Eat Prey Love (Love at Stake Series #9)

A terrific urban romantic fantasy

Her CIA father warned Caitlyn Whelan to never visit Romatech Industries for any reason. However, when she receives an invitation to attend her nephew's birthday party at Romatech Industries, she rationalizes her dad is being overly protective. Besides she feels propelled to go meet a relative she never knew she had and to see her sister Shanna whom she has not communicated with in six years.

Caitlyn quickly learns why her father told her to never go to Romatech Industries. There she meets vampires; a species she always assumed was in novels and movies, but not real life. She is also attracted to Carlos Panterra, who reciprocates her feelings. The only problem is he is a were-panther seeking his purebred soulmate to help him raise orphans he adopted.

This terrific urban romantic fantasy stars two strong protagonists and a powerful support cast that make vampires and shapeshifters seem real. Fast-paced, readers will see the Sparks flying when Caitlyn and Carlos meet. With their Love at Stake (see Forbidden Nights with a Vampire and The Undead Next Door), sub-genre readers will enjoy this pleasurable thriller.

Harriet

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Sexy WerePanther - Who Could Ask for More?

Want to read a book with the sexiest were-panther around? I have to admit to lusting after Carlos for some time now (but especially after the last book) and couldn't wait for him to have his own story. If I said nothing else about Eat Prey Love, I'd have to mention how much this book oozes sexual tension. Ooh la la, the pages all but burned my hands!

How perfect for Carlos to desperately want Caitlyn Whelan, the daughter of the head of the Stake Out team. Falling for her brought Carlos right into Sean Whelan's sights. Surprisingly, however, that isn't the conflict in this story. It did add some fun, though!

This story's first chapter was great - we resolved some old issues (from the Whelan family) and added some new ones. I loved to see how Carlos' and Caitlyn's entire lives changed from the moment they met. And then Carlos, a man devastated by the fact that the were-panther population was dwindling down to the point of extinction, was shaken to his core by his unwanted attraction to a mortal woman before being forced to spend time with her. Caitlyn challenged him at every turn, undaunted by the fact that he was rude and unkind and just plain irritating. She knew what she wanted, and that was that.

Things aren't so easy for Carlos. He has to find a were-panther mate to rebuild their population. But he's unwilling to transform a mortal, since the death of one during her transformation was what led to the slaughter of his people. So, loving Caitlyn is impossible.

The first half of the story dealt with this push-pull problem, though I think it could have been well addressed in a smaller number of pages. After a while, the desperate attraction Carlos felt for Caitlyn, and the weight of responsibility he carried was really rather old news. I know, I know: poor Carlos was filled to the brim with angst and I didn't know whether to sympathize with him or shake some sense into him. I didn't have to worry, though. Caitlyn, despite her lack of physical strength, was more than strong and savvy enough to deal with Carlos. Thankfully, she doesn't let him get away with much.

And then ... the real action started. A trip into the jungle to find a mate for Carlos. How conflicted they both were! Worse, there were rumors of people disappearing into the jungle, never to be seen again. And then ... could it be? YES! Were-tigers make an appearance as well. And Caitlyn's ability to understand any language (even that of four-legged mammals) was certainly handy on this jaunt. Throw in some evil vampires determined to capture a were-cat, and things got a little crazy. Once this kicked in, I could barely put the book down. THIS is the Kerrelyn Sparks I know and love. I'm so glad I was patient enough to work through the first part to get here, because WOO HOO!

I don't want to give away spoilers, but suffice it to say that she does a fabulous job of not only introducing us to several new characters that will surely show up in future books, and giving us yet another great evil to overcome, but deals with Carlos' and Caitlyn's problems in a realistic, understandable, and believable way.

Love Kerrelyn Sparks? Never read her (and if that's so, then why NOT? She's an incredible author!) but love a sexy, exciting, fun paranormal? Then you need to pick up Eat Prey Love - however, though this book will stand alone *okay*, I would strongly recommend you nab the entire Love At Stake series because it's a winner.

posted at: longandshortreviews.b

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Like the author, didn't like the heroine

This book originally caught my eye because of the title. Love it! It tells me that the author has a sense of humor, and I love authors with a sense of humor! While it probably won't age well, I really got a kick out of the takeoff on Eat Pray Love (which I have no plans on reading, am tired of hearing about, and think deserves to be mocked, but that's just me). So I fell for this one before I even opened the cover. Major cover/title love!

The story itself wasn't bad, but I'm not a big paranormal romance fan and tend to skip over the steamy parts. I'm a little old school and prefer to leave the steamy parts to my imagination instead of having it spelled out for me (which is never as much fun!). The main characters are Caitlyn and Carlos. Caitlyn is a mortal woman who finds out that her sister married a vampire, and that the handsome stranger across the room is actually a shape shifter. All in all, I'd say that Caitlyn takes it pretty well. I doubt that I would be that calm about learning that my niece and nephew, who I didn't even know existed a few short weeks ago, were half vampire and that I had the hots for a werepanther!

Caitlyn has the amazing ability to learn any language almost immediately. Caitlyn and her sister Shanna both have psychic abilities, which they inherited from their father. Oh yeah, did I mention that dear old dad works for a secret CIA task force that wants to wipe vampires off the face of the Earth? Including his son-in-law! And I thought MY father-in-law was bad! *L*

The plot was just okay, mainly revolving around Carlos trying to track down other werepanthers in order to ensure the survival of his species, and Caitlyn messing up his plans. After a horrible massacre five years ago, Carlos and five orphans are the only ones left. Caitlyn manages to muscle in on join his latest expedition because, well, he's hot.

