I downloaded a copy of Lexi Blake‘s Steal the Light from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
When dealing with demons, the devil’s in the details…

Stealing mystical and arcane artifacts is a dangerous business, especially for a human, but Zoey Wharton is an exceptional thief. The trick to staying alive is having friends in all the wrong places. While having a witch and a werewolf on the payroll helps, being partners with a vampire really opens doors.

Zoey and Daniel were childhood sweethearts until a violent car crash took his life and left her shattered. When Daniel returned from the grave as a vampire, his only interest in Zoey was in keeping her safely apart from the secrets of his dark world. He has vowed to protect her, but his heart seems as cold as the night he calls home.

Five years later, a mysterious new client named Lucas Halfer offers Zoey a fortune to steal the Light of Alhorra. The search for the Light leads Zoey into the arms of an earthbound faery prince. Devinshea Quinn sweeps her off her feet, showing her everything the supernatural world has to offer, but Daniel still calls to her heart.

As the true nature of the Light is revealed, Zoey discovers Halfer is a demon and much more than money is at stake. Per her contract, she must give him the Light or spend an eternity in Hell. What’s a girl to do except fight for her soul…and her heart.

Review:
There were certain aspects of this book that blew my socks off. The most important one (to me at least) was the very real sense of longing between Zoey and Daniel. This is highlighted even more by the fact that the author states in her forward that these books (the series, I suppose) were the ones she wrote while waiting for someone to return to her. Thinking the emotions I felt in the book might be an echo of her very real ones was almost excruciatingly beautiful.

I also really liked the characters. Zoey was strong and sarcastic, without ever becoming suicidally mouthy. Daniel was the silent type, but he had a surprising vulnerability to him. There were also saucy side kicks, sexy bits on the side and even a beautiful bouncing baby.

I did find the book quite repetitive. We are told the same things over and over again. I really can’t abide by love triangles (and honestly, it’s the triangle that makes me consider not continuing the series) and I don’t AT ALL understand Zoey’s decision at the end of the book (I was a bit infuriated by it.), especially since she knows Daniel is coming back.

I also found the tone of the sex scenes inconsistent with the rest of the book. By this I mean that while the whole book is soft, hazy, true love the sex is of the raunchy, gritty, fuck-you-into-the-mattress kind. Now, I like that kind just fine, but it didn’t at all fit the rest of the book or the characters outside of the bedroom.

All-in-all, I found it a well written, funny fantasy romp.