We are back with another Transplanted Tales novel as we celebrate the series 10-Year Anniversary. In this third novel, we are hunting vampires with Trish Muffett and Nicky, aka “Little Boy Blue”. Come read an excerpt, check out my review, and enter to win some goodies before grabbing your copy!
Along Came a Spider
Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue are all grown up—and hunting the world’s most famous vampire—in this gritty paranormal romance novel.
Ever since Make Believe characters were transported into the ordinary world, their Happily Ever Afters have been a thing of the past. So when Trish Muffet is attacked at a grisly crime scene, the last person she expects to come to her rescue is Nicky “Little Boy” Blue. But these days Nicky’s doling out vigilante justice as “The Spider,” taking on predators of the night in the hopes of locating his ultimate target—Vlad Dracula. And he needs Trish’s help.
Although Nicky’s renegade style goes against everything Trish stands for, she’ll do what she must to bring Dracula down. With danger stalking her, Trish knows the only person she can count on is the one man who has the power to leave her breathless. There’s no way she’s letting this spider frighten her away.
Transplanted Tales Series
Better Watch Out (Fall 2022)
Read an Excerpt
I glanced around, searching frantically for some escape, but it was useless. Unless I suddenly discovered some latent ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, I was well and truly hosed. I pressed my lips together and squared off. If I was going down, I wasn’t going to make it easy. They’d have to earn my blood.
“Come on, you bitch!” I growled at the blonde. “You want a piece of me? Bring it on!”
She leaped forward like she was on a spring. My eyes went wide, my courageous last stand suddenly not such a brilliant idea. But a split second later, she jerked back with a screech, her hand clawing at a small black arrow lodged in her shoulder. I heard an answering screech from the brunette and swung around in time to see her head snap back as an arrow pierced her eye.
What the hell?
There was a scuffling noise behind me that brought my head around in time to see the blonde struggling with a figure dressed in black fatigues and wearing a black ski mask. As I watched, he swung his fist, catching her jaw with a right hook, then slamming her chin with a left uppercut that knocked her on her ass. In the next instant, he had a knee on her chest and snatched from his ammo belt something that looked like a railroad stake. The blonde didn’t even have time to react as he drove it down into the center of her chest.
I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath until it burst from me with a gasp. But my relief was short-lived. An arm came around my throat, cutting off my air. I drove my elbow into my attacker’s ribs, but it barely fazed her. I grabbed her arm and tucked my chin down to take some of the pressure from my esophagus, then drove the edge of my snow boot down along her exposed shin, making her howl in pain.
“Get down!”
My eyes darted toward the sound of the man’s voice. He stood over the body of the blonde, a small crossbow aimed at the brunette. I bit down on the vampire’s arm as hard as I could, drawing her tainted blood. When she roared with rage, her grip loosening for a fraction of a second, I dropped, rolling out of the way as the man in black fired the crossbow. The arrow struck the center of the woman’s chest. Her eyes went wide for a fraction of a second before she crumpled into a permanently dead heap.
So this was the infamous Spider…
I totally took back everything I’d said about the guy being no better than the criminals he brought down. He was my new BFF. I was tempted to see if he was a bit parched after the ass kicking he’d just doled out and maybe wanted to join me for a super stiff drink at Ever Afters, but then the mind-numbing pain in my wrist reminded me I probably had other business to tend to first.
Out of breath, I scooted myself back with my good arm until I could lean against one of the dumpsters. My adrenaline left me in a rush, and I was suddenly completely exhausted. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the dumpster.
“Are you hurt?”
My eyes snapped open, my stomach clenching painfully. There was something so familiar about that voice. . . . “What?”
My rescuer squatted down in front of me. “Are you all right?”
I blinked at him, suddenly experiencing a serious case of déjà vu. The man’s tone was rough, clipped, and there was no hint of mischief or roguish charm. Still . . .
“My wrist is broken,” I said a little breathlessly. “But it’s already healing. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
He gave me a tight nod and started to rise, but then seemed to reconsider and resumed his crouch before me. He studied me for a long moment, giving me a good glimpse of his eyes, but they were in shadow, obscuring the color, and he was completely on his guard. There was no way I was getting in.
“You did good, doll,” he said finally. “Made my job one helluva lot easier.”
I felt my cheeks going warm at the praise. “Thanks.”
His eyes narrowed, crinkling a little behind his ski mask and giving me the impression that he was grinning. “But you know, you shouldn’t be out here alone at night, even if you can kick ass,” he admonished. Then he reached up and twisted one of my ringlets around his gloved index finger and pulled gently before letting it spring back into place. “I’d hate to see harm come to a girl as pretty as you.”
My eyes went wide. Holy shit. “Nicky Blue?” I gasped. “You’re the Spider?” He jumped to his feet and took a few quick steps before I found my voice to cry out, “Wait! Nicky! It’s okay—I know you!”
