Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: July 30th
How I got this book: NetGalley
Private Investigator Nikki James grew up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst and believes there’s nothing left to surprise her. All that changes the night she follows teenager Monica Trevgard into the shadows-and becomes a pawn caught in a war between two very different men. One fills her mind with his madness, the other pushes his way into her life-and her heart. Nikki knows how dangerous love can be, but if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in a man who could easily destroy her.
Michael Kelly has come to Lyndhurst determined to end the war between himself and another brother of the night. For 300 years he has existed in life’s shadows, gradually learning to control the life from death cravings of a vampire. Nikki not only breaches his formidable barriers with her psychic abilities, but makes Michael believe he may finally have found a woman strong enough to walk by his side and ease the loneliness in his heart. But will his love be enough to protect her from a madman hell-bent on revenge? Or will it drive her into his enemy’s deadly trap?
Only together can they overcome the evil threatening to destroy them both. But the secrets they keep from each other might prove to be the greatest threat of all.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I loved the Riley Jenson series, so when I saw that the Nikki and Michael series was being re-released, I jumped at the chance to get into another series by Arthur.
Nikki is a PI on the case of a runaway teenage girl. Her psychic abilities help her in every way, but it isn’t until she finds out who is controlling the teen’s strings that Nikki will realize there are scarier things in the world than her psychic ability. During her case she continually runs into Michael, and finds that being alone isn’t as great as she thought.
Michael has a secret of his own, but the pull toward Nikki is almost more than he can overcome. Although his goal is to track down and take out Jasper, Michael finds that Nikki is more than he expected, and he begins falling for her, little by little. But as Jasper plans to take down both Michael and Nikki both, they find themselves in the fight of their lives.
This book had a very urban fantasy feel to it, despite the fact that the series focuses on the couple of Nikki and Michael. The romance reader in me was disappointed, as I wasn’t expecting the book to end on a non-HFN or HEA note. I was hoping we would get to see a little more in the development of their romance, instead of the way the book left with the separation. That being said, I do really love the way Arthur writes a long-term romance, and if Nikki and Michael are anything like Riley and Quinn, I’m down to continue with the series.
I liked the world that Arthur created here. I’m not ga-ga over vampires (I’m more of a shifters girl), but I did really like the simplistic world that Arthur had shows us so far. I hope that things continue to develop as the series goes on, and that we get the chance to see more unfold in the world.
I have to say that I connected with Michael more so than Nikki. I thought that Michael was such a tortured and fabulous hero. I loved his dark and broody attitude, and although he walked at the end, I was pretty smitten with him. I loved that he tried so hard to be everything good that he could, and when his world turned a bit upside down, he knew he would have to do anything and everything he could to make sure he got that control and perfection back.
I wanted to like Nikki as much as I liked Riley, and yet she came across as a bit of a victim to me. She had a lot of excuses and explanations. She had a couple TSTL moments that really drove me crazy, and I wanted he shake her at times. I hope that in future books Nikki really grows more as a character and becomes a heroine that I can really get behind.
All in all I enjoyed this book. The world is something that I’ve come to expect from Arthur: fun and sexy. While this book isn’t as sexy as Arthur’s previous books, I have high hopes for Nikki and Michael. I’m excited to see what else Nikki and Michael get into, and hope that their romance gets a chance to turn into something epic.
I give Dancing with the Devil a B
Great review Minn, glad you enjoyed this one.
@xaurianx: Thanks!