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Anna Strong Chronicles #1
Verführung der Nacht
Als Anna Strong nach einem brutalen Überfall im Krankenhaus erwacht, glaubt sie an ein Wunder – denn obwohl sie sich erinnert, schwer verletzt worden zu sein, findet sich keine Wunde an ihrem Körper. Aber was ist dann mit ihr geschehen? Kurze Zeit später beginnt eine geheimnisvolle Gruppe, Jagd auf Anna zu machen. Als sie im letzten Moment entkommen kann, entdeckt sie neue, ungeahnte Fähigkeiten – und kann sich der erschreckenden Wahrheit nicht länger widersetzen: Sie ist zum Vampir geworden! Für Anna beginnt eine Reise in die Nacht, die voller Gefahren ist und auf der nur der geheimnisvolle Avery ihr Verbündeter zu sein scheint. Doch auch er hat eine verborgene, dunkle Seite …
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2004
85 people are currently reading
5190 people want to read
About the author
Jeanne C. Stein
49 books549 followersJeanne C. Stein is an American Urban Fantasy author living in Colorado. She now lives in Colorado, but was raised and educated in San Diego, which is the setting for her contemporary vampire fantasy.
Jeanne is active in the writing community, belonging to Sisters in Crime both nationally and in San Diego and Los Angeles. She also belongs to Horror Writers of America, RWA and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She was named RMFW’s Writer of the Year for 2008 an honor given to a writer who has contributed to the organization as well as achieved success in publication.
She writes the blog "Biting Edge" with Mario Acevedo at :
http://www.biting-edge.blogspot.com/
Jeanne is active in the writing community, belonging to Sisters in Crime both nationally and in San Diego and Los Angeles. She also belongs to Horror Writers of America, RWA and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She was named RMFW’s Writer of the Year for 2008 an honor given to a writer who has contributed to the organization as well as achieved success in publication.
She writes the blog "Biting Edge" with Mario Acevedo at :
http://www.biting-edge.blogspot.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 377 reviews
January 18, 2022
"Verführung der Nacht" von Jeanne C. Stein ist ein Roman über eine junge Frau, die unerwartet und unerwünscht zur Vampirin wird.
Anna Strong ist Kopfgeldjägerin. Sie mag ihren Job, aber beim letzten Auftrag geht etwas schief. Der Mann, hinter dem sie her ist, überfällt sie. Anna wehrt sich und beißt ihren Angreifer. Dabei gelangt etwas Blut von ihm in ihren Mund, und so wird Anna zur Vampirin.
Sie wacht im Krankenhaus auf und wird dort von einem gutaussehenden Arzt versorgt. Wie sich herausstellt, ist auch der Arzt ein Vampir, und er erklärt Anna alles, was sie jetzt über ihr neues Leben wissen muss.
Bald darauf wird ihr Arbeitskollege David entführt. Anna möchte alles tun, um ihn zu befreien, aber seltsamerweise ist der Vampir-Arzt dagegen...
Anfangs fand ich die Idee zu diesem Roman noch ganz nett, und das Lesen ging auch gut voran. Der Schreibstil ist leicht und anspruchslos, und die Geschichte plätschert irgendwie so dahin. Aber wirkliche Spannung kam nicht auf, und ich habe leider schnell das Interesse an dem Buch verloren. Zwar habe ich es bis zum Ende gelesen, aber wirkliche Freude kam beim Lesen nicht auf. Die Story war zu seicht und langweilig und konnte mich nicht packen.
Anna Strong ist Kopfgeldjägerin. Sie mag ihren Job, aber beim letzten Auftrag geht etwas schief. Der Mann, hinter dem sie her ist, überfällt sie. Anna wehrt sich und beißt ihren Angreifer. Dabei gelangt etwas Blut von ihm in ihren Mund, und so wird Anna zur Vampirin.
Sie wacht im Krankenhaus auf und wird dort von einem gutaussehenden Arzt versorgt. Wie sich herausstellt, ist auch der Arzt ein Vampir, und er erklärt Anna alles, was sie jetzt über ihr neues Leben wissen muss.
Bald darauf wird ihr Arbeitskollege David entführt. Anna möchte alles tun, um ihn zu befreien, aber seltsamerweise ist der Vampir-Arzt dagegen...
Anfangs fand ich die Idee zu diesem Roman noch ganz nett, und das Lesen ging auch gut voran. Der Schreibstil ist leicht und anspruchslos, und die Geschichte plätschert irgendwie so dahin. Aber wirkliche Spannung kam nicht auf, und ich habe leider schnell das Interesse an dem Buch verloren. Zwar habe ich es bis zum Ende gelesen, aber wirkliche Freude kam beim Lesen nicht auf. Die Story war zu seicht und langweilig und konnte mich nicht packen.
June 7, 2008
I gave this book two stars because it was not actually technically flawed, and if you suspect there is a 'but' coming up, you are correct!
Anna, the protagonist, is made a vampire when she bites her rapist back. Then, she is possessed by some sort of vampiric rapturous lust, which Anna, the book, and Avery, the vampire who helps her cope with her new status all feel means that it was not rape. "It's frightening you because you realize you were a participant, not a victim."
I'm sorry, I whited out with rage for a moment. I can't even.
In addition to this, as if more were required, Anna is not a very likable protagonist. She mopes about her feelings for Avery, and compares them to her feelings for her boyfriend, Max. Frankly, as the reader, I saw no evidence of any feelings, unless lust is a feeling, and perhaps she should be more worried about the fact that she is having sex with Avery and the implications this has for her supposedly monogamous relationship with Max?
Anna, the protagonist, is made a vampire when she bites her rapist back. Then, she is possessed by some sort of vampiric rapturous lust, which Anna, the book, and Avery, the vampire who helps her cope with her new status all feel means that it was not rape. "It's frightening you because you realize you were a participant, not a victim."
