Holy Smokes

Author: Katie MacAlister
Published: November 6, 2007 (Signet)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Aisling Grey #4
Rating: 8/10

So finally, I get to find out what happened after Light My Fire! That one ended with Aisling becoming proscribed as a prince of Abaddon and being kicked out of the Guild because they don't allow proscribed people in, seeing as they're supposedly evil and all. And the thing that ticked me off the most? She was Fiat Blu's mate and Drake couldn't do anything about it, and it's not even an interesting romantic triangle. Fiat did it for political reasons.... and he's a jerk!

I’m Aisling Grey—but you can call me "frustrated."

The man of my dreams—uber-sexy Drake Vireo, wyvern of the green dragons—has finally decided to make an honest woman of me. That is, if we ever make it to the wedding at the same time! Being left at the altar may have cooled my jets, but not my passion...a good thing when Drake disappears and it's up to me to find him.

Most brides just have in-laws to worry about. Me? I have warring dragons, ticked-off demon lords, eternal damnation, and a mage who wants to challenge me for an otherworldly position I don’t even want. Good thing I have Jim, my doggie-demon at my side. He’s never let me down—yet…

Don't be misled by the cover blurb. Drake isn't missing for long. He's just missing for the first of their several attempts to marry (much to Aisling's mother's consternation), and then goes missing again later, but Aisling finds him. The story gets a little confusing with all the attempts to get hitched. For example, Aisling gets pulled into Abaddon, and gets stuck there, but she gets out in this odd and confusing manner. Essentially, she winds up in a house in some random place in London. Maybe it was a back door to Abaddon? She's all concerned with not using the dark power that speaks to her in order to transport herself out, but then suddenly, she's in a house and walking out. I think I have to go back and read that part again to see if it makes any more sense to me.

But no matter, Drake and Aisling finally have their HEA. It only took four books to get there, and Chuan Ren, the only female wyvern, and Fiat Blu gets her comeuppance. Aisling has Drake making PDAs and actually saying the "L word" to her, Nora comes back despite the whole proscription thing, and the church Drake and Aisling were going to FINALLY be married in blows up. Pretty much everything gets resolved, like the proscription issue. There are still little things to handle, such as the return of the black dragons, but that's what the next book is for.

Jim was hilarious as usual. At one point, he gets killed (it was bound to happen with his hanging out with Aisling), but you know that he's not really dead; his form was destroyed. But Aisling summons him for help before he's ready, and he comes back as this little yappy dog. No worries though, Jim returns to fabulous Newfie form before the end of the book.

MacAlister is starting another series about the silver dragon sept, so maybe Gabriel, the only other wyvern I like, will find happiness despite the curse on his sept (something about no mates). The first book, Playing with Fire, is due out in May 2008.