Zen and the Art of Vampires (Dark Ones, Book 6)

by Katie MacAlister

Book Overview

Alone and pushing 40, Pia Thomason heads to Europe on a singles tour, hoping to find romance. What she finds are two very handsome, very mysterious, and very undead men. And she learns that, where... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451225600
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 3.8"

Customer Reviews

A fun vampire filled European adventure

During her singles journey through Europe, Pia Thomason, a resident of Seattle, seeks companionship while grappling with the approach of her 40th birthday. Unfortunately, the candidates vying for her affection fall short of her expectations. However, a chance encounter with two enigmatic individuals in Iceland leads Pia into a captivating romance with the undead, revealing that in the world of vampires, matters of the heart aren't the only ones hanging in the balance. Rating: 1. **Plot and Storytelling:** 4/5 I appreciated the fresh approach to the dark ones' storyline and found the overall narrative quite engaging. 2. **Characterization:** 5/5 The characters in this book truly won me over, especially how they evolved throughout the story. Katie’s portrayal of her flawed yet strong female lead was particularly captivating, and the side characters were equally delightful. 3. **Writing Style:** 5/5 Another 5 out of 5 from me for Katie MacAlister’s writing style. I believe she skillfully weaves a compelling tale with excellent pacing. 4. **Originality:** 5/5 I found the book's fresh take on both the vampire romance genre and Katie’s dark one series to be quite refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable. 5. **Emotional Impact and Resolution:** 3/5 While the book did evoke some minor emotional responses like giggles and cringes, overall, it didn't have me on the edge of my seat. I was slightly let down by the resolution and the open-ended conclusion, though I'm optimistic about future developments. 6. **Smut:** 4/5 I appreciated the level of spice in the book without it becoming too excessive. 7. **Narrator emotion and tone:** 5/5 Nicole Poole did a commendable job in narrating the book, effectively conveying emotions and maintaining an appropriate tone throughout. 8. **Narrator character differentiation:** 4/5 Poole did well in distinguishing between characters with varied voices and speaking styles. 9. **Narrator pacing and flow:** 5/5 for the excellent pacing and flow of the narration. Poole’s delivery matched the book's rhythm perfectly, neither too slow nor too fast. 10. **Audio quality:** 5/5 for the excellent audio quality, as expected from recorded books. Overall score: 4.5/5 I would absolutely recommend you check this book out. I preferred the audio format. It was a very good listen. if you like this book, I would recommend you check out the rest of the Dark Ones series by Katie MacAlister. Her dragon sept series is also a great place to start in the supernatural, romance world.

Great START to a series.

Yes, START. Sheesh, people. Stop rating this lovely and entertaining book based on your apparent inability to wait for a story to continue. I happen to enjoy reading series based around a central female character. (Mercy, Sookie, Bella, Aisling, Kitty, Cassie, Joanne....) Try to think of it as a way to draw out your escape in to a character's life. Aren't relationships generally better than one night stands? :) Katie always delivers a good story with a nice balance of comedy and romance. I think she is doing so here as well. You can't expect an HEA at the start of a series, people! Where will the sexual tension and suspense come from, then? I actually think that these characters are more human and relatable than some I've seen. Flaws are what make us more interesting, right? I've been a fan of this author from the start, and have read everything she's published...and I'll continue to do so, starting with the second book in this series! (And if you didn't recognize some of the names I listed earlier...search for 'em under the paranormal romance section. You won't regret it!)

very enjoyable

If every book a writer writes is exactly the same, what is the point? I have enjoyed all of the books I have read by this author, and enjoyed the storyline of Zen completely. I would have enjoyed even more details about the Brotherhood and the Dark Ones. Pia was overweight, and she was extremely aware of it, and I think that was important to her character. Most people I know that hate their weight DEFINITELY whine about it constantly. I certainly enjoy a not so perfect heroine, and I did enjoy a very grumpy hero. She didn't "bed hop", and it is a story, for goodness sake. That sounded like sour grapes to me. It was important to the story line and the confusion it caused. Anyway, bottom line, it was great fun to read, I look forward to the continuation of the story and have already ordered it.

Little hard to follow compared to other's of hers, but still loved it!

Really good book. It is not as easy of a book to follow as the others in the series, but still really good and it followed the story line of the others very well. Definetly would recommend, especially to those that are avid katie macalister readers.

Calling all Katie MacAlister fans

This book was finally what I expected of Katie MacAlister. I used to love her books and then became disillusioned during the Aisling Grey series. This book was delightful and a return to the early Dark Ones novels. I am not a fan of humorous paranormal tales, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think I would agree that it's better as part of the series than as a stand-alone book, but I would recommend it either way.