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Nocturne Falls #8
The Vampire's Accidental Wife
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Las Vegas headliner and vampire Desdemona Valentine is one cool, collected diva on the outside. On the inside, she’s petrified of falling in love after her last relationship nearly killed her...literally. Protecting her wounded heart makes for a lonely life, but she has her fame and fortune to keep her company. Who needs anything more?
Julian Ellingham does. One look at Desdemona on stage, and the vampire is smitten. She initially ignores him, but his relentless pursuit pays off when a wild night ends in a Vegas wedding. Finally, Julian has everything he wants while all Desdemona wants is...a divorce.
Julian sweet-talks Desdemona into letting him prove his love, but his time is running out. Especially after someone repeatedly tries to turn his bride to ash. When Desdemona flees Vegas for the spooky streets of Nocturne Falls and Julian’s protection, he’s more than willing to help out. But can he convince Desdemona to trust him, or will ‘death do us part’ become a reality?
Las Vegas headliner and vampire Desdemona Valentine is one cool, collected diva on the outside. On the inside, she’s petrified of falling in love after her last relationship nearly killed her...literally. Protecting her wounded heart makes for a lonely life, but she has her fame and fortune to keep her company. Who needs anything more?
Julian Ellingham does. One look at Desdemona on stage, and the vampire is smitten. She initially ignores him, but his relentless pursuit pays off when a wild night ends in a Vegas wedding. Finally, Julian has everything he wants while all Desdemona wants is...a divorce.
Julian sweet-talks Desdemona into letting him prove his love, but his time is running out. Especially after someone repeatedly tries to turn his bride to ash. When Desdemona flees Vegas for the spooky streets of Nocturne Falls and Julian’s protection, he’s more than willing to help out. But can he convince Desdemona to trust him, or will ‘death do us part’ become a reality?
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2017
About the author
Kristen Painter
159 books3,454 followersKristen Painter likes to balance her obsessions with shoes and cats by making the lives of her characters miserable and surprising her readers with interesting twists. She currently writes award-winning paranormal romance, paranormal women's fiction, and cozy mysteries. The former college English teacher can often be found on twitter @Kristen_Painter, Facebook at www.facebook.com/KristenPainterAuthor where she loves to interact with readers and her blog: http://kristenpainter.com/blog/.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
November 15, 2017
Audiobook Review
I feel like I'm speeding through these books! I really want to slow down, but they're such good audiobooks to get me through my commute and house chores every day that I can't take a break.
In this book, Julian Ellingham - one of Nocturne Falls' premier residents - is forced to reveal a secret he's been keeping for 8 months: He and sultry Las Vegas performer Desdemona Valentine are married! But what seems perfect for Julian is an impossible situation for Desi, and the two must decide if any amount of love can overshadow a dark, dark past.
As if that weren't enough, a dangerous woman has come to town with ties to the notorious vampire hunter Van Helsing. Now the entire town is at risk from this new visitor and Julian has to protect more than just his new love interest.
Painter does a great job of including a diverse cast of characters in the supernatural sense and otherwise. Usually, she creates a good story with interesting characters and clear ties to previous books in the series, and this one is no exception.
It was good. It was entertaining. On to the next!
I feel like I'm speeding through these books! I really want to slow down, but they're such good audiobooks to get me through my commute and house chores every day that I can't take a break.
In this book, Julian Ellingham - one of Nocturne Falls' premier residents - is forced to reveal a secret he's been keeping for 8 months: He and sultry Las Vegas performer Desdemona Valentine are married! But what seems perfect for Julian is an impossible situation for Desi, and the two must decide if any amount of love can overshadow a dark, dark past.
As if that weren't enough, a dangerous woman has come to town with ties to the notorious vampire hunter Van Helsing. Now the entire town is at risk from this new visitor and Julian has to protect more than just his new love interest.
Painter does a great job of including a diverse cast of characters in the supernatural sense and otherwise. Usually, she creates a good story with interesting characters and clear ties to previous books in the series, and this one is no exception.
It was good. It was entertaining. On to the next!
July 30, 2017
I absolutely love Kristen Painter's Nocturne Falls series. In this one, book eight, Julian is finally featured! The third of the Ellingham boys/vampires and notorious playboy, he's finally found the woman he wants to settle down with. At first, I wasn't sure I would connect with Desi... had the same worry about the previous heroine in book 7 since they both came from that glitzy Las Vegas lifestyle rather than the more humble backgrounds of some of the previous characters, but she completely grew on me, and I loved watching her and Julian genuinely grow together. And as a bonus, this one contained plenty of Bertie, Sheriff Hank's wacky werewolf aunt! Loved it.
Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader.
Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader.
May 28, 2024
*delighted squeals*
I initially planned to read one chapter, then head to bed (oh you foolish woman) but the story nabbed me from the first page and absolutely refused to release its vicelike grip on me. ‘One more chapter then I’m done for sure.’ Famous last words every reader is familiar with and I’m no exception.
The story was fantastic. The characters incredibly charming- even the side ones and I loved the development of Desi. Oh, how I adored her. She stuck to her beliefs, well, for the most part because of course we’d have no HEA if she kept them all the way to the end. She was bold, beautiful and a fashionista (come on leopard leggings, lol). Will forever love me a strong feminine lead. Women can be strong AND embrace their femininity. Duality, baby! Lots of books tend to have the FMC sacrifice one over the other but I loved that TVAW didn’t do that.
