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The Human Revolt #1
Vampire Miami
Five years after the Vampire War, seventeen-year-old Selah Brown is on the hunt for answers. Heading to the vampire-held city of Miami, she plans to track down the origins of 'Blood Dust', the drug her father had been investigating shortly before he disappeared, in the hope of using the information to find him. What she doesn't plan on is meeting Cloud, the young and enigmatic leader of the human rebellion, or drawing the attention of the infamous vampire known as 'The Dragon', and awakening within him a dark passion he had thought long dead.
With the lives of friends and family on the line, only one secret, impossible talent gives Selah any hope of success--but that very source of hope might start the Vampire War anew...
With the lives of friends and family on the line, only one secret, impossible talent gives Selah any hope of success--but that very source of hope might start the Vampire War anew...
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2012
66 people are currently reading
1060 people want to read
About the author
Phil Tucker
49 books1,283 followersThanks for visiting my page! I'm Phil Tucker, a Brazilian/Brit who currently resides in Asheville, NC, where I resist the siren call of the forests and mountains to sit inside and hammer away on my laptop.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 29, 2013
Holy Ororo Munroe, this book was an absolutely-freaking-amazing-roller-coaster-ride that I am about to buy the second book after I finish this review.
I am a vampire snob. Needless to say a large portion of the new wave of vampire books--both YA and adult--are total crap. They've defanged these apex predators in order to make them whipped, sparkling sex-puppies. Thankfully, Phil Tucker puts them back in their pride of place and that's where I like them. And even when they show some form of human empathy, there's always an ulterior motive , even in self-sacrifice.
However, what really made this book leap out from the crowd was the multicultural cast. The cover was not whitewashed, which puts self-publishing above New York for that alone. Not just sidekicks, but these are lead characters of varying complexity. Selah Brown would easily wipe the floor with Bella and the rest of her weak-willed ilk, and that's even before she really gets entangled in the dark world of vampire/human politics. She's not some stereotyped black teenage girl. She makes mistakes, but she's in charge. She isn't about the hawt boy du jour. Speaking of which, her romantic interest Cloud, is Asian. I think that is my only quibble is that I haven't learned as much about Cloud; on the other hand that's why there's a book two, right?
And unlike most dystopian books, this dystopia of a vampire-controlled Miami actually features people and vampires of all ethnicities. So while other dystopian writers whitewash their bleak futures, Mr. Tucker has no problem including PoC, including a Native American vampire king.
Oh, did I forget to mention the author is CAUCASIAN? This last is aimed at all the writers who fake angst over the very notion of including PoC as major characters in their books because what they really want to do is write a stereotyped character and get a brownie button for being "inclusive". Phil Tucker merely wrote about an average teenage girl who deals the with loss of her parents as well as the emotions of adolescence, all set in a dark and disturbing vampire future. Gee, how hard can THAT be? If you as a reader can't relate to that struggle, well, you're just not human.
Getting ready to read Vampire: Los Angeles. If you want your vampires fanged and mean, and a heroine with the resolve to take them on, then Vampire Miami is for you!
I am a vampire snob. Needless to say a large portion of the new wave of vampire books--both YA and adult--are total crap. They've defanged these apex predators in order to make them whipped, sparkling sex-puppies. Thankfully, Phil Tucker puts them back in their pride of place and that's where I like them. And even when they show some form of human empathy, there's always an ulterior motive , even in self-sacrifice.
However, what really made this book leap out from the crowd was the multicultural cast. The cover was not whitewashed, which puts self-publishing above New York for that alone. Not just sidekicks, but these are lead characters of varying complexity. Selah Brown would easily wipe the floor with Bella and the rest of her weak-willed ilk, and that's even before she really gets entangled in the dark world of vampire/human politics. She's not some stereotyped black teenage girl. She makes mistakes, but she's in charge. She isn't about the hawt boy du jour. Speaking of which, her romantic interest Cloud, is Asian. I think that is my only quibble is that I haven't learned as much about Cloud; on the other hand that's why there's a book two, right?
And unlike most dystopian books, this dystopia of a vampire-controlled Miami actually features people and vampires of all ethnicities. So while other dystopian writers whitewash their bleak futures, Mr. Tucker has no problem including PoC, including a Native American vampire king.
Oh, did I forget to mention the author is CAUCASIAN? This last is aimed at all the writers who fake angst over the very notion of including PoC as major characters in their books because what they really want to do is write a stereotyped character and get a brownie button for being "inclusive". Phil Tucker merely wrote about an average teenage girl who deals the with loss of her parents as well as the emotions of adolescence, all set in a dark and disturbing vampire future. Gee, how hard can THAT be? If you as a reader can't relate to that struggle, well, you're just not human.
Getting ready to read Vampire: Los Angeles. If you want your vampires fanged and mean, and a heroine with the resolve to take them on, then Vampire Miami is for you!
August 13, 2014
-Otra distopía YA, esta vez vampírica.-
Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. En un futuro no muy lejano, Miami, igual que Los Ángeles, es una de las ciudades que han quedado bajo control de los vampiros tras los acuerdos que trajeron una tregua al enfrentamiento entre ellos y nosotros los humanos. Selah Brown es una joven que, buscando respuestas a ciertos interrogantes sobre el paradero de su padre, entra en la ciudad como deportada, donde tiene algún pariente que la espera y donde confía en encontrar pistas del destino de su padre. Libro también conocido anteriormente como “Vampire Miami” y primer libro de la trilogía The Human Revolt.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. En un futuro no muy lejano, Miami, igual que Los Ángeles, es una de las ciudades que han quedado bajo control de los vampiros tras los acuerdos que trajeron una tregua al enfrentamiento entre ellos y nosotros los humanos. Selah Brown es una joven que, buscando respuestas a ciertos interrogantes sobre el paradero de su padre, entra en la ciudad como deportada, donde tiene algún pariente que la espera y donde confía en encontrar pistas del destino de su padre. Libro también conocido anteriormente como “Vampire Miami” y primer libro de la trilogía The Human Revolt.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
January 21, 2013
Reviewed for On a Book Bender.
I can't say that I'm surprised that I liked this book because I thought the synopsis sounded pretty darn fun when I picked it up. I can, however, say that I was smitten with the world that was built here and the layers that were uncovered as the story progressed. I am a long time lover of broken cities and this book gave us a version of Miami that's full of cracked streets and crumbling buildings on the outskirts and glittering highrises in the heart of the city. It was jarring to go from one extreme to the other and it worked perfectly to show the differences between those that are struggling to hold onto their humanity and those that are willing to embrace the lifestyle that the vampires offer.
There's a lot going on in this book. Selah has to adapt to a new life behind the walls of Miami and she's completely unprepared for what she finds. She has an agenda when she arrives and she's just impulsive enough to jump into trying to follow her father's investigation without knowing enough about the pulse of the city around her. Naturally, this lands her in a heap of trouble. Being on the vampires' radar is not the place she wants to be and she ends up smack dab in the middle of something that could change everything.
Seriously, this book kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. It dug its claws in deep and hung on until the bitter end. Not that the end is bitter. More bittersweet, I'd say. Selah's world has changed, her eyes have been opened and her foundation has been rocked. She's NOT the same girl she was when she stepped past the gate and things are only going to get more hairy as she continues to follow the leads she's uncovering.
I can't wait!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
I can't say that I'm surprised that I liked this book because I thought the synopsis sounded pretty darn fun when I picked it up. I can, however, say that I was smitten with the world that was built here and the layers that were uncovered as the story progressed. I am a long time lover of broken cities and this book gave us a version of Miami that's full of cracked streets and crumbling buildings on the outskirts and glittering highrises in the heart of the city. It was jarring to go from one extreme to the other and it worked perfectly to show the differences between those that are struggling to hold onto their humanity and those that are willing to embrace the lifestyle that the vampires offer.