I'm sorry, I whited out with rage for a moment. I can't even.
In addition to this, as if more were required, Anna is not a very likable protagonist. She mopes about her feelings for Avery, and compares them to her feelings for her boyfriend, Max. Frankly, as the reader, I saw no evidence of any feelings, unless lust is a feeling, and perhaps she should be more worried about the fact that she is having sex with Avery and the implications this has for her supposedly monogamous relationship with Max?
February 11, 2019
The Becoming by Jeanne C Stein
The first in an urban fantasy vampire bounty hunter series. The heroine, Anna Strong is attacked and as a result, becomes a vampire.
As an urban fantasy series, it contains an overall ARC and not everything is wrapped up in the end of this book.
The first half deals with an ugly situation. Getting past that, the story moves well with Anna learning about her vampire self and still dealing with her human friends and connections. Without spoilers, she learns enough and is strong enough to overcome the odds and live another day. I will continue with the series to see how it evolves.
The first in an urban fantasy vampire bounty hunter series. The heroine, Anna Strong is attacked and as a result, becomes a vampire.
As an urban fantasy series, it contains an overall ARC and not everything is wrapped up in the end of this book.
The first half deals with an ugly situation. Getting past that, the story moves well with Anna learning about her vampire self and still dealing with her human friends and connections. Without spoilers, she learns enough and is strong enough to overcome the odds and live another day. I will continue with the series to see how it evolves.
March 11, 2010
If you don’t think about it too hard, The Becoming could be a fun book for the beach. It’s short, fast-paced, and suffused with a sun-drenched California atmosphere that’s unusual in a vampire novel. (Jeanne C. Stein’s vampires have evolved to tolerate the sun.) It's also nice that it's self-contained; there are sequels, but The Becoming is a complete story in itself. Unfortunately, there are all sorts of things about it that bothered me or fell flat with me.
Bounty hunter Anna Strong becomes a vampire after being raped, bitten, and left for dead. At first, she doesn’t remember the attack, but before long she’s having flashbacks. She remembers suddenly that, in the end, she enjoyed what was done to her. What’s creepy is that she seems to accept her supposed "consent" a little too easily and doesn't spend much time being upset about the whole thing. Grant Avery, the vampire doctor who treats Anna and later becomes her mentor, seems to think she consented too: “It’s frightening you because you realize you were a participant, not a victim."
Maybe this is just meant to show us a difference between human psychology and vampire psychology. Maybe it's supposed to show that Avery has an insensitive side (which he certainly does). To me, though, it looks like an example of a trend that’s been bothering me in urban fantasy lately, starting with Laurell K. Hamilton’s ardeur. There seems to be this idea that if someone uses magic to force someone else to feel pleasure, it’s OK, and it’s not really rape. I don’t see how it’s any different from using a date-rape drug.
Anna is evidently not that bothered, though, and the plot goes on. Anna seldom thinks about the assault again. When she does finally get good and angry at her attacker, it’s because of something else entirely. Anna believes he’s behind a series of violent acts that threaten to bring her new "unlife" to a very quick end.
Meanwhile, she begins an affair with Avery, despite the fact that she has a long-term boyfriend, Max. Sounds like a recipe for conflict, but there really isn’t any. Max is barely in the story. I’m not sure why he is in the story, unless there's a rule that an urban fantasy requires a love triangle. (Max is not the only wasted-potential character, either. While Anna is in the hospital, she has a lengthy argument with her bounty-hunting partner David about her friend Michael. Michael never actually appears. Why all the page space devoted to bickering about him?)
On with the Anna/Avery shagging, then. The sex scenes are just plain weird. Stein doesn’t write fade-to-black sex, nor does she write explicit sex. She writes vague, purple, euphemistic sex: “Electricity arcs between us, and gusts of desire that shake my very being.” Also, the sex scenes tend to come out of nowhere. Anna and Avery will be talking about something completely non-erotic, and then suddenly they get swept up in the aforementioned gusts of desire and start going at it. There’s an unintentionally funny moment when Anna starts “calling his name over and over.” The first thing that popped into my mind was that Anna’s been referring to Avery by his last name throughout the entire book. His first name only gets mentioned once. Is she really yelling out his last name during the act? I think I’m supposed to find this scene romantic, but instead I’m laughing because I’m reminded of the bit in Grease when Rizzo asks Kenickie to call her by her first name, and he has to ask her what it is.
The plot builds toward a conclusion in which the villain monologues far too much. Why doesn’t Anna just do him in during the onslaught of hot air?
There are some minor awkwardnesses, too: proofreading mistakes, an injury that randomly switches from the left leg to the right and back again, that sort of thing. These are issues that would be almost invisible in a great novel but loom large here.
The essential problem is that, in a subgenre as glutted as the “tough girl kills and dates vampires” one, a novel has to be special to stand out from the crowd. There isn’t anything stellar about The Becoming that distinguishes it from the rest of what’s on the shelves, and if it does stick in my memory, it’ll be for all the wrong reasons.
Also, why on earth does the villain kidnap David instead of killing him? He says he did it to make Anna realize she’s not part of the mortal world anymore and needs to move on. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have David killed and let Anna see him dead? Instead, the villain causes him to go missing. Anna is a bounty hunter. She finds missing people for a living. The villain, instead of giving her some kind of closure with the mortal world, gives her a mission that she has every reason to care deeply about. (And I don’t believe for a minute that he’s saving David for his blood. It’s already been established that Stein’s vampires don’t need to feed more than about once a month. David would have been long dead by the time the villain needed blood again.)