Julian was absolutely darling! Make characters who are vocal with their emotions will always rank high on my favourites list and Jules was no exception. His continuous professing of his -at first- unrequited love, was sometimes heartbreaking. Especially after that fountain kiss. I did tear up a bit when he basically told her that she couldn’t just give him a ‘thank you’ kiss because it gave him false hope. *wipes tears* I was anxiously awaiting the moment Desi would overcome her trauma and was able to love. Not just for Julian, but herself too. All that past was hurting her.
Side characters were good. I have not read the other books in the series, but I felt as though they were represented well in this story. I got a glimpse into their family life with the matriarch, Eleanor keeping them together while ruling with a strict hand. I liked all the mention of the lesser known and talked about supernaturals and that scene in the basement that wasn’t really a basement was quite heartwarming. Definitely gave the community that was seen, felt and referenced throughout the story.
The villain got off way too easily and I hated that for them, but understood the reason behind it. It wasn’t poetic, but that’s because I’m petty and after what she did, she deserves to suffer. For eternity.
Loved, loved, loved this read. Was it a bad idea to start reading this before bed? Certainly. Do I regret it? Not in the slightest!
I initially planned to read one chapter, then head to bed (oh you foolish woman) but the story nabbed me from the first page and absolutely refused to release its vicelike grip on me. ‘One more chapter then I’m done for sure.’ Famous last words every reader is familiar with and I’m no exception.
The story was fantastic. The characters incredibly charming- even the side ones and I loved the development of Desi. Oh, how I adored her. She stuck to her beliefs, well, for the most part because of course we’d have no HEA if she kept them all the way to the end. She was bold, beautiful and a fashionista (come on leopard leggings, lol). Will forever love me a strong feminine lead. Women can be strong AND embrace their femininity. Duality, baby! Lots of books tend to have the FMC sacrifice one over the other but I loved that TVAW didn’t do that.
Julian was absolutely darling! Make characters who are vocal with their emotions will always rank high on my favourites list and Jules was no exception. His continuous professing of his -at first- unrequited love, was sometimes heartbreaking. Especially after that fountain kiss. I did tear up a bit when he basically told her that she couldn’t just give him a ‘thank you’ kiss because it gave him false hope. *wipes tears* I was anxiously awaiting the moment Desi would overcome her trauma and was able to love. Not just for Julian, but herself too. All that past was hurting her.
Side characters were good. I have not read the other books in the series, but I felt as though they were represented well in this story. I got a glimpse into their family life with the matriarch, Eleanor keeping them together while ruling with a strict hand. I liked all the mention of the lesser known and talked about supernaturals and that scene in the basement that wasn’t really a basement was quite heartwarming. Definitely gave the community that was seen, felt and referenced throughout the story.
The villain got off way too easily and I hated that for them, but understood the reason behind it. It wasn’t poetic, but that’s because I’m petty and after what she did, she deserves to suffer. For eternity.
Loved, loved, loved this read. Was it a bad idea to start reading this before bed? Certainly. Do I regret it? Not in the slightest!
October 7, 2019
There is something not quite meshing with this series and me; I like the premise, I like the world building and I like the characters. I'm just not so keen on the author's 'voice' or narration style or the way the story is told. I can't really explain what I mean, but it messes with my enjoyment of this series. It's weird.
February 19, 2018
Well, now I come to the last Nocturne Falls romance book I haven’t yet read (I’d read the last, or most recently published, Nocturne Falls related book – the most recent Frost book, after this one). Again, and this is kind of a reoccurring theme with me, I was reluctant to read this specific pairing. More the Julian part.
You know rakes? And having them be a main character in a romance story? Most, or I should say, at the most we are talking about men who have ‘been with’ (oddly this is a quite clean undescriptive series, sex wise, so ‘been with’ instead of ‘fucked’) a large number of women in a rather short period of time, though occasionally ‘short period of time’ is ‘thirty years’. Here? Well, there’s no question Julian is a rake. He’s not someone who liked the idea of pretending to be one (as has been seen in some books), he’s not the one who is considered one but didn’t realize others thought of him that way, etc. etc. No, others know he is one, and he knows he is one. Of course he lives in ‘modern times’ so using the word ‘rake’ seems vaguely odd. Except . . . and here’s why I went on about 30 years and the like, except Julian has been a rake since before 1666, and it’s now, oh, 2017. He’s been with a ton of women for more than 350 years. He’s never been anything but a womanizer. When his family was ‘saved’ from the plague of 1666, his two brothers were married – while he himself never had considered the idea. He had continued to not considered the idea until about a year before this book begins (or, well, there’s a mix of ‘some stuff happened before this book starts’, ‘stuff happened’, ‘it’s now a year later’ that messes with my ability to tell time) when Julian first spotted Desdemona Valentine performing in Vegas. As a Vampire. Or, I should elaborate, she was performing as a human pretending to be a vampire (while, in actuality, having been a vampire for hundreds of years).
This is one of those rare Vampire-Vampire stories. It’s almost like seeing one of those creepy kinda icky books titled something like ‘My Billionaire’s Boss’s Butler’s Billionaire Boyfriend’s Roommate’, though here both parties would be billionaire’s, or, I mean, Vampires. If I recall correctly, this is only the second time in this series that two of a kind romance each other, and that includes the Frost series (well, a Winter Elf and a Summer Elf are two different things . . . in that universe). Here we have two vampires, and in ‘The Werewolf Meets His Match’, there are two werewolves.
Now that I’ve written all of that above, I’ve forgotten what I had actually intended to write about this book. Hmms. I rather liked both main characters, and the story.
ETA: Ah, I recall now what I wanted to write.
