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Vampire in the City #1
New Blood
Emma Hammond is a normal young woman living in New York City whose life changes forever when one misstep brings her very close to death. Luckily, Alex Thompson, a handsome stranger (who also happens to be a vampire), jumps in to save her, turning Emma into a vampire. She quickly discovers the numerous advantages (no more allergies, glasses, or acne) and slight drawbacks (wanting to eat her boyfriend) of joining the ranks of the creatures of the night. But Emma soon finds out her new undead life isn't all it's cracked up to be when she gets pulled in to an age-old dispute between two feuding vampire clans.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
27 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Donna Ansari
10 books29 followersDonna Ansari was born in New York City and has lived there for most of her life. Donna graduated from Pace University with a BA in Literature and Communications. Since then, she has been working as an editor, primarily in the field of medical education.
Donna lives in Queens with her husband, son, and large black cat. She is not currently aware of any vampires in her neighborhood.
Donna lives in Queens with her husband, son, and large black cat. She is not currently aware of any vampires in her neighborhood.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 1, 2012
Jag’s Review: You know when you start a new book, it takes you a while to get ‘comfortable’ with it, to get to know the characters, the setting, the story. This was not the case at all with New Blood by Donna Ansari, from the very first page I slipped into this story with an ease that I haven’t experienced in a while.
New Blood isn’t a book that falls easily into a literary category for me. It has the light and humourous qualities found in Chick Lit but it’s got an edge of Paranormal to it. Chick-anormal? Para-chicklit? LOL I don’t know what to call it, but it’s a great mix and quite unique from other books in this genre.
When we first meet Emma she’s going through the motions of her life, punching the clock on her night shift job, dealing with her lacklustre long-term boyfriend and keeping up with her friends. Her life is stuck on cruise control until, under some very unusual circumstances, she ‘meets’ Alex. When Emma falls victim to an accident, Alex is strangely nearby and quick to change her into a vampire and that’s when her life shifts from boring to well a little crazy.
Emma is a great character, I could absolutely relate to her insecurities, her boyfriend woes and her quick wit, in real life I think we’d be friends. I really love how she handles her new vampire status, with humour and a casualness, like this is not going to change who she is. She makes mistakes, learns to deal with her new situation and grows in confidence as a vampire as the book progresses. The realism with which the author tackles all of these changes is a really refreshing departure from the usual dark, serious tone of vampire novels.
I found the storyline in the first half of the book to be entertaining but maybe a little light on plot. Little did I know, but this was just a set up for the second half which was action-packed and full of twists and turns. This book was not predictable and it didn’t take me long to realize that many things weren’t what they appeared to be. Throughout New Blood the characters, the dialogue and the situations has me smiling and laughing. This is most definitely not your typical vampire novel, and that’s a good thing.
The only critique I have for New Blood was the lack of chemistry and sexual tension between Alex and Emma…I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m a huge fan of the build up, the flirting, the longing, the unresolved sexual tension…the swoony boy and the girl who wants him. I missed it here. I do however, sense that we may get a love triangle in this series’ future and I’m looking forward to that RAWR!
At the end of New Blood you won’t find a nail-biting, omg cliff hanger, there was something even better…mystery, unanswered questions and fun, relatable characters that you’ll care about and want to read more about. This first book is a great start to this series, I’m putting it on my second shelf!
New Blood isn’t a book that falls easily into a literary category for me. It has the light and humourous qualities found in Chick Lit but it’s got an edge of Paranormal to it. Chick-anormal? Para-chicklit? LOL I don’t know what to call it, but it’s a great mix and quite unique from other books in this genre.
When we first meet Emma she’s going through the motions of her life, punching the clock on her night shift job, dealing with her lacklustre long-term boyfriend and keeping up with her friends. Her life is stuck on cruise control until, under some very unusual circumstances, she ‘meets’ Alex. When Emma falls victim to an accident, Alex is strangely nearby and quick to change her into a vampire and that’s when her life shifts from boring to well a little crazy.
Emma is a great character, I could absolutely relate to her insecurities, her boyfriend woes and her quick wit, in real life I think we’d be friends. I really love how she handles her new vampire status, with humour and a casualness, like this is not going to change who she is. She makes mistakes, learns to deal with her new situation and grows in confidence as a vampire as the book progresses. The realism with which the author tackles all of these changes is a really refreshing departure from the usual dark, serious tone of vampire novels.
I found the storyline in the first half of the book to be entertaining but maybe a little light on plot. Little did I know, but this was just a set up for the second half which was action-packed and full of twists and turns. This book was not predictable and it didn’t take me long to realize that many things weren’t what they appeared to be. Throughout New Blood the characters, the dialogue and the situations has me smiling and laughing. This is most definitely not your typical vampire novel, and that’s a good thing.
The only critique I have for New Blood was the lack of chemistry and sexual tension between Alex and Emma…I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m a huge fan of the build up, the flirting, the longing, the unresolved sexual tension…the swoony boy and the girl who wants him. I missed it here. I do however, sense that we may get a love triangle in this series’ future and I’m looking forward to that RAWR!
At the end of New Blood you won’t find a nail-biting, omg cliff hanger, there was something even better…mystery, unanswered questions and fun, relatable characters that you’ll care about and want to read more about. This first book is a great start to this series, I’m putting it on my second shelf!
August 22, 2012
For a cheapy book on Amazon (less than £1 when I bought) this book was an ok deal. The story was nothing new really and was reasonably ok, but it was not as spectacular as I thought it would be based on other reviews.
