Vacationing with the Vampire in Hallow's Cove Author Lyonne Riley
Book Review
4 out of 5 stars!
Happy New Year's!
"When children come into my shop, I watch them like a hawk, and quickly bring out the bleach wipes after they've left to clean off any books they touched." - Barnaby
Barnaby is the very definition of prickly, but I mean can you blame him?! Sorry, but children have no sense of the word "boundary" and when the parents don't supervise them, they're all over everything. Like most retail workers Barnaby cringes internally and outwardly but being alive for as long as he has, I imagine he's literally seen it all!
Barnaby would rather live his simple mundane life in peace without having to deal with people. Socializing being for extroverts and the devil. Yet when his longtime, vacant, apartment gets booked by a beautiful human for an entire month he may just have to rethink that peaceful, quiet existence. Something about her calls to him in more ways than one. Only will she run in terror like so many before her who saw a vampire's true form? Her blood calls to him and the beast within, how long can he keep it locked away. . .
"I'm going to kill this man with kindness. I'm going to murder him with it, until he can't help but like me, at least a little." - Maisie
This was a cute introduction for Hallow's Cove! I was excited to see the lineup of authors participating in bringing this small town to life with various residents. Maisie and Barnaby's characters drew me in instantly and I knew I would love them both! Was not disappointed in the quick, lighthearted read!
Maisie's a sunshine character who has a bite to her. She doesn't just roll over to Barnaby's grumpy bordering asshole behavior. He puts up a front and that front can be very convincing causing her to almost lose it on him a few times. After a major oops at work she's been forced to go on a month-long vacation! A paid one at that! (Sign me up!) Catch is there's an investigation being conducted that may just determine if she's still employed or not. . .
"I just flipped off Barnaby Hallow, a two-hundred-year-old vampire, because he didn't want to make out with me.
God, I'm such an idiot." - Maisie (he deserved it though!)
I enjoyed the chemistry between the two and how they didn't start off on the right foot. Barnaby being an old vampire who's forgotten what it's like to be human and what that all entails. Maisie having to reeducate him on the basics. I laughed so many times with their banter and the internal monologues they had. Both finding the other attractive and hypnotic but no they mustn't! Dual POVs to show just how hard they're actually trying to avoid one another.
The take on vampires was fun in this read and I loved Barnaby's true form! There's artwork of it up on Lyonne's page and her socials! This is a lighthearted read but there are some moments that are heavy. Barnaby's past isn't the best and he hints at things that happened. No gory details. Do check the CWs. Language is present in the book along with the anxious feelings of potentially losing a great job.
The two start out on bad terms and each battling internal struggles. So, expect a slow burn! This book is a novella length, so you don't have to wait too long. MF action, a lot involving a vampire feeding whilst having fun. Maisie completely down for all of it! Adeline being the cheerleader for the relationship was the best and I appreciated her advice she gave Barnaby! Monster MF scenes as well.
We do get a very HEA for the main couple of the book but there are hints of future MCs for other installments. I do believe Maisie and Barnaby will pop up in other reads here and there. I cannot wait for the next installment from the next author! We get spoiled with a map at the beginning of the book and I very much want to go to Hallow's Cove!
Enjoy the read with a grumpy bookstore owner and a sunshine gamer girl! Don't forget to give the author some stars!
Amazon.com: Vacationing with the Vampire in Hallow's Cove: 9798303446878: Riley, Lyonne: Books
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