Julian and Des open the book in the same bed. Julian had been chasing her for a while, and Des kept putting him off. Willing to be near him but . . . she just can't allow herself to love because of her past history. Why are they in bed together at the start of the book then? Because . . . they had just gotten married the night before (not seen in the book). Des, you see, was celebrating a career advancement type thing (television contract), and was drinking. One thing lead to another and . . . well, I forgot to mention this part - they are in Las Vegas, so . . .Julian and Des got married.
Julian wakes up the next morning and wanders around, happily doing things, getting a drink, getting Des a drink, etc. (Crap. 'next morning' technically is 'next evening' since, Julian is a daywalking type vampire, but Des is a night-walking type vampire - as in, Julian can survive regardless of the time of day, while Des will burst into flames in sunlight). Des wakes up, looks around and . . . well, long story short, she's quite annoyed about the situation. One thing leads to another and Julian talks her into allowing them to stay married for a year then, if she still can't 'love' him, they'll get divorced.
Flash forward almost a year - Des calls Julian needing his help (and quite reluctant to ask for it). There's someone stalking her, which in and of itself isn't unusual, but they've injured her double in a car crash - so this is a much more serious situation. Again with the 'one thing leads to another' and Julian and Des head to Nocturne Falls to hide.
For the vast majority of their marriage, no one knew they were married - except for each other. And they hadn't actually consummated the marriage despite waking up in bed together afterwards.
Stuff in Nocturne Falls occurs. Des' backstory is revealed. Stalker bounces around. More story unfolds. etc. etc. The end.
Rating: 4.5
February 21 2018
You know rakes? And having them be a main character in a romance story? Most, or I should say, at the most we are talking about men who have ‘been with’ (oddly this is a quite clean undescriptive series, sex wise, so ‘been with’ instead of ‘fucked’) a large number of women in a rather short period of time, though occasionally ‘short period of time’ is ‘thirty years’. Here? Well, there’s no question Julian is a rake. He’s not someone who liked the idea of pretending to be one (as has been seen in some books), he’s not the one who is considered one but didn’t realize others thought of him that way, etc. etc. No, others know he is one, and he knows he is one. Of course he lives in ‘modern times’ so using the word ‘rake’ seems vaguely odd. Except . . . and here’s why I went on about 30 years and the like, except Julian has been a rake since before 1666, and it’s now, oh, 2017. He’s been with a ton of women for more than 350 years. He’s never been anything but a womanizer. When his family was ‘saved’ from the plague of 1666, his two brothers were married – while he himself never had considered the idea. He had continued to not considered the idea until about a year before this book begins (or, well, there’s a mix of ‘some stuff happened before this book starts’, ‘stuff happened’, ‘it’s now a year later’ that messes with my ability to tell time) when Julian first spotted Desdemona Valentine performing in Vegas. As a Vampire. Or, I should elaborate, she was performing as a human pretending to be a vampire (while, in actuality, having been a vampire for hundreds of years).
This is one of those rare Vampire-Vampire stories. It’s almost like seeing one of those creepy kinda icky books titled something like ‘My Billionaire’s Boss’s Butler’s Billionaire Boyfriend’s Roommate’, though here both parties would be billionaire’s, or, I mean, Vampires. If I recall correctly, this is only the second time in this series that two of a kind romance each other, and that includes the Frost series (well, a Winter Elf and a Summer Elf are two different things . . . in that universe). Here we have two vampires, and in ‘The Werewolf Meets His Match’, there are two werewolves.
Now that I’ve written all of that above, I’ve forgotten what I had actually intended to write about this book. Hmms. I rather liked both main characters, and the story.
ETA: Ah, I recall now what I wanted to write.
Julian and Des open the book in the same bed. Julian had been chasing her for a while, and Des kept putting him off. Willing to be near him but . . . she just can't allow herself to love because of her past history. Why are they in bed together at the start of the book then? Because . . . they had just gotten married the night before (not seen in the book). Des, you see, was celebrating a career advancement type thing (television contract), and was drinking. One thing lead to another and . . . well, I forgot to mention this part - they are in Las Vegas, so . . .Julian and Des got married.
Julian wakes up the next morning and wanders around, happily doing things, getting a drink, getting Des a drink, etc. (Crap. 'next morning' technically is 'next evening' since, Julian is a daywalking type vampire, but Des is a night-walking type vampire - as in, Julian can survive regardless of the time of day, while Des will burst into flames in sunlight). Des wakes up, looks around and . . . well, long story short, she's quite annoyed about the situation. One thing leads to another and Julian talks her into allowing them to stay married for a year then, if she still can't 'love' him, they'll get divorced.
Flash forward almost a year - Des calls Julian needing his help (and quite reluctant to ask for it). There's someone stalking her, which in and of itself isn't unusual, but they've injured her double in a car crash - so this is a much more serious situation. Again with the 'one thing leads to another' and Julian and Des head to Nocturne Falls to hide.
For the vast majority of their marriage, no one knew they were married - except for each other. And they hadn't actually consummated the marriage despite waking up in bed together afterwards.
Stuff in Nocturne Falls occurs. Des' backstory is revealed. Stalker bounces around. More story unfolds. etc. etc. The end.
Rating: 4.5
February 21 2018
May 16, 2017
No No No!
One thing I really can't stand is when you are reading a series and the author suddenly changes the character. Suddenly!!
All previous books we have our third brother, Julien, as the carefree playboy. Of course we know this has to change somewhat for him to have a HEA of his own and that should be the story. How does this change come about and who is the sweet girl who makes him give up his wandering ways.
Not here. The novel opens and he is already a changed man. WHAT HAPPENED!!!
