What do you think?
Rate this book
Darkheart & Crosse #1
Dressed to Slay
Megan's preparing to walk down the aisle with her triplet sisters as her bridesmaids when their long-lost grandfather Darkheart interrupts with staggering they are heirs of an ancient vampire-slaying legacy. One of them is a natural-born slayer. One is a healer. One will become a vampire. And they're all in imminent danger from the vamp who murdered their mother.
With a fiancé out for blood, a bodyguard as wild as he is wolf and a dreamy detective on her trail, Megan is unnerved and deeply conflicted. If the prophecy is true, she may be her sisters' deadliest enemy. But if it's not, who will save them all from a world turned vamp?
With a fiancé out for blood, a bodyguard as wild as he is wolf and a dreamy detective on her trail, Megan is unnerved and deeply conflicted. If the prophecy is true, she may be her sisters' deadliest enemy. But if it's not, who will save them all from a world turned vamp?
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
7 people are currently reading
1221 people want to read
About the author
Harper Allen
31 books29 followersHarper Allen is a Canadian writer of romance novels. She is a four-time nominee for a Career Achievement Award by Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine and her novel Dressed To Slay was named the magazine's choice for Best Silhouette Bombshell of 2006.
Her Irish ancestry lends them a touch of Celtic mysticism, while her work as a reporter in the criminal court system gives her books a darker edge, first and foremost each one is a story about a man and a woman falling in love and holding on to that love. Her characters have always been real people with real flaws, desperately struggling to find the love that will redeem them - and for that Harper need look no further for inspiration than her own life.
Harper grew up in a blue-collar motor city, and with comments such as "Does not play well with others" on her grade-school report cards. Underneath the motorcycle leathers and the rose tattoo, beats the heart of a true romantic. The day she met the man who eventually became her husband, she told her sister, "I've just met the man I'm going to marry. How long do you think it'll take him to figure it out?" They married, and had little kids, who aren't the first ones picked for the volleyball team. Her idea of a great date with her husband is going to a baseball game. Her idea of a great baseball game is any one in which the Red Sox win.
Her Irish ancestry lends them a touch of Celtic mysticism, while her work as a reporter in the criminal court system gives her books a darker edge, first and foremost each one is a story about a man and a woman falling in love and holding on to that love. Her characters have always been real people with real flaws, desperately struggling to find the love that will redeem them - and for that Harper need look no further for inspiration than her own life.
Harper grew up in a blue-collar motor city, and with comments such as "Does not play well with others" on her grade-school report cards. Underneath the motorcycle leathers and the rose tattoo, beats the heart of a true romantic. The day she met the man who eventually became her husband, she told her sister, "I've just met the man I'm going to marry. How long do you think it'll take him to figure it out?" They married, and had little kids, who aren't the first ones picked for the volleyball team. Her idea of a great date with her husband is going to a baseball game. Her idea of a great baseball game is any one in which the Red Sox win.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 4, 2010
I’ve got a theory. I think Dressed to Slay is actually a long-lost episode of Buffy. The Scooby Gang has been hit by another demonic curse. This time, instead of falling silent or bursting into song, they’ve all been turned into Cordelia, and I mean first-season Cordelia. (All but Giles, that is. He miraculously escapes the Cordelia curse, but picks up a Russian accent.)
The comparison breaks down pretty quickly, though, because if Joss Whedon had written Dressed to Slay, I’d probably like it better. I’ll say it right up front: Dressed to Slay was not my cup of tea.
The first chapter consists of the three Crosse sisters infodumping their entire life histories to each other. These girls grew up together, so they’re telling each other things they already know. There’s so much fashion name-dropping that I hope Juicy Couture and Jimmy Choo paid Harper Allen for the product placement. Then, as the plot thickens, our heroine gets into an argument about Mariah Carey in the middle of a fight for her life, and breaks the fourth wall to dispense fashion advice to the reader, also in the middle of a fight for her life:
If any goth-types reading this are thinking, God, how stupid can this chick be not to know vampires can’t be killed with lead? I have two things to say to you. One: I hoped the books and movies were wrong on that; and two: a couple of black dresses are admittedly a good starting point for a wardrobe, but at a certain stage, why not consider adding a few pale neutrals?
The plot consists, for the most part, of Megan and her sisters doing moronic things. Megan mocks herself often for behaving like a “Too Dumb to Live” horror movie heroine, but keeps doing it anyway. The heroines are saved by dumb luck more often than not. Along the way, they have catty arguments and exchange dialogue that’s sometimes funny, but more often than not feels like it’s trying too hard to be Hip And Zany.
Megan has two love interests. One is dull as dishwater. The other stands over her smirking while she goes into anaphylactic shock. Be still my heart. (Literally?)
But what I really couldn’t get over was what felt like an enormous plot hole in the middle of the book. This is spoilery, so I’ll try to be vague: Megan breaks into the office of the villain and finds a strange weapon there. She immediately decides to go kill vamps with it. I can almost ignore the fact that there’s no foreshadowing that suggests this type of weapon would even work on the undead — Maybe Megan’s super-special slayer heritage clued her in somehow — but ...the whole scene implies that Megan intentionally walked into the “lion’s den” without bringing a stake of her own. Not to mention, why would the villain, who knew the weapon’s provenance, leave it out in the open? I guess the heroine and villain are equally matched in the Too Dumb to Live department.
