Also by this author: Dead Man's Hand, Queen of Hearts, House of the Rising SunWelcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better.
Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all.
Monalisa Devlin is a Will O’ The Wisp, a rare and potentially dangerous creature. Unfortunately, her greedy father makes sure she lives up to that potential. Monalisa is magically compelled to obey her father's evil commands--until he finally agrees to free her in exchange for one, last mission: Travel to Nocturne Falls and use her powers to force Ivan Tsvetkov back into the ring.
Once a champion on the supernatural MMA circuit, Ivan 'The Hammer' Tsvetkov retired after a devastating injury that left him unable to shift into his dragon form. Wounded and embittered, Ivan wants nothing more than to be left alone. Until an infuriating, stubborn, delicately beautiful stranger shows up on his doorstep and demands that he rebuild his life.
Posing as a rehab therapist seemed like the easiest way to get close to the smoldering recluse, but Monalisa quickly realizes that nothing about this mission is going to be easy. To gain his trust, she shares more of herself than she ever has before, and as their connection deepens, so does the weight of her secrets. She thought she was willing to do whatever it took to win her independence...but when her deception blows up in her face, will Monalisa discover that the loss of Ivan's heart is too high a price to pay? Or will their love rise from the ashes to burn stronger than ever?
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Monalisa is a will’o’wisp which in this world is a very rare creature that has the power to make men and women do whatever they want them too. Her father is a leprechaun and has used her abilities to benefit himself, no matter the cost to Monalisa.
Ivan is a dragon shifter who is also an MMA fighter. Or he was until he received an injury from a basilisk in the ring that caused him to be unable to turn into a dragon. So essentially he is a huge dragon stuck in the body of a rather large human man. Imagine yourself as a regular adult human being stuck in the body of a baby, unable to use your abilities of speech or strength. For him, it is more the flying and breathing fire that he can’t do, but you get my point.
Monalisa is under her father’s control until he personally releases her, and the only way that he will do that is if she can go to Nocturne Falls and get Ivan to come back into the ring. Obviously, he doesn’t to, being that he is technically just a large human because he can’t shift. She is supposed to use her powers, which would make him unable to say no to her. Initially, Monalisa doesn’t care about Ivan because her main goal is to become free, but as she pretends to be a rehab therapist, she realizes that there is more to life out there than being free.
As with all of the other Nocturne Falls books, I enjoy it. I honestly think they are getting better as they go on, and what I really like about this one is that there is a bit of foreshadowing. Not for later in the book, but for an entirely new book.
The whole series is similar, but this is the first book that has both internal and external issues, as in external like other books, someone coming after the main character, but also internal. Internal in not being able to shift, internal like coming to terms with what species you are. It is a good continuation of the series.
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About Kristen Painter
When the characters in Kristen Painter’s head started to take over, she decided to put them on paper and share them with the world. She writes paranormal romance and the gothic fantasy vampire series, House of Comarre, for Orbit Books. She has also been published in non-fiction, poetry and short stories. The former college English teacher can often be found online at Romance Divas, the award-winning writers’ forum she co-founded. She’s represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.