And we don't know what happened. He saw Desi, and that was it, we are told. Accept it. Not good enough for me. Especially since she is so unlikeable we can't even see what attracted him enough to make this huge change. She undergoes some changes, she has a bit of a back story, blah blah blah we aren't invested in her.....What about Julien??? We will never know as he has been replaced with a new, wimpy boring model.
To make matters worse there are even hints sprinkled throughout that he really wasn't the man his brothers assumed he was all along. Not cool, seriously not cool.
Take the character you have created and work with that. It would have been interesting to read. This was not, I kept thinking...who is this guy? Why do we even care about this guy? And we don't.
Yes I will keep reading this series as I love the town, the whole concept and other characters. DiDi was great and Birdie played a fun role in this one. However the main two I really could have done without. So disappointing.
One thing I really can't stand is when you are reading a series and the author suddenly changes the character. Suddenly!!
All previous books we have our third brother, Julien, as the carefree playboy. Of course we know this has to change somewhat for him to have a HEA of his own and that should be the story. How does this change come about and who is the sweet girl who makes him give up his wandering ways.
Not here. The novel opens and he is already a changed man. WHAT HAPPENED!!!
And we don't know what happened. He saw Desi, and that was it, we are told. Accept it. Not good enough for me. Especially since she is so unlikeable we can't even see what attracted him enough to make this huge change. She undergoes some changes, she has a bit of a back story, blah blah blah we aren't invested in her.....What about Julien??? We will never know as he has been replaced with a new, wimpy boring model.
To make matters worse there are even hints sprinkled throughout that he really wasn't the man his brothers assumed he was all along. Not cool, seriously not cool.
Take the character you have created and work with that. It would have been interesting to read. This was not, I kept thinking...who is this guy? Why do we even care about this guy? And we don't.
Yes I will keep reading this series as I love the town, the whole concept and other characters. DiDi was great and Birdie played a fun role in this one. However the main two I really could have done without. So disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2017
I have been waiting for Julian's story since the first Nocturne Falls book, so finally I got his story.
I think I had such high expectation that in some degree, I set myself up to be disappointed. In some aspects I was, but in others I was more than happy.
I really enjoyed the story line. I like the 'accidental" marriage part. But I really wish there would have been more parts with the family. I loved the bits that we got, I wanted more. Then add to that, during the big show down, none of them seem to have been informed. I kept wondering where they were? Cause let's face it they would have railed around Desi, wouldn't they? Found a bit odd they were not informed.
The second bit that I found a bit underwhelming was Desdemona's reason. Her actually story. I mean I got it, it was horrible but it was like 100 years ago and I didn't understand why she held on to it so long...
In the beginning I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Desi, I kept thinking she better has a good reason and her dressing style? Uhm, yeah, well let's say we don't see eye to eye. But she more than grew on me. While I didn't quite feel her pain, I do get her fear of new commitment. I loved that she turned out to be loyal and caring. I loved the friendship between her and Julian. Their relationship was beyond endearing. It's not really swoony romantic but so much more heartfelt, it has much more depth.
I still adore Julian. Though I was surprised he didn't push/pursue his interests a bit more. But I adore on the other hand, that he respected Desi's wishes and that he cared enough to let go.
The support cast was fantastic- as always. I feel like they getting better and better each book. It is one of my favorite things about the series. Painter seem to excel at it more in each book.
I can't wait to read the next book simply o revisit them all.
Just like all the other books in the series this is well written and thorougly enjoyable. Somehow Painter manages to throw in some awesome world building, loads of interesting character but keeps it still light hearted and sweet. Just the right balance of things to make this a captivating book. In fact I read this in one sitting, it's that enjoyable.
A great addition to the series. And now I am hoping the next book will be released soon (as well as wondering who will be featured..)
I think I had such high expectation that in some degree, I set myself up to be disappointed. In some aspects I was, but in others I was more than happy.
I really enjoyed the story line. I like the 'accidental" marriage part. But I really wish there would have been more parts with the family. I loved the bits that we got, I wanted more. Then add to that, during the big show down, none of them seem to have been informed. I kept wondering where they were? Cause let's face it they would have railed around Desi, wouldn't they? Found a bit odd they were not informed.
The second bit that I found a bit underwhelming was Desdemona's reason. Her actually story. I mean I got it, it was horrible but it was like 100 years ago and I didn't understand why she held on to it so long...
In the beginning I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Desi, I kept thinking she better has a good reason and her dressing style? Uhm, yeah, well let's say we don't see eye to eye. But she more than grew on me. While I didn't quite feel her pain, I do get her fear of new commitment. I loved that she turned out to be loyal and caring. I loved the friendship between her and Julian. Their relationship was beyond endearing. It's not really swoony romantic but so much more heartfelt, it has much more depth.
I still adore Julian. Though I was surprised he didn't push/pursue his interests a bit more. But I adore on the other hand, that he respected Desi's wishes and that he cared enough to let go.
The support cast was fantastic- as always. I feel like they getting better and better each book. It is one of my favorite things about the series. Painter seem to excel at it more in each book.
I can't wait to read the next book simply o revisit them all.
Just like all the other books in the series this is well written and thorougly enjoyable. Somehow Painter manages to throw in some awesome world building, loads of interesting character but keeps it still light hearted and sweet. Just the right balance of things to make this a captivating book. In fact I read this in one sitting, it's that enjoyable.
A great addition to the series. And now I am hoping the next book will be released soon (as well as wondering who will be featured..)
May 16, 2021
This was an...interesting direction to take Julian's story. He is the most high maintenance of the Ellingham brothers. And then he gets paired with a girl who is even more high maintenance. It went a very different direction than I would have expected for his story.
