Holy Smokes (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 4) - Katie MacAlister

352 pages
Rating 4/5

I’m Aisling Grey—but you can call me "frustrated."

The man of my dreams—uber-sexy Drake Vireo, wyvern of the green dragons—has finally decided to make an honest woman of me. That is, if we ever make it to the wedding at the same time! Being left at the altar may have cooled my jets, but not my passion...a good thing when Drake disappears and it's up to me to find him.

Most brides just have in-laws to worry about. Me? I have warring dragons, ticked-off demon lords, eternal damnation, and a mage who wants to challenge me for an otherworldly position I don’t even want. Good thing I have Jim, my doggie-demon at my side. He’s never let me down—yet...

Aaargh!! You describe the man as Uber Sexy. He's a dragon. And then you have Aisling calling him Sweetie every second line of the book. So not done.

This book did tie up all the ends well - Aisling the Dark Prince, the position Venediger, her other issues with the Otherworld. And a wedding that gets postponed a million times. It also adds more to the war with the Dragons, what with having to rescue Drake and all. It also adds more characters to the book - Bastian the blue dragon, Kostya the Black dragon intent on uniting the black and silver dragons together - more ammo for the Silver Dragon books which primarily feature Gabriel.

All in all, a pretty good book. If only she didn't call him Sweetie so much.

I'll miss you Jim, Oh Sarcastic Demon.

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Light My Fire (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 3) - Katie MacAlister

352 pages

Rating 3.5 / 5

Aisling Grey is juggling being a demon lord, a Guardian, and a wyvern's mate, even though she's keeping her distance from said wyvern, Drake, these days. But her presence is still required at a meeting of the green dragons. Since several attempts have been made on her life, Drake is sure to get protective of her. Which might not be a bad thing when war breaks out and all hell breaks loose-literally

Aisling: “Well, I know it’s no substitute for a corgi, but you’ve got a dog for companionship. You’ve got Paco now.”
Jim: “Paco isn’t a dog. Paco is a snack.”

Aisling: “Demon, I command thee to zip thy lips until you get over your case of the grumps"

“The sun will never rise on a day when I say something that’s not worth its weight in platinum,” my demon answered. “Hi, Rene. How they hangin’?”

Fiat rose from his chair with swift elegance. “You have much to learn of our ways, cara. Your ignorance is almost as dazzling as the whiteness of your breasts.”
I looked down at my chest for a minute, making sure my boobs weren’t suddenly popping out of my sundress.They weren’t.

“Jim, stop reading the paper and get ready to be my trusty sidekick.”
“Yes, kemosabe,” it answered, turning the page

Jim rolled its eyes. “Ash, sweetie, honey, babykins—you’re not the most astute person in the world.”

Needless to say, i'm more or less reading this mainly for Jim. That demon has wicked lines in all the books. Aisling has now moved to London and begun training with Nora who we met in the previous book. We finally find out who Rene is. There's a war brewing among the dragons, assassination attempts on Aisling, an imp uprising against her thanks to Jim, a dragon challenge for Drakes position, Fiat and his wicked plans for everyone, a promotion for Aisling in the demon world...and a whole lot of other things going on. Nice book this. Now if only Aisling can stop saying things like "Criminy Dutch".

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Fire Me Up (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 2) - Katie MacAlister

368 pages
Rating 4 / 5

Aisling Grey is back-and in more trouble than ever. She thought being a courier would be easy. It's not. She thought being a Guardian would come naturally. It doesn't. She thought she could get out of being a wyvern's mate. She can't. And she never thought she'd be irresistible to men. But she is.

Jim: "You want a little cheese with that whine?"

"Hello, I am Tiffany. You're a Guardian, aren't you? Here is my card. I am a professional virgin. You will please let me know if you have any need of my services."

Tiffany: "Oooh, fruit cups! I love the fruit cups. Fruit is the flower of our souls, don't you think?"