Bounty hunter Anna Strong becomes a vampire after being raped, bitten, and left for dead. At first, she doesn’t remember the attack, but before long she’s having flashbacks. She remembers suddenly that, in the end, she enjoyed what was done to her. What’s creepy is that she seems to accept her supposed "consent" a little too easily and doesn't spend much time being upset about the whole thing. Grant Avery, the vampire doctor who treats Anna and later becomes her mentor, seems to think she consented too: “It’s frightening you because you realize you were a participant, not a victim."
Maybe this is just meant to show us a difference between human psychology and vampire psychology. Maybe it's supposed to show that Avery has an insensitive side (which he certainly does). To me, though, it looks like an example of a trend that’s been bothering me in urban fantasy lately, starting with Laurell K. Hamilton’s ardeur. There seems to be this idea that if someone uses magic to force someone else to feel pleasure, it’s OK, and it’s not really rape. I don’t see how it’s any different from using a date-rape drug.
Anna is evidently not that bothered, though, and the plot goes on. Anna seldom thinks about the assault again. When she does finally get good and angry at her attacker, it’s because of something else entirely. Anna believes he’s behind a series of violent acts that threaten to bring her new "unlife" to a very quick end.
Meanwhile, she begins an affair with Avery, despite the fact that she has a long-term boyfriend, Max. Sounds like a recipe for conflict, but there really isn’t any. Max is barely in the story. I’m not sure why he is in the story, unless there's a rule that an urban fantasy requires a love triangle. (Max is not the only wasted-potential character, either. While Anna is in the hospital, she has a lengthy argument with her bounty-hunting partner David about her friend Michael. Michael never actually appears. Why all the page space devoted to bickering about him?)
On with the Anna/Avery shagging, then. The sex scenes are just plain weird. Stein doesn’t write fade-to-black sex, nor does she write explicit sex. She writes vague, purple, euphemistic sex: “Electricity arcs between us, and gusts of desire that shake my very being.” Also, the sex scenes tend to come out of nowhere. Anna and Avery will be talking about something completely non-erotic, and then suddenly they get swept up in the aforementioned gusts of desire and start going at it. There’s an unintentionally funny moment when Anna starts “calling his name over and over.” The first thing that popped into my mind was that Anna’s been referring to Avery by his last name throughout the entire book. His first name only gets mentioned once. Is she really yelling out his last name during the act? I think I’m supposed to find this scene romantic, but instead I’m laughing because I’m reminded of the bit in Grease when Rizzo asks Kenickie to call her by her first name, and he has to ask her what it is.
The plot builds toward a conclusion in which the villain monologues far too much. Why doesn’t Anna just do him in during the onslaught of hot air?
There are some minor awkwardnesses, too: proofreading mistakes, an injury that randomly switches from the left leg to the right and back again, that sort of thing. These are issues that would be almost invisible in a great novel but loom large here.
The essential problem is that, in a subgenre as glutted as the “tough girl kills and dates vampires” one, a novel has to be special to stand out from the crowd. There isn’t anything stellar about The Becoming that distinguishes it from the rest of what’s on the shelves, and if it does stick in my memory, it’ll be for all the wrong reasons.
Also, why on earth does the villain kidnap David instead of killing him? He says he did it to make Anna realize she’s not part of the mortal world anymore and needs to move on. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have David killed and let Anna see him dead? Instead, the villain causes him to go missing. Anna is a bounty hunter. She finds missing people for a living. The villain, instead of giving her some kind of closure with the mortal world, gives her a mission that she has every reason to care deeply about. (And I don’t believe for a minute that he’s saving David for his blood. It’s already been established that Stein’s vampires don’t need to feed more than about once a month. David would have been long dead by the time the villain needed blood again.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2019
What do you get when you take a splash of Twilight and a handful of (Recent) Anita Blake and smash it together. Apparently you get This Mess! (Warning, I usually try to stay spoiler free but I can't seem to explain the badness of this without details.)
First off, and most frustratingly, I'm tired of writers who use metaphysics to justify rape. The book starts with Anna, a former teacher gone bounty hunter, and her partner David failing to catch a guy jumping his bail. They almost catch him till he uses his new Vampy powers to fight back. Anna is raped and turned but because she drinks his blood and enjoys it she's ok with it... Wait what!? Yuck and Yikes! I have no problem with writers who write the effects of an assault properly, but to gloss over it like that is repulsive. Being overpowered by metaphysics should make the situation more violating afterwards not less.
So a day later she wakes up in the hospital and the least believable doctor, Avery, is there with her and David. There's a bunch of dialogue that is almost pure exposition. It's inexplicable, she basically spews info to the Dr. that could have just been mentioned in thought. Avery acts rather nosy and un-Dr-ish and there's a whole lot of talk about Anna's gay friend Micheal whom we will never meet in the book.
Anna goes home to be alone and Avery shows up. He's tells her he's a vampire and in this series vamps are all psychic. She whines a bit but isn't too horribly shaken about all that's going on. In fact the only things she ever gets really upset about are her house getting burned down and her partner getting kidnapped. She whines and rambles in her head without blocking other listeners out constantly.
From here things continue on a pretty predictable path. Anna has a 'boyfirend' whom she cheats on with the vampy doc. Instead of examining what her problem is and why she's been settling for a safe distanced relationship with a guy she sees once every month or so and why she's jumped into bed with the Dr, the whole thing is once more glossed over with the occasional 'oh man, that's right I cheated on Max.'
While the second half of the book moves better (I almost stopped half way through which is something I never do) I have to say the only part of the book I found really interesting was when she grabs Lawson, a 'Revenger' (Basically someone who kills vampires) and vamps out on him for answers of David's whereabouts.
Avery gets a bit more Pushy/Possessive as the book goes and Anna keeps misjudging her instincts. When she doesn't trust him but can't find anything to back it up she just rolls back into bed with him. Max who?