But despite all the drama, this just wasn't a very interesting book. It could have been. But it needed serious chopping. Too long and too much setup to go a totally different direction with the final villain.
But despite all the drama, this just wasn't a very interesting book. It could have been. But it needed serious chopping. Too long and too much setup to go a totally different direction with the final villain.
April 19, 2021
Julian Ellingham has been the carefree playboy baby of the Ellingham vampire family -- until he meets sexy Vegas headliner (and fellow vampire) Desdemona Valentine. He falls for her in a heartbeat, but her past trauma has made her avoid all relationships -- until she needs his help evading a stalker.
So, parts of this book I really like. I like the ending, especially with , and I'm happy to read about Julian's happy ending. But I have a hard time connecting to Desi. Even after she knows she has a potentially dangerous stalker, she still wanders around town like she doesn't have a care in the world. That part really bugged me. I like her spunk and bravery, but I can't really connect with the Vegas pizzazz side of her.
So, parts of this book I really like. I like the ending, especially with , and I'm happy to read about Julian's happy ending. But I have a hard time connecting to Desi. Even after she knows she has a potentially dangerous stalker, she still wanders around town like she doesn't have a care in the world. That part really bugged me. I like her spunk and bravery, but I can't really connect with the Vegas pizzazz side of her.
April 14, 2018
2.5 stars.
I was looking forward to vampire baby brother Julian's story but I am disappointed with both him and his object of affection. Desdemona is one of those heroines who blow hot and cold and keep her man dangling on a hook. Even though at the end, she did make a bit of a selfless act, it was too late for me to like her. Julian is also a bit too spoiled by his grandmother
All in all, one of the weakest pairing for the series.
I was looking forward to vampire baby brother Julian's story but I am disappointed with both him and his object of affection. Desdemona is one of those heroines who blow hot and cold and keep her man dangling on a hook. Even though at the end, she did make a bit of a selfless act, it was too late for me to like her. Julian is also a bit too spoiled by his grandmother
All in all, one of the weakest pairing for the series.
February 6, 2019
A sweet little romance with a vampire twist. It fell a bit flat in the middle but apart from that I enjoyed it. Nocturne Falls is the perfect place the Vampires and all the other species to set up home. The arrival of a vampire hunter was most unfortunate, obviously the witches spell that kept humans from realising that things were not quite normal in the town was not working the day she turned up.
May 13, 2017
It's no secret I've fallen in love with the Nocturne Falls books this year. They've got a perfect balance of romance and action, set in a town where it's Halloween every day. What's not to like?
This installment is finally about Julian. The wait was completely worth it! Julian and Desi make such a cute pair. Desi is a bad-ass business woman and Julian may seem like a ladies man, but he's really just a big ball of fluff. I just love them both so much!!!
As with the others in the series, there's also quite a bit of action and suspense as Desi and Julian work to find the person who's been stalking and threatening Desi. Obviously, because this is Nocturne Falls, the whole town is gonna pitch in to help out.
Because Kristen Painter is a goddess knows exactly what I want, Aunt Birdie is heavily featured and swoops in to help save the day. Bless Aunt Birdie and all of her badassery, she's the true star of Nocturne Falls.
This book is just amazing. I'll just be over here, patiently waiting for the next installment.
This installment is finally about Julian. The wait was completely worth it! Julian and Desi make such a cute pair. Desi is a bad-ass business woman and Julian may seem like a ladies man, but he's really just a big ball of fluff. I just love them both so much!!!
As with the others in the series, there's also quite a bit of action and suspense as Desi and Julian work to find the person who's been stalking and threatening Desi. Obviously, because this is Nocturne Falls, the whole town is gonna pitch in to help out.
Because Kristen Painter is a goddess knows exactly what I want, Aunt Birdie is heavily featured and swoops in to help save the day. Bless Aunt Birdie and all of her badassery, she's the true star of Nocturne Falls.
This book is just amazing. I'll just be over here, patiently waiting for the next installment.
June 22, 2023
Nice little romance - not much heat on or off page. Our MC was "twitterpated" but it went ok for him. Also missing the humor of previous installments. Had an interesting twist in this one, and no end of characters for more books.
March 14, 2026
Not going to write a lot about it. It’s just one more romantic and adventurous fantasy book full of vampires, and other fantasy creatures. Love this series, love this author.
July 15, 2021
The Vampire’s Accidental Wife is book 8 in the Nocturne Falls series. This book is about Julian Ellingham and Desdemona (Desi) Valentine Clark. Julian is the youngest of the 3 Ellingham brothers, but still well over 400 years old. Julian and Desi are both vampires. I’ve been binging this series this year, but when it was time to read this book, I stopped. I put off reading this book for a few months because I wasn’t all that excited to read about Julian. In all of the other books that he has appeared in, he was made out to be kind of a tool. He was supposedly immature and a womanizer and not one to be taken seriously. Reading this book, that all turned out to be incorrect. I did kind of struggle with the departure from his personality in prior books to what it was in this book because it was never addressed. We really needed Julian to have a conversation with his brothers to clear up their misconceptions about him being an irresponsible playboy. They all loved each other but one of the issues Julian had was that he felt his brothers didn’t take him seriously or respect him as a man and as a contributing member of their family and, essentially, empire.
Julian was very caring and devoted to his wife, even though their marriage only took place after an extreme amount of champagne was consumed, and Desi was clear that she did not want to be married to anyone. The big mystery and suspense in this book is that someone is out to kill Desi and has been stalking her. I really enjoyed this book. It was very well rounded and complete. The romance was great, the character development was excellent for Desi, and the mystery was good.
