What is the perfect Halloween read? Marie Treanor’s Serafina’s series without a doubt. Set in modern day Scotland and populated by psychics, witches, vampires, zombies, faeries, leprechauns, ghosts, ghosts, rockers (some of the scariest of the bunch), and more, this a fabulous series that is filled with a bit of mystery, suspense, the supernatural, humor, and a lot of hot, sexy romance. In fact, this is the perfect read for any paranormal romance fan, and I’d extend that to romance fans with a thing for sexy hunks in Scottish kilts and lovers of Scottish brogues.
The first book of the series, Serafina and the Silent Vampire, introduces us to psychic and medium Serafina, and her assistants Jilly and Jack. Her agency, Serafina’s (for which the series is named), investigates the paranormal, sometimes exposing fraud, sometimes helping move spirits on, and sometimes, well, let’s just say you shouldn’t try to fool Sera as she might just take you for a ride.
While at a party in an upperclass Edinburgh home, we first encounter Sera, Jilly, and Jack hanging garlic and trying to protect against vampires that they don’t believe in, but their client thinks may be stalking him. Soon Sera finds herself encountering a real-life vampire who is sucking a little life-blood from an associate and bodyguard, Tank. No one but Sera seems to hear the amazingly handsome, sexy Blair, dressed only in a tartan – with a very sexy bare chest.
Soon it becomes apparent that in Treanor’s world vampires descended from the “Old One” are silent for reasons revealed in this book. As Sera can communicate with the dead and is a strong psychic perhaps that’s the link between her and Blair. But there’s a little more and their romance scenes are HOT.
When you begin this book, be prepared for a fast-paced and amazing ride as Treanor throws plot twists and characters in fast and furiously, making this a fascinating story. I loved it and fell a bit in love with Blair myself. Who could resist? Tall, dark, handsome, brooding, and … silent… Sera is fabulous too – smart, inventive, sassy, with a heart of gold under a hard shell, and a powerful faith in good that’s tested time and again. The only thing I wished for was to learn more about her associates and my wishes were granted in the next two books in the series.
Book two of the series, Serafina and the Virtual Man, focuses on Jilly, Sera’s best friend and an extraordinary computer hacker. With romance in the air she wishes to find a little of her own, but seems to always strike out until she and Sera visit a Edinburgh McMansion, owned by a computer gaming maven. He and his wife seem to have recently acquired a poltergeist and they’ve called in Serafina’s to help rid them of this annoying spirit.
While there, Jilly discovers a hidden room filled with computers and inhabited by an amazingly handsome and interesting man, Adam. Soon she is finding a new spirit in her computer – and not one by Steve Jobs – and discovers that Adam might be the ghost and former business partner of their client and not a real man. What’s a geek girl to do? Is he real or only virtual reality?
In order to get rid of the poltergeist, Sera, Jilly, Jack, and Blair must investigate what happened to Adam. While doing so, Jilly finds herself drawn more and more into Adam’s world – and I was too. He’s quite the alpha geek hunky hero.
I love how Treanor wove their romance through the story as well as continuing to keep us up-to-date with Blair and Sera’s. I was as engrossed in this book as the first one and couldn’t bear to put it down until the last page was flipped.
Luckily for me the third book in the series, Serafina and the Leprechaun’s Shoe, was just released on 29 October so I didn’t have to way to find out what was next for the folks at Serafina’s. This time Roxy, Genesis Adam’s rocker ex-girlfriend, is in trouble as her mother disappeared during a black mass led by some hard rockers who were her slightly less than welcome house guests.
This time Jack is called upon to be the primary liaison with Roxy as he’s heading home to his family’s stately pile in the country, just 20 minutes from Roxy’s home. Jack sees this assignment as a god send as he doesn’t want to face the decision that he thinks his father may force upon him – to go into the family business and leave Serafina’s for good.
Well there was more than a black mass at work and Jack’s talent for research leads them to think the disappearance of Roxy’s mother may be involve the Tuatha Dé Danann (also known as faeries or possibly leprechauns). For reasons of balance, known only to the Tuatha, they leave a new, unworn, and unfinished shoe if they take a human into their world. All that was left in the room after her mother disappeared when Mike, the leader of the black sabbath, lead singer of the Grimm Reapers, and Roxy’s former lover conducted the satanic ritual, was a chalk drawn pentagram, some blood, and the shoe.
Once Jack begins his research it soon it is apparent that there is more than a little chemistry between Roxy and Jack, but will they act on it, or will Jack see any action on his part as a conflict of interest with a client? Will Serafina, Jilly, Melanie (their witch friend), Blair, and Jack be able to help find and return Roxy’s mother? And what about those zombies?
This was actually the perfect read for this Halloween day – as I sat with a cup of tea in hand, flipping pages frantically in my Kindle to keep up with the fast-paced action. While no trick or treaters have stopped by on this cold and rainy night, I’ve had my treat for the week with Marie Treanor’s series. I look forward to the next book in the series that will focus on Blair’s friend, and fellow vampire, Phil.
You too should have a treat and read this five star series; order your e-books today from your favorite retailer. You’ll fall in love with the gang from Serafina’s as well as the hunky and oh, so sexy, heroes too. Hot romance, fabulous plots, humor, and great paranormal elements make this a series not to be missed.
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From the Publisher
Serafina’s Book One
Serafina and the Silent Vampire by Marie Treanor
ISBN 9780957301634
Price $2.99
Silence has never been so sinful…
Welcome to Edinburgh’s unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina’s.
Serafina MacBride is psychic – but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client’s party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire – annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client’s son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.
But the amoral and seductive Blair is also on a mission – to find and kill a nest of young vampires who’ve invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights – and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.
Supported and hindered by Blair’s eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina’s, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.
In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being she’s trying so hard not to love.
Serafina’s Book 2
Serafina and the Virtual Man by Marie Treanor
ISBN 9780957676138
Price $2.99
Real man versus dead man – no contest!
Dale Ewan, the wealthy owner of Genesis Gaming, has a serious poltergeist problem. In desperation, he calls on Edinburgh’s unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina’s.
But Sera and her hacker friend, the beautiful and aggressive Jilly, find more than one spirit haunting the ugly country house. While Sera fights the poltergeist, Jilly encounters what appears to be the ghost of Dale’s brilliant ex-partner, Genesis Adam, trapped in his own new virtual reality system.
Jilly delves headlong into Adam’s mystery. How did he get there? Why is he more exciting and attractive than any of the real men in her life? How are Jilly’s own criminal brothers involved in his death? And what are Dale and his wife Petra hiding? Apart from the body buried in their garden…
While Jilly falls in love with the sexy, virtual ghost, Sera has problems of her own, not least the shadowy presence of the undead Founder that seems to threaten Sera, her vampire lover Blair, and all her friends.
Serafina’s Book Three
Serafina and the Leprechaun’s Shoe by Marie Treanor
ISBN 9780957676169
Price$2.99
Delicious, deadly distraction…
Jack Urquhart, over-qualified and underpaid researcher for Serafina’s Psychic Investigations, has a big decision to make: stay in his fun, dead-end job, or grow up and join the family firm. On his way to give the family his decision, he’s delighted to be side-tracked into the case of a rock singer’s mother who vanished into thin air before several admittedly wasted witnesses, leaving behind only a half-made shoe.
But Sinead’s disappearance isn’t the only weird happening at Roxy’s housewarming party in the Scottish Highlands. There’s satanic rock band, Grimm and the Reapers, plus ghosts, banging walls, a zombie dog, and, very probably, migrating leprechauns. Most worrying of all to Roxy, quiet, clever Jack excites her muse and all her senses as no other man ever has. Meanwhile, hedonistic rock star Mike Grimm is determined to get Roxy back in his bed by any means.
It takes the combined might of Serafina’s to defeat the forces haunting Roxy’s house and find Sinead. And it takes the sexy, wise, turbulent Roxy to get under Jack’s skin and make growing up and risking his heart not only necessary but fun.
About the Author
Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy. Marie has published more than twenty e-books with small presses (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL. Visit her website at http://www.marietreanor.com/
