, he's discouraged when it comes to love because in his 200+ years, the women that he loved have always rejected him because he's a vampire. And throwing a bachelor party for Ian MacPhie doesn't help with these feelings. When the party gets a little out of hand in the hotel room, the police are called. Two police officers show up with a list of complaints ranging from loud bagpipe music to what sounds like sword fighting. Jack is immediately taken aback by Officer Lara Boucher, and she feels the same way about Jack. But Jack must find a way to cover-up the bachelor party, and assumes that he can use vampire mind control to do so. However, Jack's unable to play that card with Lara. When Jack realizes he can't use mind control on Lara, he manages to convince her to leave the hotel and forget that she ever saw him. But Lara being the police officer that she is manages to track down Jack by crashing Ian and Toni's wedding. Jack feels that things could never work out between him and Lara, due to his past experiences, but his heart longs to be with her. No matter how much his friends try and tell him to forget about her, he can't. And Lara can't forget about him. The vamps from McKay Security are still at it with trying to catch the Malcontents. And with college girls' disappearing from campuses, this gives Jack a chance to work with Lara. Lara goes undercover, hoping to get kidnapped by the vamp that is kidnapping the other girls. Jack begs her not to put herself in danger, but she is stubborn and insists on doing the undercover work. Kerrelyn Sparks' books are addicting. With amazing love scenes and witty remarks from characters, The Love At Stake Series are well worth the read. There's the right amount of romance, humor, and action in all of the books in the series. Plus, Kerrelyn Sparks' vamps don't run with popularity. Yeah, there's the relatively common element of good vamps vs. bad vamps. But what makes the Love At Stake Series stand out is things like Fusion Cuisine, the VANNA's, extremely humorous characters like Gregori and Phineas (aka Dr. Phang) and those characters that you can't help but what to know more about, like Howard Barr and Phil Jones. These are books you can't help but sink your teeth into. :)

The Scots sure know how to throw a party. Especially the immortal Scottish vampires who populate Kerrelyn Sparks' latest fun paranormal adventure, "Secret Life of a Vampire." After a bachelor party gets particularly out of hand, it is up to responsible Jack, interim head of MacKay Security and Investigation, to clean up the mess and make nice with the human police who come to investigate the shindig. After all, a cleaning service and a little vampire mind control should be all it takes to do the trick. But Jack is in for the surprise of his unnaturally extended life when he meets Officer Lara Boucher. Lara is not only immune to his mind games but also a gorgeous former beauty queen determined to do something important with her life following a tragic accident and a long period of recovery. Ambitious and beautiful, her goal is to prove her metal and make detective. She is immediately both suspicious of and deeply attracted to Jack, who does superhuman feats that she can't explain. Her heart tells her he is a good man that she can trust, but her head knows that something extraordinary is going on. Something that he refuses to tell her about. Jack, or Giacomo di Venezia, as he was once known, is the perfect Italian lover: sexy, suave, and unfailingly polite. Since being transformed into a vamp, he has fought with the good guys and worked with MacKay Security to battle the dark Malcontents--evil vampires determined to feed from and kill as many humans as possible. Jack has also devoted his life to trying to overcome his past--or rather, his father's infamous reputation, for his father was none other than Casanova, one of the most famed seducers of all time. Lara and Jack are drawn together by more than their red-hot chemistry. When local college girls start disappearing, Jack suspects a Malcontent is behind the abductions. Lara refuses to back off the investigation even when it becomes apparent that she bears a striking resemblance to the victims. Jack has found the woman of his dreams, but how can he keep her safe from this supernatural threat? And how can he keep her heart if he cannot tell her the truth about his vampire background? "Secret Life of a Vampire," the latest installment in the bestselling and critically praised Love at Stake series, will be welcomed by avid fans and newcomers alike. Readers acquainted with the series will be treated with familiar faces and friends, while newbies will delight in the humor and warmth of Sparks' writing. Lara and Jack's story is sweet and thrilling, funny and sexy, and one not to be missed!