Honestly the only surprise at the end was the motivation for all the things that happened. I mean I understand the Why, but the method was ridiculous. If you live forever you have, well, FOREVER to convince someone to be yours. If he had waited 50-70 years for all Anna's mortal connections to be dead he would have had what he wanted. Ugh!
First off, and most frustratingly, I'm tired of writers who use metaphysics to justify rape. The book starts with Anna, a former teacher gone bounty hunter, and her partner David failing to catch a guy jumping his bail. They almost catch him till he uses his new Vampy powers to fight back. Anna is raped and turned but because she drinks his blood and enjoys it she's ok with it... Wait what!? Yuck and Yikes! I have no problem with writers who write the effects of an assault properly, but to gloss over it like that is repulsive. Being overpowered by metaphysics should make the situation more violating afterwards not less.
So a day later she wakes up in the hospital and the least believable doctor, Avery, is there with her and David. There's a bunch of dialogue that is almost pure exposition. It's inexplicable, she basically spews info to the Dr. that could have just been mentioned in thought. Avery acts rather nosy and un-Dr-ish and there's a whole lot of talk about Anna's gay friend Micheal whom we will never meet in the book.
Anna goes home to be alone and Avery shows up. He's tells her he's a vampire and in this series vamps are all psychic. She whines a bit but isn't too horribly shaken about all that's going on. In fact the only things she ever gets really upset about are her house getting burned down and her partner getting kidnapped. She whines and rambles in her head without blocking other listeners out constantly.
From here things continue on a pretty predictable path. Anna has a 'boyfirend' whom she cheats on with the vampy doc. Instead of examining what her problem is and why she's been settling for a safe distanced relationship with a guy she sees once every month or so and why she's jumped into bed with the Dr, the whole thing is once more glossed over with the occasional 'oh man, that's right I cheated on Max.'
While the second half of the book moves better (I almost stopped half way through which is something I never do) I have to say the only part of the book I found really interesting was when she grabs Lawson, a 'Revenger' (Basically someone who kills vampires) and vamps out on him for answers of David's whereabouts.
Avery gets a bit more Pushy/Possessive as the book goes and Anna keeps misjudging her instincts. When she doesn't trust him but can't find anything to back it up she just rolls back into bed with him. Max who?
Honestly the only surprise at the end was the motivation for all the things that happened. I mean I understand the Why, but the method was ridiculous. If you live forever you have, well, FOREVER to convince someone to be yours. If he had waited 50-70 years for all Anna's mortal connections to be dead he would have had what he wanted. Ugh!
October 19, 2007
Argh, this was just too dreadful, I couldn't get further than halfway. A really awful I-just-got-turned-into-a-vampire story. Honestly, the heroine meets a vampire who says he's going to guide her in the ways of vampires, blah blah blah, she falls in bed with him, wakes up the next morning thinking, "Woops! What about my boyfriend?" Then Mr Hunky Vampire walks past again and all thoughts of boyfriend disappear off the page as they leap into bed together. I didn't believe in this character at all - it's all too ridiculous. And Mr Hunky Vampire makes me want to gag, he's so sickening. Truly dreadful.
February 12, 2015
Well...
I've read this book before and I couldn't remember anything! My first rate was 4 stars. My second? 2.
My main problem? The heroine. Anna.
Her behavior wasn't the right one. She was raped, bitten and turned vampire and she was acting like everything was ok.
Some things in the story weren't logical and the writing felt kind of hasty. The first time I read it I haven't read many urban fantasy. Now that I've read a ton, I know what I want and it wasn't that. I have nothing else to say...
I've read this book before and I couldn't remember anything! My first rate was 4 stars. My second? 2.
My main problem? The heroine. Anna.
Her behavior wasn't the right one. She was raped, bitten and turned vampire and she was acting like everything was ok.
Some things in the story weren't logical and the writing felt kind of hasty. The first time I read it I haven't read many urban fantasy. Now that I've read a ton, I know what I want and it wasn't that. I have nothing else to say...
April 2, 2008
I was pretty disappointed by this novel- it struck me as boring and predictable, and not in any good ways. I found some of the character's actions really surprising and didn't seem logical or fit with the character at all- until I realized that Stein needed them to something in order to move the plot.
The romance was entirely absurd, the sex scenes contrived nearly to the point of being unreadable, the plot didn't make sense, even after the denouement. I was left with all sorts of unanswered questions (unanswered because Stein doesn't bother wrapping up her plot or tying things together or making her characters' decisions make sense with the "world" she's built) and wasn't intrigued, I was annoyed.
Meh. I don't think I'll even get the second novel at the library and this book is definitely going in my Goodwill pile . . .
The romance was entirely absurd, the sex scenes contrived nearly to the point of being unreadable, the plot didn't make sense, even after the denouement. I was left with all sorts of unanswered questions (unanswered because Stein doesn't bother wrapping up her plot or tying things together or making her characters' decisions make sense with the "world" she's built) and wasn't intrigued, I was annoyed.
Meh. I don't think I'll even get the second novel at the library and this book is definitely going in my Goodwill pile . . .
November 22, 2015
Anna is raped when she's turned. This is totally blown over. She recovers quickly as can be mentally and physically, and it's like it never happened. In the brief part of the book where it is an issue, she realized that magic made her want it and like it. So guess what? It really wasn't rape after all. *eyeroll*
Also the world building was weak. The plot was very easy to figure out. The sex scenes left a lot to be desired. It was seriously lacking character development. Anna was dense and did not ask the right questions. There was a lack of emotional connection with the characters. Still it wasn't horrible, but it's not worth continuing with the series.
Also the world building was weak. The plot was very easy to figure out. The sex scenes left a lot to be desired. It was seriously lacking character development. Anna was dense and did not ask the right questions. There was a lack of emotional connection with the characters. Still it wasn't horrible, but it's not worth continuing with the series.
