Monday, October 8, 2007

YOU SLAY ME by Katie MacAlister

OMG...this book was flippin' hilarious!!

Brief Synopsis: Aisling Grey is a courier on her first assignment. She's been sent to Paris in order to deliver a statue, but when she arrives, the person she's supposed to hand it off to is dead. Not only that, but it appears she's been killed in some sort of demonic ritual. It's then Aisling discovers she is a Guardian, i.e. a keeper of the gates of hell. Not only that, but she is the destined mate of a Wyvern (a leader of a dragon sept), Drake Vireo (hot green dragon in man-form). MUCH mayhem ensues. In order to gain information, Aisling ends up summoning a demon to question. Said demon turns out to be a talking Newfoundland dog, who has absolutely no powers other than a sharp tongue and a willingness to point it's lethal power at Aisling at the most inconvenient of times. So, she ends up a Guardian, demon lord, and Wyvern mate all before she knows what the hell is going on. Oh, and the police think she murdered the woman she was delivering the statue to.

If you want a serious laugh, you have GOT to run out and get this book. It is the silliest thing, but yet so much fun that I literally couldn't put it down. There are MANY laugh out loud moments...some that brought tears to my eyes.

Aisling is a GREAT character. She has the most unique voice I've read in a long time. She's flippant...sarcastic...totally ridiculous, and maintains that voice throughout the entire book. She was such a breath of fresh air. She's smart, but a bit of a wimp, and yanno....she knows when to run when she's gotten in over her head. I dig that about her. She wasn't one of those alpha females who think they are the be all/end all of solving things themselves...the ones who refuse to take the help of men just because they're...yanno, men.

Drake...MMMM...Drake. What to say about him? Sexy. That's what I'll say. That and man, why don't I have dreams like that??? LOL.

The mystery of the story is pretty good -- not the greatest. There were some leaps in logic that I didn't quite get, but overall it was good. Mostly I was so entertained by Aisling that I didn't pay that much attention. lol. I did guess who the bad guy was, but then got my theory taken away...only to find I was right in the end. Either way, it's a wild ride that is very enjoyable.

And Jim -- that's the demon dog... man, talk about hilarious. Many of the great laughs in this book are due to him. Kudos to MacAlister for such a unique idea.

Now, if you happen to get this book down the road, it's going to be a little painful in the beginning--especially for you writers. In one chapter, I think she mentioned Drake's "green eyes," in all possible variations, about a dozen times. It was so repetitive, but I realize now there was a purpose to it. Her writing is fresh and funny and has some great lines that make me say... "MAN...wish I'd thought of that!" It gives me hope for FI doing well. (g)

Buy or Rent? BUY.

2 comments:

Carol Spradling said...

Now that sounds like an MC I can get behind. Give me real characters every time. I may have to put this on my tbr pile.

Jennifer Hendren said...

Carol,

Oh, she's a hoot. She's 100% silly, but there's just something about her that I absolutely love. She always tries to do the right thing -- I think that's it. Even when she's fumbling around making a fool of herself, her heart and mind are in the right place. AND, she recognizes when she's done something weird. If you get this book, remember this line -- "We are sick people." I absolutely loved it because the action right before it kinda left me a bit shocked. Nice to know she realized it, too. (g)

Jen