There's a lot going on in this book. Selah has to adapt to a new life behind the walls of Miami and she's completely unprepared for what she finds. She has an agenda when she arrives and she's just impulsive enough to jump into trying to follow her father's investigation without knowing enough about the pulse of the city around her. Naturally, this lands her in a heap of trouble. Being on the vampires' radar is not the place she wants to be and she ends up smack dab in the middle of something that could change everything.
Seriously, this book kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. It dug its claws in deep and hung on until the bitter end. Not that the end is bitter. More bittersweet, I'd say. Selah's world has changed, her eyes have been opened and her foundation has been rocked. She's NOT the same girl she was when she stepped past the gate and things are only going to get more hairy as she continues to follow the leads she's uncovering.
I can't wait!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
September 28, 2018
This is one of those books that you wanted to be better. The heroine is a poc, she is not in a love triangle, and she is pretty determined. The vampires are bloodthirsty, and the alternate American states and the vampire work.
The thing is when Selah discovers her power - her acceptable of the strange thing occurs in less than a finger snap. She becomes a somewhat different person. It isn't a smooth transition and is somewhat jarring.
Yet, the book is fun.
The thing is when Selah discovers her power - her acceptable of the strange thing occurs in less than a finger snap. She becomes a somewhat different person. It isn't a smooth transition and is somewhat jarring.
Yet, the book is fun.
April 23, 2018
Into the Vampire City, also known as Vampire Miami is a strange case of a book, one that appears in which the main character easily earned a TSTL rating but is still fairly likeable. It's unusual in that its publication was supported by a Kickstarter campaign and all the more unusual, therefore, in that it seems to now to have been removed for sale from just about everywhere. I'm not sure why it no longer seems to be available, but I wonder if the people who contributed to that crowdfunding are aware?
All told, I'm highly ambivalent about my feelings for Into the Vampire City. There are some definite pros:
The Pros
- The grammar and syntax. This is generally great, albeit with a few exceptions ('of' instead of 'have', 'one's' instead of 'ones', 'liaison' instead of 'liaise', a random 'at' and 'a' etc). For a book that I got as a freebie, this is a huge bonus. There are even big words! Yay, big words!
- Mama B. This amazing woman who is the heroine's grandmother would, IMHO, have made a better main character. A very different story, maybe, but a more interesting one. Still, I'm happy to take her in even this limited form because she is great. Towards the end she makes this statement (I can't say much more without SPOILERS) and the people listening go "Yeah, Mama B!" and all start clapping. I was like "AMEN!"
- A few great quotes. "She was a snarl of anger". My favourite, unremarkable though it may seem, is "If there's anything I have, it's a choice." This feels so empowering.
- The Dragon.
- A certain character's decision: "I was willing to do as commanded... if that bought us peace. But I would be damned if I stayed free after condemning millions to slavery."
Unfortunately, there were also cons:
The Cons
- The heroine and her love interest supposedly being in love after her seeing him on the internet and them meeting approximately three times. Enough in love to be worth losing one's life/soul/whatever for, that is. I'm sorry, but if I was going to be risking my soul for someone I'd want to have met them at least four times.
- The heroine's total lack of self preservation.
- The entirely dubious age suitability or, in other words, a book in which we have a teenage girl having tantrums, obsessing over social media and falling in instalove with this cute Asian guy she sawon Youtube, basically aka YA who then, a few pages later, is forced to strip naked, coat herself in blood from a corpse hanging gape-throated above, and crawl along the floor to be licked by various vampires at some kind of orgy. I mean, seriously. Make up your mind! Who is the audience for this book?
- The pace. We never have a chance to really get to know the characters or get a feel for the city, but are thrown from event to event due to the heroine's inability to just do as she's told occasionally. This is a shame because the background stories actually hold much more potential to my mind. What's Maria Elena's story? How does the community work? Who lives there? Who are the rebellion, really? This would be far more interesting than the usual Special Snowflake plot.
- The dropped thread that is the heroine's father. I sincerely hope this is relevant to later books and wasn't just a ruse to never be mentioned again.
- The synopsis, which makes things into things they are not. A) "The innocents within live like animals, not knowing if they will survive the night, playthings for their vampire masters." Except that we're told pretty early on that most people there are at more risk from each other than from vampires. B) "follows his trail" if going 'oh this is about vampires and there are some vampires over there' counts as following a trail C) "despite her attempts to lie low" Seriously?! She literally fucking broadcasts where she is! D) "the darkly seductive vampire known only as The Dragon" who is called Theo, doesn't really try to seduce anybody, and seems fairly well-meaning as evil blood suckers go.
I'm tending towards a 2.5 star rating* which is a shame because I've rated more shoddily written books three stars. I liked those books. I'm just not sure whether I really liked Into the Vampire City.
* Which, as Goodreads does not allow half stars, I'm rounding up instead of down because YEAHHHH MAMA B!
All told, I'm highly ambivalent about my feelings for Into the Vampire City. There are some definite pros:
The Pros
- The grammar and syntax. This is generally great, albeit with a few exceptions ('of' instead of 'have', 'one's' instead of 'ones', 'liaison' instead of 'liaise', a random 'at' and 'a' etc). For a book that I got as a freebie, this is a huge bonus. There are even big words! Yay, big words!
- Mama B. This amazing woman who is the heroine's grandmother would, IMHO, have made a better main character. A very different story, maybe, but a more interesting one. Still, I'm happy to take her in even this limited form because she is great. Towards the end she makes this statement (I can't say much more without SPOILERS) and the people listening go "Yeah, Mama B!" and all start clapping. I was like "AMEN!"
- A few great quotes. "She was a snarl of anger". My favourite, unremarkable though it may seem, is "If there's anything I have, it's a choice." This feels so empowering.
- The Dragon.
- A certain character's decision: "I was willing to do as commanded... if that bought us peace. But I would be damned if I stayed free after condemning millions to slavery."
Unfortunately, there were also cons:
The Cons
- The heroine and her love interest supposedly being in love after her seeing him on the internet and them meeting approximately three times. Enough in love to be worth losing one's life/soul/whatever for, that is. I'm sorry, but if I was going to be risking my soul for someone I'd want to have met them at least four times.
- The heroine's total lack of self preservation.
- The entirely dubious age suitability or, in other words, a book in which we have a teenage girl having tantrums, obsessing over social media and falling in instalove with this cute Asian guy she saw
- The pace. We never have a chance to really get to know the characters or get a feel for the city, but are thrown from event to event due to the heroine's inability to just do as she's told occasionally. This is a shame because the background stories actually hold much more potential to my mind. What's Maria Elena's story? How does the community work? Who lives there? Who are the rebellion, really? This would be far more interesting than the usual Special Snowflake plot.
- The dropped thread that is the heroine's father. I sincerely hope this is relevant to later books and wasn't just a ruse to never be mentioned again.
- The synopsis, which makes things into things they are not. A) "The innocents within live like animals, not knowing if they will survive the night, playthings for their vampire masters." Except that we're told pretty early on that most people there are at more risk from each other than from vampires. B) "follows his trail" if going 'oh this is about vampires and there are some vampires over there' counts as following a trail C) "despite her attempts to lie low" Seriously?! She literally fucking broadcasts where she is! D) "the darkly seductive vampire known only as The Dragon" who is called Theo, doesn't really try to seduce anybody, and seems fairly well-meaning as evil blood suckers go.
