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Haunted Honeymoon by Marta Acosta

Marta Acosta wrote a terrific series that joins chick lit and vampires, the Casa Dracula series. The fourth and final installment, Haunted Honeymoon, gave a well deserved ending to heroine Milagro de los Santos. Readers first met Milagro when she was a simple human, but after meeting and falling for Oswald Grant, Milagro has blended seamlessly into the vampire world with vampiristic capabilities and being the only human to survive infection. After the engagement between Milagro and Oswald ends, Milagro begins dating the Dark Lord- Ian Ducharme- but catches him noshing on the blonde next door. Milagro finds vampire activist Wil and engages in a small affair with him, but Wil is murdered- and someone set up Milagro to take the blame. Wanted for possible murder and unable to solicit any help from Ian, Milagro must make some difficult decisions to keep herself- and the vampire clan- happy again.
Overall, I loved this Casa Dracula series. Milagro is the perfect heroine, feisty, funny, independent, but also a little misguided at times. The new romance between her and Ian was exciting to read about in Haunted Honeymoon¸ and there were just enough twists in the plot along the way to keep me guessing how the ending would work out. I think readers will appreciate how Acosta closes the series, and will make them a bit sad that we might not hear from our friend Milagro anymore. I would love to know what happens to her in the future!
Rating: 4.5/5
See my review for other books in this series:
Happy Hour At Casa Dracula- 4 stars
Midnight Brunch- 5 stars
The Bride of Casa Dracula- 4.5 stars

In My Mailbox: Week of October 10

In My Mailbox: Week of October 10, 2010

Title: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
Author: Marta Acosta
Received: From Marta Acosta
Synopsis: Despite her Fancy University (F.U.) degree, Milagro de los Santos isn’t having much success at life. She can barely pay the rent and all of her boyfriends are as frivolous as beach reads. Then, at a party in honor of her successful ex-boyfriend, she meets the unusually attractive, quirky Oswald Grant.
Who knew that her passionate kiss with Oswald would result in serious illness, a craving for raw meat, and an aversion to sunlight? Well, her ambitious ex knew, and after he attempts to kidnap Milagro, she must hide out with Oswald’s snobby family at their country estate to recover and learn the truth about their mysterious “genetic condition.”
When Oswald and his family are threatened, Milagro uses her wits, her wiles, and a whacky scheme to bring down the power-hungry creeps who refuse to let the undead live in peace.

Title: Midnight Brunch
Author: Marta Acosta
Received: From Marta Acosta
Synopsis: Hip, funny Milagro de los Santos thinks she’s finally found love and a home at the California ranch of fabulous Oswald Grant and his urbane relatives, who have a rare genetic disorder that some call vampirism. But Milagro is bewildered when she’s excluded from an ancient and mysterious midnight ceremony whose participants include Oswald’s unfriendly parents, a creepy family elder, and Milagro’s ex-lover, the powerful and decadent Ian Ducharme. What skeletons are the vampires keeping in their designer closets?
When Milagro’s life is threatened by a rogue family member, she flees to the desert to hide. Instead of solitude, she encounters an egomaniacal actor, a partying heiress, a sly tabloid reporter, and a lavish spa full of dark secrets — all of which might help her find a way home.

Title: The Bride of Casa Dracula
Author: Marta Acosta
Received: From Marta Acosta
Synopsis: Milagro de los Santos is having serious problems planning her wedding to fabulous Oswald Grant, M.D. Her future in-laws loathe her, her dog just died, and Oswald’s family has a genetic anomaly that makes them crave blood. Then her extravagant best friend hijacks the role of wedding coordinator, and the secretive Vampire Council assigns conniving Cornelia Ducharme to guide the couple through the ancient vampire marriage rituals.
To top it all off, Milagro’s career is on the skids. She’s reduced to ghostwriting the memoirs of a loony little man who claims to be a shapeshifter. And why does Cornelia’s decadent, way too attractive brother, Ian, always show up whenever Milagro is away from Oswald?
When a series of accidents interferes with wedding plans, Oswald worries that Milagro is cracking under the pressure. Is she just paranoid, or is a hidden enemy trying to make sure Milagro doesn’t wed the undead?

In My Mailbox: Week of September 26th

In My Mailbox: Week of September 26th

Title: Haunted Honeymoon
Author: Marta Acosta
Received: From Marta Acosta
Synopsis: THERE’S MORE THAN HER HEART AT STAKE. . . .As the only human to survive vampire infection, Milagro de Los Santos has become quite a celebrity among the blood-drinking elite. Too bad the perks of her condition—increased strength, super-fast healing—don’t pay her condo fees. There are other complications too. She’s feeling guilty about her fling with enigmatic Vampire Council member Ian Ducharme, and pining for her ex-fiancé, Dr. Oswald Grant . . . the fabulous man whose kiss changed her life. It’s when Milagro—irked by Ian’s attentions to his neighbor—travels to London and enjoys a sexy flirtation of her own, that the blood really hits the fan. Suddenly, those around her are dying gruesome deaths and Milagro’s being interrogated. Who would kill to set her up as a murder suspect? Milagro just wants to turn back the clock and have another chance to make things right, but no sooner has she escaped to Oswald’s ranch than an accident obliterates her memory. Will the murderer come after her now? And will amnesia spark a romantic do-over with Oswald—or will she make all the same mistakes before she ever gets to say “I do”?

