Solitary vampire Fallon Underwood gets all the social interaction he needs being the silent partner at the Dead and Breakfast B and B high in the Colorado mountains. Change is hard for Fallon, so when his business partner, Tanner, suggests hiring a new manager for the inn, he’s adamant that they don’t need help, especially not in the form of bouncy werecat Carter Hughes.
Carter is a happy-go-lucky kitty, and he loves the hospitality industry, so the D and B ought to be a great place for him. He falls for Fallon as soon as he picks up one of Fallon’s novels and begins to woo the vamp with gifts. When Fallon finally succumbs to Carter’s feline charms, the results are unexpected, to say the least. Their mating will have irreversible consequences—for their bodies and their hearts.
Listening Length: 6 hours and 41 minutes
Narrator: Dorian Bane
With a series name of “Dead and Breakfast”, I was charmed by the premise of 2 best friends (a bear and a vampire) being proprietors of said B&B, a quaint little haven that specializes in catering to the supernatural community and all their quirky quirks.
This first installment belongs to Fallon the vampire, who's also the silent partner in this business venture. He's content with his curmudgeony hermit life, fronting up the necessary funds when needed but basically, partaking only in the perks that allow him to hole up comfortably to write his horror novels and not being bothered by much of anything. When his beary business partner Tanner, needs to hire a manger to help handle the increased workload, Fallon’s a lot disgruntled about letting a stranger encroach on his routine and is none too happy about this unwanted necessity.
Enter Carter. He’s a cat shifter and is all sorts of eager to prove himself worthy. The Dead and Breakfast is the perfect place to work at with its laid back atmosphere and casual approach, appealing towards Carter’s need to care for others but also being in a fantastic location surrounded by nature. It’s definitely the icing on the cake that one of his bosses is the attractive vamp, and Carter just can’t help himself from trying to win over the grumpy Fallon.
So basically, this entire book is about how Carter and Fallon fall in love and merge their lives but with one big ginormous snag in the middle. Vampires and shifters are not natural mates, and the ensuing problems and weirdness that develop, make things very difficult for them to achieve their happy ending.
What this story excels at is the narration by Dorian Bane. Talbot’s writing definitely has a certain flair to it where Bane, with his unmistakable raspy voice, certainly took advantage of how these characters were written and gave them distinct nuances that fit perfectly with who they were. Tanner the bear has a great tenor, Connor’s catty enthusiasm made me smile more than once, British Fallon sounds a lot like a stuffy Jude Law, and there’s even a gargoyle with an apropos tone and cadence that's exactly just right.
Admittedly, I’ve not read a lot of Talbot, but I think she does shifters and supernaturals in her own unique way where they’re always pretty darn endearing as she plays up their unique species characteristics while melding them nicely into their personalities. I’m happy that this is going to be a series, and I’m keeping fingers crossed that Tanner is up next. Bears being gentle or not so gentle giants are my jam, and I have a feeling Talbot (and most likely Bane) will have no problem making that an equally interesting, sexy, and fun read/listen!
Thank you to the author/publisher for the audio in exchange for an honest review.
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