I'm tending towards a 2.5 star rating* which is a shame because I've rated more shoddily written books three stars. I liked those books. I'm just not sure whether I really liked Into the Vampire City.
* Which, as Goodreads does not allow half stars, I'm rounding up instead of down because YEAHHHH MAMA B!
December 26, 2013
Vampire Miami had a very interesting premise. It came across like a new adult rather than ya novel to me. Selah, a seventeen year old Brooklynite moves to Miami to be raised by her grandmother after get father has disappeared and to avoid foster care. I liked Selah well enough as week as the supporting cast of characters. My favorite was Mama B.
The good: I like this dystopian world of Miami as a stronghold for vampires given to them in a peace treaty to end a 5 year war with the US government. The way that post war Miami was described was fun and cool. Phil tucker did a great job of showing the disparity between real Miami and the glittery one they vampires liked to display.
I also liked Selah for the most part though she has some unrealistic reactions/thought processes with some of the situations that occurred. Thus my making her as a likable but annoying heroine.
I also liked that we have a multicultural cast in this story. I'm always looking for something more diverse on my PNR and UF so I was delighted to find it in this one.
The bad:
Selah's attraction to THE DRAGON and .
Grammar and typos: there wee a few of these so be aware if that is something that bothers you. It didn't take me out of the story but it was something I noticed. Happened mostly toward the middle and end. Seems whoever took a stab at editing got a little lazy after a while.
The ugly:
Story inconsistency - not super ugly but certainly annoying. For instance when Selah first meets a resistance member they say "we go by code names in case someone is caught". Then when she meets the entire team a day later and they don't know her from Steve, she is getting full on introductions, last names, going to the secret headquarters. Hold on a second, I thought we were on code names two hours ago? They were a little incompetent as far as rebels go. But good for them for trying.
Overall I enjoyed Vampire Miami and look forward to reading the LA installment. I would recommend this novel to those who love dystopian, evil vampires, new adult fiction, and diversity.
The good: I like this dystopian world of Miami as a stronghold for vampires given to them in a peace treaty to end a 5 year war with the US government. The way that post war Miami was described was fun and cool. Phil tucker did a great job of showing the disparity between real Miami and the glittery one they vampires liked to display.
I also liked Selah for the most part though she has some unrealistic reactions/thought processes with some of the situations that occurred. Thus my making her as a likable but annoying heroine.
I also liked that we have a multicultural cast in this story. I'm always looking for something more diverse on my PNR and UF so I was delighted to find it in this one.
The bad:
Selah's attraction to THE DRAGON and .
Grammar and typos: there wee a few of these so be aware if that is something that bothers you. It didn't take me out of the story but it was something I noticed. Happened mostly toward the middle and end. Seems whoever took a stab at editing got a little lazy after a while.
The ugly:
Story inconsistency - not super ugly but certainly annoying. For instance when Selah first meets a resistance member they say "we go by code names in case someone is caught". Then when she meets the entire team a day later and they don't know her from Steve, she is getting full on introductions, last names, going to the secret headquarters. Hold on a second, I thought we were on code names two hours ago? They were a little incompetent as far as rebels go. But good for them for trying.
Overall I enjoyed Vampire Miami and look forward to reading the LA installment. I would recommend this novel to those who love dystopian, evil vampires, new adult fiction, and diversity.
February 9, 2014
Original and captivating.
With so many vampire books out there it's refreshing to come across one as original as this.
The vampires have Miami and LA and the war is over! While most people living within the walls of Miami would do anything to get out seventeen year old Seleh Brown willingly enters. After the disappearance of her father while investigating a new drug 'Blood Dust' Seleh leaves New York and moves to live with her grandmother in Miami with the intention of trying to discover what's happened to her father and what exactly is 'Blood Dust'
As soon as I started reading I was hooked, it's a great story with some interesting characters and I can't wait to read the next book.
Why then 4 stars and not 5, well to be honest I'd give 4.5 if I could, the reason well firstly it really annoys me when the female lead in so many books just has 'idiot' moments, there's one part where Seleh is told to be quiet, not get noticed and not drink anything so what does she do...the exact opposite. I know she's only seventeen, but seriously and this is not her only such moment it just took the shine off the early part of the book for me and to be honest if the first few pages wouldn't have gripped me so much then I may have stopped reading but even though it happens early on I was fully invested in the book and nothing would have stopped me reading the rest, after these 'moments' the book really came into it's own and was a fantastic read. The second thing I wasn't sure about was that the vampires would willingly settle for Miami and LA places known for sunshine, just seemed odd.
With so many vampire books out there it's refreshing to come across one as original as this.
The vampires have Miami and LA and the war is over! While most people living within the walls of Miami would do anything to get out seventeen year old Seleh Brown willingly enters. After the disappearance of her father while investigating a new drug 'Blood Dust' Seleh leaves New York and moves to live with her grandmother in Miami with the intention of trying to discover what's happened to her father and what exactly is 'Blood Dust'
As soon as I started reading I was hooked, it's a great story with some interesting characters and I can't wait to read the next book.
Why then 4 stars and not 5, well to be honest I'd give 4.5 if I could, the reason well firstly it really annoys me when the female lead in so many books just has 'idiot' moments, there's one part where Seleh is told to be quiet, not get noticed and not drink anything so what does she do...the exact opposite. I know she's only seventeen, but seriously and this is not her only such moment it just took the shine off the early part of the book for me and to be honest if the first few pages wouldn't have gripped me so much then I may have stopped reading but even though it happens early on I was fully invested in the book and nothing would have stopped me reading the rest, after these 'moments' the book really came into it's own and was a fantastic read. The second thing I wasn't sure about was that the vampires would willingly settle for Miami and LA places known for sunshine, just seemed odd.
April 19, 2013
4 ½ Stars
Vampire Miami is the first book in The Human Revolt series by Phil Tucker.
The first thing that caught my attention about Vampire Miami was the title; I lived in Miami for almost ten years so I’m pretty familiar with the city; knowing the setting picked up my curiosity, then I read the book blurb and I was sold, it left me wanting to read this book badly.
Vampire Miami starts with the transportation of Selah Brown from the US to the vampire city of Miami.
A bit over five years ago the vampires came out of the coffin and became a public problem; their going public started a horrific war that ended after the cities or Miami and Los Angeles were given to the vampires. Now these cities have a heavily guarded wall that protects the US from their bloodsucking neighbors. Nobody can go from the vampire city to the US and the only way to get in the vampire cities is through deportation.
Selah’s father disappeared couple of months ago, he was investigating a new and very powerful drug that is selling on the streets of US. During his investigation he discovered that the vampires were somehow involved with this drug. When he was getting close to expose the culprits he mysteriously disappeared. The only thing he left behind for Selah to find was his omni (a futuristic portable computer with 3D effects), which contains encrypted files about his investigation.
Selah is a minor, the government wants to place her with a family, but to everybody’s surprise she requested to be deported to Miami where her grandmother still lives. Selah wanted to go to Miami to investigate the disappearance of her father, leaving the only life she has known for seventeen years behind wasn’t easy, but she has a plan and is willing to go the extra step to solve the mystery behind his father’s disappearance. What Selah wasn’t expecting was to find a city that is ten times worse than what the TV programs in US shows. If she wants to survive she needs to reevaluate everything she knows and follow the very strict set of rules the residents on Miami have set in place to survive, rules that hinder her plans. If adapting to a new dangerous city wasn’t enough she also needs to learn to live with her grandmother, a woman that is an institution and a leader among the residents of the city.
