Monday, December 1, 2014

Unwrapping a Review of CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA, a Deadly Angels novella by Sandra Hill

I love the Vangels – those are the vampire angels in the Deadly Angels series created by Sandra Hill. So when she released CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA, a Deadly Angels novella, I knew I had to read it.

***copy purchased for my own personal reading but of course, I’m sharing my honest and unscripted review with you.

Blurb for CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA:

For the first time ever, the leader of the Viking Vampire Angels, Vikar Sigurdsson, has been talked into celebrating a traditional Christmas! The tree has been decorated, the gifts have been wrapped, and the stockings have been hung. And that's mistletoe, not cobwebs, hanging from the ceiling of the creepy castle full of vangels … really!

The icing on the vampire cookie comes when vangel Karl Mortensen rescues Faith Larson, a battered young waitress, from her abusive boyfriend and hides her in the castle amidst the Christmas chaos. But what Karl thought was a frail young teenager is actually a very tempting woman. And she thinks his fangs are sexy!

But a strange "Christmas visitor" at the castle and demon vampires up to their old tricks could threaten the budding romance between Karl and Faith. It's an impossible match—a human and a vangel—but Christmas is a time for magic.

Karl and Faith don't stand a chance … 

*                 *                  *                  *                  *

Karl Mortensen is a young vangel and when he died, he had a wife who he hadn’t seen since before he died in Vietnam. There are rules to being a vangel and one of them kept him from his wife who only recently died never knowing he was reborn to fight demon vampires and take care of the innocent. When he discovers a young waitress at his favorite diner needs rescuing, he doesn’t worry about the rules but instead, brings her home to the castle in Transylvania – that’s Pennsylvania, not Romania – hoping to keep her protected until he can figure out what to do with her to keep her truly safe.

Faith Larson finds herself in a very strange place with a sexy man she finds more attractive than scary even though she swore she saw fangs in his mouth on more than one occasion. Battered and bruised, she’s embarrassed and wants to get out everyone’s hair as soon as possible until those in the strange castle make her feel more welcome here than ever before anywhere. The castle is huge but slowly coming to life with all kinds of Christmas activity, and it reminds Faith how much she loves Christmas. She also likes Karl, the man who rescued her – a lot.

CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA by Sandra Hill is an adorable novella and whereas it isn’t as exciting or even as humorous as the full-length novels of the Deadly Angels series, it was quite enjoyable and a wonderful lead in to the Christmas season. I did enjoy the interaction between the characters we’ve come to know and love through the first four books. Seeing Vikar and the other Vikings doing all the Christmas things that Alex wants done even through grumblings is quite fun – even Lizzie Borden gets into the act and gets carried away with the rum.

Whereas, this is a cute departure from the demon fighting, sin redeeming Vangels we’re used to, Karl is a wonderful hero and the way he’s so sensitive to Faith’s needs is quite romantic and sweet. It would’ve been nice to know Karl a bit more, his past, and his sin, along with how Michael brought him into the fold but it’s only a novella, and there just isn’t time so I understand that.

If you’re looking for a quick, sweet, romantic and a totally Christmas immersed read to get you into the mood for the holidays, I do recommend reading CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA, a Deadly Angels novella by Sandra Hill. Oh, even if you’re not into paranormal, vampire angels, and demon fighting, it’s okay because this one is mostly about Karl and Faith, and Christmas with the Vangels – they even volunteer to sing in a choir and fill in for the characters in a Nativity Scene. They are angels after all. Who knows, after reading this one, you may fall in love with the Vangels as I did and decide to go back and read the series. They are really hot Vangels.

Happy Reading Everyone!

CHRISTMAS IN TRANSYLVANIA, a Deadly Angels novella by Sandra Hill, Avon Impulse, available now in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks. (print coming Dec 9th)
***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

   

3 comments:

Brooke Showalter said...

Great review! I read this one as well and enjoyed it, even though it was the first book I've read in this series.

Amy Valentini said...

Brooke, if you enjoyed the idea, the humor and definitely those hot Vangels, definitely read the rest of the series. It's fun paranormal! xox

Lover Of Romance said...

I really loved this one too. And I have enjoyed what she has done with this series.