Review: The Bite Before Christmas by Lynsay Sands & Jeaniene Frost

Title: The Bite Before Christmas Series: Argeneau #15.5 & Night Huntress #6.5 Author: Lynsay Sands & Jeanine Frost Publisher: William Morrow Format: Trade Paperback, 316 pages Published: October 25th, 2011 My Copy: The Book Depository Rating: Buy: Love hurts, and no one knows it better than Georgina Kincaid. If she so much as kisses Seth Mortensen, the shy, sexy, incredibly gifted Seattle writer she’s been dating, she’ll drain his life force. Georgina is a succubus – a demon who draws her power from other men’s pleasure. Admittedly, the shapeshifting and immortality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can’t get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is. It’s not just her personal life that’s in chaos. Doug, Georgina’s co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behaviour, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work. She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistibly charming incubus and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk radio star – and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes. Georgina is going to have to work solo on this one – and fast because soon, Doug’s life won’t be the only one on the line.

There’s nothing like a Christmas themed book to put me in the holiday spirit and this anthology is no exception. I’m a newcomer to Lynsay Sands’ writing but a long-time fan of Jeaniene Frost’s so this novel was a nice mix of new and old for me. I wasn’t lost by starting at book 15.5 in the Argeneau series but I did find the storyline a little odd. On the other hand, I’m caught up in Frost’ Night Huntress series and couldn’t help but get a little giddy at the chance to check-in with Cat and Bones again.

The Gift by Lynsay Sands
This is a cute novella that introduced me to a few of the characters in the Argeneau series and also provided me with a bit of background information. Every author has their own take on vampires but I struggled with Sands’ version. It’s a little “out there”. My understanding is that the undead are a result of some weird science project and they need blood to feed their “nanos”. Also, they are originally from the lost city of Atlantis. Sounds more like the makings of a sci-fi novel than a paranormal one in my opinion.

I liked how she spun the mate concept. Vampires have soul mates but sometimes it can take them centuries to find theirs. Katricia is ancient and has spent so many years alone that she no longer craves food or sex but all of that changes when she meets Teddy. At first she’s reluctant to inform him of the fact that they’re mates for fear of him running for the hills. I don’t want to go into too much detail because this is only a novella and I don’t want to ruin it but a few unexpected things do happen to keep things interesting. It’s a Christmas story though, so as expected, everyone lives happily ever after!

Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost
Ian fans will love this short story because he gets lots of face-time. He’s not on my list of favorite fictional characters but he does have a few personality traits that make his POV a fun read. A new persona is introduced in this novella that had my head buzzing with possibilities. Mainly I started speculating as to how Frost was going to incorporate this tidbit into her series. Things didn’t work out as I expected but a brilliant author is always a step ahead of her readers!

As usual, Cat and Bones are spectacular together and I gobbled up the pages faster than I would have liked. The next full length novel isn’t due out for a while so I try to savor my time with these two as much as possible. Unfortunately for me, that never works out as planned. I become so engulfed in Jeaniene’s awesome world that I end up finishing the book in record time without even realizing it until it’s too late. Ooh well, if I become desperate I can always re-read an installment or two! Home for the Holidays is a quick and spicy read that’ll put you in the mood for more things than just Christmas (if you get my meaning!).

The two stories in The Bite Before Christmas are festive while managing to maintain their paranormal cores. A great read for those looking to read something holiday-themed without having to go overboard on the Xmas cheer.

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