YOUR COFFIN OR MINE?

Author: Kimberly Raye ISBN: 0345492188 10/2007 PARANORMAL Publisher: BALLANTINE

Murder. Sex. Horny werewolves. Lil Marchette, owner of Manhattan’s premier matchmaking service, has seen it all. She’s faced down a vengeful vampire hellbent on framing her for murder. She’s had hot, incredible sex with hunky bounty hunter/made vampire Ty Bonner. And she successfully matched up the single members of the Connecticut chapter of the Naked and Unashamed Nudist Sisterhood (aka the horny werewolves) before the full moon. Whew . . . This incredibly well-dressed vamp needs a little down time, or at least a major shopping spree. Yeah, right. Being wanted for murder can impact a girl’s livelihood. Despite the nice chunk of cash from the N.U.N.S., Lil is barely making ends meet. It seems that while she was busy proving her innocence and matching up werewolves, the rest of her client list dwindled. On top of that, Dead End Dating is under the microscope of local officials, particularly a city councilwoman (human, of course) who is convinced that DED isn’t what it appears to be. Which means Lil needs human clients. Lots of human clients. And fast. No problemo. She has the brains to go with her ultrafab wardrobe, and so she recognizes opportunity when she sees it. Namely Manhattan’s Most Wanted. Fashioned after The Batchelor, Manhattan’s Most Wanted is a local reality show that follows fifty women as they via for an all expense paid date with one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. Fifty single women. Hmmm . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Ms. Self-Absorbed Vampire is back, and she is looking designer fabulous while rescuing her oh-so-wrong-for-her honey. And while Lil is clever, still extremely funny, and nearly an alcoholic in this one, I am not quite as taken with the plot as I have been in the previous books. She is too independent of Ty, when she has such a connection to him.

So, alas, it is a another case of too-much. Yes, I sound like a broken record, but there it is. Lil is doing too-much other stuff in this book while Ty-Hottie/Bounty Hunter/Vamp-Bonner is in trouble. While he is being tortured, she is on a television dating show, helping (and I use that term lightly) with her brother's wedding, running her dating service, attending dinners at her zany parent's place and fantasizing about other men. NOT that she doesn't have her moments of crying and worrying about Ty, or that she should not be busy. The plot is too busy, but it is also too funny!

I suppose I am rooting so hard for Lil and Ty to make it against all vampy odds, that all the other stuff appears to be fluff. I mean, there is the serious business of them hooking up that needs to be addressed, after all. It bothers me that Lil appears to function just fine without him.

While I don't ever want to miss a book featuring the über-fashionista that is Lil, I find my need for Lil and Ty to tell the world—or at least her mother—that they are going to be together, is driving me batty! I realize that is the thing that keeps me reading, but all these distractions and kidnappings and such are getting me down. I know there are more obstacles to follow in the next book, but I hope Ms. Raye will soon have pity on me and get to the good stuff!

Shannon Johnson