Emma works the night shift, has a close best friend Tammy and a fairly crappy boyfriend. All that changes one night when she's hit by a car and on the verge of death when a vampire turns her. She wakes up the next day as a new vampire and now has to relearn how to live. She took this all in her stride and didn't seem particularly bothered to learn that vampires exist nor that she was now suddenly one of them. That annoyed me, I expected a bit more emotion from her than she showed.
Alex, her sire, takes her to meet the local vampire leader who seems to take an instant dislike to Emma and sets them both the task of killing a rival vampire clan leader. I thought this idea was a good one, until you realised that the vampire in question was 400 years old and Emma, who was all of 2 days old, seemed to kill him with no problems. I know it stated that the older the vampire the easier the daylight takes them into sleep when it arrives, but this just seemed like an excuse for allowing Emma to win. I don't think it should have been as easy a fight as it was and more needed to be made of it.
Alex I thought was a little slimy. He did help Emma, teaching her how to hunt etc, but he lied a lot to her and I thought she seemed a bit pathetic when it came to their "relationship". Her stamping her feet in jealousy and almost crying "Do you want to be with me or not?" (after only 2 or 3 days of her knowing Alex as well!) reminded me more of what I expect from teenage young adult vampire books, not adult ones.
I'm not especially bothered about reading the next one in this series as it didn't hold my attention for long enough and I didn't really care much for the main character.
Emma works the night shift, has a close best friend Tammy and a fairly crappy boyfriend. All that changes one night when she's hit by a car and on the verge of death when a vampire turns her. She wakes up the next day as a new vampire and now has to relearn how to live. She took this all in her stride and didn't seem particularly bothered to learn that vampires exist nor that she was now suddenly one of them. That annoyed me, I expected a bit more emotion from her than she showed.
Alex, her sire, takes her to meet the local vampire leader who seems to take an instant dislike to Emma and sets them both the task of killing a rival vampire clan leader. I thought this idea was a good one, until you realised that the vampire in question was 400 years old and Emma, who was all of 2 days old, seemed to kill him with no problems. I know it stated that the older the vampire the easier the daylight takes them into sleep when it arrives, but this just seemed like an excuse for allowing Emma to win. I don't think it should have been as easy a fight as it was and more needed to be made of it.
Alex I thought was a little slimy. He did help Emma, teaching her how to hunt etc, but he lied a lot to her and I thought she seemed a bit pathetic when it came to their "relationship". Her stamping her feet in jealousy and almost crying "Do you want to be with me or not?" (after only 2 or 3 days of her knowing Alex as well!) reminded me more of what I expect from teenage young adult vampire books, not adult ones.
I'm not especially bothered about reading the next one in this series as it didn't hold my attention for long enough and I didn't really care much for the main character.
April 21, 2013
2.5 stars. The book is an ok fast read, but the characters are fairly flat and the whole thing reads at the same pace and intensity. There are typos, and that always detracts from an overall experience. It's a fairly typical book for the genre.
September 1, 2012
Her night starts normally enough. Emma spends the evening at work. Her job at the advertising agency is not like they portray on TV. Most of the work is tedious and time-consuming. Then along comes the night supervisor, dropping on her desk a rush job which keeps her late.
Staying late to finish it is why Emma winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is it? Well, that is for later.
Exiting the subway, Emma is only a block away from her house when she sees them. Two young men are assaulting another man.Before she can stop it, her scream slips out and their attention turns to her.
She can see one is holding what looks like a knife and the other a stick. Huh? As they rush her, she realizes she is mistaken, the knife is actually a metal cross. Screaming still seems like a good idea, but just seems to spur them on.
She manages to get her can of Mace out and let’s go into the eyes of one of her attackers, while the other one just places the cross on her skin. What’s up with that? She keeps screaming and they run off. A quick glance at the victim reveals he is none the worse for wear. She takes a long look, thinking “He’s beautiful.” He assures her he is fine and after she accepts his thanks, Emma scoots towards the safety of home, ready for this night to be over.
The whole encounter leaves her feeling strange. What did the boy with the stick mean when he yelled”Looks like we’re going to dust two blood suckers tonight!?” And why was it so hard to walk away from the stranger afterwards?
What Emma doesn’t realize is, that night set something in motion. Her next encounter with the stranger is not by chance. And when Emma wakes up at his place, feeling great, wearing someone elses pajamas, with no idea how she got there, she is none to happy.
“You had better tell me exactly what happened, bub, because the last thing I remember, I was crossing Queens Boulevard…”
Emma’s life is changed in an instant and it will take all of the courage and take-charge attitude she has to get her through the rough times ahead.
And I do mean rough. Emma gets out of one situation and ends up in another and another…. It is amazing she is still walking around.
She has some new friends, strange friends, and gets a roommate, which really complicates things. How do you hide the fact you are now a vampire from your roommate and best friend? This leads to some sticky and funny situations.
Check out this scene where Emma and Alex are looking up how to kill a vampire on the computer.
I turned back to the computer, where I did a search for:”anatomical position of the heart.” A few minutes of searching and we found out that the heart is two inches to the left of the sternum, between the fourth and fifth ribs.
“Great,” I said. “Now how are we supposed to practice this?”
Alex started unbuttoning his shirt and I reflexively turned away…
“What are you doing?”
“I thought you could practice on me using the blunt end of the stake, and it’s easier to see where the ribs are without my shirt on.”