Title: Anyone for Me?
Author: Fiona Cassidy
Received: From Fiona Cassidy
Synopsis: Meet feisty fun-loving Ruby Ross – thirty four, mad red hair, mad (in general) adopted and searching for answers (most pressingly being precisely whose genes are responsible for the most unmanageable bonce in the country?). She’s impulsive, compulsive and unaware of what she’s about to unleash in her quest for the truth. Her journey will take her from the Tyrone village of Swiftstown to Belfast to the rolling hills of Donegal (where the scenery is lovely but the roads are bad and burst tyres are plenty.)

Isobel Ross is larger than life, living in a picturesque cottage in Donegal in the grounds of an old manor house which has been turned into a hotel – but why are the new owners so keen to get rid of her? She’s harbouring secrets from the past and fiercely protective of her adopted daughter. Can she stop the wilful Ruby from opening a nasty can of worms or will the hand of fate intervene and give Ruby the answers she doesn’t expect or might not want.

Throw in Ruby’s forthcoming nuptials to the lovely Luke, Frankie, her best friend and bling loving bridesmaid, a wedding planner called Gabriel who wears more make-up than the bride-to-be and a dusty box found in an attic which leaves many questions unanswered and you have a bewildered and rather ferocious Ruby asking is there….Anyone For Me?

Title: The Tapestry of Love
Author: Rosy Thornton
Received: From Rosy Thornton
Synopsis: A rural idyll: that’s what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you’re no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbors, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that’s before the arrival of Catherine’s sister, Bryony.

Title: Blind Faith
Author: CJ Lyons
Received: From CJ Lyons
Synopsis: When her husband and son are murdered, she thought she’d lost it all. But for Sarah Durandt the nightmare is just beginning… Her search for truth leads her to a trail of lies and unearths a killer. In a race to save everything she holds dear, Sarah is forced to place her faith in the man who betrayed her…her husband.

Title: The Kiss Test
Author: Shannon McKelden
Received: From Shannon McKelden
Synopsis: Margo Gentry’s life is perfect. She loves her job as a country music DJ, and she has a great boyfriend who accepts her need to avoid marriage and tolerates her Elvis obsession – even the velvet Elvis painting in their bedroom. But then it all falls apart. The radio station changes formats and fires all the DJs. Margo’s boyfriend decides he wants kids and a house in the suburbs and kicks her to the curb. And to top it all off, her Mom is getting married — for the 11th time! — and expects Margo to be there as maid of honor. With no job and no place to live, Margo has to bunk on the couch of her best friend Chris, whose revolving bedroom door has played host to half the women in New York – at least, the ones that pass his “kiss test.” Worse, he’s insisting she attend her mother’s wedding, and is personally driving her cross-country to ensure she shows up. Forget about surviving the road trip – can their friendship survive The Kiss Test?

Title: Planning to Live
Author: Heather Wardell
Received: From Heather Wardell
Synopsis: Thirty-something Rhiannon is an obsessive planner and goal-setter, but somehow nothing she achieves ever seems good enough to her. Determined to lose forty pounds for her best friend’s August wedding, Rhiannon flees her parents’ house in a Christmas-day blizzard to avoid the temptation of all her favorite foods, but her car skids off the deserted road into a tree.
Unable to escape the car, with her leg trapped and bleeding and her cell phone out of reach, Rhiannon is at first certain she’ll be rescued and writes notes to her friends and family to pass the time. As the weather cools and her condition deteriorates, though, she recognizes the possibility that her life might be over. Interspersed with increasingly desperate escape attempts, her letters become deeper and more heart-felt as she comes to see what really matters in life.

Author Profile: Grace Coopersmith

Author: Grace Coopersmith
Website: http://www.gracecoopersmith.com/
Titles: Nancy’s Theory of Style
Bio: I’m a San Francisco Bay Area native and still live there. I went to Stanford, where I studied creative writing, literature, and theatre. (I had a mad idea that I wanted to be a theatre reviewer. Anyway…)
With this extremely useful ability to sit around and read books and talk about them, I took miscellaneous low-paying jobs. I frequently worked for non-profits, including theatre companies. One of my job skills was properly opening a bottle of champagne for special guests. I also learned to forge signatures and mimic my bosses’ writing styles. I can’t remember if I put those skills on my resume, but I used to see my counterfeit letters framed and displayed by proud recipients.
I was a frequent contributor of home, gardening, and style columns and features for newspapers and magazines. So, yes, I have written in-depth articles about modern wallpaper trends, worm composting, and luxury home libraries.
Right now, I’m working on another novel set in San Francisco.
Under my own name, Marta Acosta, I write the Casa Dracula series. Haunted Honeymoon (Simon & Schuster/Gallery) will be released in October 2010. You see, I even counterfeit myself.
Bio Retrieved from http://www.gracecoopersmith.com/