As usual, we got to see many of the other townsfolk from Nocturne Falls and watch them come together in a time of need to help out Julian and Desi. I really love this town and all of the people in it. I look forward to continuing the series.
The narration was good, as usual. It is the same narrator as the rest of the series and he has a lot of different voices. I recommend this audiobook.
Julian was very caring and devoted to his wife, even though their marriage only took place after an extreme amount of champagne was consumed, and Desi was clear that she did not want to be married to anyone. The big mystery and suspense in this book is that someone is out to kill Desi and has been stalking her. I really enjoyed this book. It was very well rounded and complete. The romance was great, the character development was excellent for Desi, and the mystery was good.
As usual, we got to see many of the other townsfolk from Nocturne Falls and watch them come together in a time of need to help out Julian and Desi. I really love this town and all of the people in it. I look forward to continuing the series.
The narration was good, as usual. It is the same narrator as the rest of the series and he has a lot of different voices. I recommend this audiobook.
May 12, 2019
Sheeesh it took me so long to finish this book. Some other book was more interesting. Not good. And I like this series!
So we finally have Julian's story...and he's sooo sweet and much deeper than his playboy facade. And he's married the woman of his dreams...except she doesn't want to be. Add to that stress is someone trying to harm Desi. But Julian and later, Nocturne Falls residents, rally behind Desi. And they do eventually get their HEA.
Desi is so strong and stubborn and set in her ways, that really, I almost wanted Julian to not go for her anymore. Poor Julian. How could she not?! Anyway, part of her resistance to Julian is what made me not so into this book. Though I did imagine a more horrific experience with Alfonso that what was eventually revealed. Sigh. Oh well.
Not one of the best in the series...but it's Julian so ok.
So we finally have Julian's story...and he's sooo sweet and much deeper than his playboy facade. And he's married the woman of his dreams...except she doesn't want to be. Add to that stress is someone trying to harm Desi. But Julian and later, Nocturne Falls residents, rally behind Desi. And they do eventually get their HEA.
Desi is so strong and stubborn and set in her ways, that really, I almost wanted Julian to not go for her anymore. Poor Julian. How could she not?! Anyway, part of her resistance to Julian is what made me not so into this book. Though I did imagine a more horrific experience with Alfonso that what was eventually revealed. Sigh. Oh well.
Not one of the best in the series...but it's Julian so ok.
June 25, 2017
Consummate playboy Julian Ellingham has found himself accidentally married to Vegas headliner Desdemona Valentine after one too many glasses of champagne. Julian doesn't mind, because he loves her; Desi, however, has reservations, because her last husband left her on a deserted island to die. (She's also a vampire, and was married to a vampire pirate a century ago.)
As others have mentioned, Julian's personality does a 180 in this installment. While the plot was serviceable, I would have preferred a story about how Julian reformed, rather than having it explained in an info-dump.
A big shout-out to Aunt Birdie, the werewolf receptionist at the police station. Apparently, she's a hacker of epic proportions, as well as a badass.
As others have mentioned, Julian's personality does a 180 in this installment. While the plot was serviceable, I would have preferred a story about how Julian reformed, rather than having it explained in an info-dump.
A big shout-out to Aunt Birdie, the werewolf receptionist at the police station. Apparently, she's a hacker of epic proportions, as well as a badass.
January 29, 2019
Needing a break from all the fantasy I’ve been reading lately, I decided for a quick read within my favorite town in the world, Nocturne Falls! This time I read The Vampire’s Accidental Wife, a book I’ve been waiting forever to read! In it, we see playboy Julian finally decide to settle down, only for a change of pace, the woman he loves doesn’t want a relationship with him at all.
Desdemona Valentine is a Vegas celebrity with her own show, she’s a vampire pretending to be a human pretending to be a vampire, so it all works out! Julian has been to many of her shows and somewhere down the line, fell in love with her and one night after way too much to drink, Desdemona wakes up to find herself a married woman, which wasn’t in her plans whatsoever. Despite enjoying Julian’s friendship, she swore to herself she would never love again after her first relationship went seriously wrong.
Julian decides to give Desi a deal, he asks that she wait one year until they file for divorce and in that year, he would try to convince her to stay married to him. Months have passed, and while Desi continues to enjoy Julian’s company, she still has no feelings for him other than friendship. But then out of nowhere an accident occurs, Desi’s daylight partner, Sam, who’s a shapeshifter and makes herself look like Desi during the day to protect Desi’s vampire secret, gets attacked, Desi fears for her life and knows the only person who can help her is Julian.
After making sure Sam would be protected by a bodyguard, Desi goes with Julian to Nocturne Falls where she soon falls in love with the delightful town where supernaturals can be themselves openly. While she’s here, Julian tries to figure out who could be after Desi and want her dead. It’s not long before Desi’s stalker realizes she’s in Nocturne Falls and her life once again becomes in danger.
Ever since I started this series I was eagerly awaiting the time when it would be Julian’s turn to settle down! He’s the youngest of the Ellingham brothers and the residential playboy of the town. Thinking of him settling down seemed impossible, yet I was more than eager to see that time come! Desi was definitely a challenge for him, as she rightly should be! That she didn’t fall for him as the many women have fallen for Julian in the past was the icing on the cake.
Though we all know that this series is part mystery and part paranormal romance, so you can pretty much figure out how things will end for Julian and Desi. And I must say I quite enjoyed their journey to their romance! It was sweet and just kind of perfect! I love a nicely drawn out romance, it’s such a breath of fresh air from some of the insta-love stories I come across!