Still flustered, I said, “I guess you should lie down for this.” I stood up and went back into the living room, where I had left the stake. While I was doing that, Alex completely removed his shirt and laid down on the couch.
I hadn’t really gotten a good look at his naked chest in adequate lighting before. Now that I had the chance, and was technically supposed to be studying it anyway, I gave it a good long look. His muscles had good definition without being beefy. You could see the indentations where his ribs were, but just barely. His chest was mostly hairless, except for a small tuft between his nipples. Looking farther down, I saw that he also had a slim, vertical strip of hair from his navel to the top of his pants.
“If you’re confused, count,” he said, unexpectedly.
Alex must have seen the confused expression on my face, because he looked highly amused and said, “I mean, you should count my ribs.”
“Right,” I said, desperately trying to concentrate on the task at hand. I held the stake in my left hand and used my right index finger to trace down from his collarbone, feeling for ribs. “One…two…three…four…here.”
“That’s too far over. Remember the website we looked at? Go a little more towards the center.”
I slowly moved my finger over a few inches. “How hard do I have to push it in?”
“As long as you aim between the ribs, you shouldn’t have to push that hard. But the main thing is that you will want to do it very quickly, so you don’t give them the chance to wake up before you finish.”
I definitely did not want that to happen.
“Also, I think sitting on his crotch may wake him up,” Alex added.
Did I forget to mention there is some fun, sexual situations in New Blood. They are more hints than explicit, but still sexy.
Lots and lots of surprises, plenty of schtick, and,yes, some romance and sexual encounters, New Blood delivers.
I had a great time following Emma, reading about how she juggles all of the new complications in her life, or is it un-life? You will too.
Like the supernatural? Vamps and other such characters? You’ll enjoy New Blood. Plenty of strange for everyone.
I loved this book and highly recommend it!
Looking forward to the next two books in this fun series.
Staying late to finish it is why Emma winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is it? Well, that is for later.
Exiting the subway, Emma is only a block away from her house when she sees them. Two young men are assaulting another man.Before she can stop it, her scream slips out and their attention turns to her.
She can see one is holding what looks like a knife and the other a stick. Huh? As they rush her, she realizes she is mistaken, the knife is actually a metal cross. Screaming still seems like a good idea, but just seems to spur them on.
She manages to get her can of Mace out and let’s go into the eyes of one of her attackers, while the other one just places the cross on her skin. What’s up with that? She keeps screaming and they run off. A quick glance at the victim reveals he is none the worse for wear. She takes a long look, thinking “He’s beautiful.” He assures her he is fine and after she accepts his thanks, Emma scoots towards the safety of home, ready for this night to be over.
The whole encounter leaves her feeling strange. What did the boy with the stick mean when he yelled”Looks like we’re going to dust two blood suckers tonight!?” And why was it so hard to walk away from the stranger afterwards?
What Emma doesn’t realize is, that night set something in motion. Her next encounter with the stranger is not by chance. And when Emma wakes up at his place, feeling great, wearing someone elses pajamas, with no idea how she got there, she is none to happy.
“You had better tell me exactly what happened, bub, because the last thing I remember, I was crossing Queens Boulevard…”
Emma’s life is changed in an instant and it will take all of the courage and take-charge attitude she has to get her through the rough times ahead.
And I do mean rough. Emma gets out of one situation and ends up in another and another…. It is amazing she is still walking around.
She has some new friends, strange friends, and gets a roommate, which really complicates things. How do you hide the fact you are now a vampire from your roommate and best friend? This leads to some sticky and funny situations.
Check out this scene where Emma and Alex are looking up how to kill a vampire on the computer.
I turned back to the computer, where I did a search for:”anatomical position of the heart.” A few minutes of searching and we found out that the heart is two inches to the left of the sternum, between the fourth and fifth ribs.
“Great,” I said. “Now how are we supposed to practice this?”
Alex started unbuttoning his shirt and I reflexively turned away…
“What are you doing?”
“I thought you could practice on me using the blunt end of the stake, and it’s easier to see where the ribs are without my shirt on.”
Still flustered, I said, “I guess you should lie down for this.” I stood up and went back into the living room, where I had left the stake. While I was doing that, Alex completely removed his shirt and laid down on the couch.
I hadn’t really gotten a good look at his naked chest in adequate lighting before. Now that I had the chance, and was technically supposed to be studying it anyway, I gave it a good long look. His muscles had good definition without being beefy. You could see the indentations where his ribs were, but just barely. His chest was mostly hairless, except for a small tuft between his nipples. Looking farther down, I saw that he also had a slim, vertical strip of hair from his navel to the top of his pants.
“If you’re confused, count,” he said, unexpectedly.
Alex must have seen the confused expression on my face, because he looked highly amused and said, “I mean, you should count my ribs.”
“Right,” I said, desperately trying to concentrate on the task at hand. I held the stake in my left hand and used my right index finger to trace down from his collarbone, feeling for ribs. “One…two…three…four…here.”
“That’s too far over. Remember the website we looked at? Go a little more towards the center.”
I slowly moved my finger over a few inches. “How hard do I have to push it in?”
“As long as you aim between the ribs, you shouldn’t have to push that hard. But the main thing is that you will want to do it very quickly, so you don’t give them the chance to wake up before you finish.”
I definitely did not want that to happen.
“Also, I think sitting on his crotch may wake him up,” Alex added.
Did I forget to mention there is some fun, sexual situations in New Blood. They are more hints than explicit, but still sexy.