He halted midstride and shook his head. “No, you don’t,” he said over his shoulder. “No one does. Not anymore.”
I scrambled awkwardly to my feet, my knees still shaky from my encounter with the vampires, but when I looked up again he was gone. I turned a full circle, searching for him in the shadows, but he had slipped away as silently and mysteriously as he’d come. I let out a disappointed sigh.
“You’re wrong, Nicky Blue,” I announced to the darkness. “Nobody knows you better than I do.”
Read My Review
Originally published: August 20, 2013
I have been enjoying Kate SeRine’s Transplant Tale series and was excited to read Along Came a Spider featuring the tale characters Trish Muffet and Nicky “Little Boy” Blue. This is the third book in the series and I recommend reading them in order since you will lose some of the story and charm. When a spell went wrong, some of our favorite fairy tales, characters etc were pulled from their books and ended up in the Here and Now. They live secretly among us; have their own government, rules and task force. Once again, SeRine gave me an entertaining, action-packed, sweet ride, and I consumed this in a single sitting. Three-word review: unique, captivating and fun.
Trish Muffet, yes that’s right “Little Miss Muffet” complete with cork-screw blood hair, is a member of the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. (FMA) when she is attacked at a crime scene, she is both surprised and elated when Nicky “Little Boy” Blue comes to her rescue. She hasn’t laid eyes on him since he left two years ago. She is surprised to discover he is the vigilante known as “The Spider” who has been taking out predators in search of Vlad Dracula. Nicky needs Trish’s help and the tale that unfolds is action-packed, laced with a romance straight from one of those black and white noir movies.
Trish Muffet is one tough little cookie wrapped in cuteness. Since she crossed over, she has had a thing for Nicky and it was delightful seeing their feelings come to the surface. She is a little snarky, and brave despite some serious fear issues. I loved how she would step in front of her friends to protect them. Nicky is smexy, cocky, and I just envisioned him as Neal Caffrey from the hit TV series White Collar. He has ties to the criminal world, and it seems everyone owes him a favor. I loved how he called Trish, “Doll”. It fit his entire persona. He also carries around a lot of guilt and doesn’t feel he is worth making him incredibly irresistible. Nate and Red make an appearance, as do the rest of the gang. I adored some of the secondary characters, such as Gideon, with his arching eyebrow. Many story characters make appearances throughout the novel and seeing what they were doing in the Here and Now was cool. The Agency (human enforcement team that knows about Tales) and its men are heavily involved and I wanted to smack a few of them in the head, making for some intense scenes.
SeRine weaved a fascinating tale surrounding Vlad Dracula, the Agency, and our couple. It was filled with intense action scenes and creepy mental games. The tender moments between the tales had me sighing. I love that all the characters are unique and while we recognize them and their tales they have developed in the Here and Now. SeRine’s interpretation of them had me giggling one moment and dropping my jaw the next. It was fantastic! Nicky and Trish have a history and I loved the back-story. Watching feelings emerge and experiencing the sexual tension and heat had me searching for my happily-ever-after. They are two strong, slightly damaged characters that draw on each other, making the other one better. They made a terrific team investigating the mystery, and I quite enjoyed it. There is an epilogue, and it wraps things up nicely, but I was sad to see this plot ARC end.
Fans of fairy tales, suspense, mystery, and humor wrapped with a side dish of romance will enjoy Along Came a Spider and the entire Transplanted Tales series.
About the Author
Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) is a hopeless romantic who firmly believes in true love that lasts forever. So it’s no surprise that when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed her characters would always have a happily ever after. She’s the author of the award-winning TRANSPLANTED TALES paranormal romance series as well as two romantic suspense series: PROTECT AND SERVE and DARK ALLIANCE.
Kate lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new worlds to share and is even now working on her next project — probably while consuming way too much coffee.
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Giveaways
Along Came A Spider Blog Tour Giveaway
Enter to win a $25.00 eGift card from the retailer of your choice (Amazon, Apple, B&N or Kobo). Ends June 5, 2022.
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MarthaE
Congratulations on the anniversary. I have the first book, Red, in my Kindle TBR library. I need to get around to reading it.
Thanks for highlighting it.
Ailyn Koay
my library doesn’t have the series, i might have to wait until the whole series out before buying the whole set myself…. I so want to binge this
book lover
I have been inspired by your blog. thank you for sharing the best post with us.
Katherine
I adore that this book involves Little Miss Muffet. I need to try this for that alone! What a great concept.
Wendy
Little Miss Muffet was always a scary story for me when I was young, so I can imagine it would make an intriguing story
Sophia Rose
How fun that she turned the nursery rhymes into UF. I will read this series at some point.