Oddly, I find myself really want to know more about Desi’s shapeshifter friend, Sam. As we learn a thing or two about what’s going on with her through phone conversations with Desdemona. There’s definitely a possible story there, maybe a novella even! And I really want to know more about that! Lol! You never know who will turn up in the next Nocturne Falls book, so anything is possible!
The mystery to this one was rather good! I had my suspicions and was actually rather thrown when I found out I was very, very wrong! Lol. Though it was still a realistic turnabout to find out who the stalker was. The dramatic change of events made for a heart-racing conclusion as well, but in the true fashion of this series, all ends as it should be!
The Nocturne Falls series is one I cannot get enough of! It’s the perfect read for paranormal lovers and mystery readers too! I’d say it’s a nice 50/50 balance of love and mystery, making for quite the enjoyable read! While each novel is a standalone of sorts, there will be teeny tiny spoilers regarding other characters and their happily ever afters, but none that should surprise you in the long run should you want to start with a particular novel instead of the first one!
All in all, The Vampire’s Accidental Wife was an enjoyable read and a worthy ending for one of my favorite characters. Of course, that’s not to say that Julian (and Desi) won’t pop up again in future books as side characters, that’s positively the best part of this series, you never truly say goodbye to any of the characters!
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
Desdemona Valentine is a Vegas celebrity with her own show, she’s a vampire pretending to be a human pretending to be a vampire, so it all works out! Julian has been to many of her shows and somewhere down the line, fell in love with her and one night after way too much to drink, Desdemona wakes up to find herself a married woman, which wasn’t in her plans whatsoever. Despite enjoying Julian’s friendship, she swore to herself she would never love again after her first relationship went seriously wrong.
Julian decides to give Desi a deal, he asks that she wait one year until they file for divorce and in that year, he would try to convince her to stay married to him. Months have passed, and while Desi continues to enjoy Julian’s company, she still has no feelings for him other than friendship. But then out of nowhere an accident occurs, Desi’s daylight partner, Sam, who’s a shapeshifter and makes herself look like Desi during the day to protect Desi’s vampire secret, gets attacked, Desi fears for her life and knows the only person who can help her is Julian.
After making sure Sam would be protected by a bodyguard, Desi goes with Julian to Nocturne Falls where she soon falls in love with the delightful town where supernaturals can be themselves openly. While she’s here, Julian tries to figure out who could be after Desi and want her dead. It’s not long before Desi’s stalker realizes she’s in Nocturne Falls and her life once again becomes in danger.
Ever since I started this series I was eagerly awaiting the time when it would be Julian’s turn to settle down! He’s the youngest of the Ellingham brothers and the residential playboy of the town. Thinking of him settling down seemed impossible, yet I was more than eager to see that time come! Desi was definitely a challenge for him, as she rightly should be! That she didn’t fall for him as the many women have fallen for Julian in the past was the icing on the cake.
Though we all know that this series is part mystery and part paranormal romance, so you can pretty much figure out how things will end for Julian and Desi. And I must say I quite enjoyed their journey to their romance! It was sweet and just kind of perfect! I love a nicely drawn out romance, it’s such a breath of fresh air from some of the insta-love stories I come across!
Oddly, I find myself really want to know more about Desi’s shapeshifter friend, Sam. As we learn a thing or two about what’s going on with her through phone conversations with Desdemona. There’s definitely a possible story there, maybe a novella even! And I really want to know more about that! Lol! You never know who will turn up in the next Nocturne Falls book, so anything is possible!
The mystery to this one was rather good! I had my suspicions and was actually rather thrown when I found out I was very, very wrong! Lol. Though it was still a realistic turnabout to find out who the stalker was. The dramatic change of events made for a heart-racing conclusion as well, but in the true fashion of this series, all ends as it should be!
The Nocturne Falls series is one I cannot get enough of! It’s the perfect read for paranormal lovers and mystery readers too! I’d say it’s a nice 50/50 balance of love and mystery, making for quite the enjoyable read! While each novel is a standalone of sorts, there will be teeny tiny spoilers regarding other characters and their happily ever afters, but none that should surprise you in the long run should you want to start with a particular novel instead of the first one!
All in all, The Vampire’s Accidental Wife was an enjoyable read and a worthy ending for one of my favorite characters. Of course, that’s not to say that Julian (and Desi) won’t pop up again in future books as side characters, that’s positively the best part of this series, you never truly say goodbye to any of the characters!
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
June 15, 2017
Playbook Prince and the Showgirl
Hiding in plain sight is making a thing so blatantly obvious that everyone overlooks it. That is exactly what Desdimona Valentine did with her Las Vegas show 'VAMP", and it worked well. That is it did till an unknown stalker started sending death threats and attempted to take out her Skinwalker double, Sam. In a moment of desperation she calls Julian Ellingham, the vampire whom in a drunken stupor she somehow managed to get herself married to eight months before. Julian swoopes in, arranges a guard for Sam at the hospital, and flies Desi off bag and baggage to his home in Nocturne Falls. From that point on her live is a series of events that tie a hideously scarring past to an future that promises her everything she could ever hope for, but only if she can truly let the past go and face her greatest fear. - They just keep getting better. -
Hiding in plain sight is making a thing so blatantly obvious that everyone overlooks it. That is exactly what Desdimona Valentine did with her Las Vegas show 'VAMP", and it worked well. That is it did till an unknown stalker started sending death threats and attempted to take out her Skinwalker double, Sam. In a moment of desperation she calls Julian Ellingham, the vampire whom in a drunken stupor she somehow managed to get herself married to eight months before. Julian swoopes in, arranges a guard for Sam at the hospital, and flies Desi off bag and baggage to his home in Nocturne Falls. From that point on her live is a series of events that tie a hideously scarring past to an future that promises her everything she could ever hope for, but only if she can truly let the past go and face her greatest fear. - They just keep getting better. -
May 8, 2017
Kristen hits it out of the park with this one. Julien finally meets his match, in more ways than one! I love his character a lot but it was nice to see someone give him a run for his money after all the years of his playboy years charades. I wasn't quite sure at first if I liked Desi. There were moments I wanted to shake her because she seemed to almost mistreat Juien by sticking around but not loving him in return. But at the same time, she would feel bad about it. In the end, we see why she was hesitant. Everything falls into place. She also has a crazy psycho after her wanting to kill her. Who wouldn't take any help and protection they could get?! She's lived a solitary life, other than her work so she doesn't have anyone but Julien. We see a little of Harlen again. I so hope he gets a book. I just love him. This was a wonderful read with appearances of lots of other characters from Nocturne Falls.