November 22, 2020
This was also written in First person present tense. While it was better written than the last book I read (whose title I am forgetting), it definitely didn’t wow me, or interest me or really produce anything other than apathy, after the first chapter.
The MC (already forgot her name) was a bounty hunter turned Vampire. The book actually starts with her attack and rape (which the author tried to make seem like it wasn’t rape in a rather offensive and illogical manner). It was really stupid.
Then of course as a vampire the MC had to adjust to her new life and kill the moron that changed her while avoiding being hunted by a third party group. For a bounty hunter, the MC was not very intuitive when it came to handling herself in danger.
The rest of this review is my personal preference, which I hope you take with a grain of salt.
That said, I hate how vampires were characterized in this book and the stuff that went unexplained. Vampires walked in daylight as a result of evolution? Huh! The dead evolving thing is breaking my brains.😫
Then, they (vampires) all had mind reading abilities, which left their minds open to all wondering vampires, but if they squinted just right (and legit I mean squint in the most literal way conceivable), their minds would shut off and no one would be able to read their thoughts. Shoot me! Like how does that make sense. Are they machines or beings? Is it magic? Is the magic triggered by eye movement?
There was also some electric white noise thing that could prevent vampires from listening on other vampires mind-to-mind conversation. How does that even work? Like logically! Hell, even in fantasy. Just help me make this make sense!
There are the other stuff like vampires being unable to feed unless from a live human. (Apparently, blood banks are lacking some essential life element) I don’t know why but this also didn’t make sense to me.
The World Build was not so great. So the book is set in modern day San Diego, where I happen to live. The geography and labeling for things was kind of off. I don’t know anyone who calls Torrey Pines by it’s full name, or describes it as some sort of woodsy park. (It’s by the beach with a hiking trail, it has plants... but it is not woodsy) And what does “deeper into the park” mean? Did they take a trail, end up on the beach? Up a hill? This is just an example of how weird the geography was described or whatever in this book.
Character: I didn’t get a feel of any of the characters in this book. I don’t know if it was the POV, my apathy or the story itself. The former NFL player was big and burly and guilty. MC was a bad ass wannabe but like always jumping to conclusions with no real plan, and was shocked she needed saving every darn time. Avery was MC’s babysitter turned side piece, or main, depending on who you root for. And wow, did the MC really start screwing Avery just like that. It was so random and abrupt, and then she started treating him like her boyfriend, even though she already had one! And the cheating was supposed to be normal?!🥶
Regardless, none of the characters had life, or distinct personalities, not even the MC.
I had thought the MC would have some depth, some emotions, some life given the rape scene. I had thought perhaps some of those lingering emotions would be hashed out. But nope. The MC seemed to blend into the pages as the chapters went by. If there is an antithesis to character development then that devolution is what the MC went through. The MC in chapter one was not close to who or what the MC ended as in the book.
Language: I really really hated that the author couldn’t get down the language. You have to be one hell of a modern woman to say crap like “I’m glad when I awaken...” or "I succumb to..." The hell! There were other more formal, old English type phrasings. It was one thing coming from a vamp who’s lived a couple hundred years, it was definitely different coming from a modern day woman.
It’s the little details that kill character development and the ease of reading. The language, the descriptions (and the horrible terrible deplorable sex scenes) were one of those details.
In the end, I'm most grateful for my apathy after reading this. It beats getting worked up over a bad book.
The MC (already forgot her name) was a bounty hunter turned Vampire. The book actually starts with her attack and rape (which the author tried to make seem like it wasn’t rape in a rather offensive and illogical manner). It was really stupid.
Then of course as a vampire the MC had to adjust to her new life and kill the moron that changed her while avoiding being hunted by a third party group. For a bounty hunter, the MC was not very intuitive when it came to handling herself in danger.
The rest of this review is my personal preference, which I hope you take with a grain of salt.
That said, I hate how vampires were characterized in this book and the stuff that went unexplained. Vampires walked in daylight as a result of evolution? Huh! The dead evolving thing is breaking my brains.😫
Then, they (vampires) all had mind reading abilities, which left their minds open to all wondering vampires, but if they squinted just right (and legit I mean squint in the most literal way conceivable), their minds would shut off and no one would be able to read their thoughts. Shoot me! Like how does that make sense. Are they machines or beings? Is it magic? Is the magic triggered by eye movement?
There was also some electric white noise thing that could prevent vampires from listening on other vampires mind-to-mind conversation. How does that even work? Like logically! Hell, even in fantasy. Just help me make this make sense!
There are the other stuff like vampires being unable to feed unless from a live human. (Apparently, blood banks are lacking some essential life element) I don’t know why but this also didn’t make sense to me.
The World Build was not so great. So the book is set in modern day San Diego, where I happen to live. The geography and labeling for things was kind of off. I don’t know anyone who calls Torrey Pines by it’s full name, or describes it as some sort of woodsy park. (It’s by the beach with a hiking trail, it has plants... but it is not woodsy) And what does “deeper into the park” mean? Did they take a trail, end up on the beach? Up a hill? This is just an example of how weird the geography was described or whatever in this book.
Character: I didn’t get a feel of any of the characters in this book. I don’t know if it was the POV, my apathy or the story itself. The former NFL player was big and burly and guilty. MC was a bad ass wannabe but like always jumping to conclusions with no real plan, and was shocked she needed saving every darn time. Avery was MC’s babysitter turned side piece, or main, depending on who you root for. And wow, did the MC really start screwing Avery just like that. It was so random and abrupt, and then she started treating him like her boyfriend, even though she already had one! And the cheating was supposed to be normal?!🥶
Regardless, none of the characters had life, or distinct personalities, not even the MC.
