Penned Perspective

I’ve been wanting to read Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson for years. I was exposed to a later novel in the series and found Betsy to be hilarious. I wish I could have said the same thing about this book.

Undead and Unwed introduces readers to Elizabeth “Betsy” Taylor, a twenty something secretary obsessed with designer shoes. She is killed in a freak traffic accident and wakes up before her funeral. Eventually, she figures out that she has become a vampire. The rest of the novel details her experiences with other vampires, her strange abilities and the reaction of her loved ones to her return.

The Good

The story is full of potential and ignoring Betsy over dramatic flair, fun! Imagine a loved one walking into your house on the day of her funeral. It would be insane, terrifying, and emotional. Betsy friends and family don’t quite know what to do when she does. Her father and “step-monster” cower while her mother cries from relief. Her best friend Jessica springs into action immediately buying Betsy’s house and car so that she can continue to live a “regular” life. The read should be entertaining especially when we find out that Betsy is prophesized to be queen. There are times the book does reach its potential when Sinclair enters the scene and Betsy laughs in the face of danger. These times just feel too short.

The Not So Good

Try watching tv when there is a loud party going on. It's impossible! You can’t hear the program you want to watch and you can’t enjoy the party because they are interfering with one another. That’s what Betsy’s dialogue does to this story. There are good characters but she comes off as selfish, self-absorbed and brash in a very not charming way. I love a strong female character with sass but she had too much. I would have loved this story if I actually could have read it without Betsy overbearing banter.

The Verdict

So much potential!! It felt wasted. I might try another book because the idea of Betsy being queen is preposterous and somewhere deep inside I’m hoping the character is a bit more restrained in the next one.

First Drop of Crimson tells the story of Denise MacGregor and Spade two characters introduced in the Night Huntress series. Both are close with Cat and Bones, the couple at the heart of the series.  In this story, Denise is recovering from events that cost her a husband and has sworn to stay away from the vampire world. This is impossible as she is targeted by a demon and Spade, a vampire is called in to assist. Both have decided not to tell Cat or Bones about Denise’s peril and are forced to work together to save her life.

The Good:

Denise and Spade have some heat. Denise is rightfully terrified by her situation and still able to evade Spade for most of the book. This scenario offers a fun cat (no pun intended) and mouse game between them.  And when they come together, the pages sizzle.

Spade is charming and enjoyable even though his plan for how he will spend his life with Denise is a bit short sighted.  I listened to this audiobook using OverDrive from my local library and enjoyed the voice actor tremendously. She also read the Night Huntress series and provided enough distinction that I could identify Spade without confusing him for Bones. This is a rare talent as they are both British born vampires.

The Not So Good

Spade’s back story is tragic, but it takes too long to find out the whole story about his previous human lover. I had to wait for almost to end of the book for all the details.  Also, at times the pacing felt a bit too slow and the antagonist in the story wasn’t convincing enough for me. He kept giving Denise chance after chance to find who he was looking for instead of following through on his threats against her family. I like a good villain with real consequences for the main characters. The slow pace forced me to try harder to pay attention to the details of the story.

The Verdict

Review of High Stakes by Erin McCarthy

 I held on to this book for over a year. I picked it up during one of my used book runs during grad school and was too busy to give it the attention it so clearly deserved.

 High Stakes introduces readers to Ethan and Alexis. These two meet when Ethan uses influence to persuade Alexis’ younger sister Brittany to move into his casino. Ethan is the President of Vampires and needs Brittany to help secure support for his re-election. Alexis comes to rescue her sister and hilarity ensues.

The Good

Alexis and Ethan are really funny together. Alexis calls him Garlic while he addresses her as BB (Ball Buster). They spend the book sparing both verbally and physically. Plus, their scenes together were hot!!!

I loved that she was a super serious career woman, a prosecutor who has practically raised her baby sister. The character is strong and can take care of herself both physically and mentally.  Alexis is well fleshed out, we know why she feels the way she does. The author uses Alexis and Brittany’s childhood to depict how different the girls are and why.