Selah won’t stop at anything, even if she has to risk her life; she came to Miami with an objective in mind and she will do everything in her power to get to the end of it, even finding allies in the most unexpected places.
On the beginning I was a bit afraid for Selah, I knew things weren’t going to be easy for her and OMG I was right. Selah is young and with an idealist purpose in life, finding what happened to her father. She is at a difficult age, she feels she can accomplish whatever she wants, but life is not as easy as that, especially not in a vampire city like Miami.
Selah felt very real, her behavior and reactions to the different situations she experienced felt realistic and believable for a character of her age. I connected with her from the very beginning; page after page I cheered for her and sometimes I even hurt for her. Despite being young and inexperienced in life Selah is smart, strong and a fighter at heart, all this made of her a very easy to like character.
I really liked Cloud; he is smart, sexy and perfect for Selah, together they made a great team. My only complaint about Vampire Miami is regarding their relationship; they meet and next they are in love, I would have liked to see more of a relationship development than the almost insta-love they succumbed to.
The secondary characters made of this book an even better one. Selah’s grandmother, Mama B. is a very complex character, my first impressions of her were of a cold and hard woman, slowly I realized my mistake, Mama B. is a woman that cares deeply for others, without a care for her own welfare she has sacrificed a lot in her life to help those in need. At the end of the book I didn’t like her I loved her.
Theo in another very interesting character, saying much about him will be spoilerish, let’s just say that my heart ached for him and I hope he gets the HEA he deserves in future books.
Vampire Miami is a very especial book, one that surprised me from beginning to end, with so many twists and turns that keep me on the edge of my seat guessing about what was to come next.
The great characterization and vivid descriptions only made of Vampire Miami a more enjoyable read.
As I previously said, I’m familiar with the setting and with his fluid prose Mr. Tucker not only made me travel to known streets but also made me see them in a new a completely different way, a way that chilled me to the bone.
With its well-tied and clever plot and a very creative and unique world Vampire Miami it’s a book I recommend you to read. I guarantee you it will keep you glued to its pages from beginning to end, I’m sure of this because it happened to me. Since the first paragraph Mr. Tucker’s words tied me up to the pages and didn’t let me go until I reached the very end.
Vampire Miami is not an easy or walk in the sun read, it’s gritty, grim and dark, but it’s so good that I can’t help it, but want more! Luckily for me next book in the series, Vampire L.A., was released on February. I already bought it and I’m planning to read it soon.
(At the time this review was written Vampire Miami was free on Amazon, to “buy” it click HERE)
Vampire Miami is the first book in The Human Revolt series by Phil Tucker.
The first thing that caught my attention about Vampire Miami was the title; I lived in Miami for almost ten years so I’m pretty familiar with the city; knowing the setting picked up my curiosity, then I read the book blurb and I was sold, it left me wanting to read this book badly.
Vampire Miami starts with the transportation of Selah Brown from the US to the vampire city of Miami.
A bit over five years ago the vampires came out of the coffin and became a public problem; their going public started a horrific war that ended after the cities or Miami and Los Angeles were given to the vampires. Now these cities have a heavily guarded wall that protects the US from their bloodsucking neighbors. Nobody can go from the vampire city to the US and the only way to get in the vampire cities is through deportation.
Selah’s father disappeared couple of months ago, he was investigating a new and very powerful drug that is selling on the streets of US. During his investigation he discovered that the vampires were somehow involved with this drug. When he was getting close to expose the culprits he mysteriously disappeared. The only thing he left behind for Selah to find was his omni (a futuristic portable computer with 3D effects), which contains encrypted files about his investigation.
Selah is a minor, the government wants to place her with a family, but to everybody’s surprise she requested to be deported to Miami where her grandmother still lives. Selah wanted to go to Miami to investigate the disappearance of her father, leaving the only life she has known for seventeen years behind wasn’t easy, but she has a plan and is willing to go the extra step to solve the mystery behind his father’s disappearance. What Selah wasn’t expecting was to find a city that is ten times worse than what the TV programs in US shows. If she wants to survive she needs to reevaluate everything she knows and follow the very strict set of rules the residents on Miami have set in place to survive, rules that hinder her plans. If adapting to a new dangerous city wasn’t enough she also needs to learn to live with her grandmother, a woman that is an institution and a leader among the residents of the city.
Selah won’t stop at anything, even if she has to risk her life; she came to Miami with an objective in mind and she will do everything in her power to get to the end of it, even finding allies in the most unexpected places.
On the beginning I was a bit afraid for Selah, I knew things weren’t going to be easy for her and OMG I was right. Selah is young and with an idealist purpose in life, finding what happened to her father. She is at a difficult age, she feels she can accomplish whatever she wants, but life is not as easy as that, especially not in a vampire city like Miami.
Selah felt very real, her behavior and reactions to the different situations she experienced felt realistic and believable for a character of her age. I connected with her from the very beginning; page after page I cheered for her and sometimes I even hurt for her. Despite being young and inexperienced in life Selah is smart, strong and a fighter at heart, all this made of her a very easy to like character.
I really liked Cloud; he is smart, sexy and perfect for Selah, together they made a great team. My only complaint about Vampire Miami is regarding their relationship; they meet and next they are in love, I would have liked to see more of a relationship development than the almost insta-love they succumbed to.
The secondary characters made of this book an even better one. Selah’s grandmother, Mama B. is a very complex character, my first impressions of her were of a cold and hard woman, slowly I realized my mistake, Mama B. is a woman that cares deeply for others, without a care for her own welfare she has sacrificed a lot in her life to help those in need. At the end of the book I didn’t like her I loved her.
Theo in another very interesting character, saying much about him will be spoilerish, let’s just say that my heart ached for him and I hope he gets the HEA he deserves in future books.
Vampire Miami is a very especial book, one that surprised me from beginning to end, with so many twists and turns that keep me on the edge of my seat guessing about what was to come next.
The great characterization and vivid descriptions only made of Vampire Miami a more enjoyable read.
As I previously said, I’m familiar with the setting and with his fluid prose Mr. Tucker not only made me travel to known streets but also made me see them in a new a completely different way, a way that chilled me to the bone.
With its well-tied and clever plot and a very creative and unique world Vampire Miami it’s a book I recommend you to read. I guarantee you it will keep you glued to its pages from beginning to end, I’m sure of this because it happened to me. Since the first paragraph Mr. Tucker’s words tied me up to the pages and didn’t let me go until I reached the very end.
Vampire Miami is not an easy or walk in the sun read, it’s gritty, grim and dark, but it’s so good that I can’t help it, but want more! Luckily for me next book in the series, Vampire L.A., was released on February. I already bought it and I’m planning to read it soon.
(At the time this review was written Vampire Miami was free on Amazon, to “buy” it click HERE)
October 13, 2016
1.5 Stars
Into the Vampire City started off really well, and I made some highlights and notes on my kindle stating that I really liked it; that it’s looking promising. But I don’t know what went wrong. I can’t pinpoint an exact moment where my feelings changed. In theory, I should love this book; an interesting dystopian twist with vampires that act like vampires. What can possibly be wrong?
Well, the problem is, I feel… nothing, absolutely nothing. And I don’t know why. I don’t have a set of “this is exactly why I don’t like it” reasons either.
My main stumbling block: I couldn’t connect with Selah. I suspect this could stem from the choice of point of view. The story is told in the third person, and I think a first person approach might have suited it better. It could have helped create a rapport between myself and the MC, as we see through her eyes. The way the story is presented at present, left me feeling like an unwanted bystander looking in on her life. She is one tough character, and I like this attribute in MC’s; yet others that I have found this in have some form of likability and an approachable quality. I didn’t find that here.
