Samhain Publishing, $4.50, ISBN 978-1-60504-390-6
Paranormal Romance, 2009
File Prince of Fire as an “only in paranormal romances” exclusive. When the story opens, Keri Maddox arrives at her apartment to see her neighbor Talen Jacek wearing only a towel and, from all appearances, having violated the sanctity of her kitchen in a failed attempt to make spaghetti sauce. He tells her that he didn’t break into her apartment, another man did. From the cuff link Talen produces, Keri deduces that her stalker ex-boyfriend was the culprit. She flies into a panic… and doesn’t seem to find it odd that this neighbor of hers, upon seeing someone fleeing her apartment (like he claims), happily walks in to make some spaghetti.
Then again, maybe she has read enough awful paranormal romances to realize that such a name on a guy could only mean that he is a not-exactly-human boff-muffin stud waiting to show her where all her G-spots are located. She ends up staying with him when he offers her his protection, and like “protection” in such romances tend to be, it entails plenty of naughty thoughts and the occasional naughty romps. Bless the villain, he thoughtfully and conveniently stays away until close to the end.
The hero has an interesting predicament here, given his nature, but while this could have allowed the author to create an interesting story here, Ms Taylor instead cranks out another humorous and sexy paranormal romance that offers very little that is new in terms of story line, sexual positions, and use of clichés. Prince of Fire is a fluffy and pleasant read with a few chuckles to be had along the way, but the ridiculous set-up and the formulaic treatment of the story ensure that this one doesn’t stand out in any way.
It could be worse, I suppose. The hero’s name could have been Tome Rimmer.
