Review: The Oracle & the Vampire (The 13th Floor) by Christine Rains
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2013
The Oracle and the Vampire is the fifth novella in Ms. Rains' The 13th Floor series; this is the story of the residents of 1305 and 1306.Harriet is a healer, a white witch, who spends her days visiting and caring for elderly clients. She is a nave but driven character with idealistic dreams for the future and a horrific handicap at night. She fails to seek a spell to protect Kiral after she dreams of his death. Her only plan is to stay by his side so he doesn't get captured by the shadows that are wreaking havoc on Carmine. Kiral is a self-loathing vampire who has addictions which I had problems buying into. Vampires are self healing and the fact that he was affected by drug or alcohol tainted blood was incomprehensible for me. Was he denying himself all blood? He had to drink some blood, right? I had trouble suspending my disbelief with both of these two main characters.I did like the peripheral characters in this story; the elderly characters that Harriet cared for were entertaining and engaging. The addition of the cat familiars, Elli and Kerr, was an amusing addition to the story. The plot moves quickly and I like the way all of these stories in the 13th Floor series are woven together by the destruction happening in Carmine. Ms. Rains has done an excellent job with this aspect of the storyline. Vetis, the demon from The Marquis that is seeking Marc's soul, is back and is more twisted than ever. The stakes are getting higher as the final showdown between these two characters approaches. I am looking forward to the next novella in this series despite not loving this one.FYI:This book contains mild adult language. I found too few editing issues to count these against the rating of this story.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **June 8, 2013