Overall, there’s just too much character stupidity in this book. It’s hard to empathize with the protagonists when you spend the whole book wanting to hit them with the Clue Bat.
If Dressed to Slay has a saving grace, though, it’s a complete lack of pretension. Harper Allen clearly knows she’s writing camp. If there’s anything worse than a bad vampire novel, it’s a bad vampire novel with delusions of grandeur. That’s one flaw you won’t find here.
The comparison breaks down pretty quickly, though, because if Joss Whedon had written Dressed to Slay, I’d probably like it better. I’ll say it right up front: Dressed to Slay was not my cup of tea.
The first chapter consists of the three Crosse sisters infodumping their entire life histories to each other. These girls grew up together, so they’re telling each other things they already know. There’s so much fashion name-dropping that I hope Juicy Couture and Jimmy Choo paid Harper Allen for the product placement. Then, as the plot thickens, our heroine gets into an argument about Mariah Carey in the middle of a fight for her life, and breaks the fourth wall to dispense fashion advice to the reader, also in the middle of a fight for her life:
If any goth-types reading this are thinking, God, how stupid can this chick be not to know vampires can’t be killed with lead? I have two things to say to you. One: I hoped the books and movies were wrong on that; and two: a couple of black dresses are admittedly a good starting point for a wardrobe, but at a certain stage, why not consider adding a few pale neutrals?
The plot consists, for the most part, of Megan and her sisters doing moronic things. Megan mocks herself often for behaving like a “Too Dumb to Live” horror movie heroine, but keeps doing it anyway. The heroines are saved by dumb luck more often than not. Along the way, they have catty arguments and exchange dialogue that’s sometimes funny, but more often than not feels like it’s trying too hard to be Hip And Zany.
Megan has two love interests. One is dull as dishwater. The other stands over her smirking while she goes into anaphylactic shock. Be still my heart. (Literally?)
But what I really couldn’t get over was what felt like an enormous plot hole in the middle of the book. This is spoilery, so I’ll try to be vague: Megan breaks into the office of the villain and finds a strange weapon there. She immediately decides to go kill vamps with it. I can almost ignore the fact that there’s no foreshadowing that suggests this type of weapon would even work on the undead — Maybe Megan’s super-special slayer heritage clued her in somehow — but ...the whole scene implies that Megan intentionally walked into the “lion’s den” without bringing a stake of her own. Not to mention, why would the villain, who knew the weapon’s provenance, leave it out in the open? I guess the heroine and villain are equally matched in the Too Dumb to Live department.
Overall, there’s just too much character stupidity in this book. It’s hard to empathize with the protagonists when you spend the whole book wanting to hit them with the Clue Bat.
If Dressed to Slay has a saving grace, though, it’s a complete lack of pretension. Harper Allen clearly knows she’s writing camp. If there’s anything worse than a bad vampire novel, it’s a bad vampire novel with delusions of grandeur. That’s one flaw you won’t find here.
December 30, 2008
What a cheesy book, but for some reason I just couldn't put it down last night. As a romance book, it had its obligatory sex scene (pretty wild too if the length was any indicator) which I skipped, but other than the one, it wasn't too bad. It was like reading Buffy meets 90210 with some really bad Russian accents thrown in. Fun and totally forgettable. Shrug!
July 24, 2013
I loved the story line right until there was sex.
June 17, 2021
More of a three star book, however there was a character that was introduced solely for the purpose of being massively transphobic!!!!!!!! And that pissed me off for the rest of the book which I would have enjoyed otherwise. Cannot in good conscious recommend this book even though it was mostly fun.
May 20, 2018
There are a lot of "I wish I'd known [x] then" type lines throughout that are supposed to be chatty "You'll never believe what happened to me!" but are really just lazy foreshadowing. That's not all that irritated me about this one but it's definitely way up there.
didn-t-finish
January 17, 2020Yup. Calling it quits after one chapter. Premise sounds good but man I can't deal with these characters.
August 2, 2014
The night before her wedding, Megan Crosse and her sisters are celebrating their upcoming marriages when their fiances show up unexpectedly. When the three men attempt to kill them, they discover their fiances were turned into vampires at the Bachelor Party. The girls long-lost grandfather arrives along with a shapeshifter, Mikhail Vosteroff. Grandfather says that the girls are heirs to an ancient vampire-slaying legacy. One of them will become a vampire slayer, one will be a healer, and the third will become a vampire. And, the vamp who murdered their mother is in town and gunning for them. Mikhail believes Megan will be the sister who turns into a vampire. He is there to watch over her in case she turns unexpectedly. Megan finds him sexy, but she is also interested in the cute cop who is investigating her fiances disappearance.
This was a fun book. Even though the first 20+ pages were a overwhelming with all the information being dumped on the reader, it was soon sorted out. The story is told in first-person from Megan's point-of-view and is very amusing. This book had a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" feel to it. I'm going to quickly pick up the second book to see what happens next. My rating: 4 Stars.