Lots and lots of surprises, plenty of schtick, and,yes, some romance and sexual encounters, New Blood delivers.
I had a great time following Emma, reading about how she juggles all of the new complications in her life, or is it un-life? You will too.
Like the supernatural? Vamps and other such characters? You’ll enjoy New Blood. Plenty of strange for everyone.
I loved this book and highly recommend it!
Looking forward to the next two books in this fun series.
March 12, 2012
To read this review and more like it, check out my blog, Urban Fantasy Reviews, www.ufreviews.com
I love a good vampire book, they are what got me into the genre in the first place. So when I get a vampire book, I get excited in general, they always seem to enhance my love for the genre. I think part of the reason why I enjoyed this is because it is not just a straight up vampire action packed story, it's one that has more than that, it has a little bit of humor in it, and I love when there is humor in a book.
I want to start off by saying to book has a great pace to it. From beginning to end I was interested in what was going on within it's pages. Not only that but I didn't really find a lot of lag time or places where I felt anything was lacking. I appreciate books that keep me involved and invested in them from beginning to end. I also thought the writing was pretty good as well. It's hard enough to write a book that fits the parameters of a paranormal book, what with all the world building that has to be explained to the reader. But when an author can do that and add a bit of humor into the story, I find it only enhances the books appeal.
Emma is someone who I think anyone can relate to. We have all pretty much had those moments in life when things are just so routine, and you are just praying for a little bit of excitement to come your way. Although I'm not sure Emma would have ever wished for the kind of excitement she found, but either way it definitely changed her routine and opened herself up to a world that certainly changed her life.
Emma is a great character, and I think mainly the reason why she is such a great character is because she is able to grow so much over the course of the book. She starts out one way and then by the end of the book she has grown as a person while still maintaining the fundamentals of who she was to begin with. In some ways she reminds me of one of my friends, with the way she responds to some people, she has a great quick wit, one that I think I would enjoy.
I thought overall the plot really got super exciting in the last half of the book, and it was from that moment that I literally couldn't put the book down. I love a book where I can't see what is going to happen next, and I get so wrapped up in what might happen next, that I can't help myself but to start guessing. Sometimes I felt like I had things figured out and then I curve ball would come my way and I would find out I was wrong.
Overall, this was a really fun read for me, from beginning to end. I think the humor really helped "sell" the book for me. I think without it, the book would not have worked nearly as well. If I had to complain about one thing is that I wish that there was more between Emma and Alex. It's not that there wasn't an attempt, just something about it didn't feel as organic as it could have. For that reason the book gets a "good" rating. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little humor in their books, but especially for those of us who are partial to vampire books!
I love a good vampire book, they are what got me into the genre in the first place. So when I get a vampire book, I get excited in general, they always seem to enhance my love for the genre. I think part of the reason why I enjoyed this is because it is not just a straight up vampire action packed story, it's one that has more than that, it has a little bit of humor in it, and I love when there is humor in a book.
I want to start off by saying to book has a great pace to it. From beginning to end I was interested in what was going on within it's pages. Not only that but I didn't really find a lot of lag time or places where I felt anything was lacking. I appreciate books that keep me involved and invested in them from beginning to end. I also thought the writing was pretty good as well. It's hard enough to write a book that fits the parameters of a paranormal book, what with all the world building that has to be explained to the reader. But when an author can do that and add a bit of humor into the story, I find it only enhances the books appeal.
Emma is someone who I think anyone can relate to. We have all pretty much had those moments in life when things are just so routine, and you are just praying for a little bit of excitement to come your way. Although I'm not sure Emma would have ever wished for the kind of excitement she found, but either way it definitely changed her routine and opened herself up to a world that certainly changed her life.
Emma is a great character, and I think mainly the reason why she is such a great character is because she is able to grow so much over the course of the book. She starts out one way and then by the end of the book she has grown as a person while still maintaining the fundamentals of who she was to begin with. In some ways she reminds me of one of my friends, with the way she responds to some people, she has a great quick wit, one that I think I would enjoy.
I thought overall the plot really got super exciting in the last half of the book, and it was from that moment that I literally couldn't put the book down. I love a book where I can't see what is going to happen next, and I get so wrapped up in what might happen next, that I can't help myself but to start guessing. Sometimes I felt like I had things figured out and then I curve ball would come my way and I would find out I was wrong.
Overall, this was a really fun read for me, from beginning to end. I think the humor really helped "sell" the book for me. I think without it, the book would not have worked nearly as well. If I had to complain about one thing is that I wish that there was more between Emma and Alex. It's not that there wasn't an attempt, just something about it didn't feel as organic as it could have. For that reason the book gets a "good" rating. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little humor in their books, but especially for those of us who are partial to vampire books!
January 26, 2014
I love urban fantasies involving all manner of paranormal creatures; so, I jumped at the chance to read "New Blood." While I enjoyed the read, if I am truly being honest the basic writing style made this a middle of the road book for me. What do I mean? Well, the characters, world building and love making was matter of fact, devoid of details and just tepid. The overall plot of the story showed promise but the writing seemed novice.
Emma was on her way home from her evening shift job when she is almost mugged and manages to stop an attack on a man by a group of religious fanatics. The man, who introduces himself as Alex is grateful but there's something a little different about him.
