Category: Vampires

An Alisa Review: Quarry (The Vampire Guard #2) by Elizabeth Noble

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

quarryThe members of the Vampire Guard—Jonas Forge, spy and soldier turned cop; computer hacker extraordinaire Blair Turner; Declan, thief, con man, and ex-pirate; and medical examiner and werewolf Dr. Lucas Coate—face a dangerous and elusive enemy.

 

And this time, it’s personal.

 

Over the course of three hundred years, a man has touched each of their lives in ways they are only just realizing. When a hunt for a psychotic killer in the present resurrects memories and clues from the past, they discover how they have been affected and are bound by the existence of a ruthless vampire criminal. Now, while preventing a heist at a high-tech art show and thwarting several large-scale explosions, the team must employ their unique blend of science and supernatural abilities to put an end to the machinations of the man toying with their lives.

 

This time, he won’t slip through their fingers.

 

This time, it’s more than a case. It’s a hunt, and Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas won’t stop until they’ve captured their quarry.

 

This was a great continuance of the Vampire Guard series.  These four characters are wonderful for each other; they can play off the others’ strengths wonderfully.  This book kept moving with another twist just around the corner to keep the reader’s interest.

 

In this story we see even more of the characters’ backgrounds and how they are connected.  I love how connected all of the friends are and not just the soul mates when disasters happen and when they are just laid back.  They are all surprised by the additional connections they find to each other while working on this case.

 

I loved seeing them play off each other’s strengths to solve the mystery and catch the bad guy.  Being able to see the thoughts and emotions of the four main characters goes a long way to understand what is going on in the story and to stay connected with the many characters.  I will commend this author, she does a wonderful job with her writing of keeping the characters separated that I don’t get confused and have to check back on which character I am focusing on at the time as I often to in other books.  I am loving this series and can’t wait to read more when they come out.

 

Cover art by TL Bland is great and is following the basic pattern for the series.

 

Sales Links: DSP Publications | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages

Expected Publication: January 17, 2017 by DSP Publications

Edition Language: English

Series: The Vampire Guard #2

 

A Caryn Review: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Vivien Dean

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

bridge-over-troubled-waterOnce again I found myself choosing a book for all the wrong reasons:  I love the Simon and Garfunkel song.  And I like this author, so I picked the book without even reading the blurb.  When I started reading, and found out it was about vampires, my first response was ugh.  I really don’t like vampire books, why did I choose this???

Detective Brady Lindstrom is the quintessential workaholic cop.  He never takes a day off, has no life outside of his cases, and doesn’t even seem to want one.  He has no friends, no lovers, few possessions, and life outside of work is mainly working out until he drops.  He works homicide, and has dealt with some of the most horrific cases in the Bay area, but his single-minded devotion to the job means he is usually successful in bringing criminals to justice.  The case he’s investigating now, however, is much worse than anything he’s ever seen before – 12 frat boys slaughtered, found with their throats and hearts ripped from their bodies.

When he goes home from the murder scene, he’s in his usual routine of running on his treadmill until he’s exhausted enough to sleep, because he has a good idea of what committed the murders, even if he doesn’t know who.  When someone knocks at his door just before dawn, he is not as surprised as he should be to find his ex-lover, Cole Singer at the door.  Cole, who died 10 years ago.

Despite his deep distrust of vampires, and Cole in particular, he needs Cole to help solve this murder and kill the vampires who did it.  He’s the only one on the force who is aware of vampires’ existence, so he’s on his own.  Cole is severely injured, and needs Brady’s protection and help, so the two forge an uneasy truce in order to track down the killers.

Two things frustrated me about the story:  the first is that the author seems to assume that her readers know all the powers of the vampires in this book.  There is some explanation, but it was a little inconsistent – the superhuman strength and speed, the heightened senses, the rapid healing are traits I’ve come to know from other books, but what was with the hearts being cut out from bodies?  Was that another thing that vampires do?  Cole is no longer killing people, but he does go to “blood bars” where he can partially bleed men who get off on that.  It wasn’t really clear how that worked.  And what was the deal with his fangs during sex?  The second issue is the almost complete lack of background.  Why and how did Cole become a vampire?  Was it an act of malice or a random accident?  How did Brady come to know about it?  Cole apparently almost killed Brady shortly after his change, but was that what made Brady hate Cole?  Or something else?  Although the main plot arc was finding and killing the vampires responsible for the murder, the secondary arc was clearly the changing and developing relationship between the two men, and it was much harder for me to follow it without knowing what happened before.

I thought it was kind of funny that Brady brought home human blood a few times for Cole.  Like that is something you can just pick up at the grocery store.  Really?  Another pet peeve for me was how the author kept describing how Brady’s tongue would be cut just about every time they kissed, and I was thinking this poor guy shouldn’t have been able to talk or eat solid food by the time the story ended.

But despite all of those things I didn’t like about the story, in the end I did like the relationship arc between the two men, enough that I was able to give the book 3 stars.  It won’t be a reread for me though.

Cover Art by Ginny Glass captures the two MCs perfectly

Sales Links

Loose Id

c60a7-waxcreative-amazon-kindle

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 2nd Edition, 112 pages
Published October 17th 2016 by Loose Id LLC (first published 2008)
Original TitleBridge Over Troubled Water
ASINB01MDNXUO2
Edition LanguageEnglish
CharactersBrady Lindstrom, Cole Singer settingUnited States

An Alisa Review: French Kissing Vampires for Beginners by L.M. Brown

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

french-kissing-vampires-for-beginners-by-l-m-brownWhen a dentist meets an average suburban vampire, it may just be a match made in heaven.

 

Tom is your typical modern vampire. He lives in a detached house in the suburbs, pays his taxes, and bemoans the price of bottled blood. He doesn’t usually tell people what he is, but sometimes it can’t be helped, like now, when he has toothache and needs the assistance of a dentist.

 

Martyn’s night isn’t going too well at all. He’s working late, his patient is a vampire, and now they’re being mugged. But what sort of a vampire is Tom if he can’t leap to the rescue and use his superpowers to save them?

 

There’s only one way to find out and Martyn, a self-confessed geek with a love for all things vampire, intends to get to know Tom better, despite the bloodsucker’s fear of dentists.

 

This story takes a different view of vampires than usual.  Tom finally gives in and goes to the dentist to have his aching tooth removed.  Martyn has never met a vampire before, but can’t deny that’s what Tom is, despite the fangs, after his tooth immediately grows back when he removes it.

 

Martyn and Tom connect after being mugged on their way to their vehicles after Tom’s appointment.  Martyn is attracted to Tom and the mystery of Tom being a vampire makes him even more appealing.  We see both of the characters points of view which helps us connect with the characters.  Martyn is determined to be the right person for Tom and his family’s easy acceptance of Tom’s nature is wonderful.  Tom is adorable and won’t push Martyn for anything more than he knows he is willing to give.  I can see them together for a long time.

 

The cover art is nice and gives a visual of Tom.

 

Sales Links: MLR Press | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 79 pages

Published: October 26, 2016 by MLR Press

ISBN: 9781634861700

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review: The Perfect Bite by J.D. Walker

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

the-perfect-biteGabe Villagran has been an outcast since birth. The large purple birthmark on the right side of his face has ostracized him from family and community, leaving him with little self-esteem. So, imagine his delight when, at the age of eighteen, vampires come out to the world. Finally, he’s not the only freak of nature around.

 

Five years after leaving home, Gabe meets Pierre Sangre outside his gay vampire club quite by chance. Meaning, he rescues Gabe from becoming vampire food. A vampire himself, Pierre sees something in the young man before him, and wants to keep him close. Pierre hires Gabe as a sort of boy Friday at the club and Gabe, grateful to his savior, accepts and falls irrevocably in love.

 

For ten years, both men dance around their attraction to each other until a night of misunderstandings clears things up. All it takes is the perfect bite.

 

This was such a sweet story.  Gabe has always been an outcast first in his hometown and now as the only human employee at a gay vampire club.  Pierre has been watching Gabe since he saved him ten years earlier, but never had the courage to actually pursue him.

 

Gabe doesn’t feel he is worthy of anything, let alone the love of Pierre, he is determined to keep it to himself.  Pierre has finally let go of his love that had died centuries before, but needed to figure out the best way to approach Gabe.  Gabe was so innocent, even though he worked at a gay club for years he has no experience himself and quickly misinterpreted many of the signs he is given, almost causing his own heartbreak.  When Pierre shows him he is worthy they connect perfectly.

 

The cover art is great and eye catching.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 36 pages

Published: March 31, 2016 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634860925

Edition Language: English