"3 out of 5 stars, this thrilling romance about a "psycho" vampire falling in love with his enemy and a trained vampire hunter finding out that not every vampire is "cut from the same cloth" is one where you never know what will happen next."

Read more of this review and a teaser here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2013/06/made-grade-beautiful-danger-by... ( )

A hunter for the Order of the Stake, Lisa Cooper (AKA Lark) never dreamed she'd fall in the love with the vampire she was ordered to stake. Something in his tortured, mad soul cries out to her damaged soul, and together they find a peace neither had ever dreamed of. Of course, it's not easy developing a relationship with a creature she's been trained to hate, who also happens to be absolutely insane after having been tortured by a pack of werewolves. It also doesn't help that her late husband had been tortured by vampires before being turned and ultimately, staked by his own wife. Both Lark and Domingos have some serious trust issues. While they struggle to find common ground, they also try to figure out the connection between the werewolf pack that tortured Domingos and the Order of the Stake. How much is Lark willing to sacrifice for love? Can Domingos keep the madness at bay and keep from destroying the only beauty in his life?

I tend to enjoy paranormal romance and urban fantasy, so the story line for this novel was appealing to me. I have to say that about the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book went beyond my expectations in terms of character development. Domingos is so incredibly fragile and damaged. I found myself nearly crying at several points. However, in about the last 2/3 of the novel, the steamy side of their relationship took over. I understand the need for some of that, but it really took over everything until the very last bit. For me, it took away from the beauty of the rest of the novel. There were also a lot of unanswered questions. Who/what are King and Rook, really? ( )

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:
*eARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I sometimes feel like I say it too much, but Michele just never disappoints. I am really, REALLY enjoying the darker side of things that she has been exploring with her last several releases as well, and the dark and gritty heart and emotion of this book was most definitely beautiful.

In true Michele Hauf fashion, the leading couple of this tale are polar opposites and doomed from the start, which of course makes their story even more enjoyable.

Our heroine, Lark, is the only female knight with The Order of the Stake, and Lark has one goal - to kill 366 vampires as quickly as possible in retribution for the 366 days that her late husband was held and tortured by vampires.

Our hero, Domingos, is a vampire who was turned against his will. To make matters worse, he was then captured, severely tortured, and forced into an underground fighting ring by the local Werewolf Pack. All of this has completely broken him, and he is basically on an endless suicide mission so that he can stop all of the pain, though he's hell-bent on taking as many werewolves as he can with him before he goes.

Their journey to their HEA is a treacherously dangerous & confusing one (for them, not the reader), and isn't easy or quick. It's filled with plenty of angst, some truly gripping moments, shiver inducing romance, and tons of action. You will literally ache for Domingos, rally on verge of cheering for Lark, curse the bad guys with vivacity, and be completely astounded by the fact that they are together at all while totally getting it at the same time.

The other thing I loved about this book was the musical undertone and subtle usage of reference to evoke additional emotion. Michele has used music references in her books before and I adore it, but if you read the note from the author before you start Beautiful Danger and are familiar with the group she mentions, you can literally hear their music as the score for this dark and beautiful tale and it's absolutely perfect.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Beautiful Danger 4 1/2 Skulls and is looking forward to being in the company of vampires again very soon. ;-) ( )