When Emma makes it home and calls her boyfriend of seven years to comfort her, he is less than sympathetic. The next evening, Emma is run over by a car and wakes up in the home of Alex. He explains that he is a vampire and he turned her rather than letting her die. She accepts this without too much trouble which is one of my problems and goes home to begin making some sense of her new existence. She discovers she has the ability to compel humans so when she finds her boyfriend in her bed and she is hungry, she feeds from him.
Alex takes Emma to a bar to feed where she runs into her best friend, Tammy. Tammy is being evicted from her apartment and Emma agrees to allow her to move in with her. Later that night, Alex takes Emma to meet the head of the vampires in his borough, Michael. Michael is not pleased at her turning and demands she kills his rival if her existence is to be spared.
Alex and Emma work together to take down Michael's enemy and she somewhat feels relieved. But soon she learns there is more to the situation, her turning and her life than meets the eye. I will not reveal any more but I will say that the plot does become a little fast-paced and convoluted at times
The action is lack luster, the few comedic moments are blah and my god, the romance was written as if for a teen
We kissed and made love... Then, as I was showering.........
Really? Is that it?
I don't know if this is Me. Ansari's first book or not; but, I believe she could have a hit here if she would include more passion into the characters personalities, actions as well as more vividly described details in her writing. She us creative but her execution could stand some modifications.
At this point, I am mildly curious as to what will happen next and if the writing has improved; so, I think I will give book two a chance before I give up on the series entirely. Read it for yourself and decide.
Emma was on her way home from her evening shift job when she is almost mugged and manages to stop an attack on a man by a group of religious fanatics. The man, who introduces himself as Alex is grateful but there's something a little different about him.
When Emma makes it home and calls her boyfriend of seven years to comfort her, he is less than sympathetic. The next evening, Emma is run over by a car and wakes up in the home of Alex. He explains that he is a vampire and he turned her rather than letting her die. She accepts this without too much trouble which is one of my problems and goes home to begin making some sense of her new existence. She discovers she has the ability to compel humans so when she finds her boyfriend in her bed and she is hungry, she feeds from him.
Alex takes Emma to a bar to feed where she runs into her best friend, Tammy. Tammy is being evicted from her apartment and Emma agrees to allow her to move in with her. Later that night, Alex takes Emma to meet the head of the vampires in his borough, Michael. Michael is not pleased at her turning and demands she kills his rival if her existence is to be spared.
Alex and Emma work together to take down Michael's enemy and she somewhat feels relieved. But soon she learns there is more to the situation, her turning and her life than meets the eye. I will not reveal any more but I will say that the plot does become a little fast-paced and convoluted at times
The action is lack luster, the few comedic moments are blah and my god, the romance was written as if for a teen
We kissed and made love... Then, as I was showering.........
Really? Is that it?
I don't know if this is Me. Ansari's first book or not; but, I believe she could have a hit here if she would include more passion into the characters personalities, actions as well as more vividly described details in her writing. She us creative but her execution could stand some modifications.
At this point, I am mildly curious as to what will happen next and if the writing has improved; so, I think I will give book two a chance before I give up on the series entirely. Read it for yourself and decide.
June 29, 2012
Ebook: New Blood (Vampire in the city)
Author : Donna Ansari
Fiction, Paranormal,
This review may contain spoilers
Summary: Emma Hammond is a normal young woman living in New York City whose life changes forever when one misstep brings her very close to death. Luckily, Alex Thompson, a handsome stranger (who also happens to be a vampire), jumps in to save her, turning Emma into a vampire. She quickly discovers the numerous advantages (no more allergies, glasses, or acne) and slight drawbacks (wanting to eat her boyfriend) of joining the ranks of the creatures of the night. But Emma soon finds out her new undead life isn't all it's cracked up to be when she gets pulled in to an age-old dispute between two feuding vampire clans.
.
The Review
Wow, I loved this book, Donna pulled me in from the beginning, the characters were ones that will stick in my mind for a while, Emma had balls, there is no other way of saying it, I thought that being changed would make her more, well, like a vampire, but no, she tried very hard to keep her humanity in as much as she could, this book goes against the grain where vampires are concerned, firstly she has a friend who is a werewolf, that does not happen much, well not in anything I have read, secondly, her best friend could not be put under a compulsion, which was funny, and her friend stood by her too, which was nice to see, thirdly, there was no major Vampire love story, there was some romance in this book, but not loved til the end of time kind.
I didn’t like Alex towards the end, I might be wrong but he seemed a little weird to me, I can’t wait to read the second book Wild Blood, I hope we see more of David in that one, I loved David, won’t say no more, I had one small issue which I can’t really discuss in a review, it’s not a bad thing, I just wanted more of a back story on Alex and Michael especially after the revelation ¾ of the way through the book, can’t say too much, spoilers ruin it for some people, You will know what I mean when you read it, so go on and get yourself a copy, Would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes their vampires slightly different, 4.5/5
Author : Donna Ansari
Fiction, Paranormal,
This review may contain spoilers
Summary: Emma Hammond is a normal young woman living in New York City whose life changes forever when one misstep brings her very close to death. Luckily, Alex Thompson, a handsome stranger (who also happens to be a vampire), jumps in to save her, turning Emma into a vampire. She quickly discovers the numerous advantages (no more allergies, glasses, or acne) and slight drawbacks (wanting to eat her boyfriend) of joining the ranks of the creatures of the night. But Emma soon finds out her new undead life isn't all it's cracked up to be when she gets pulled in to an age-old dispute between two feuding vampire clans.
