Erin McCarthy – Bit the Jackpot

The second book in the Vegas Vampires series, published December 5, 2006.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: cute.



Campaign manager – and vampire - Seamus Fox has had his fill of women, since he’s been keeping tabs on his presidential candidate’s wife and female entourage. But suddenly he finds himself obsessed with a mysterious stripper who dances behind a screen. The sultry, yet shy, Cara Kim whets his appetite for more. Leave it to Seamus to fall fangs over feet for that rarest of Vegas attractions - a good girl. After a sudden run-in on the street, though, they may soon have a lot more in common...


This book continues right where the previous one ended, so I do recommend you read this series in order.
Seamus is trying to find out who Brittany’s vampire father is. As Alexis and Brittany’s mother died a few years ago, he can’t ask her, but they do have an aunt who used to be a stripper as well, and who know works choreography in a strip club. And so, accompanied by Kelsey, who doesn’t want to leave him for 5 minutes ever since he brought her back to undead life, he sets out to enjoy the show. And to his own surprise, he is totally turned on by a shadow dancer. After 200 years of celibacy, this woman really tempts him, and he decides to act on it, if only he can get rid of Kelsey for a few minutes. Using his vampire speed, it is not difficult to get behind stage and ask this stripper out for a coffee. But to his big surprise, she refuses him. She can withstand his vampire mind tricks? That sure sucks.
Then Kelsey comes barrelling into the room, telling him the men that kidnapped her are here. She is totally afraid, and he has to take care of her first. But outside the club, Seamus is attacked by three other vampires, and they mean business. It has been a while since he has been in a serious fight, and he enjoys it. Until he sees the third vampire order Kelsey to come with him, and she just goes.
In the meantime, the stripper, Cara, senses something is wrong with Seamus, and goes outside to look. The second vampire sees her, and wants to bite her, causing her to run away, into traffic, where she gets hit by a car. Which kills her. Seamus really cannot leave her like that, she made him feel emotions again, and he makes the decision to turn her into a vampire to safe her life.

Cara is not happy when she wakes up in Seamus hotel suite. She has a life, she is studying to become a veterinarian, and she has to take care of her animals: three dogs and two cats. Seamus has no other choice but to fetch those animals, if he wants her to stay with him. Cara is now his responsibility, and she will be in danger if he lets her go. She needs to learn how to be a vampire first. They can’t risk detection by the humans, or for her to kill one in a blood frenzy. Cara wants to have her own room, she is a virgin and does not want to mess up her life by getting involved with a man, even one as hot as Seamus. So she does her very best to get him to kick her out, by becoming like a nagging wife, without the benefits of sex, turning his suite into a pink Barbie paradise. But still, although Seamus hates what she does, and have him do, he doesn’t want to give her up.

If it becomes common knowledge that he has turned a human vampire, while Ethan is propagating “birthcontrol”, he will have to resign his position. He cannot risk Ethan not becoming the next president of the Vampire population again. But of course Donatelli, his main opponent, doesn’t rest, and does what he can to give bad press to Ethan and Seamus, even trying to kill them. And now that he has his own pet assassin, addicted to drugged blood, he can do whatever he likes.


I really fell for this series. It is fun, it is fastpaced, sweet at times, and still has a great story with more depth than you expect at first glance. I like Cara a lot. She takes care of her great grandmother, and she strips to make enough money to study to become a vet. Her animals make for great secondary characters, and diversions. She totally drives Seamus crazy. And for her, he breaks the laws he is so fond of. I do like it when a stickler gets unglued for a woman, they fall the hardest of them all.
I have to admit, I did not really like Seamus in the first book. He is so totally against Ethan’s relationship with Alexis (and still doesn’t like Alexis now). But he surprises me with his actions in this book. His willingness to break the rules for Cara, even when it endangers Ethan’s campaign. I do want more Donatelli, why he is so bad, and especially more about his history with Ethan’s sister.

I do recommend this series, if you need something not so heavy to read. It is not over the top humor, sarcasm of witticisms in every second sentence, but I still have the feeling that it was a fun read. I am already reading the third book at the moment, and have ordered the fourth and last in the series.

9 stars

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian