Review: NOT THE TIGHTEST PLOT- but remarkably fun... 3.5 STARS
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 24, 2011
NO SPOILERS or plot summaries. Recommendations included.HIGH LEVEL: Book 1 of a trilogy, Vampire-themed Urban Fantasy/Romance. Overall pretty entertaining- story pulled me in, I liked the characters. Vampire mythology standard, but intricately described- politics between "Houses" is important. Note this is pure vampire, so you don't have any human perspective- they are predators, pure and simple. While romance was a constant theme, it was not the central plot and there is no sex. Violence is fast and bloody, but not overly gruesome. BE WARNED: Cliffhanger ending. You have to read book two for the rest of the story! (I haven't yet, but hear it's an even better book.)PLOT: Fast paced, excellently set up. I was really into the story until the last 25%. Things started out very well done, but fell apart at the end. The characters were thrown together and ran all over Europe in a romantic adventure, but eventually you had to ask ... when were they going to get some SOLID INTEL? Going into the last battle, we STILL didn't know who we were fighting or why. It was unsettling and bizarre and it led to the cliffhanger ending. It was ALMOST a great book, but reading to a cliffhanger when even you as the reader knew there was a problem is just f-ing frustrating. (See? It even made me swear!) This story arc could have used a little extra thought.CHARACTERS: Although slightly wooden, I really liked both Valentine and Prophecy. I attributed their slightly wooden natures to the fact that they were highly vampiric and not human at all. Despite that, they were very sympathetic. It was heart wrenching and thrilling to watch them grow close and ride out their emotional turmoil. Very well done on that front. Romance is teasingly light with barely a kiss, making the next book all that much more important!BOTTOM LINE: DESPITE my annoyance with the holes in the plot, I really did enjoy most of this book. I fully intend to continue to read this series and I notice Heaton has written other books set in the same "realm," so I'll eat those up too!RECOMMENDATIONS:1. Katie Salidas'Immortalis Carpe Noctem- girl is turned after an attack and then tries to adapt and cope with a little bit of guidance from a sexy vampiric savior2. Jocelyn Drake's vampire/were/demon centric series full of grit:Nightwalker (Dark Days, Book 1)3. H.P. Mallory'sFire Burn and Cauldron Bubble: The Jolie Wilkins Series, Book 1- poor young woman accidentally discovers creatively drawn world of fae, vampires, weres and more. Weaker female character, but still well written4. Jeaniene Frost's vamp mystery packed with actionHalfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)- sexier, more erotic, but also lighter & funnier