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The Review
Wow, I loved this book, Donna pulled me in from the beginning, the characters were ones that will stick in my mind for a while, Emma had balls, there is no other way of saying it, I thought that being changed would make her more, well, like a vampire, but no, she tried very hard to keep her humanity in as much as she could, this book goes against the grain where vampires are concerned, firstly she has a friend who is a werewolf, that does not happen much, well not in anything I have read, secondly, her best friend could not be put under a compulsion, which was funny, and her friend stood by her too, which was nice to see, thirdly, there was no major Vampire love story, there was some romance in this book, but not loved til the end of time kind.
I didn’t like Alex towards the end, I might be wrong but he seemed a little weird to me, I can’t wait to read the second book Wild Blood, I hope we see more of David in that one, I loved David, won’t say no more, I had one small issue which I can’t really discuss in a review, it’s not a bad thing, I just wanted more of a back story on Alex and Michael especially after the revelation ¾ of the way through the book, can’t say too much, spoilers ruin it for some people, You will know what I mean when you read it, so go on and get yourself a copy, Would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes their vampires slightly different, 4.5/5
July 19, 2015
*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*
Emma is an ordinary New Yorker. She works third shift at the art department of an ad agency whose boss really likes to push her buttons sometimes. One night after work she is on her way home when she notices a man getting mugged and goes to help him. The kids mugging the man tells her to stay back because he is a vampire and they are trying to kill him, but since vampires don’t exist she pepper sprays the kids and they take off. The very good looking man, named Alex, thanks her and she goes home. A few days later she thinks that she’s been noticing Alex out of the corner of her eye, but when she looks he’s never there. On the way home from work one night there is an accident and she gets hit by a car and blacks out. When she wakes up, she sees Alex. He tells her that she died from the crash but he brought her back by turning her into a vampire. Alex helps her out and teaches her what she needs to know about being a vampire. After figuring out the advantages, like strength, better hearing, better vision, being able to control people by hypnotizing them, she realizes it’s not all fun when she is forced to kill the leader of an enemy clan. She likes Alex not only because he’s really cute but because he seems to always want to help her and teach her new things. But Alex has secrets and Emma isn’t sure if she is really ready for this new life especially when she learns what some of Alex’s secrets are.
This story is very short and I got through it very quickly but I loved it. There are many different twists in the story and ending that I really enjoyed. I’m definitely interested to read the rest of the series and see where the story goes from here.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng***
Emma is an ordinary New Yorker. She works third shift at the art department of an ad agency whose boss really likes to push her buttons sometimes. One night after work she is on her way home when she notices a man getting mugged and goes to help him. The kids mugging the man tells her to stay back because he is a vampire and they are trying to kill him, but since vampires don’t exist she pepper sprays the kids and they take off. The very good looking man, named Alex, thanks her and she goes home. A few days later she thinks that she’s been noticing Alex out of the corner of her eye, but when she looks he’s never there. On the way home from work one night there is an accident and she gets hit by a car and blacks out. When she wakes up, she sees Alex. He tells her that she died from the crash but he brought her back by turning her into a vampire. Alex helps her out and teaches her what she needs to know about being a vampire. After figuring out the advantages, like strength, better hearing, better vision, being able to control people by hypnotizing them, she realizes it’s not all fun when she is forced to kill the leader of an enemy clan. She likes Alex not only because he’s really cute but because he seems to always want to help her and teach her new things. But Alex has secrets and Emma isn’t sure if she is really ready for this new life especially when she learns what some of Alex’s secrets are.
This story is very short and I got through it very quickly but I loved it. There are many different twists in the story and ending that I really enjoyed. I’m definitely interested to read the rest of the series and see where the story goes from here.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng***
August 7, 2012
I really enjoyed this light, entertaining and occaisonally surprising read. It’s a short novel, a length I really like because you can read it in one evening when the rest of the family is watching TV.
Blurb: Emma Hammond is a normal young woman living in New York City whose life changes forever when one misstep brings her very close to death. Luckily, Alex Thompson, a handsome stranger (who also happens to be a vampire), jumps in to save her, turning Emma into a vampire. She quickly discovers the numerous advantages (no more allergies, glasses, or acne) and slight drawbacks (wanting to eat her boyfriend) of joining the ranks of the creatures of the night. But Emma soon finds out her new undead life isn't all it's cracked up to be when she gets pulled in to an age-old dispute between two feuding vampire clans.
Emma has a delightfully pragmatic view of her changed life and has a wonderful ability to adapt to change quickly. Some might find this a little unbelievable but frankly with all the vampire literature around these days, it’s quite realistic and extremely refreshing. I enjoyed Emma and in fact all the characters a great deal. The scene where Emma tried to convince her best friend that she is a vampire was delightful.
This book has surprises. My initial impression was that it was a fairly ordinary book, well put together but fairly straightforward, then things began to unravel. Alex isn’t telling her everything, not by a long shot and Emma starts to question everything that happened. She suspects there is a lot more to the seemingly simple events that led to her turning into a vampire and the situation she finds herself in is a lot more complicated than she first thought. This mystery deepens the story and makes me keen to read the next in the series.
I give it 4 stars and a place in the Awesome Indies listing.
Blurb: Emma Hammond is a normal young woman living in New York City whose life changes forever when one misstep brings her very close to death. Luckily, Alex Thompson, a handsome stranger (who also happens to be a vampire), jumps in to save her, turning Emma into a vampire. She quickly discovers the numerous advantages (no more allergies, glasses, or acne) and slight drawbacks (wanting to eat her boyfriend) of joining the ranks of the creatures of the night. But Emma soon finds out her new undead life isn't all it's cracked up to be when she gets pulled in to an age-old dispute between two feuding vampire clans.