The whole book has an unpolished quality. A little smoothing here and there and you could have a good story for a certain type of reader. I can’t say who that is, but unfortunately it’s not me.
This review can also be found on my blog.
Into the Vampire City started off really well, and I made some highlights and notes on my kindle stating that I really liked it; that it’s looking promising. But I don’t know what went wrong. I can’t pinpoint an exact moment where my feelings changed. In theory, I should love this book; an interesting dystopian twist with vampires that act like vampires. What can possibly be wrong?
Well, the problem is, I feel… nothing, absolutely nothing. And I don’t know why. I don’t have a set of “this is exactly why I don’t like it” reasons either.
My main stumbling block: I couldn’t connect with Selah. I suspect this could stem from the choice of point of view. The story is told in the third person, and I think a first person approach might have suited it better. It could have helped create a rapport between myself and the MC, as we see through her eyes. The way the story is presented at present, left me feeling like an unwanted bystander looking in on her life. She is one tough character, and I like this attribute in MC’s; yet others that I have found this in have some form of likability and an approachable quality. I didn’t find that here.
The whole book has an unpolished quality. A little smoothing here and there and you could have a good story for a certain type of reader. I can’t say who that is, but unfortunately it’s not me.
This review can also be found on my blog.
February 3, 2016
You’ve heard of CSI: Miami. You’ve heard of CSI: Las Vegas. But have you heard of Vampire Miami?
I hadn’t either until last week.
I liked Vampire Miami a lot more than I anticipated I would.
It’s not a romance.
It’s not a love story.
It does have the supernatural and the vampires are more like what we associate with Dracula than what I generally read.
The United States was torn apart by a war between the vampires and the humans. Five years after signing the treaty which handed Miami and Los Angeles to the vampires those two cities are what you would expect: martial law states where the vampires rule although they do try to seem benevolent by allowing movies to be filmed and Amnesty International and the Red Cross have access to help the humans living inside The Wall.
There are the ritzy areas: places where everything seems to be as it was before the treaty was signed
There are the slums where all you see are burned out or looted buildings, overturned cars and, I think, some tumbling tumbleweed.
Then you have the areas in between the two. Places where humans have formed communities for their own safety.
Enter a 17-year-old young woman from New York City. No longer a child but not quite an adult. A young woman who’s father has inexplicably gone missing so has petitioned the courts to be put into the custody of her grandmother who lives in Miami.
Include a little supernatural which is so rare it has only been seen three times in a hundred years.
Now imagine the mayhem that girl could cause in such circumstances.
I hadn’t either until last week.
I liked Vampire Miami a lot more than I anticipated I would.
It’s not a romance.
It’s not a love story.
It does have the supernatural and the vampires are more like what we associate with Dracula than what I generally read.
The United States was torn apart by a war between the vampires and the humans. Five years after signing the treaty which handed Miami and Los Angeles to the vampires those two cities are what you would expect: martial law states where the vampires rule although they do try to seem benevolent by allowing movies to be filmed and Amnesty International and the Red Cross have access to help the humans living inside The Wall.
There are the ritzy areas: places where everything seems to be as it was before the treaty was signed
There are the slums where all you see are burned out or looted buildings, overturned cars and, I think, some tumbling tumbleweed.
Then you have the areas in between the two. Places where humans have formed communities for their own safety.
Enter a 17-year-old young woman from New York City. No longer a child but not quite an adult. A young woman who’s father has inexplicably gone missing so has petitioned the courts to be put into the custody of her grandmother who lives in Miami.
Include a little supernatural which is so rare it has only been seen three times in a hundred years.
Now imagine the mayhem that girl could cause in such circumstances.
January 24, 2013
I have been looking forward to reading another book by Phil Tucker since reading [[ASIN:B005IGAM7W Crude Sunlight]], immediately following that book with Coffin Cam. A friend of mine directed me to her Kickstarter website and after pledging for her project I started searching around. To my utter surprise and thrilled amazement I happened upon this wonderful writer once again, but this time asking for backers to a new series he is writing, Human Revolt. I immediately placed my own sponsorship and after reading the first in this series, I would have paid as much for just this book, much less the whole series.
Phil jumps right into the story, it starts fast and never stops! Fortunately, Tucker doesn't even leave you in the dust . Just when you think you might be reading too fast to catch everything that's going on, he gives you a tiny and much needed breather to catch up and take it all in. Tucker has verbally distressed this wonderful city of Miami that I can see it all as clearly as if I were watching it being filmed. The characters are so aptly described that I have no question as to what each and everyone looks like if I were to run into one on the street. Amazing writing, superior plotting, tantalizing action scenes, and just enough fear sprinkled on top for color and flavor! On pins and needles waiting for the next installment!
Phil jumps right into the story, it starts fast and never stops! Fortunately, Tucker doesn't even leave you in the dust . Just when you think you might be reading too fast to catch everything that's going on, he gives you a tiny and much needed breather to catch up and take it all in. Tucker has verbally distressed this wonderful city of Miami that I can see it all as clearly as if I were watching it being filmed. The characters are so aptly described that I have no question as to what each and everyone looks like if I were to run into one on the street. Amazing writing, superior plotting, tantalizing action scenes, and just enough fear sprinkled on top for color and flavor! On pins and needles waiting for the next installment!
September 3, 2015
To start off, it had a very great beginning that seemed like it would be as much of a thrilling read as the reviews promised. Searching for information on her missing father while inevitably dooming herself to the now vampire run city of Miami. I was highly disappointed. Everything was well written but I felt as if the plot was deviated from numerous times. And I absolutely hated the main character Selah. She was sometimes as dumb as a box of rocks. I couldn't read more than two pages without resisting the urge to verbally yell at her and her stupid decisions. I lost interest in only a few hours before mercifully skipping to the end.
February 18, 2014
Started off promising and then went way off key half way through. I didn't really care what happened to the characters and they seemed to build unrealistic relationships after a couple of times meeting each other.
July 8, 2016
For the most part I enjoyed this book. Different story line from other vampire books that was interesting. Characters played their parts but I didn't find any of them particularly engaging enough to call this a late night page turner.
June 25, 2025
The plot of this book was very intriguing, and I was genuinely invested in the story as it unfolded. I was especially curious about how the U.S. had abandoned Miami to vampire clans. There’s strict border control and an entirely different system of governance in place. We, as readers, learn all of this through Selah Brown, our main protagonist.
Selah has her own reason for wanting to move to Miami—she needs answers about her father's disappearance, which she believes is linked to his highly confidential research. It all sounds so edgy and cool, right? Yeah... this is where the "thrill" ends.
Because Selah Brown is an infuriating and incredibly frustrating character. I was so annoyed with her constant, blunt stupidity.
Like, GURL!!
- Super dumb — despite repeated warnings from her grandma, she thinks she knows better, yet does zero research or preparation for navigating this vampire-run city.
- Runs off into the night in a vampire city because she throws a hissy fit.
- Instead of going home or finding a safe place, she heads straight to a group of random guys standing by their car.
- Completely trusts Maria Elena, a stranger she met for maybe one minute on the apartment stairway.
- Gets into a car with strangers, risking everything just to go to a nightclub, even though she’s been warned that having no ID means serious danger.
- Immediately gets into trouble because she can’t just stay put and lay low.
- Meets a random dude at the bar, drinks alcohol, gets drunk—in a vampire club—and forgets everything else.
- Dances with a freaking vampire. Like… why, dude? WHY. You could’ve just observed her from afar!
- Uses her dad’s Omni device, which contains confidential material, casually in public—no backup? No duplicate?
- Gets caught using the Omni at the bar, admits she doesn’t have ID, and throws Maria’s name around.
