4.5 stars
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CIA hunting the Undead, shifters, jungle, caves...oh my. ( )

4.75 Stars

Although all the elements that I love in this series was there, humor & hot romance, this one had a more serious tone to it.
There was more cloak-and-dagger with Caitlyn and Carlos who are on an assignment that takes them to dangerous and mysterious places filled with myths and legends that can get them killed.
Caitlyn is Shanna's baby sister and has a secret ability of her own.
From the first second she and Carlos meet they are catapulted into their attraction to each other. The chemistry burns hot and fast.
Both characters are well developed and the story is fast paced.
A fun, sexy and entertaining story! ( )

Carlos Panterra is a were-panther, a human who can shift into panther form, who needs to find more of his kind because were-panthers are at risk for extinction. He needs to find a were-panther mate so he can have were-panther babies to repopulate his kind. He is lucky to work for MacKay Security and Investigations because his employer allows him time off to go on his expeditions to find were-panthers and even funds his trips. He has recently received information that there may be were-panthers in the jungles of Thailand. He wants to leave immediately to investigate.

Caitlyn Whelan hasn’t seen her sister, Shanna Whelan, since she was young. When she gets an invitation to a birthday party for the nephew she never knew she had, she couldn’t resist even though her father, Sean Whelan, the leader of a secret team of vampire hunters, has ordered her not to go anywhere near her sister. She learns that there is a whole other world out there where vampires and shifters exist when she meets her sister. She also learns that her father wants to kill all vampires, has the power of mind control and has been not only mind controlling her mother but has interfered with her and Shanna’s relationship. She thought Shanna had never returned her letters but her father made sure that she never received the letters.

Caitlyn has the unique ability to understand animals and she can learn any language within minutes after hearing it. Shanna introduces Caitlyn to Angus MacKay who offers her a job with his company.
Caitlyn sees Carlos playing basketball with the vampires and her nephew and is instantly drawn to him. Carlos also sees Caitlyn and feels the same way but since she is human, he knows he has to stay away from her because he has to find a were-panther as a mate. A human can turn into a were-panther if the were-panther bites the human but often times the human does not live through the transformation so he doesn’t even consider it. Caitlyn and Carlos end up sharing a sizzling hot kiss the night of the birthday party which convinces Caitlyn that she and Carlos belong together but the kiss makes Carlos doubly sure that he needs to stay away from her.

He finds out that he is going to have a hard time staying away from her since Angus put him in charge of training her to fight. He also will have to postpone his trip until he trains Caitlyn to fight, use a gun and other weapons and since she really bad at all of them, it could take a while. Caitlyn uses the opportunity to try to shamelessly seduce Carlos whenever possible. When Caitlyn finds out about Carlos’ trip, she convinces Angus that she should go on the trip with Carlos because she has connections from her time at the State Department and she knows the language. Carlos is not happy with the decision but knows he has no other choice.
They find lots of adventure along the way and they discover a new threat to vampires, shifters and humans. A lot of characters from the series make appearances and a few new ones are introduced. It was an interesting storyline so I breezed through the book but I seem to be breezing through all of the books in this series quickly. I am so enamored with all the characters that I just can’t get enough of them.

www.paranormalromanceslut.com ( )

Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks
Love at Stake series book 9. Paranormal romance with shifters and vampires. Can be read as a stand-alone but better if at least a couple of the preceding series books are read. The “family” of vampires and relatives grow from the first book, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire.
Carlos is a panther shifter. His goal is to find a female of his race and prevent the extinction of his race. Falling in love with a human is against all his dreams.
Caitlyn falls for Carlos at first glance. Why does he keep kissing and then rejecting her?

A touch of romantic suspense while the couple works to advance his goals. A bit angsty as Carlos waffles between his lust and his goals. I think Caitlyn should have walked away once or twice but she is dedicated to her job of interpreter.
Overall entertaining, steamy and witty. ( )