October 20, 2019
2019 BK 338. Julian Effingham had been going to Las Vegas to check out the wedding chapels and other ideas for entertaining people in Nocturne Falls, and found him falling for VAMP's fantastic vampire star Desdemona Valentine. After months of persuasion, they spend a night with a little to much to drink, and wake up married the next morning. Their plans to spend a year seeing if they even like each other enough to stay married are disrupted when a stalker threatens and then makes attempts to kill Desdemona. Fleeing to Nocturne Falls, the couple thinks they are safe until (1) the stalker follows them and 2) Julian's grandmothers learns they are married.
April 3, 2022
Once again, I stayed away from this utterly delightful series for far too long. (On the upside, that means there's a whole new pile of books in it available for me to discover!) The world of Nocturne Falls and its myriad supernatural inhabitants is entertaining as ever, and I was especially thrilled to finally get to see Julian find his HEA which was clearly long overdue. Desi is a great match for him, and a serving of all this romantic fun with a small side of action was just what my fever-addled brain needed right now. Already very much looking forward to the next book, which I definitely won't wait as long to pick up as I did this one!
June 1, 2026
No one told me that playboy Julian Ellingham would be the absolute sweetest and most devoted of all the brothers once he found his person. I wasn't prepared for his soft and gooey center. He and Desdemona are so perfect together and how he loves her and is beyond thrilled at their accidental marriage tugged on my heart strings. How far he was willing to go to keep her safe even though she wanted a divorce was so adorably sweet. I want Nocturne Falls to exist so badly. Or maybe just these characters to be real. Although then that would mean the bad guys are real as well and that's slightly terrifying. Another fun book in a fun series. 5/5 soulmates for Julian and Desi.
Quotes
“Desi, I love you. Don’t apologize for sharing this with me.” Although he still didn’t know what this man had done to her. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m happy you feel close enough to me to share it. And if I can help you bear this burden in some way, then so be it. I’m here for you in whatever capacity you need me to be.”
She smiled weakly. “That kind of love will destroy you.”
He shook his head, angst-ridden that her outlook on life was this shadowed. “Not if you love the right person.”
Risk and reward were paired for a reason. You didn’t get one without the other.
Quotes
“Desi, I love you. Don’t apologize for sharing this with me.” Although he still didn’t know what this man had done to her. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m happy you feel close enough to me to share it. And if I can help you bear this burden in some way, then so be it. I’m here for you in whatever capacity you need me to be.”
She smiled weakly. “That kind of love will destroy you.”
He shook his head, angst-ridden that her outlook on life was this shadowed. “Not if you love the right person.”
Risk and reward were paired for a reason. You didn’t get one without the other.
March 1, 2026
Julian, the playboy has fallen for Desdemona, the Vegas showgirl.
Of course, there's more to both of them than that.
She's nursing a heartbreak almost 200 years old, and he's been watching his brothers settle into their own happinesses and is starting to feel that maybe 400 years is too long to not have been in love.
And boy, he falls heavily.
There's not really an explanation or reason for how into Desi he is.
I get why she falls for him. I'm not sure I understand his obsession with her because so much of their courtship and early relationship is obscured in time jumps.
But it's light and fun, I guess?
This was less fluffy than some of the others I've read in the series.
Of course, there's more to both of them than that.
She's nursing a heartbreak almost 200 years old, and he's been watching his brothers settle into their own happinesses and is starting to feel that maybe 400 years is too long to not have been in love.
And boy, he falls heavily.
There's not really an explanation or reason for how into Desi he is.
I get why she falls for him. I'm not sure I understand his obsession with her because so much of their courtship and early relationship is obscured in time jumps.
But it's light and fun, I guess?
This was less fluffy than some of the others I've read in the series.
Did Not Finish
May 16, 2026I have really enjoyed reading / listening to the books in this series so far.
I like this book less than the previous.
Julian's character is very different from the earlier books, and I think that's a shame.
I usually like the setup of the accidental marriage, but here it doesn't appeal to me.
I do want to read other books in the series, but this one wasn't for me.
I like this book less than the previous.
Julian's character is very different from the earlier books, and I think that's a shame.
I usually like the setup of the accidental marriage, but here it doesn't appeal to me.
I do want to read other books in the series, but this one wasn't for me.
May 18, 2017
3.5 stars - these are always fun
January 14, 2018
Still enjoying this series.
March 16, 2022
Totally wishing I lived in Nocturne Falls....with appropriate hottie of course :)
June 7, 2025
Que triste la vida de esta chica, recompensada al fin.
August 28, 2026
A fun read
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