- It gets confiscated—oh noooo—but she’s not too concerned. In fact, she forgets about it completely.
- After all that reckless behavior, she just walks away lucky…
I already didn’t care about her or her BS. Instead of going home and making amends with her grandma—who was probably worried sick—she takes her sweet time. And when she does come home, her grandma is way too forgiving, which only made me more frustrated.
Also, the vampire dragon dude (who likes to dance apparently) must be very ancient if he is the most trust right hand man of the vampire king right ? WTF is he doing with a teen girl ?
I realized this protagonist isn’t going to change. Her entire story is just going to be her doing reckless stuff and somehow miraculously getting away with it.
I couldn’t stand her, so I DNF-ed.
Selah has her own reason for wanting to move to Miami—she needs answers about her father's disappearance, which she believes is linked to his highly confidential research. It all sounds so edgy and cool, right? Yeah... this is where the "thrill" ends.
Because Selah Brown is an infuriating and incredibly frustrating character. I was so annoyed with her constant, blunt stupidity.
Like, GURL!!
- Super dumb — despite repeated warnings from her grandma, she thinks she knows better, yet does zero research or preparation for navigating this vampire-run city.
- Runs off into the night in a vampire city because she throws a hissy fit.
- Instead of going home or finding a safe place, she heads straight to a group of random guys standing by their car.
- Completely trusts Maria Elena, a stranger she met for maybe one minute on the apartment stairway.
- Gets into a car with strangers, risking everything just to go to a nightclub, even though she’s been warned that having no ID means serious danger.
- Immediately gets into trouble because she can’t just stay put and lay low.
- Meets a random dude at the bar, drinks alcohol, gets drunk—in a vampire club—and forgets everything else.
- Dances with a freaking vampire. Like… why, dude? WHY. You could’ve just observed her from afar!
- Uses her dad’s Omni device, which contains confidential material, casually in public—no backup? No duplicate?
- Gets caught using the Omni at the bar, admits she doesn’t have ID, and throws Maria’s name around.
- It gets confiscated—oh noooo—but she’s not too concerned. In fact, she forgets about it completely.
- After all that reckless behavior, she just walks away lucky…
I already didn’t care about her or her BS. Instead of going home and making amends with her grandma—who was probably worried sick—she takes her sweet time. And when she does come home, her grandma is way too forgiving, which only made me more frustrated.
Also, the vampire dragon dude (who likes to dance apparently) must be very ancient if he is the most trust right hand man of the vampire king right ? WTF is he doing with a teen girl ?
I realized this protagonist isn’t going to change. Her entire story is just going to be her doing reckless stuff and somehow miraculously getting away with it.
I couldn’t stand her, so I DNF-ed.
August 18, 2013
Vampire Miami fell into my hands because I was looking for a vampire read, simple as that. The cover grabbed me and I bet the author, Phil Tucker will be happy to hear this since he had a Kickstarter campaign with that being part of the goal, creating a kick-ass cover.
You guys know me, no sparkly bullshit vamps for this cabin hippie! All intense hardcore real vamps! Well, this book? This is from the human angle! What happens when the humans really have lost the battle? Can one girl emerge amidst a bunch of blood bags and be the savior? Oh.... wait who is she going to save? And whose decision will it be? This book is the first off three, the third of which was just released and the first was free on the 2nd when I picked it up in honor of the 3rds, Vampire Redemption (The Human Revolt) ,
release!
Selah Brown is a seventeen year old whose father has disappeared, or been disappeared as far as she is concerned while investigating a mysterious new drug connected to the vampires. Her world is in constant turmoil five years after the end of the war.. wait, not really the end more like a stalemate of the vampire war. Because most of those who were in power have been turned, and those who are not turned have .. well golly gee, they are not partaking in parties with those who are! HAHA!
At the start of this book Selah is being deported... voluntarily... to Miami. *clearing throat, looking around and tossing hair over shoulder* Now if you do not see the irony in that, it gets better, because later on in the book.. oh... *bouncing* I can't, I seriously cannot because it is spoilers, but trust me! There is more and I want to just go BRAVO to the author!
Most people in our current reality are deported OUT of Miami back to Cuba? Ay Papi! But brave Selah wants to fight and find out about the drug and government cover up or involvement her father was researching. With her fathers Omni (basically it is like Second Life encased in an iTouch like device with cloud-like features) she steps off the bus into a world that is destitute. The Vampires live life high off thehuman 'hog" and the humans live life in a world much as I envision a post Katrina New Orleans with life dying for so many, carrying on for others like Selah's grandmother despite the crumbling surroundings, working for the vampires.. much like slaves *wink-wink-subtle-subtle*.
Selah is head strong and tends to leap before she thinks. Her grandmother is a bigwig in Miami's human population including the building where she lives, which is a micro-community. The vampires basically is Miami's big brother, and the only way out of Miami is to buy your way out by winning three fights or 100K credits. Which honestly is next to impossible.
The vampires are paying for movies, PR, creating a public image to make themselves look sweet and likeable and "in". They have time right? I mean if they work long enough at it who is going to remember the monsters they were sixty years from now right? They aren't going to change though. They will always be dead inside & out.
But Selah is too dang curious! Remember Alice? The warning she had? Don't drink, don't eat the cake even if it says eat me? Don't talk to smiling cats? Well.... Selah is Alice in Vampireville where the wrong choice won't turn her small or tall but will get her throat ripped out and she seems to just not care, she throws caution to the wind! Phil Tucker is full of surprises far beyond reverse deportation. Many things are lightly veiled symbology which I cannot even start to go into without having spoilers. She totally ignores all warnings from her new friend and accepts not only one drink but several drinks, starts dancing and attracts the attention of tall dark and evil...
The Dragon, the right hand man of Miami's head vampire.
Dragon's are such singular creatures, ones who though are power still can be shackled but can also choose to soar and see clear for themselves. They are both creators and destroyers, which The Dragon represents for Selah. Her life begins and ends with this night. She makes decisions that change everything for her. In the end ... wait, beginning.. wait... end? oh dear.. damn it!!! I ... argh.. BLARGH!! It is such a good story! Selah does fly! She soars up high, she comes down, swims through the air, the sea and her consciousness... and her blood not only is the answer to her problems but the answer to possibly everything and possibly... well? How about this... go spend 99¢ and read the book because it is sooooo good!!
I am giving this FIVE FANGS! errrr or bites?
V”"V - V”"V - V”"V - V”"V - V”"V
There is much more but I think I will let you find it out for yourself.
You guys know me, no sparkly bullshit vamps for this cabin hippie! All intense hardcore real vamps! Well, this book? This is from the human angle! What happens when the humans really have lost the battle? Can one girl emerge amidst a bunch of blood bags and be the savior? Oh.... wait who is she going to save? And whose decision will it be? This book is the first off three, the third of which was just released and the first was free on the 2nd when I picked it up in honor of the 3rds, Vampire Redemption (The Human Revolt) ,
release!Selah Brown is a seventeen year old whose father has disappeared, or been disappeared as far as she is concerned while investigating a mysterious new drug connected to the vampires. Her world is in constant turmoil five years after the end of the war.. wait, not really the end more like a stalemate of the vampire war. Because most of those who were in power have been turned, and those who are not turned have .. well golly gee, they are not partaking in parties with those who are! HAHA!
At the start of this book Selah is being deported... voluntarily... to Miami. *clearing throat, looking around and tossing hair over shoulder* Now if you do not see the irony in that, it gets better, because later on in the book.. oh... *bouncing* I can't, I seriously cannot because it is spoilers, but trust me! There is more and I want to just go BRAVO to the author!
