Between a Vamp and a Hard Place

By: Jessica Sims

Narrated by: Elizabeth Hart

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Lindsey Hughes loves antiques and couldn't be happier to make a living in the estate sale business. But when her assistant accidentally buys an entire estate without her approval, Lindsey is forced to clean up the mess herself. When she travels to the newly purchased, age-old house in Venice, Italy, she soon discovers more than she bargained for.

Vampire Rand FitzWulf has been in his coffin for 600 years. But now that he's awake, he's ravenous, and there's a delicious-smelling woman with a rare blood type in his basement. Luckily Lindsey has more to offer than blood: She agrees to travel throughout Europe with Rand to help him get revenge on the one who turned him. But as the unlikely pair grows closer, will the billionaire vampire be overtaken by his thirst for blood or his thirst for love?

©2016 Jessica Sims (P)2015 Tantor

Not connected to Midnight Liaisons series

At best, this takes place in the same fantasy world as the Midnight Liaison series.
(Based on the ending, I’m not sure I even believe that) However, none of the previous MCs appear here. Ditto for the Midnight Liaison dating agency or shapeshifters or any creatures other than vampires. There’s even a new narrator.

What remains is the comedy and the formula romantic couple: a damsel and white knight supernatural. Rand is a vampire only recently reawakened after 600 years. Like the last book, the fish out of water wonder of seeing the modern day world is one of the most interesting things about this story,
I also really liked that Lindsey’s best friend features prominently. It was interesting and fun enough to forgive that Lindsay was a ditz.

another Twilight romance

I like the other books in this series, but this one bombed for me. Lindsey acted like a love-sick school girl with her brain so foggy from lust that she missed the most obvious things, like demanding that Rand only use her for food. Really?? It just went downhill from there, with dumb decisions and "oh, woe is me". I like the stories where there's a lot less angst on the part of the human.
I did like the performance much better than the earlier books, with that Texas drawl and occasional shrieks in a sentence. Hart has a great sense of timing and conversational cadence, combined with her beautiful voice that is a pleasure to hear.

Roller coaster of emotions and steamy

Good story but a little slow to start but needed that story setup. I think it’s very different then the past book series. This could be a standalone I felt.

Not as enjoyable as Midnight Liaisons series.

I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as the Midnight Liaisons series, but it wasn't a bad book. While it was interesting enough, it didn't pull me in all the way. Where the Midnight Liaisons series was funny with an engaging story line, this one didn't quite measure up. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading this book, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either. The book features a HEA ending and no cliffhanger.

What Did I Just Listen To?

This was the last book in the series and by far the worst. The writing was juvenile at best. It was like the heroine had never read or heard anything about vampires. Her ignorance just got to be quite annoying after a while. And the fact that she would leave her friend to go running off with a vampire when she and said friend are on a tight deadline...

This is the second time I've tried and I just cant

it was a mix between the writing, story line, and narration. All just... lackluster. I could not stay interested.

Doesn't fit the Series

I was really excited that this was going to be a Vampire story but was really let down I found it kind of cheesy and I really liked the rest of the series but this one just didn't fit.

Almost couldn't compete it.

Not in the Midnight Liaison universe

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not sure but they should listen at 1.25X at least... it really helps.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jessica Sims again?

Yes, I like Jessica Sims, it was just this book. The story felt like it dragged on and the twists at the end were surprising but not given enough time to explore. And who doesn't know basic vampire lore? Apparently the two female leads in this story have never watched a movie or read a book. And they seem like the kind who at least watched Buffy.

What about Elizabeth Hart’s performance did you like?

The voices of the characters were distinct and easy to figure out who was speaking. I didn't like the pacing. I ended up speeding up the play to 1.25X and it helped a lot.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Blah, just blah. I'm glad it's a one off and not part of a series because I don't care enough about the characters to find out what happens to them next. Also glad I got it as part of the Romance Package and didn't use a credit on it.

Any additional comments?

The Publisher's Summary is off. The vampire is not a billionaire. This is not part of the Midnight Liaison series. These feel like an entirely different type of vampires in an entirely different universe. I wouldn't rank the Steaminess at Sizzling, but my mood might have been tainted by the rest of the story.

Stand Alone Story - Not Great

This is "not" part of any series! I suspect it may be the first book she wrote, accidentally listed as book four in her series. Irregardless, the story is a far cry from the quality in her series. It's worth listening to as part of the Romance subscription only. What bothered me most were the snippets she'd throw into the story. I'd spend time distracted by how unbelievable they were. The romantic relationship wasn't fully developed as well. There were so many things that aren't believeable in this story, including the vampire's accent....I could go on and on. I almost returned it, but the fast-forward button helped get through the worst.