I had thought the MC would have some depth, some emotions, some life given the rape scene. I had thought perhaps some of those lingering emotions would be hashed out. But nope. The MC seemed to blend into the pages as the chapters went by. If there is an antithesis to character development then that devolution is what the MC went through. The MC in chapter one was not close to who or what the MC ended as in the book.
Language: I really really hated that the author couldn’t get down the language. You have to be one hell of a modern woman to say crap like “I’m glad when I awaken...” or "I succumb to..." The hell! There were other more formal, old English type phrasings. It was one thing coming from a vamp who’s lived a couple hundred years, it was definitely different coming from a modern day woman.
It’s the little details that kill character development and the ease of reading. The language, the descriptions (and the horrible terrible deplorable sex scenes) were one of those details.
In the end, I'm most grateful for my apathy after reading this. It beats getting worked up over a bad book.
February 2, 2010
This was recommended by a friend, and since it's written in the present tense, I thought it would be good research.
I didn't like it. It was written well, but I had serious issues with the main characters, and I discovered that I don't like plots which center around a human discovering they're a vampire or some other supernatural being. That's not the authors fault; just a personal preference I didn't know I had.
So, the character. Anna Strong. She was great except for a few huge things that made me think she was a whore and an idiot. Harsh, I know, but let me explain. (Spoilers below)
1. The blurb on the back of the book makes it sound as if Anna will have to choose between her vampire mentor and a hot DEA agent. It turned out that the hot DEA agent was her boyfriend of two years. They weren't together much because of his job, but that's no excuse for her sleeping with her vampire mentor at the first opportunity. What made it worse, was Anna felt so little remorse. She was like, "Oh, but what about my boyfriend? Hi, vampire Avery. Why, yes, lets shag again!" So, yep, I'm calling her a whore.
2. Okay. Lets say you were just told by a vampire who is also a doctor that you are now a vamp, too. You're having trouble dealing with this, but you have bigger problems, problems like finding the people who abducted your friend. When you get a lead on the whereabouts of said friend, the person you interrogate says, "I don't know where he is, I swear! All I know is he's at some doctor's house!" What conclusion would you jump to? Come on. It's not a huge leap. Got a guess, yet? Yeah, PERHAPS, you should be suspicious of the doctor you just met. Not Anna. She doesn't get it until something like 3-4 pages later when her hostage says, "vamp doctor". Only THEN does she get it. Dense, Anna. Really dense.
3. Now, lets imagine you've just become a vampire. You'e talking to another vampire who's been around a lot longer than you. You instigate a fight and are somehow powerful enough to pin the other vamp. He's terrified he's going to die, so he says, "Avery was right. You are 'the one'." What would be your first question after that? Me? I'd say something along the lines of, "What the hell do you mean, 'the one'?" To Anna's credit, she does ask the pinned vamp, to which he responds, "Ask Avery." She then asks Avery. He acts all weird and says she must have misheard. And Anna is okay with this answer. *head desk* Seriously, if somebody tells you you're 'the one,' you should sit up and listen, especially if you're a paranormal. Don't these characters know anything?
4. Toward the end of the book, Anna is starting to figure out Avery isn't the vamp she thought he was. She discovers her friend bound and nearly drained of blood in a secret room in Avery's house. But she can't put the pieces of the puzzle together. Someone burned down her house. Someone killed her maker and injured her in Mexico. Somebody tipped off the vamp-hunters when she left Avery's house. Why don't the pieces fit, Anna wonders. Then, THEN, when Avery gives her an engagement ring, she's enlightened: AVERY orchestrated everything. WTF? Uh, yeah. I figurd that out when your friend was rolld up in a carpet, Anna. Honestly, you're so dense I can't see why Avery wanted you.
But, the book was very readable. As I said, I just discovered I don't like this type of plot, and Anna was just a little too stupid for my tastes. Other readers may love her. She did have a great attitude, and I was able to finish the book.
I didn't like it. It was written well, but I had serious issues with the main characters, and I discovered that I don't like plots which center around a human discovering they're a vampire or some other supernatural being. That's not the authors fault; just a personal preference I didn't know I had.
So, the character. Anna Strong. She was great except for a few huge things that made me think she was a whore and an idiot. Harsh, I know, but let me explain. (Spoilers below)
1. The blurb on the back of the book makes it sound as if Anna will have to choose between her vampire mentor and a hot DEA agent. It turned out that the hot DEA agent was her boyfriend of two years. They weren't together much because of his job, but that's no excuse for her sleeping with her vampire mentor at the first opportunity. What made it worse, was Anna felt so little remorse. She was like, "Oh, but what about my boyfriend? Hi, vampire Avery. Why, yes, lets shag again!" So, yep, I'm calling her a whore.
2. Okay. Lets say you were just told by a vampire who is also a doctor that you are now a vamp, too. You're having trouble dealing with this, but you have bigger problems, problems like finding the people who abducted your friend. When you get a lead on the whereabouts of said friend, the person you interrogate says, "I don't know where he is, I swear! All I know is he's at some doctor's house!" What conclusion would you jump to? Come on. It's not a huge leap. Got a guess, yet? Yeah, PERHAPS, you should be suspicious of the doctor you just met. Not Anna. She doesn't get it until something like 3-4 pages later when her hostage says, "vamp doctor". Only THEN does she get it. Dense, Anna. Really dense.
3. Now, lets imagine you've just become a vampire. You'e talking to another vampire who's been around a lot longer than you. You instigate a fight and are somehow powerful enough to pin the other vamp. He's terrified he's going to die, so he says, "Avery was right. You are 'the one'." What would be your first question after that? Me? I'd say something along the lines of, "What the hell do you mean, 'the one'?" To Anna's credit, she does ask the pinned vamp, to which he responds, "Ask Avery." She then asks Avery. He acts all weird and says she must have misheard. And Anna is okay with this answer. *head desk* Seriously, if somebody tells you you're 'the one,' you should sit up and listen, especially if you're a paranormal. Don't these characters know anything?