Most people in our current reality are deported OUT of Miami back to Cuba? Ay Papi! But brave Selah wants to fight and find out about the drug and government cover up or involvement her father was researching. With her fathers Omni (basically it is like Second Life encased in an iTouch like device with cloud-like features) she steps off the bus into a world that is destitute. The Vampires live life high off the
katrina illusions ©2013 Kriss Morton digital manipulations - Cabin Goddess
Selah is head strong and tends to leap before she thinks. Her grandmother is a bigwig in Miami's human population including the building where she lives, which is a micro-community. The vampires basically is Miami's big brother, and the only way out of Miami is to buy your way out by winning three fights or 100K credits. Which honestly is next to impossible.
The vampires are paying for movies, PR, creating a public image to make themselves look sweet and likeable and "in". They have time right? I mean if they work long enough at it who is going to remember the monsters they were sixty years from now right? They aren't going to change though. They will always be dead inside & out.
But Selah is too dang curious! Remember Alice? The warning she had? Don't drink, don't eat the cake even if it says eat me? Don't talk to smiling cats? Well.... Selah is Alice in Vampireville where the wrong choice won't turn her small or tall but will get her throat ripped out and she seems to just not care, she throws caution to the wind! Phil Tucker is full of surprises far beyond reverse deportation. Many things are lightly veiled symbology which I cannot even start to go into without having spoilers. She totally ignores all warnings from her new friend and accepts not only one drink but several drinks, starts dancing and attracts the attention of tall dark and evil...
The Dragon, the right hand man of Miami's head vampire.
Dragon's are such singular creatures, ones who though are power still can be shackled but can also choose to soar and see clear for themselves. They are both creators and destroyers, which The Dragon represents for Selah. Her life begins and ends with this night. She makes decisions that change everything for her. In the end ... wait, beginning.. wait... end? oh dear.. damn it!!! I ... argh.. BLARGH!! It is such a good story! Selah does fly! She soars up high, she comes down, swims through the air, the sea and her consciousness... and her blood not only is the answer to her problems but the answer to possibly everything and possibly... well? How about this... go spend 99¢ and read the book because it is sooooo good!!
I am giving this FIVE FANGS! errrr or bites?
V”"V - V”"V - V”"V - V”"V - V”"V
There is much more but I think I will let you find it out for yourself.
June 20, 2018
Fantastic
I read this first a few years ago, and I just reread it today. Selah is probably the most likable main character I’ve ever seen, and she is the type of person I vision when I think of a hero.
I read this first a few years ago, and I just reread it today. Selah is probably the most likable main character I’ve ever seen, and she is the type of person I vision when I think of a hero.
September 2, 2017
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
April 24, 2019
Characters that come alive.
Full bodied characters full of interest and intrigue. I liked the pace of the story. It never lagged, but never seemed too rushed.
Full bodied characters full of interest and intrigue. I liked the pace of the story. It never lagged, but never seemed too rushed.
Read
November 29, 2019I can't finish this book. It will stay in the "nope" shelf, and wait. I may pick it up later..
November 24, 2020
I found this to be very interesting. It's a shame the rest of the series is no longer available for purchase. I would have continued.
February 19, 2022
A pretty solid plot and an interesting world built.
January 5, 2015
This book was free...as you can tell from my 1 star rating, I did not like it.
I found the lead character to be, an incredibly awful and selfish person. The book starts off with her voluntarily deporting herself from a nice place in a non-vampire city, to over the wall to Miami where her Grandmother lives, because she wants to find out what happened to her Father.
The vampire premise, is that there have been some wars, and everyone came to a treaty and the vampires own two major cities - L.A. and Miami, and if you don't live in either city, life appears to be somewhat normal. I'm not sure why normal people live in the vampire cities, though you can buy your way out. These vampire's weren't the crazy-hungry attacking every human sort, but more the bored party going sort. The vampire's appear to be using the entertainment industry to change their image but I was never really sure what the end game was, beyond not being consigned to just 2 cities. They seemed pretty self-sufficient in their own eco-systems, like they didn't really care that much what humans did. And in return, I don't really care much to see what happens to the lead character.
I found the lead character to be, an incredibly awful and selfish person. The book starts off with her voluntarily deporting herself from a nice place in a non-vampire city, to over the wall to Miami where her Grandmother lives, because she wants to find out what happened to her Father.
The vampire premise, is that there have been some wars, and everyone came to a treaty and the vampires own two major cities - L.A. and Miami, and if you don't live in either city, life appears to be somewhat normal. I'm not sure why normal people live in the vampire cities, though you can buy your way out. These vampire's weren't the crazy-hungry attacking every human sort, but more the bored party going sort. The vampire's appear to be using the entertainment industry to change their image but I was never really sure what the end game was, beyond not being consigned to just 2 cities. They seemed pretty self-sufficient in their own eco-systems, like they didn't really care that much what humans did. And in return, I don't really care much to see what happens to the lead character.
February 23, 2016
This was a pretty good dystopian novel with vampires ruling over LA and Miami. With a Treaty emphasizing that they stay within their walls, so long as we leave them alone, the United States has turned into a horrible life of segregation- the rich escape to better places and the poor remain in the dust, to suffer. To eat or be eaten.
Which is why Selah Brown is way in over her head when she decides to go into the depths of Miami where her grandmother resides, all to find out what happened to her dad after he questioned one too many powerful people in the government. She goes there without thinking, without planning, and what happens instead is so horrific- so thrilling -that you can't not stop.
Selah (beautiful name) was a little annoying because of how young she was, which brought on a lot of the usual insecurities and fears one gets when the 'doing' happens a lot more than the 'thinking'. On one hand I love her recklessness, but in the moment, it was frustrating to see her do stupid stuff and feel surprise whenever things didn't exactly go to plan.
A little naive for one with a bit of cockiness, but again, I rather liked her for it. The details were nice but sometimes they took away from my flow of reading, especially when things got intense. I ended up trudging through some beautiful things just to get to the point.
Overall this was a pretty good read, especially when Selah turned extremely badass (YES). The gory scenes were most excellent, they saved me from the boring moments of Selah's reckless behavior, but in the end, I was hooked into this series. This is a 50/50 for recommending it. She ends up with a guy but not much romance in here to really make it at all believable. The action scenes and the world set up is incredible, but unless you have the patience for details and elongated scenes, this might not be the book for you. You'll either like it in the end or find Selah too reckless (I use that word a lot, don't I?) to enjoy the book. I went all the way and personally think it was worth it.
Which is why Selah Brown is way in over her head when she decides to go into the depths of Miami where her grandmother resides, all to find out what happened to her dad after he questioned one too many powerful people in the government. She goes there without thinking, without planning, and what happens instead is so horrific- so thrilling -that you can't not stop.
Selah (beautiful name) was a little annoying because of how young she was, which brought on a lot of the usual insecurities and fears one gets when the 'doing' happens a lot more than the 'thinking'. On one hand I love her recklessness, but in the moment, it was frustrating to see her do stupid stuff and feel surprise whenever things didn't exactly go to plan.
A little naive for one with a bit of cockiness, but again, I rather liked her for it. The details were nice but sometimes they took away from my flow of reading, especially when things got intense. I ended up trudging through some beautiful things just to get to the point.
Overall this was a pretty good read, especially when Selah turned extremely badass (YES). The gory scenes were most excellent, they saved me from the boring moments of Selah's reckless behavior, but in the end, I was hooked into this series. This is a 50/50 for recommending it. She ends up with a guy but not much romance in here to really make it at all believable. The action scenes and the world set up is incredible, but unless you have the patience for details and elongated scenes, this might not be the book for you. You'll either like it in the end or find Selah too reckless (I use that word a lot, don't I?) to enjoy the book. I went all the way and personally think it was worth it.