Giacomo, or rather, Jack de Venezia is the illegitimate son of Casanova. As such, he is supposed to follow in his famous father's footsteps and be a lover of all women. He is, just sometimes he is sad because the women he has loved in his two hundred plus years were never able to accept what he was - a vampire. And his being alone is never more predominant than now when he is throwing a bachelor party for Ian MacPhie. With blisky flowing and VANNAs throughout the room to entertain, the party gets a bit out of hand and the police are called. Lucky for the vampires attending the party that human minds can be controlled, right? That's what Jack thinks. Too bad he is oh so wrong. Enter one police officer unlike any Jack has ever seen - Lara Boucher. No matter what he tries to do, he can't control her mind or hear her thoughts. The fact that she is stunningly beautiful doesn't go unnoticed either. Jack knows that it would never work out between him, a vampire who dies during the day, and Lara, a human cop. His mind knows this but his heart refuses to listen. His fellow vampires try to warn him away from Lara but he can't help himself. Her suspicious nature is leery of the man he is but her romantic side wants Jack as much as he wants her. With the vampires of McKay Security still trying to hunt and get rid of Malcontents, now is definitely not the best time for Jack and Lara to fall in love - especially since women who look like Lara are disappearing at a rapid rate off college campuses. Jack vows to keep her safe even when she takes a risky undercover case. Jack isn't happy with her decision and stubbornness but he does love her and because of this, he is willing to fight for the life they can have together. Now if he can keep Lara alive long enough to get her to commit to it. Kerrelyn Sparks' vampires are just so much fun. With insanely hilarious scenes such as the bachelor party in each book, I can't help but be addicted to her entire Love at Stake series of books. SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE made me laugh out loud - I kept picturing sexually stimulated vamps feeding off of the plastic VANNAs and would just giggle. With another vampire succumbing to love, Jack finds himself a bit sad that he does not have a woman to cherish - the ones he trusted with the truth of what he is ran hard and fast away from him so it is hard for him to trust - not to mention dangerous. That doesn't stop Jack from falling in love with Lara Boucher. Lara is curious about Jack as soon as she meets him. Well, maybe not curious. She was suspicious. Because of this, she was the one person that Jack couldn't control with his mind and that reason alone made this beautiful ex beauty queen stand out. With dreamy and playful love scenes and a well written and fabulous plot, SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE is a worthy addition to my keeper shelf. Kerrelyn Sparks has the gift of taking a normally dark and dangerous type of character and making them loveable and r

Anyone with Casanova's blood flowing through his head should be a great lover. Alas the incredible paramour's son Giacomo de Venezia must have somehow skipped the seduction gene. Known as Jack, instead of scoring with any woman he wants with the sophistication of his sire, he cannot get to the plate to swing the bat let alone hit a home run unless he uses his vampire skills to propel the female. At a bachelor party, Jack and human police officer Lara Boucher meet when she sees blood all over the rug. He considers telling her the truth that what she sees is Bliskey, synthetic blood used by vampires like him, but decides it sounds too far-fetched so he turns to his vampiric magnetism to make her forget. Instead she ignores his power stunning him as humans always "obey". Instead he tries his dormant Casanova DNA to persuade the cop he is attracted to that he killed no one. When a college coed goes missing, the evidence points to Jack. With Lara believing in him, they investigate together. As they fall in love, they realize there have been other recent similar disappearances. The latest Sparks urban fantasy tale is an exiting investigative thriller starring a likable but flawed vampire and the courageous mortal who proves his equal. Readers will know Jack as he struggles to be a chip off the old block until he meets the suspicious Lara. Together they make a formidable team as they investigate the vanishings with Malcontents sightings. With a super late twist, Kerrelyn Sparks will take a large bout out of her fans sleep with this enjoyable in a one sitting thriller. Harriet Klausner