"I am Tiffany. I am a professional virgin. If you were to choose between kissing Aisling's belly and mine, you would choose mine, would you not? My belly is very smooth and white."

Aisling: "There are times when I think I just can't get a break."
Jim: "And then there are times when we know you're cracked"

Stuff like the lines above are why i loved this book.

The second book is based in Budapest, where Aisling is to deliver an amulet on behalf of her Uncle and also attend a conference of the Otherworld. But when she arrives, she also finds Drake there. For someone who keeps reminding herself that "I am a professional. I am in control", she turns rather pitiable whenever the green Wyvern (head of a dragon sept) is around. She seems to lose her brain around him. I didn't care much for Drake and Aisling in this book; i had really liked the chemistry between them in Book 1. The whole thing with Drake got a bit too much, and by the time i read " I adored Drake's lower lip" i was ready to stop reading any more about them. Don't think i can say much more bout these 2 without giving any of the story away.

The new characters made it an interesting reading. I loved Gabriel, the Silver wyvern. He just seems so much more fun than Drake or actually, any of the other characters in the book (Other than Jim, the demon, of course) . There is another series on the Silver Dragons with more on Gabriel, which I'm looking forward to reading

I love that Rene is in this book as well, and its too much of a co-incidence so he has to be some supernatural being. Waiting for this to be explained in the future books. And there's definitely be more of Nora in the coming books.

What i did find annoying as hell (Other than the I am a professional. I am in control.." comments) was all the all the pinching she keeps doing. Pinched Jim's fur, wanted to pinch Drake's hand... they're not schoolkids, stop with the pinching.

The Aisling Grey Series has only four books, with MacAlister stating that she isn't planning on writing another one anytime soon (or not at all). She does have other dragon series' tho and Drake and Aisling apparently do feature in some of those books. I'm wondering if i should read the next two books real slow now, so they last for more than half a day. I hate when you know there won't be more to a series. Still on book 2 and still, now i know what Lil Sis felt like with the last Harry Potter :O)

Read more about the Dragons and the author at her site here

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You Slay Me (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 1) - Katie MacAlister

342 pages

Rating: 4/5

Aisling Grey is a courier enjoying a free, work-related trip to Paris when she learns she's a Guardian. That's a keeper of the Gates of Hell, for those who don't know. She finds this out from Drake Vireo, who's scrumptiously sexy-at least in his human form. Now Drake has stolen the package Aisling was sent to deliver, and she must track him down, get the package, and try to resist the passion boiling inside her.

Jim: "You want me to find some balloons for this pity party you're having?"

Aisling: "OK, I can do this. I'm a professional. I'm in control. I have a demon, and I know how to use it."

Jim: "Do you have a history of insanity in your family? 'Cause I think what you're about to do is downright stupid."

Aisling : "Comments from the peanut gallery are entirely optional"

"Are you hysterical?" Jim asked. "Should I slap you upside the head?"

"OK. I'm in control. I'm confident."

"But are you a professional?" Jim asked.

Jim: "I don't think now is the time to debate the catastrophic nature of your life. Now is the time to get out of here before we become barbecue."

I don't think i've enjoyed a book this much and laughed so much in a long long time. Aisling Gray gets thrown into the supernatural world in Paris where she's delivering an artifact to a collector who's dead by the time Aisling gets there.

While you can tell she's out of her league, her mutterings to herself and the rambling humour making it a fun ride to watch her through her learning curve.

She finds out she's a Guardian (keeper of the gates to hell, in a way) a wyvern's (dragon's) mate, and later also a Demon Lord.

There's are quite a few new concepts as such in the book, but they're not so hard to understand. The Chemistry between Drake and Aisling is hot. But the best parts of the book are the ones with Jim the Demon dog in. His (Its?) conversations with Aisling are witty and had me laughing a lil too hard at work.

Definitely a must read and i'm already starting on the next book in the series right now.

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