June 17, 2013
I remember how much I enjoyed reading Throne by Phil Tucker last year. Vampire Miami was just as enjoyable. In fact it was so enjoyable that I went on Amazon and bought and read book #2 straight away.
The thing is, Phil Tucker had guts to do something Julie Kagawa couldn't or wouldn't do with Allison in her Blood of Eden series. He had no qualms creating a monster.
Selah is a young girl who willingly moves into vampire territory Miami from New York just so she could find her father who disappeared investigating a mysterious new drug connected to the vampires.
She starts as she means to go by asking her new neighbour to take her to the vampire club so she can ask a few questions. She is pretty naive, inexperienced and gets into trouble easily which puts her on the radar of vampires and rebels.
What happens next is totally unexpected. Vampire attack which should have left the girl drained, creates an exchange between her and the vamp while the vamp gets back the forgotten ability to feel and Selah borrows the vamps strength and way of thinking.
Suddenly Selah is a pawn in vampire power games, and she needs to do everything in her power to survive and escape, but her time is running out when the vampire king decides to use her to gain his soul back.
The pace is pretty much brutal. People get hurt and they die, the action is non-stop and stark world building grips you and doesn't let go until the last page. There is something raw and very charismatic in Vampire Miami.
Recommended to fans of Blood of Eden and Julia Poe series.
The thing is, Phil Tucker had guts to do something Julie Kagawa couldn't or wouldn't do with Allison in her Blood of Eden series. He had no qualms creating a monster.
Selah is a young girl who willingly moves into vampire territory Miami from New York just so she could find her father who disappeared investigating a mysterious new drug connected to the vampires.
She starts as she means to go by asking her new neighbour to take her to the vampire club so she can ask a few questions. She is pretty naive, inexperienced and gets into trouble easily which puts her on the radar of vampires and rebels.
What happens next is totally unexpected. Vampire attack which should have left the girl drained, creates an exchange between her and the vamp while the vamp gets back the forgotten ability to feel and Selah borrows the vamps strength and way of thinking.
Suddenly Selah is a pawn in vampire power games, and she needs to do everything in her power to survive and escape, but her time is running out when the vampire king decides to use her to gain his soul back.
The pace is pretty much brutal. People get hurt and they die, the action is non-stop and stark world building grips you and doesn't let go until the last page. There is something raw and very charismatic in Vampire Miami.
Recommended to fans of Blood of Eden and Julia Poe series.
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February 14, 2014 Sometimes adding a little bravery to your life is not such bad thing. This story takes place in Miami 2013. This story is told by Selah Brown, the protagonist. Some other main characters are: Mama B, Maria Elena, The Dragon/Theo, Karl, Charles, Cloud, and Sawiskera. Selah enters the town in search of Blood Dust a drug her dad was looking for before he disappeared but it appeared to be harder than she thought. While searching for Blood Dust she is staying with her grandma Mama B. So as Mama B takes her to the shelter where everyone lives in fear because of the vampires. Its there that she meets Maria Elena a mysterious kick-butt latino that shows her how to live on the wild side but tells her to take precaution because not everything is what they seem. So that night as Mama B is telling everyone It's time to lock the doors Selah run right through the door and runs till she found Maria... (Read the book to find out what happens next!) My opinion of the book is that this book is horrible its not romance, comedy, contemporary, thriller it's just nothing there no thing to read just mostly disgusting/creepiness. the writing is not effective powerful difficult or beautiful there are so many weakness like how theres no specific Genre just nothing I would never recommend this book to a friend and I will not continues to read the story.
July 18, 2014
Kept me guessing!
Right from the beginning the well-designed book-world and finely crafted characters shine through. Selah is very dynamic and I found the examination of how people react in survival mode, either holding onto the humanity harder or going no holds bar, fascinating. Also, having the story take place after things had settled in an uncomfortable holding pattern after the vampire wars was an interesting time to choose and gave the story a unique perspective. The writing was not to my taste - I found it rough, raw and a bit crowded – but my love for the premise and plot overcame the writing and led to another late night trying fight off my obsessive need to continue the story. Not only does this plot drip with potential for growth, but I never knew what to expect next during the whole story. There was one very gross part that bothered me, but luckily it was short and the only one of its kind.
For the full review and others visit http://whymsylikesbooks.blogspot.com/
Right from the beginning the well-designed book-world and finely crafted characters shine through. Selah is very dynamic and I found the examination of how people react in survival mode, either holding onto the humanity harder or going no holds bar, fascinating. Also, having the story take place after things had settled in an uncomfortable holding pattern after the vampire wars was an interesting time to choose and gave the story a unique perspective. The writing was not to my taste - I found it rough, raw and a bit crowded – but my love for the premise and plot overcame the writing and led to another late night trying fight off my obsessive need to continue the story. Not only does this plot drip with potential for growth, but I never knew what to expect next during the whole story. There was one very gross part that bothered me, but luckily it was short and the only one of its kind.
For the full review and others visit http://whymsylikesbooks.blogspot.com/
January 29, 2016
Nice start, but lacking something.
Don't get me wrong I did like this book, but not until I was almost half way done with it. The story is centered around Selah a teen that has lost her father due to a government conspiracy. She starts out in this book as a spoiled brat, which I did not really care for. By the end of the book though she is a strong female character. I loved that the author gave us so much detail about her surroundings and how she felt, but information overload in some areas. I skipped whole paragraphs and didn't miss anything which made this book faster to read, because I didn't read every sentence. Overall strong characters I liked them all, strong storyline even it could have used some help. Also great settings like I said before the author did a great job of explaining Miami after the great war. Not bad for a free book, but I don't think I will be continuing the series.
Don't get me wrong I did like this book, but not until I was almost half way done with it. The story is centered around Selah a teen that has lost her father due to a government conspiracy. She starts out in this book as a spoiled brat, which I did not really care for. By the end of the book though she is a strong female character. I loved that the author gave us so much detail about her surroundings and how she felt, but information overload in some areas. I skipped whole paragraphs and didn't miss anything which made this book faster to read, because I didn't read every sentence. Overall strong characters I liked them all, strong storyline even it could have used some help. Also great settings like I said before the author did a great job of explaining Miami after the great war. Not bad for a free book, but I don't think I will be continuing the series.
May 15, 2015
I read this on my Kindle and there were a ton of grammatical errors! Not sure if the print copy has this same issue but anyway, I enjoyed reading a modern day vampire story with a black female antagonist who wasnt a helpless slave or easy prey. Reading this book started me on a sci-fi/vamp reading binge because I was elated to find that there are actually black characters and authors prevalent in the culture now. My favorite parts of the book were when Selah gained super human strength and went on a rampage literally kicking ass and taking names. Im not sure if Im interested enough to read Book 2 though, I dont feel that it'll be up to par with the Octavia Butler series I've been reading lately. However, I believe Phil Tucker has a promising future in this genre.
October 16, 2013
Pretty good book. The main character is equal parts kick-ass, painfully naive, and scared-little-girl. The vampires are evil, sure, but not as completely soulless as the reviews led me to believe. There is the *one* semi-tortured vamp with a conscience... Of sorts. I have a feeling we'll see him again in the sequel. But at least our protagonist doesn't fall in love with him. I haven't completely made up my mind about this book. I did whiz through it in 2 days - it was well written and held my interest. I will definitely read the sequel. Gonna let this one simmer for a bit and may revisit my review later.
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