I didn't really care for Caitlyn at this point because hello, the man thinks he is the only adult werepanther left! It's kind of important that he find a mate so that his entire species isn't wiped out! Yes, there are five children left, but they're growing up together and then expected to mate. If they don't get a choice in mates, why would Caitlyn think Carlos should get a choice? Yes, Caitlyn and Carlos have the hots for each other, but she very selfishly decides "true love" is more important than protecting your entire species. Actually, it's more like "true lust" as she doesn't really know Carlos all that well yet. Sorry, I seem to be ranting, but this really annoyed me...

So on the plus side, I really enjoyed the author's writing style and sense of humor. On the negative side, Caitlyn's selfishness really turned me off. She is letting her libido interfere with a man's noble duty! Yeah, yeah, yeah, someone will probably point out that true love conquers all and that alls well that ends well, but she still annoyed me enough to downgrade the book to a 3/5 rating. I did like the author's style enough that I'm going to pick up another one of her books and see if I get along with other characters any better. Don't see how they could be much worse... ;)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!

Loved it!

AWESOME

Another awesome book. I loved the switch up from Vamp to Were.

Loved it!

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was so good. I lent it to several friends and they all felt the same way. Definitely recommend!

Very Funny!

This was a fun book. Even though I felt there were a couple of spots that weren't well developed and made the book seem rushed, her humor made up for it. This is the first Kerrelyn Sparks book I've read, but she has some great titles that look very interesting.

Great read

Just loved the series

Love it two thumbs up

<3

No text was provided for this review.

Thought the title was funny

Found humor in the title

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

excellent

I love her series. very good book very sexy.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fabulous!!!

Out of this world! The story of Carlos, the Were-panther and Caitlyn traveling to find him a mate to preserve his species was great. Of course, the witty banter between them and their blooming love affair was wonderful.

Very good

This whole series is awsome

loved it!

Have read this series since the first book and I am absolutely obsessed. This was by far my favorite of them all. Like others, I also like the continuing storylines and keeping up with the characters from the previous stories. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

Hot, Great, Loveable

You will enjoy this novel. I can guarantee that if you are into vampire, werewolf books that you will like this one. Caitlyn is a strong willed girl who has missed her older sister for most of her life. When she finds herself unemployed and invited to her nephew's birthday party a new world is opened up to her. She learns of vampires, shape-shifters and all kinds of things that go bump in the night. She instantly falls in love with a shifter named Carlos and that is only where the story starts. They travel the world looking for shifter and trying to stop bad vampires. Romance, adventure and great characters.

great book

read it 2000000 times and loved it each time. P.S so happy for Carlos and his mate

This series should go on indefinitely!

I love these books and I can't help but wonder what the future books might hold and who the main characters will be. While reading this book, I really really hope that in the future Constantine will get his own story, possibly with Bethany. For little kids they are very close and I can only see their relationship developing as the grow older. And also Emiliano and Teresa, I would love to see how their destiny plays out, considering their already planned union. Definitely read these books, starting from the very first book. They are fun and easy read. Love the situations and the connection between each book and characters. It's one big family, when one book ends, that doesn't mean it's the end of their story it continues in the following books, and that's what I like about this series, we see the relation even after their book has ended. It's just awesome.

!

Loved the story but felt that it was rushed. Carlos was an amazing character, he deserved a better ending than the quick one he got. I hope we hear from him on later books.

Another great novel in the Love at Stake series from author Kerrely Sparks!

In Eat Prey Love, Sparks takes you on a thrilling adventure through the Asian jungle wrought with danger, mystery and passion.

Carlos is on the hunt for a mate and he only has one requirement; she must be a were-panther. His race is endangered and he has been traveling across the world to find more of his kind; not just for himself but also for the five orphaned were-panther children that he has taken in.
When he meets eyes with the beautiful, Caitlyn Whelan, his instincts scream 'Mine' but he knows with one sniff that she isn't a panther, and being Shanna's sister and daughter to the head guy in the CIA's Stake-Out Team make's her even more off-limits. But Caitlyn is determined to explore their connection and prove to Carlos that she more then makes up for being merely mortal. With some wilily matchmakers to help her along Carlos has his work cut out for him trying to resist his tempting new co-worker and keep them alive through the perils of the jungle.

I have to admit that it took me a while to pick up this book because I really wasn't that interested in Carlos; he's gay, he's not gay, but he is, no he's not. I was still skeptical at the begging but after a few pages I got sucked into the story and it wouldn't spit me out until the very end.
Eat Prey Love had action, adventure, mystery and sensuality; with old characters I loved and new intriguing characters introduced. It follows the events of The Vampire and the Virgin but is fabulous as a standalone; following it's own smaller plot while the larger plot continues on in the background and throughout the series.
Carlos and Caitlyn had instantaneous electrifying chemistry, complete animal magnetism despite Caitlyn being mortal. Their passion is palpable in each scene together. Although Cailtyn came off a bit crazy-stalker-lady in the beginning, you have got to give her credit for sticking to her guns and not backing down. She sees what she wants and she doesn't give up until she has it. And when these two get together they bring down the house. There relationship doesn't fully develop until your well into the book and even then you still have a good amount of suspense in their relationship, which kept it interesting.
The action was continuous with several new twists that will be interesting to see how they affect the series in general and the world building written to perfection. Just what I like to see in my reads! A must read book and series all together!