Stakes & Stilettos

Immortality Bites, Book 4

By: Michelle Rowen

Narrated by: Lillian Yves, Vincent Lee Grayson

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Book #4 in the Immortality Bites series! My name is Sarah Dearly. Fledgling vampire and part-time bartender, at your service. Welcome to my highly dysfunctional life.

All I really want is a happy, normal vampire life, but fate is seriously fighting against me. When I try to get a cool, new job, I get staked at the interview, only to be rescued by a masked vampire who calls himself the Red Devil. Then a wallflower-turned-witch curses me, making me a bloodthirsty, sun-allergic nightwalker—the worst vampire there is. As if all that isn’t enough, my future with Thierry, the handsome master vampire of my dreams, is at risk, because he’s in a centuries-long marriage of convenience he can’t seem to escape.

So, what’s my plan? For starters, I need to break my nightwalker curse, unmask the increasingly intriguing Red Devil, and get a real commitment from my man. But if that’s what it takes to find happiness, I’m ready...even if it means embracing my inner vamp to do it.

AUTHOR NOTE: Stakes & Stilettos was previously published in 2009 by Grand Central Publishing. This edition has been edited and updated from the original manuscript.

©2009, 2021 Michelle Rowen (P)2024 Michelle Rowen

Critic reviews

“Uber-talented Rowen is back and once again combining the weird and the wacky as only she can. There’s plenty of humor and a touch of danger; truly a biting good time!” —RT Book Reviews

Devastating

This was an all consuming listen, that I quickly became invested in and felt compelled to finish. I needed a resolution for these problems, but the cliffhanger says, not this time girl!!! The characters are engaging and the storyline was gripping. Sometimes Sarah can be hard to like, but this time she got my empathy 100%. What's up the master vampire's sleeves??? This had me on tenterhooks!
I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest opinion. The narrators did a phenomenal job bringing the characters and storyline to life. Until next time!!!

Wonderful in every single way!!!

When a job offer has strings attached … strings that fledging vamp Sarah Dearly won’t accept, CAN’T accept … she not only finds herself STAKED, she finds herself BETRAYED, and THAT’S just the beginning of her woes! The delightfully fanged, and brilliantly hysterical cast is back for “Stakes & Stilettos, Immortality Bites, Book 4”, and I HAVE to tell you they are fabulous! I laughed till I cried over their antics in this one! The new characters added for this amazingly inventive plot are stellar! There was some “ohh I luv” … some “give me a pole, some straw and matches NOW please”, some that fell somewhere in between who managed to redeem themselves, and one (or three) that went the other way … no spoilers, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun by naming names, just know there was plenty of delightfully delicious variety, and not a cookie cuter in the bunch! Now the plot, ohhh the plot, THIS plot, was DEVINE! I love it when the main plot has swirling subplots that form a multifaceted whole, and this one has EXACTLY that! In “Staked & Stilettos”, our girl can’t catch a break, and trust me, that is exactly … where … we … want … her! That is where our Sarah is at her delightful best, surrounded by a beautifully defined, brilliantly developed supporting cast .. and a luscious, “well aged, like fine wine” love interest who has his own challenges! When new protagonists enter the race, some nicely tense edge of seat moments are created, not only adding beautiful balance to the story, but also serving to seamlessly set up the next series’ of events, perfectly bridging the subplots, and connecting the whole of the story magnificently! And the icing on a delightfully delicious cake … the narration! Stunning! Emotive! Close your eyes and see the action play out in your mind perfection! Every character has a voice selected specifically with that character’s personality in mind, AND it fits them perfectly! They are voiced with clear emotion! There is NEVER a doubt what the character is feeling, never a doubt what they are thinking. It is stunning and it feels one hundred percent REAL, like it is happening AS I LISTEN! This was truly a delightful combination of writing and narration perfection, and I absolutely loved every single stunning second. Five stunning stars!