THE ACCIDENTAL DRAGON - Dakota Cassidy
An Accidentally Paranormal Novel - Book 9
Berkley Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 0425268632
ISBN-13: 978-0425268636
February 2015
Paranormal Comedy Romance

Vermont, the Present

Firefighter Mick Malone has loved his best friend's baby sister forever, but Noah died the night he told Mick something that made it impossible for Mick to engage with the love of his life. Instead, he has watched her, checked on her, and argued with her. He and Tessa have argued since they were children, but in the three years since Noah passed, the arguments have taken on a bitter and destructive edge. Today, it made Mick accidentally burn up Tessa's antique shop, Auntie Q's, just as some customers entered. Fire literally erupted from his mouth in a long consuming blast. Luckily, he didn't burn anyone…singed them a little, yes, but everyone remains uninjured.

Tessa Preston has given up hope that tall, gorgeous, and hunky Mick will ever return her love. Now three stranger customers stand in the shop witness to the calamity that just took place and claiming to be members of OOPS, the Out in the Open Paranormal Support Group. It seems when Mick went into the bathroom to take aspirin for the headache he developed from their argument, he swallowed instead the rare spice she found for a client, an already paid for $10,000 order. Whatever was in the packet turned Mick into a dragon. She learns a little later that the blast also, in some mysterious way no one can explain, turned her into a dragon. Shocked and bewildered, Tessa is in for more surprises as she will shortly lay a dragon egg.

One of the strangers in Auntie Q's is a loud mouth, crude talking but beautiful brunette woman who turns out to be a vampire. The second woman is blonde Marty Flaherty, a werewolf. The third is Wanda Schwartz-Jefferson, who is half vampire and half werewolf. These three close friends were vacationing in Vermont when they entered Auntie Q's, and their OOPS organization demands that they help these two new paranormals adjust to their now world, even if that ends up taking them to hell.

As a newcomer to this series, I didn't immediately fit in with good-hearted vampires, werewolves, demons, genies, zombies, and other-reality paranormals. Most were from previous stories, so I advise new-to-the-series readers to start before book nine. The often comedic quips, puns, and down-and-dirty repartee also take a little adjustment, so my 'suspension of disbelief' for this story was slow to kick in. However, the adventure was worth the read and, perhaps more so, the subliminal message to accept individuals for who they are, not what you presume.

Robin Lee