Eat Prey Love [Mass Market Paperback]

Said Carlos to Caitlyn when he's trying to get her mad enough in training to stake the dummy vampire. Of course after hearing that comment she promptly stakes the fake bloodsucker dead - really dead.

Caitlyn Whelan wants Carlos Panterra from the minute she first sees him. A former state department employee she meets Carlos when she goes to her nephew's birthday party. Unbeknownst to Caitlyn her sister is married to a vampire - who heads up a group of paranormals fighting the bad guys. She doesn't know this because she has not seen or heard from her sister in many years. Complicating matters is Caitlyn's father who works for the government fighting vampires - and has a little trouble keeping good vs. bad vampire straight in addition to having a real liking for controling those under his roof or command!

Eat, Prey, Love is a great easy read - full of humor and romance. At first I thought it was going to be far too "cheesy" for me but that changed once the main characters really took over - the author does a good job getting you enough information in the beginning that you'll be fine even if you haven't read the whole series. I have not read any other books in the series other than the first one How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 1) and I had no problems . While I do think it would be helpful since it seems like some of the characters are recurring it did not hurt one bit not to have that background. I loved the unique things Caitlyn could do - things that gave her an edge but were not necessarily all paranormal in nature. The funniest moments are when Carlos tries to teach her to defend herself and pretty much everything she does ends up with damage to a guys groin - even when it is a paper pecker LOL.

I'm not normally a huge fan of humorous romance books but this one made itself real easy to enjoy. There is some sex in this but it's not too graphic or prevalent - this is fairly main stream. It would make a fantastic beach read - and those who enjoy other paranormal books with great humor such as High Stakes (Vegas Vampires, Book 1), Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, or Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy, Book 1) will enjoy it!

Renewing family ties with her long lost sister, Caitlyn Whelan discovers there's a whole a hidden world of paranormal beings - and that she is related to a fair number of them including her sister Shanna's children and vamp hubby - when Caitlyn meets the gorgeous vamp members of Shanna's extended Romatech 'family'. But while vamps are great to look at, it is the sultry shifter Carlos Pantera who really gets Caitlyn's heart pumping and throws her libido into overdrive. Unfortunately, the sexy cat is holding out on her and denying their overwhelming attraction because Carlos is on a mission to find a were-mate to help bolster the numbers of his endangered species and he has a whole lot of hidden anguish from the loss of his family and his clan to keep him committed to his quest.

I absolutely loved Eat Prey Love, it was funny, very steamy and very satisfying. Caitlyn is such an upbeat heroine and I just loved her psycholinguistic talent - she can instantly learn languages she hears spoken. I thought it was great that even though she is being trained for her new job with MacKay Security and Investigations, Caitlyn doesn't suddenly morph into kitt-butt-woman. Instead, Caitlyn stays absolutely hopeless in the fighting department - and there is a humorous running gag throughout the book that goes along with that.

Carlos is wonderfully tormented by his attraction to the woman he just can't have. It may seem a bit perverse, but I really liked that Caitlyn doesn't give up on the love that she wants and that she turns the thumbscrews on Carlos - flirting and teasing to keep the sensual tension high. This makes the back and forth banter between the pair quite entertaining. I was glad that there was no quick and easy happily ever after for the pair - it was well worth the wait, and oh so satisfying when Caitlyn finally wore Carlos down. I also found it a refreshing a change of pace that Caitlyn knew up front about Carlos' nature, instead of it being the secret the hero just can't figure out how to spill as in many of Sparks' other books.

In the background, Sparks brings back most of our old favorites from previous books which is always fun, exposes a bit more of Caitlyn's sister Shanna's background - and gives us a reason to hate their father even more. And Sparks also adds to her cast in both the ally and villain departments - however, the series' illusive uber-villain is notably absent in this one.

So I loved Eat Prey Love, which was my favorite in Spark's series in a while, and found that Carlos was a nice change of pace from Sparks' kilted and fangy heroes. And even though I was lucky enough to be given an advance reading copy of Eat Prey Love - there is no question that I would have purchased this if I hadn't been so lucky and Eat Prey Love would have been worth every penny.

Let me just say I didn't get the humor. YMMV. Caitlyn Wheelan was a flake - an obnoxious flake who jumps all over Carlos from the second she lays eyes on him. She needs a job, but sexually harassing the current staff is fair play in her book. Everyone around them just chuckle. I guess I like strong women, and she just came across as desperate. There were parts in the book that made no sense - she has her butt in the air because she *can't* do a push-up (it's so hard...) and then he makes a comment about her inviting a spanking. And, then... just like that they jump on each other. They do the wild kitten dance without shame or preamble where others can hear them - knowing they have an audience. And, Carlos, the misogynist, plays right into it.

It just wasn't for me. As far as romance goes, nothing built - it left me, well, cold. They were trying to investigate each other's tonsils in the first 5 minutes of meeting - then they fought it - then they gave into it. It was purely physical, although the author tried to add depth to it later.

As far as plot line goes, it was thin. He needs a wife. He takes her on a quest to find a wife, which goes horribly awry. The rush to the cliffhanger is quickly (too quickly) resolved.

Bottom line: I am a big fan of the Immortals After Dark Series, which blends humor and romance - this was nowhere near the same caliber. It was a miss for me.