Emma has a delightfully pragmatic view of her changed life and has a wonderful ability to adapt to change quickly. Some might find this a little unbelievable but frankly with all the vampire literature around these days, it’s quite realistic and extremely refreshing. I enjoyed Emma and in fact all the characters a great deal. The scene where Emma tried to convince her best friend that she is a vampire was delightful.
This book has surprises. My initial impression was that it was a fairly ordinary book, well put together but fairly straightforward, then things began to unravel. Alex isn’t telling her everything, not by a long shot and Emma starts to question everything that happened. She suspects there is a lot more to the seemingly simple events that led to her turning into a vampire and the situation she finds herself in is a lot more complicated than she first thought. This mystery deepens the story and makes me keen to read the next in the series.
I give it 4 stars and a place in the Awesome Indies listing.
October 10, 2012
New Blood- Vampire in the City by Donna Ansari is the story of a girl who finds that surprisingly little about her life has to change when she becomes a vampire. She is also quick to learn that several of the ‘facts’ that people always claim when sharing superstition about vampires are nothing more than happy disinformation spread by the vampires themselves to stop humans from ever attempting their extermination when learning just how strong these un-dead are.
Emma lives alone and works nights for an advertising agency in New York city. One night (or early morning) as she walks to her home in Queens she manages to stop two delinquents that look to be trying to beat an innocent man with sticks and crosses. Her walking home is never peaceful; the next day she missteps into traffic and is killed by a car!
Except she isn’t quite killed, the man she saved the night before is really a vampire who turns her to prevent her death out of gratitude. From here on we watch as Emma gets pulled into the world of vampire politics, the different actions and laws of the differing clans. For one thing, she must prove herself worthy to stand among the Queens vampires by taking specific actions against their Brooklyn rivals.
As the story goes on, Emma finds her relationships with others (sometimes necessarily) changing. As her whole world is thrown upside down, it is interesting to watch how she intends to keep her life from getting any more out of her control.
Emma lives alone and works nights for an advertising agency in New York city. One night (or early morning) as she walks to her home in Queens she manages to stop two delinquents that look to be trying to beat an innocent man with sticks and crosses. Her walking home is never peaceful; the next day she missteps into traffic and is killed by a car!
Except she isn’t quite killed, the man she saved the night before is really a vampire who turns her to prevent her death out of gratitude. From here on we watch as Emma gets pulled into the world of vampire politics, the different actions and laws of the differing clans. For one thing, she must prove herself worthy to stand among the Queens vampires by taking specific actions against their Brooklyn rivals.
As the story goes on, Emma finds her relationships with others (sometimes necessarily) changing. As her whole world is thrown upside down, it is interesting to watch how she intends to keep her life from getting any more out of her control.
November 25, 2015
Set in New York City, New Blood is about a stressed out, under-appreciated, overworked girl named Emma who comes upon a man being mugged while walking home from work. She pepper sprays the kids after they tell her that the man is a vampire and chases them away. She notices that the victim, Alex, is very handsome, so she thinks it is a figment of her imagination when she notices him out of the corner of her eye every day. Alex really is a vampire and he saves her life by turning her after she is in an accident and dies. She realizes that not much changes in her life now that she is undead, plus there are a lot of superstitions that she didn’t believe in that are actually true.
While this is a fun, quick, story, that is all that it is. The writing is good as is the actual story-telling. It held my attention for the duration, but didn’t wow me. I really enjoyed the banter between Emma and her best friend – it was realistic for two young women in the city. Overall, I enjoyed it, but not enough to want to continue on with the series.
*Copy provided for review.
While this is a fun, quick, story, that is all that it is. The writing is good as is the actual story-telling. It held my attention for the duration, but didn’t wow me. I really enjoyed the banter between Emma and her best friend – it was realistic for two young women in the city. Overall, I enjoyed it, but not enough to want to continue on with the series.
*Copy provided for review.
December 31, 2011
Emma lives a low-key, straitened life in modern-day New York. She works the night shift, periodically hangs out with her bff or makes plans with her boyfriend Stuart, and takes care of her cat. But then she's hit by a car, and everything changes. She wakes up dead.
Now a vampire, Emma must figure out how to feed and survive the day-light hours. Luckily, her maker Alex is there to help her through the logistical issues--while providing her and Tammy with delightful eye-candy. Emma has a logical mind and quickly comes to grips with her new existence, but she has a harder time learning the constant vigilance and distrust that vampires require to survive.
I liked Emma, who seemed really reasonable to me. The main draw to this story, for me, wasn't the twisty plot or potential romance, but that Emma read like someone I recognized. Realistic heroines are all too rare in the urban fantasy genre.
Now a vampire, Emma must figure out how to feed and survive the day-light hours. Luckily, her maker Alex is there to help her through the logistical issues--while providing her and Tammy with delightful eye-candy. Emma has a logical mind and quickly comes to grips with her new existence, but she has a harder time learning the constant vigilance and distrust that vampires require to survive.
I liked Emma, who seemed really reasonable to me. The main draw to this story, for me, wasn't the twisty plot or potential romance, but that Emma read like someone I recognized. Realistic heroines are all too rare in the urban fantasy genre.