4. Toward the end of the book, Anna is starting to figure out Avery isn't the vamp she thought he was. She discovers her friend bound and nearly drained of blood in a secret room in Avery's house. But she can't put the pieces of the puzzle together. Someone burned down her house. Someone killed her maker and injured her in Mexico. Somebody tipped off the vamp-hunters when she left Avery's house. Why don't the pieces fit, Anna wonders. Then, THEN, when Avery gives her an engagement ring, she's enlightened: AVERY orchestrated everything. WTF? Uh, yeah. I figurd that out when your friend was rolld up in a carpet, Anna. Honestly, you're so dense I can't see why Avery wanted you.
But, the book was very readable. As I said, I just discovered I don't like this type of plot, and Anna was just a little too stupid for my tastes. Other readers may love her. She did have a great attitude, and I was able to finish the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2011
An intriquing read!
I read the first few novels in this series last year, and I only recently remembered them upon seeing the cover for a new novel being released. I was shocked
I forgot about it because it was actually a pretty good read. I think I enjoyed the first two in the series much for the the third, but I'll be re-reading them again to find out why soon.
Anna Strong is anokay herione. She's not my favorite, but she's fun enough that you'll want to read on with her story.
Anna was unwillingly turned into a vampire while hunting an evil criminal named John Donaldson that skipped out on his bail, who leaves her for dead, not realizing he actually turned her.
I had mixed feelings about Avery, Anna's Vampire mentor. He's hiding something and seems to take a bit extra attention on his patient, Anna.
Sure he's handsome and powerful, but he`s definitely leaving out something important.
Anna's in need of trust, and doesn't know where to turn to. She's turned into a vampire(unwillingly), her house is burned to the ground and now her best friend, David is kidnapped.. Nothing is easy for Anna, but then when has it ever been?
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't as realistic as other UF`s I`ve read (or as realistic as you can get with UF anyway). It wasn`t the thought behind the world Stein`s created, I enjoyed that, but maybe it was the characters behaviour or thoughts, but I found it a bit off. Over all though, it was a pretty good read. I'm excited to read this series over again soon. Maybe I'll have better thoughts this time!
I read the first few novels in this series last year, and I only recently remembered them upon seeing the cover for a new novel being released. I was shocked
I forgot about it because it was actually a pretty good read. I think I enjoyed the first two in the series much for the the third, but I'll be re-reading them again to find out why soon.
Anna Strong is anokay herione. She's not my favorite, but she's fun enough that you'll want to read on with her story.
Anna was unwillingly turned into a vampire while hunting an evil criminal named John Donaldson that skipped out on his bail, who leaves her for dead, not realizing he actually turned her.
I had mixed feelings about Avery, Anna's Vampire mentor. He's hiding something and seems to take a bit extra attention on his patient, Anna.
Sure he's handsome and powerful, but he`s definitely leaving out something important.
Anna's in need of trust, and doesn't know where to turn to. She's turned into a vampire(unwillingly), her house is burned to the ground and now her best friend, David is kidnapped.. Nothing is easy for Anna, but then when has it ever been?
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't as realistic as other UF`s I`ve read (or as realistic as you can get with UF anyway). It wasn`t the thought behind the world Stein`s created, I enjoyed that, but maybe it was the characters behaviour or thoughts, but I found it a bit off. Over all though, it was a pretty good read. I'm excited to read this series over again soon. Maybe I'll have better thoughts this time!
January 30, 2009
I thought this was an interesting take on vampires. Anna Strong is a bounty hunter and is attacked one night on the job by a vampire. She ends up in the hospital and eventually discovers what happens to her. Dr. Avery explains that he is also a vampire and he takes her under his wing to teach her all about her new "family".
But meanwhile, the vampire who attacked her is still on the loose, Avery has explained that she must kill him and on top of all of that her partner David has gone missing.
There were some differences in the definition of what vampires are. They can walk in sunlight, and they only have to feed off a person once every month. They are also telepathic.
It was a short book, and I thought it moved fairly quickly through the storyline. I wasn't really sure what was going on (in terms of who the "bad guy" was), and then as I found out more details while reading I had some suspicions about certain characters. I wouldn't say the ending had a twist, but it wasn't what I originally thought. I look forward to reading the next book.
But meanwhile, the vampire who attacked her is still on the loose, Avery has explained that she must kill him and on top of all of that her partner David has gone missing.
There were some differences in the definition of what vampires are. They can walk in sunlight, and they only have to feed off a person once every month. They are also telepathic.
It was a short book, and I thought it moved fairly quickly through the storyline. I wasn't really sure what was going on (in terms of who the "bad guy" was), and then as I found out more details while reading I had some suspicions about certain characters. I wouldn't say the ending had a twist, but it wasn't what I originally thought. I look forward to reading the next book.
February 13, 2014
So lets get right down to the good, the bad, and the down right ugly. I'm going to start with the down right ugly, simply because a reader needs to know up front what they are getting into.
This book deals with rape within the first several pages. Not only does it deal with rape, but it ends up making the victim enjoy it. So yea, there you go. If you can look over that bit of ugliness, then we can go on to the bad.
The bad still references the rape, but it sets the victim (or heroine in this case) up to basically not have any problems having sex with a new guy right after the rape. The new guy just happens to be the doctor that takes care of her after the rape and beating. There are a few more things that make this a bad situation, another also being that the heroine (Anna) is in a relationship when all this happens and doesn't let the poor guy know that not only was she raped, but she is now also screwing another guy. So yea, that.
If you can get over the ugliness and the bad, we can move right along to the good. Because believe it or not, this book did have a few good qualities.
