After
499 years of existence, Connor Buchanan has arrived at the inescapable
conclusion: he is a cold-hearted SOB. He’s been watching his friends – these
poor romantic fools – plummet off the cliff into love like a dazed herd of
sheep. But not Connor. He knows that love leads to nothing but heartache.
She
is an angel cast down from heaven for disobedience. Trapped in mortal form, she
finds a protector in Connor, a Scottish vampire haunted by a dark past.
Marielle hopes to heal his broken heart and earn her way back home, but
suddenly she has these…feelings. This
strange yet pleasant physical yearning – for a vampire! Is this the work of a
demon luring her into hell, or has this angel found heavenly bliss?
Vampire Mine by Kerrelyn
Sparks is a story about a rebellious angel, Marielle Quadriduum, who has been
banished to earth and found by Connor Buchanan. Connor is a vampire coming up
on his 500th birthday. The best quote to describe the subplot/plot
is: Since Roman Draganesti was the
inventor of synthetic blood and the owner of Romatech where it was produced, he
presented a tempting target for the Malcontents who considered synthetic blood
an insult and threat to their murderous way of life. This sentence also
hints that there are other books in this universe and other stories to read.
The story itself is fairly straight
forward. Connor protects Marielle during her quest to earn her way back into
heaven. During that time they fall in love but try to deny it. There are some
cute things that happen. Connor gets his toes painted pink (while he’s asleep)
and something called the Three Step Rule, which states that at any given time, sex is only three steps
away in a man’s thoughts. This becomes a laughing point throughout the book
because Marielle keeps referring to it when Connor has no clue what it means.
There are two parts that are
particularly noteworthy and funny. From page 14: Connor rounded the monitor and discovered Stone in a passionate embrace
with…his hairbrush. This was funny to read considering that the person in
question was a news anchor who came across the television as stoic and manly.
Another funny part was a conversation between Connor and Marielle. From page
48: “May I ask your name? [Marielle
asked]” He glanced up at her, then straightened with a jerk. “Holy Christ
Almighty.” She frowned. “No, I don’t believe you are.” What was funny about
this was that she was not afraid of nudity and Connor got an eyeful before he
covered her up.
There are a few things that the
book mentions but doesn’t really go into so much. One of the side characters
father was dying and the only way they could save him was to transform him into
a vampire. The guy hated vampires but to save him they transformed him
anyway. His story was never concluded so I don’t know if he ended up hating
himself but they mention another character who got transformed and Roman was
able to change her back to human. It’s sort of nice to know that even though
they changed him against his will that there is a way that he can be changed
back if he absolutely hates it. Most other stories do not really touch this
subject.
Another thing that the book talks
about more in reference to it than actually discussing it is the idea of free
will and the application to other beings other than human. The demon could not
take Marielle to hell against her will even if she was banished from heaven.
The idea that Marielle was somehow destined to rebel even though angels are not
supposed to be disobedient was an idea that has floated around and not really
resolved. Kerrelyn Sparks resolves it by producing Gabriel who tells Marielle
that it was God’s hope that she would act in the way she did to produce the end
result even though he did not influence her decision in any way. It wrapped it
up in a nice bow.
One more thing that the book references
are the ability to “earn” the way back into heaven. There is the idea that once
a person is on the list for hell that there can be no redemption but this book
challenges that thought by being able to forgive Connor. Marielle does not earn
her wings back. She has the chance to get them back but chooses love with
Connor instead. It’s a sweet ending and definitely happy but the idea of
earning redemption doesn’t seem like a good idea in the long run.
My overall thoughts of this book is
that it is a simple romance with a religious factor that was part of the
defining characteristic of the people but it didn’t preach about religion or
the way people need to convert. It was nice because I grew up going to church
but no longer follow religion as an adult so I can appreciate it. I should
mention there is sex in the book but it is very tame. I would suggest reading
the book but if you’re looking for erotic sex between an angel and a vampire
then this is not the place. Good romance but not a focus on erotic sex. At the
end I give this book three and a half stars.
Publisher: Harper Collins’ Avon Books line
ISBN: 978-0-06-195804-5
Cover Price: $7.99 US
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