This was a fun book. Even though the first 20+ pages were a overwhelming with all the information being dumped on the reader, it was soon sorted out. The story is told in first-person from Megan's point-of-view and is very amusing. This book had a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" feel to it. I'm going to quickly pick up the second book to see what happens next. My rating: 4 Stars.
May 6, 2011
I liked this book, The beginning of a trilogy, the main character -Megan, is the eldest of her triplet sisters. The day before her wedding to a guy she doesn't really love, hers and her sisters fiancés show up and try to kill them... everything is downhill from there, at least emotionally.
I thought it was ruthless that the author put the sisters in a position where eventually everything wouldn't be alright between them. I mean they are good sisters but if one of them eventually wants to kill the other two and one of them has this golden duty to anihilate her, it could ceartinly be kind of awkward for the third one.. Just imagine the holidays!
I liked Mikhail, sometimes. I didn't really like Van, just like Megan said... too good to be true. Grandps Darkheart was kind of .. well grandpa. Popsie and Grams although short on paper time.. were kind and cool.
Overall I would say is a book worth reading :) I just really really hope that the sis will find some way to make everything right so they can be happy.. not only with their significant others but with each other too... specially with each other, family is important and no prophecy or destiny should mess with it ;)
May 31, 2016
I don't like to leave bad reviews, but this book was truly dreadful. The writing was clunky - full of unnecesary exposition that ruined the flow, bland, unoriginal, and completely unrealistic - even for a fantasy novel. Particularly annoying was the habit of the characters to indulge in rambling, sarcastic, and *supposedly* witty monologues in the middle of life or death situations. Add to that the main character's habit of calling the only compelling character, Mikhail, Mikey-baby, and I wanted to gouge my eyes out.
And in case you think I am being unnecessarily harsh, here's an excerpt:
"Wolflike golden eyes held mine. A wolflike silver-tipped ruff stood up around a snarling wolfish face and massively muscled wolflike front legs were planted on either side of me.
'Call off your damn wolf."
:/
And in case you think I am being unnecessarily harsh, here's an excerpt:
"Wolflike golden eyes held mine. A wolflike silver-tipped ruff stood up around a snarling wolfish face and massively muscled wolflike front legs were planted on either side of me.
'Call off your damn wolf."
:/
September 14, 2014
Two stars for effort and, well, I had a bit of a soft spot for Mikhail. That is, until he became a pod person and suddenly turned submissive.
This book was a cross between a cheesy Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic and MaryJanice Davidson's 'Queen Betsy' series. Since I don't like either of those two things, I didn't enjoy this book very much.
This book was a cross between a cheesy Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic and MaryJanice Davidson's 'Queen Betsy' series. Since I don't like either of those two things, I didn't enjoy this book very much.
May 26, 2017
Adding a review for this as I've rated it without a review.
A lot of things have happened since. 2014 Was a very hard year for myself so all the reviews are showing up on the same date. I can't explain why they are, if the ratings are justice or accurate I can also not say when I truly read these. I'm just going to say 2014 on the same day added just to keep the year right if not the month...
A lot of things have happened since. 2014 Was a very hard year for myself so all the reviews are showing up on the same date. I can't explain why they are, if the ratings are justice or accurate I can also not say when I truly read these. I'm just going to say 2014 on the same day added just to keep the year right if not the month...
April 4, 2011
Silhouette Bombshell #109
Darkheart & Crosse #1
Triplet daughters learn about an ancient prophecy... 1 is a vampire slayer, 1 is a healer, and 1 is to become a vampire... this book focuses on Megan, the "oldest" triplet, and her story.
Darkheart & Crosse #1
Triplet daughters learn about an ancient prophecy... 1 is a vampire slayer, 1 is a healer, and 1 is to become a vampire... this book focuses on Megan, the "oldest" triplet, and her story.
November 3, 2013
This was annoying in many ways (stupidity as plot! bad on trans issues! bad Russian accents!) and then we got to WOLVES MATE FOR LIFE and it was all over. (Also I got all weird and angry when someone called Buffy an "old TV show." Shut up! I'm totally not... oh. Right.)
April 9, 2011
It was okay. Kind of annoying at times though, and really rushed.
December 29, 2011
One in a series about triplet sisters. Good for fluff reading if you aren't looking to tax your brain.
March 12, 2014
I really tried to finish this book, but the dialogue was corny and immature. I don't know if the author was trying for funny, but it fell flat.
April 12, 2013
World building not interesting.
October 3, 2013
EUGH!!!!!!!!!!!
April 5, 2015
Libro senza infamia né lode. Non è brutto, per carità. E' scorrevole e a tratti anche divertente, ma niente di che.
April 4, 2017
4.5 stars
Funny, fast paced and entertaining.
Funny, fast paced and entertaining.
June 1, 2016
Funny, sexy and totally fantastic. Loved this book
April 23, 2016
good fun, love the whit.
October 25, 2013
Slow start, but i think it was a good book over all. lots of romance and action.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews