Review: We're four installments in and there is still no assassin!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 29, 2013
After readingVampire Assassin (Jane #1), I was intrigued, but I had reservations.  There was a brief introduction where Jane was a killer-for-hire, but no assassination.  Despite having an interesting story, the author had a tendency to build character through inserting frequent and annoying asides about Jane's favorite purses and coffee drinks and sunglasses.This bundle is installments 2-4 of Jane's story.  She still doesn't get around to assassinating anybody, but she does join a Catholic/vampire paramilitary organization (yeah, I know, it's kind of a stretch).  Warren's writing style has calmed down and she lets Jane's character develop more organically so that the reader no longer feels like reaching into her Kindle and slapping the character as she burbles on about her favorite accessories.This is different than a lot of other vampire books.  Jane and her boyfriend take it slow sexually.  Super slow.  In fact, if sex is the main reason you like reading vampire books, I'd recommend skipping this one.  The religious angle makes it a bit different too.  I don't think this is a Christian series (though I wouldn't be totally shocked if it takes a turn that way at some point), but it is certainly more religiously focused than a lot of other vampire novels.  Jane and her friends don't take blood from live victims ever, so the sensuality of the vampire lifestyle is dialed way down.  Though there are references to other paranormal creatures, Jane never encounters any and the sense of place in the novel is weak.  It's set in Rome, but it literally could be anywhere.So why the four stars, you may be asking yourself?  Well, the story is still quite enjoyable.  I do like a bit more flesh and blood in my vampire tales and I'm not sure if the series will sustain my interest if it continues to be so divorced from all types of sensuality.  This is a four-star story based on pure readability.  I was also quite impressed by how much Warren seemed to develop as a writer between the first installment and this one.I am buying the next in the series and I do hope that Jane gets around to being a vampire assassin someday.