*Katie MacAlister ~ Aisling Grey, Guardian Series!!!*

~Spoiler Alert: Warning - If you don't wish to know what happens in the later books then do not read the summaries or excerpts. I won't give away much but the summaries do give a bit away~

You Slay Me: The first book in a sexy, humorous paranormal thriller series featuring Aisling Grey, an apprentice Guardian, and her sometimes boyfriend, sometimes foe Drake Vireo, wyvern (leader) of one of the four dragon septs. Aisling finds her true calling when she travels to Paris to deliver a medieval object that is part of a set sought after for the power it wields.
There she meets the handsome Drake, a man who is not at all what he seems. Implicated in the circumstances of two murders, Aisling, the demon she summons for help (and subsequently can’t get rid of) named Jim, and Drake find themselves caught up in a web of lies and confusion that could well result in the demon lords of hell ruling the mortal world.

Fire Me Up: Aisling Grey is back--and in more trouble than ever. She thought being a courier would be easy. It's not. She thought being a Guardian would come naturally. It doesn't. She thought she could get out of being a wyvern's mate. She can't. And she never thought she'd be irresistible to men. But she is...

Light My Fire: It’s not easy being a demon lord, a Guardian, and a wyvern’s mate all at once. Luckily, I just moved to London to study all things Guardian with my mentor. A new start is just what I need since being betrayed (again!) by Drake, wyvern of the green dragons. Though I’m supposedly immortal, I’m not so sure my heart can take another beating.
But I’m still officially Drake’s mate—and my presence is required at a meeting of the green dragons. How I’m going to keep my distance from that fire-breathing hunk is beyond me. It doesn’t help that several attempts have been made on my life. Or that I’m wanted by the entire otherworldly population of imps since Jim, my doggie demon sidekick, accidentally ate their ruler. Being an alpha-dragon and all, Drake is sure to get protective of me. Which might not be a bad thing when war breaks out and all hell breaks loose—literally…

Holy Smokes: 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…

- Taken from Katie MacAlister's Website

http://www.katiemacalister.com/index.php#quiet ~

~*~My Review~*~

MacAlister's Aisling Grey, Guardian series was fantastic!! I absolutely loved it!! I had seen these books online and in the stores all of the time but had never taken the time to actually look into them until one day I stumbled upon a summary of the first book and after reading the excerpt I was hooked. I ran out and bought the first book in the series "You Slay Me" and was a goner from the first chapter. MacAlister has created a wonderfully unique world filled with wonderfully unique characters and plots. Her writing is amazing and really brings the characters to life for the reader; from the moment you begin reading this book you will be thrown into a fantasy world you will never wish to escape.

There were a great deal of things that I particularly loved about this series. Aside from the fact that the amazing storyline was completely different from anything I had ever experienced before, and aside from the fact that I was enthralled by the superb story and in love with the characters, what drew me in the most was the relationship between the characters - especially between Aisling and Drake (our hero/heroin). I loved that although MacAlister made Aisling and Drake "mates" (thus meaning they were destined to be together) she made sure that being mates did not instantly mean they loved one another. Aisling and Drake acknowledged and accepted their mating but did not harbor under false pretenses that they were automatically in love because they were fated to each other. Instead, they fell in love despite their many attempts not to, and in the end they saw their loving one another as a very fortunate turn of events. They fell in love because they got to know one another not because they believed they were supposed to be in love. Their love was real. I also loved all of the subcharacters! MacAlister did an amazing job building a cast of characters her readers would both love and despise.

This series was absolutely wonderful from start to finish and although I was sad to see it end, I was pleased with how things turned out. I definitely recommend this book to all who enjoy paranormal and/or romance novels! These books have become some of my faves...and that is high praise indeed. ;)

~*~Excerpts~*~

(You Slay Me)

"'Well, if it isn't Puff the Magic Dragon,' I said to Drake's back. I didn't speak loudly, but the second the words left my mouth, a hush fell over the entire club. ... Drake's shoulders stiffened at my words. He slowly turned around, his eyes shining with a brilliant green light in the smoky darkness of the club. ... I took a step forward and poked him in the chest. 'You have something of mine Drake. I want it back. Now.' ... His eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared. The air of danger that surrounded him - so palpable, I could almost touch it - thickened. The people surrounding us surreptitiously moved back several paces as if they were expecting trouble. I wished I could join them. ...

His voice swept over me again, deep with warning. 'You are a very good actress. I actually believed your act earlier. I will not make that mistake again.' I lifted my chin, my insides quaking. I was about to pick a fight I knew I couldn't win. Sometimes I truly am an idiot. 'It wasn't an act. I've had a very informative day. I've learned about dragons and guardians and imps and faeries, but all that is irrevelant. I want my dragon back, drake. We both know you have it. So, for that matter do the police. If you don't want me to call them up and tell them where to find you, you'll give it back to me.'

A smile flirted with his lips. Dangerous lips, I reminded myself as my heart started beating faster. He might be a dragon, he might be someone whose name instilled fear in other people, but boy howdy, he sure turned my crank. 'Are you by any chance threatening me?' I lifted my chin even higher. 'Only if you intend on making things hard.'

His gaze raked me as he took in the pretty poppy dress. 'Things are already hard, sweetheart.' My knees almost melted at the double entendre, but I stiffened them and reminded my libido that he was a thief who had cruelly stolen my aquamanile and left me at the mercy of the genderarmes. 'I doubt you're going to die from hauling a bit of wood,' I said, purposefully misinterpreting his statement. 'Let's stick to the point, shall we? You have my dragon. I want it back.'

'I am immortal, Asiling - I cannot die. You, however, are refreshingly mortal.' As he spoke, his fingers slid around my neck until his hand was gripping me in a hold that was borderline strangling. ...

'You can huff and puff and breathe fire on me all you want, drake,' I said, my voice hoarse as his fingers slowly squeezed the air from my windpipe. I kept my chin up, my gaze firmly on his. 'I'm not going to back down. I am not afraid of you.'

'No? We shall see about that, shall we?' He moved closer, and every nerve in my body screamed a warning, but I just stood there as he pulled me to him, his arms hard as steel behind me, his mouth swooping down to mine.

One part of my mind protested the fact that he was kissing me in full sight of everyone in the bar, the other part felt a moment of fear flare to life as I understood the true relationship between a dragon and his fire. Heat burst throgh me the second his lips touched mine, the flames of his desire scorching me, licking alonng my skin until it started infernos within me. Pinpricks of sweat formed along my brow and spine as his fever consumed us, wrapping me in a searing cocoon of fire that stripped the air from my lungs. His tongue touched mine, and the heat that swept through me started to boil my blood. My flesh caught fire. ... I was dying, burning from the inside out, Drake's fire setting every atom within me alight. Just as I knew I was literally going to burst into flames, something miraculous happened. A door within my mind opened...and suddenly I had leashed the fire, controlled it, changed it from a destructive element that was meant to consume me into something that added fuel to the desire that flared between us. I turned the fire back on Drake and began to kiss him in return, reveling in the power that was flowing through me as if I were a conduit. ... 'I believe that round goes to you,' he said softly, his voice thrumming through me..."