Holy Smokes by Katie MacAlister (4/5 stars)

This is the fourth, and so far last, book in the Aisling Grey Guardian series. This book follows much in the same vein as the third book in the series. It is light, easy to read, and an entertaining story. Although there are strong aspects of romance to this book; I think fans of the paranormal genre who like action more than romance will also like this book.

The book starts with Aisling getting stood up at the alter by Drake. Of course it's not Drake's fault. Again Aisling has many things coming at her from all directions. She is pregnant, they are at war with the red dragon clan, she has been proscribed and is trying to get rid of her dark powers, her guardian mentor-ship is on hold, and she has to perform duties for the blue dragon clan. All of this is complicated by her family being in town for the wedding.

As with the other books, a lot happens in this book. I was happy that the plot was very finely crafted and all of the intertwining events made sense and were resolved. There are still some cliff hangers at the end of the book, but they have more to do with other characters than with Aisling and Drake.

Aisling is a little bit less of an airhead in this book. She actually gets things done, as opposed to just screwing them up. Her and Drake make more progress towards a decent, modern-day relationship, so at least they aren't as messed up as in the previous books. Aisling, herself, is not my most favorite character but the side characters more than make up for her shortcomings.

Previous to this book I said the third one in the series was my favorite, well now this one is my favorite in the series. I plan on reading the Silver Dragons series by Katie MacAlister too. These are fun books for a quick read when you want something light. They don't really overextend your brain and are a nice vacation from heavier reading.

Light my Fire by Katie MacAlister (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Aisling Grey Guardian series by Katie MacAlister. I thought that this book was much better than the second book and much more on par with the first book.

Aisling is moving to London to start her Guardian training with Nora. Once again right from the beginning things start going wrong. She finds out Nora is being called in for questioning which could lead to Nora losing her rights to mentor Aisling. Then on her first outing with Nora; Jim eats the imp king. Now the imps are out for Aisling's blood. As if this wasn't enough Aisling finds out Drake is in town, the Red Dragons have declared war on Green Dragon sept, the London community wants Aisling to take over as Venediger (sp?), and everyone keeps telling Aisling she is pregnant (which she just can't believe).

This book was much better than the last book. I felt like the plot made a lot more sense. Many of the problems Aisling ran into were wrapped up nicely. Aisling and Drake actually start to have a decent relationship with each other. The problems Aisling gets into with the demon princes and with the dragons were interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

As with the other books this is a light, humorous read, that shouldn't be taken too seriously. Aisling gets too whiny at some points, and suffers a bit from being a damsel in distress more often than not. Drake is irritating with his need to control her; but in this book that is tempered some and we see Drake gaining some humanity. This is a quick, easy, and amusing read. There are a lot of sex scenes but they are creative and tastefully done. I am actually very excited to read the next book (which is something I couldn't say after the second book).

If you liked the first two books, this book shouldn't disappoint.

Fire Me Up by Katie MacAlister (3/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Aisling Grey Guardian series by Katie MacAlister. I did not think that this book was as good as the first book. I thought that the first book was cute, sexy, funny and had some original ideas. This book was cute, sometimes sexy, rarely funny and rehashed a lot of what we already learned in the first book. These are definitely way into the romance category and just slightly into the paranormal.

Aisling travels to Budapest, Hungary to go the GODTAM convention where she hopes to meet other people like herself (That is magical type folk) and to find a Guardian to mentor her. Unfortunately she bumps into Drake and finds out that he is still obsessed with her performing her duties as his mate; some of these duties happen to be attending meetings of the Dragons' that just happen to be at the hotel she is at. With Drake hovering and her demon, Jim, making snarky comments Aisling is having one heck of a time getting a mentor lined up.

Okay I pretty much know what I am getting into with these books. They are definitely not to be taken seriously, you need to leave all your notions about romantic relationships at the door, remember things won't necessarily make any sense, and remember Aisling is a bit of an airhead. Even going into reading this book with these things in mind I was a bit miffed at this book.

First the positive stuff: This was a cute, fun read. It was a quick read and the plot moved along nicely. There were lots of tastefully done steamy sex scenes. I think it is awesome that Aisling is trying to get training for her position as a Guardian. It bugs me to death when a character decides they would rather tough it out, than do the logical thing and get a little help from a mentor. I liked the introduction of the Silver Dragon, Tiffany the professional Virgin, and some of the new Guardians.

Okay now for the negative stuff. Aisling whines constantly, about pretty much everything. She can't make up her mind about anything; she hates Drake, she wants him, she hates him, etc. Her and Drake get in arguments over things that are very childish. I mean come on Drake is how old? You don't think he learned any communication skills in all that time? Aisling seems to have major ADD in this book and can't ever decide what to do next. I can understand Jim's frustration with her. Despite the fact that Aisling blunders through most of the book somehow she is uber-powerful and manages to right things (just like in the first book). Maybe this is supposed to be part of the humor?

It was an okay book, it was light-hearted and amused me. Just, please don't think about the plot or Aisling's intentions too hard or you will hurt your brain trying to make sense of it. This is a book to read quickly, take at face value, and then it's on to another book. I have the next two books in the series and I will read them because I have them.

You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Aisling Grey, Guardian series by Katie MacAlister. This is the first book I have read by MacAlister. The book ended up being exactly what I though it would be. It is a cute, funny and sexy little book that was a quick read.

Aisling is on a job as a courier delivering a golden dragon statue to someone in Paris. Only thing is when she shows up to make the delivery the recipient is deceased. To make matters more complicated someone else is on the scene with Aisling, his name is Drake and he is convinced that Aisling is a Guardian.

This book is fun little romp. It is more of a romance than most of the paranormals that I read, but it was a quirky little book that I found myself enjoying as I read it. There is some sex in the book but I thought it was tastefully done and not too drawn out. Aisling isn't the normal type of heroine I am drawn to; she is a self admittedly dense and a little bit flighty. Drake is an overpowering male, with about as much sensitivity as a slab of concrete. Still I found these books to be amusing. I also liked the way the magical community was set up in Paris. I find the structure of the dragon culture and the inclusion of dragons as an immortal race to be interesting. The position of Guardian is also interesting and I hope in the next book we find out more about exactly what a Guardian does.

If I had to compare this book to other series I have read I would say that it has a bit more substance and a less flighty heroine than the Queen Betsy series by Davidson but it is more flighty and less substantial than the Sookie Stackhouse series by Harris. Hopefully that will give you an idea of what type of book this is.

I think this series is a bit of a jealous pleasure, it is pure candy, but it hooked me and I enjoyed it all the same. I am excited to read the next book!