Her Bark His Bite by A.E. Grace: Review & Excerpt

Her Bark His Bite:

Rise of the New Shifters

(A Vampire Shifter Romance)

by A.E. Grace

Genre: Paranormal Romance

They went looking for justice. They never expected to find love...

Curvy wolf shifter Lillian van Buren never believed in monsters... not real ones, anyway. When she learns that vampires exist, and that one of them has fed on a child, she vows to hunt down the heinous, fanged bloodsucker, and bring him to justice. 

She soon finds herself allied with a gorgeous, enigmatic vampire, but he's got a tad too many secrets. Using him was part of her plan, but falling in love with him never was... 

Isaac Reed has been outcast by the vampire society. He’s broken a cardinal rule, and if he can't bring a rogue child-feeder to justice, he won't just lose his freedom, he'll lose his life. 

He tracks down a shifter who has information he needs, but he never expects to feel a storm of attraction when he first lays eyes on her. To his own surprise, he finds his cold heart thawing... 

Her Bark His Bite is a paranormal romance that sees the delicate balance of the supernatural world thrown off-kilter. A battle between species is brewing. Will Lillian and Isaac's budding love survive it? 

55,000+ Paranormal Vampire & Shifter Romance

She leaned forward then, and Isaac mirrored her, bringing himself so close to her he could smell her breath. The proximity made his heart quicken, and as he studied her face, and her beautiful lips, his loins stirred. 

“Still can’t see it.” 

“Touch it. You’ll feel it.” 

Her eyes snapped to his, and for a moment, it was like the whole world had stopped around them. The impact of their meeting eyes so close to each other, both leaning forward over a small, circular high-table, was astonishing. 

“Um,” she sounded, pursing her lips. “Okay.” She reached a hand forward, and rubbed the back of it against the side of his face. 

“No,” he said, and he grabbed her petite hand in his large one, swallowing it up. “Use your fingertips.” He took her index finger, positive he could feel the current of his attraction to her pulsing through their touching skin, and dragged it along the side of his face. “See? Feel that?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s a bit like you have stubble. Not as prickly, but that texture.” 

He smiled at her, his eyes on her lips. 

“But how do you-” 

He leaned forward and kissed her. 

And, after a microsecond of hesitation, she kissed him back. 

***

“No,” she gasped, pulling back, breaking the kiss. Her heart was racing, and she was embarrassed. She’d tipped her hand. 

Besides, it was too fast! She’d only just met him and already he was kissing her! She should slap him for making such a foreward move like that. They may be working together now, but that didn’t give him a free pass to her body or her lips. 

He looked at her, unblinking, mouth still held slightly open so that she could see the tips of two of his fangs. That had been a weird sensation. They had pressed into her bottom lip, and she could tell from the way that he had kissed her that vampires kissed differently, more carefully . It could never just be an indiscrete mashing of mouths and sharing of saliva. It would always be more… nuanced. 

Realizing she was still lingering on their kiss, she shook her head, and stared daggers into his eyes. “Why the hell did you just kiss me?” she demanded to know, trying her best to wear indignation, perhaps even anger, on her features. 

“Because I’m attracted to you,” he told her. His voice , deep, had carried no undertones of extra meaning. If she had to stake her life on it, she’d bet he was being straight with her.  

Unable to find words for a moment, she just shook her head, and looked down into her drink. She drained the glass in one go, and looked at him again. “You can’t just kiss people like that.” 

When she saw the flicker of a grin tug at the corner of his mouth, she grew infuriated. “It’s not funny, Isaac. I’m serious, do it again and I’ll shift and bite your mouth off.” 

“No, you won’t,” he said, leaning back. 

They didn’t talk for a while , and Lillian glanced at her watch, seeing it was already past three in the morning. The bar staff were starting to stack the stools and wipe the tables. 

“One more,” she said to a waitress, pointing at her empty glass. 

“Last one, yeah? We closed ten minutes ago.” 

“Sure,” Lillian said, smiling. “Thank you.” She returned her eyes to Isaac for a moment, who seemed to be regarding her with slight amusement. She chided herself internally for dropping her guard like that, and then even more for reacting the way she had. He was seeing her now, not who she wanted him to see, and it was… humiliating. More than that, it was stupid. She couldn’t compromise herself! 

He looked good and he knew it. He was charming, though less charming than he probably thought he was. She had no doubt that the man was full of cunning.

 

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Lillian van Buren is a first generation shifter in a world that is rapidly changing. With the existence of shifters now revealed, and humans seeking to be turned like never before, she must find a way to adapt. As a private investigator, she has a reputation for solving cases no one else can, but even a woman who thinks she has seen everything can be surprised.

Isaac Hayes is a vampire charged with tracking down a rouge vampire that's preying on children. Dangerously close to being outed too, the days of vampires dwelling in the shadows are numbered. While the elders cling to the secrecy of the past, there are plenty of paranormal creatures who want to lead them into the future.

Isaac and Lillian team together to track down the rogue, but when sparks start flying between them it quickly becomes clear that there is more at stake than just bringing in their target!

I love the action, adventure, and romance that A.E. Grace writes into all of her books. HER BARK HIS BITE is her first foray into the world of vampires, and what a journey it is! The characters are dynamic, with vampires and shifters that are unique and well written. Journalist Circe Cole from 'At Full Sprint' is back to stir up more trouble, and the dramatic story line kept me entertained from the very first page!

View all my reviews

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author A.E. Grace would travel endlessly, and write even more, if that were possible. But traveling a little, and writing a lot, is something she's quite happy to settle for. With a particular fondness for the paranormal, Grace's stories are rooted in realism, always end on happy terms, and are often infused with her own traveling experience.

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