The story also introduces Brittany, Seamus, the Frenchman, and Ethan’s opponent for the office. I enjoyed their roles and the interactions between them. The story moved between characters well allowing enough time on the main stage for each character.

The Not So Good

The ending!! I hate cliffhangers. I get that the author wants you to follow the story to the next book in the series, but I have some questions.  How does Alexis adjust to her new life?  What about Brittany? Does the next book continue with their story or move the story to another couple?

The story wrapped up a bit too quickly pace wise.

The Verdict

 

I really liked it! There was a good mix of comedy that made the experience lighthearted and fun.  This is my first book by Erin McCarthy and I doubt it will be my last.  

A Vampire Tale with No Bite

Tall Dark & Dead By Tate Hallaway

Tall Dark & Dead tells the story of a young witch who is possessed by a goddess after finding her coven dead. Garnet Lacey is the spunky witch now denying Magic because she’s on the run from both the law and the Vatican but find herself thrown into a relationship with Sebastian a vampire.

The Good

Garnet is fairly likable. I found the protagonist to be genuine and comedic at times.  Garnet was a perfectly good protagonist. She is snarky and overall a good character though cautious. And she works at a bookstore, one of my favorite places in the world. She was the best part of the book.

The Not So Good

I really disliked the plot of the story. Garnet allows herself to be possessed by a Goddess who also happens to be a vicious murderer. She is not aware of what happens when she is possessed but when she wakes up, she usually finds at least one body. 

I understand that she only called Lilith down full of grief for her coven members but even the possession state was weird.  I just didn't like that as the protagonist, she was unaware of the results. On the other hand this occurrence does stop at some point during the book and she becomes a witness to Lilith's doings but my first impression killed my interest.And then she introduces the vampires.

Sebastian is boring as Garnet's main love interest. There are several scenes that try to spice them up together but I found no literal chemistry between the two. She ends up in bed with him very quickly and he’s isn’t the first of his kind that she’d been with. Normally when a human and vampire have a relationship, the has the mark of significance. For example, the lead has never trusted vampires until "he" came along or normally the main character doesn't date vampires because she loathes them. This is not the case in this book. Parrish is her ex and also a vampire, though one with less likability that Sebastian. 

The Verdict: 

As I've mentioned earlier I didn't like the story and  it was an audio book. But I think I wouldn't have bothered to finish the book if I had a copy in print.  I definitely have no interest in continuing with the series.

Not just another Chick Lit book about a vampire…

I know it's becoming a theme but work with me here.

This book begins with Jessica Matthew’s death by way of a sick vampire, Loran O’Halloran on an ordinary day. She dies after taking out the trash because her son refuses to do the chore. Due to the tragic circumstances of her death, she is turned by Patrick O’Halloran, her murderer’s brother and their love story begins.

Good Impressions

Jessica is funny, something I love in books. I want to be able to admire and be interested in what happens to him or her. And she’s a single mom and widower who works hard to provide a life for her kids, which apparently leaves little room for dating.  Jessica is also a complete character, she worries how becoming a vampire will affect the lives of her children and consequentlyy the town. She even is still trying to come to terms with her dead husband’s betrayal though his mistress and their love child live in their same town.

I really love that this book also about the town of Broken Heart. Loran’s rampage causes numerous residents to be killed and turned and all of these people are single parents who have stories of their own told later in the series. Broken Heart is a small town full of laughter, love, friendship and juicy gossip. Who wouldn’t want to live there?

Not so Good Impressions

I’m not so crazy about all the Gaelic.  I get it, really but after a little while I found it more annoying than enchanting. I got through it.  But man, did it give my e reader dictionary a work out, reading this book is probably the most that I’ve ever used that feature.

Also I’m not sure about the wraiths? I get that there needs to be an anti-hero/villain in the story but I don’t think they explored why these wraiths are after the “good” vampires. I think the author will most likely explore their origins in later books.

 

My Rating: