Book 4big_dog_smile.jpgDevon’s review of Holy Smokes (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 4) by Katie MacAlister
Contemporary paranormal romance published 6 Nov 2007 by Signet

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3

Blurb: 

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…

Read an excerpt.

As you may have guessed, Holy Smokes is definitely not a standalone book. The relationship between Aisling and Drake, and their world, has developed over the series. There is a large canvas of characters, and a decent amount of unique terminology. This series should be read in order.

Holy Smokes was not as strong as the series’ earlier books. I enjoy MacAlister’s sense of humor but it, and the first person narration, is getting old. To be blunt, Aisling’s wisecracks and bumbling is getting pretty durn tedious.  In the first two books, You Slay Me and Fire Me Up, Aisling’s cluelessness was charming and the chemistry between Aisling and Drake was scorching. Then, in the third book, Light My Fire, a huge conflict between Aisling and Drake was resolved rather quickly and anticlimactically.

A lot happens and much is resolved in HS, but I found it less interesting without the Aisling/Drake tension. They’re just madly in love and doing It all the time.  And Aisling steamrolls over Drake’s reasonable objections to her doing something stupid. Boring. While I do like several secondary characters, the Newfoundland/wisecracking demon Jim is starting to grate.  Oh, and a weird quibble/question: we are introduced to Paula, Aisling’s stepmother, and her father – or is it stepfather? He is referred to as both and if anyone knows which he is, please comment.

While on MacAlister’s website, I noticed that Gabriel, the wyvern of the silver dragons, is getting his own book. That may be a refreshing new direction. The upcoming mystery, Ghost of a Chance, sounds like it has possibilities as well.

HS almost seemed like the conclusion to the series (I doubt it). Regardless, I’m not sure if I’ll continue with it. If you are at all interested in the Aisling Grey series, I do heartily recommend the first two as “funny paranormal done well.”

More information about these books can be found here.

Grade: C