January 13, 2015
Emma Hammond is just a woman living and working in New York when one night on her way home from work she’s hit by a car and wakes up in the apartment of a vampire. Alex Thompson felt he owed her since she had saved his life the night before, so when he saw her get hit and knew she would die he changed her. Good thing for Emma he was there at the right time. Or was he? Emma finds nothing is as it seems and her life is turned upside down in more way than one as she tries to cope with being the newly undead.
A most excellent read! It proceeded smoothly, the twisty turny plot was disguised as straightforward, but delivered a few sneaky punches when you weren’t expecting them. The characters were interesting and Emma was a no nonsense, take it in stride yet humorous main character. All-in-all an entertaining way to spend the afternoon. I look forward to reading Book 2, 'Wild Blood.'
*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.
A most excellent read! It proceeded smoothly, the twisty turny plot was disguised as straightforward, but delivered a few sneaky punches when you weren’t expecting them. The characters were interesting and Emma was a no nonsense, take it in stride yet humorous main character. All-in-all an entertaining way to spend the afternoon. I look forward to reading Book 2, 'Wild Blood.'
*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.
June 29, 2012
What do you do when you wake up in some strangers bed only to find yourself not only dead but a Vampire to boot? You do the only thing you can do, you roll with the flow. The flow of blood that is! Well, you try as Emma does once she comes to some terms with her new situation. Add in a stupid, obnoxious, and cheating soon to be ex-boyfriend, your best friend of twenty years, and a new vampire friend and you have yourself one bloody good story! Donna Ansari knows how to weave a tale that keeps you "enthralled" from the first prick of the fangs to the last jab of the wooden stake straight through the heart! A MUST read if you love a good vampire story and a MUST read if you just love a good story period! Congrats Donna! Can't wait for the sequel!
January 19, 2013
When I first started this book I did a lot of eye rolling. It was pretty corny and cheesy. I thought the main character was kind of stupid and irritating. Funny thing was I couldn’t seem to put the book down. It was very well written with no “filler”. It moved along at a quick interesting pace. As the story went along I found myself thinking it was actually humorous , corny but funny. Then I realized her stupidity was actually cute and endearing. I really REALLY didn’t expect to like this book, but I really did! This was a cute, fun ,easy and entertaining little book. I find myself intrigued and look forward to the next book in this series. This is a recommend if you like funny , non serious paranormals.
September 21, 2015
Upon reading “New Blood: Vampire in the City Book One” by Donna Ansari I found that I liked the book, but I wasn’t very partial to the main character Emma. I felt as though she was a little boring and wasn’t described well enough since by the end of the book I couldn’t recall what she looked like. Personally, I thought she needed something more to make her special, besides her awesome table breaking skills.
I found descriptions to be vague and the male characters a little dry. The plot was interesting enough and overall I would read the next books in the series to see where the storyline goes. The author is a creative writer and has a lot of imagination.
I was provided a free copy of this book for my honest opinion.
Reviewer: Sammie
I found descriptions to be vague and the male characters a little dry. The plot was interesting enough and overall I would read the next books in the series to see where the storyline goes. The author is a creative writer and has a lot of imagination.
I was provided a free copy of this book for my honest opinion.
Reviewer: Sammie
December 23, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book. Starting a new life as a 'recently turned' vampire, Emma has a lot to think about. The humor throughout New Blood is quite entertaining. The characters are likable. The story is quite good. This book gives a different take on vampires. Add a human roommate, a werewolf and a vampire to the mix, and you end up with quite the combination. I recommend this book. Now on to read the next book, Wild Blood.
March 25, 2013
I love series romances. Chicagoland Vampires is my favorite! I got an email about this book and for $.99 you can’t really beat that! I could find out if I liked the author’s writing style, if I liked the characters, plot and so on. Well, I loved it and immediately bought the next two books. I figured I would just make this one big review so you could get all the info you needed about the series here.Read my full review here: http://wp.me/p3a6Qw-2E
July 7, 2013
New Blood is really an introduction book for the series. It allows you to get familiarized with the characters and their world and starts to build up a little tension in the plot as it chugs along to the next book. And I mean chugs. The plot by no means goes too fast, but this also is not one of those books that you sit around wondering about everything until the last few pages to find out. It's builds adequately throughout...
...Full Review http://bookcovereviews.blogspot.com/
...Full Review http://bookcovereviews.blogspot.com/
September 4, 2012
I loved this book to no end. I was giggling constantly through the whole thing. This takes a bit of a fresh look at vampires and what happens when a human becomes one. The story zips you right along until you notice that you're done with it.
January 14, 2013
I got this for free on my kindle and actually really enjoyed it! Would have like for her to acted differently to the vampire news but hey. Its an easy read and enjoyed it and the other two she has out so far!
February 11, 2013
Pretty good all around. It has a different kind of story from other vampire books I have read which made it quite interesting. Although I am a little lost at some things that are going on, but maybe they will be cleared up in the next book. :)
Want to read
November 11, 2011found it!
July 5, 2012
Fun UF w/ a little romance. Not super original, but fun all the same. I'll check out the next book soon.
October 18, 2012
A delightfully funny read. About vampires and learning to be one. A great read for October. Loved it
Want to read
November 19, 2012Free on amazon
11/19/12
11/19/12
March 17, 2013
Actually 3.5 stars.
Review to come...
Review to come...
September 12, 2016
No brainier. Elementary writing.....
May 8, 2017
Not sorry to say but this was horrible. Obvious mary sue/self-insert. Bad attempt at being similar to the tv show Being Human. Would not recommend.
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