The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride
Nocturne Falls #1
Kristen Painter
Publisher: Sugar Skull Books
Publication date: June 1, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town where Halloween is celebrated 365 days a year. The tourists think it’s all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better.
Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all.
After seeing her maybe-mobster boss murder a guy, Delaney James assumes a new identity and pretends to be a mail order bride. She finds her groom-to-be living in a town that celebrates Halloween every day. Weird. But not as weird as what she doesn’t know. Her groom-to-be is a 400-year-old vampire.
Hugh Ellingham has only agreed to the arranged set up to make his overbearing grandmother happy. In thirty days, whatever bridezilla shows up at his door will be escorted right back out. His past means love is no longer an option. Not if the woman’s going to have a future. Except he never counted on Delaney and falling in love for real.
Too bad both of them are keeping some mighty big secrets…
My thoughts…
This is a cute RomCom set in a place called Nocturne Falls, which may as well be Halloween Town for all the paranormal beings that live their normal lives there. Now granted, the general public doesn’t know they are rubbing elbows with gargoyle or vampires. This tourist location is themed for Halloween year round, and the public views it as a tourist attraction with a fun theme. I’m getting ahead of myself though, let’s get into the actual story a bit.
You see, Delaney just saw her boss whack someone and he knows that she saw something. Due to the fact that he’s clearly not someone to mess with, and has connections on the police force, she decides her best bet at survival is to take off somewhere. When she dips into the first storefront that isn’t locked, she comes face to face with the organizer for match making. When the owner isn’t looking, she snatches a file for an arranged marriage to some guy, and sets off to pretend to be his intended bride. Which is how she ends up in the house of a vampire, living in a town filled with supernatural creatures. Only, just like the general public, she doesn’t KNOW they are anything other than human.
Like I said, this is a cute RomCom. It’s nothing ground breaking, but the characters themselves were nice to read about. I think Stanhill (Hugh’s rook) may have been my favorite. He was clearly loyal to Hugh, but also old enough to be sassy and not really feel the need to tiptoe around him. I thought their dynamic was perfect. Delaney was also a good character to read from. She’s not a damsel in distress, but she’s also not rushing head first into every dangerous situation because she’s full of herself. She’s just your average person who’s just trying to stay alive and lay low. Now I will say, that I was worried about the whole trope of Hugh getting roped into an arranged marriage to keep his grandmother off his back. I mean, the man is over 300 years old and that would just be incredibly weird to have someone that old bending to their grandma like that. However, the grandma (his Sire) actually threatens to deactivate the amulet he wears which allows him to go out in the sun during the day. So, with her threatening his ability to be out during the day, I could see him playing along in order to keep her from taking away his ability like that.
If you’re looking for a cute, quick read with a sprinkle of Halloween flair, I recommend giving this one a read.