It was interesting being in Anna's head as she became a Vampire. It's not often that a reader is able to break down the emotions of what it would be like to be turned nastily, and the not have a clue what to do or what they are becoming. Anna is a tough cookie. And the fact that she Vamps out does not take away her mortal thinking. Her best friend and partner is still very important to her. Humans in general are still important, and not just because of their blood. Unfortunately Anna is gullible. She has a tendency to think with the monster between her thighs.
I wish there could have been more about this book that I liked. It did intrigue me enough to read the next in the series, because honestly it can only go up from here, right? 1.5 stars.. :/
This book deals with rape within the first several pages. Not only does it deal with rape, but it ends up making the victim enjoy it. So yea, there you go. If you can look over that bit of ugliness, then we can go on to the bad.
The bad still references the rape, but it sets the victim (or heroine in this case) up to basically not have any problems having sex with a new guy right after the rape. The new guy just happens to be the doctor that takes care of her after the rape and beating. There are a few more things that make this a bad situation, another also being that the heroine (Anna) is in a relationship when all this happens and doesn't let the poor guy know that not only was she raped, but she is now also screwing another guy. So yea, that.
If you can get over the ugliness and the bad, we can move right along to the good. Because believe it or not, this book did have a few good qualities.
It was interesting being in Anna's head as she became a Vampire. It's not often that a reader is able to break down the emotions of what it would be like to be turned nastily, and the not have a clue what to do or what they are becoming. Anna is a tough cookie. And the fact that she Vamps out does not take away her mortal thinking. Her best friend and partner is still very important to her. Humans in general are still important, and not just because of their blood. Unfortunately Anna is gullible. She has a tendency to think with the monster between her thighs.
I wish there could have been more about this book that I liked. It did intrigue me enough to read the next in the series, because honestly it can only go up from here, right? 1.5 stars.. :/
March 5, 2015
slow start, but great finish :)
January 5, 2016
i tried really hard with this book because the heroine seemed like she had the potential to be really tough but this book was bad. ok the book opens with a rape...not terribly graphic but still a pretty dark way to start the book. I could get over that i dont mind dark. I can even get over that her body responds because hey that happens sometimes. I absolutely cannot get over that because her body responds they decide shes a participant. No shes still a fucking rape victim and crap like this is why many rapists dont get reported because women think if they felt something pleasant it couldnt be rape. maybe the author is really like ann coulter or something idk but it ticked me off. Yet still i trudged on. The writing was at times overly simplistic and at times ridiculously formal. I hate 1st person narrators so that was another strike. The whole all vampires can hear all other vampires thoughts thing was a bit much. Like theyre either constantly barraged by thoughts or constantly shielding which would be exhausting. Yet they apparently cant hear human thoughts? Ok still whatever. Then she cheats on her boyfriend and thats where i draw the line. In a romance book of any kind a cheater is an instantly unappealing character and i dont care about them anymore so why bother to continue? DNF
August 13, 2010
I don't understand why so many urban fantasy readers have given this book good reviews. I thought it was cliched and predictable. I literally knew who the bad guy was by the half way point, then skipped to the end to confirm, and I was happy not to have to read the pages in between because I felt most of the pages I read weren't engaging. I didn't feel any connection to the characters, the plot twist wasn't even a little clever, and and I felt that the author recycled too much of what's already out there in this genre - she didn't give the series her own special twist to make it interesting to UF fans. I'm happily crossing this series off of my list for good.
Basic plot: Anne Strong is a 30 year old bounty hunter who is infected by vampirism by a violent skip. Her doctor during recovery is also a vamp and becomes her mentor in all things vampiric. She gets noticed by the wrong people and nearly gets burned at the stake and has her house burned down and her partner/best friend David kidnapped. So she does what she has to do to find and save him.
Basic plot: Anne Strong is a 30 year old bounty hunter who is infected by vampirism by a violent skip. Her doctor during recovery is also a vamp and becomes her mentor in all things vampiric. She gets noticed by the wrong people and nearly gets burned at the stake and has her house burned down and her partner/best friend David kidnapped. So she does what she has to do to find and save him.
April 18, 2016
DNF! And I never DNF a book but this one was SO bad I just couldn't continue. Maybe the worst part was when she was badly beaten and raped and then decided it wasn't really rape because the vampire made her body like it -ARGH!. Anna is a completely unlikable character. She lies, keeps huge secrets and cheats on her boyfriend without really any regret and has a thing for Avery. Avery is also a completely unlikable character. BTW who the "bad guy" is was also VERY obvious. At some point I realized I just didn't care what happened to her and I certainly believe Max would be better off with someone else. This book is just a mess.
May 3, 2014
I am really feeling conflicted about this story. There are things that I truly dislike, but then I find out that those are related to the bad guy ... so I feel like it's the 'right' thing because it's the bad guy after all, and he needs to be killed. Okay, this will sound confusing, and since I cannot write this review without spoiling things, I will put it under spoiler tag.
The story itself was okay -- I liked the idea of a vampire bounty hunter. I was quite intrigued with the voices inside Anna's head -- who was this Casper?? Plus Culebra seemed to be an intriguing character too. But I didn't know if I would immediately read book #2. I couldn't say that I was charmed by Anna. So ... yeah, let's just see.
The story itself was okay -- I liked the idea of a vampire bounty hunter. I was quite intrigued with the voices inside Anna's head -- who was this Casper?? Plus Culebra seemed to be an intriguing character too. But I didn't know if I would immediately read book #2. I couldn't say that I was charmed by Anna. So ... yeah, let's just see.
June 4, 2017
Title in German:
Verführung der Nacht
Anna and her partner David are bounty hunters and one night while chasing an escaped criminal she gets attacked and accidently turned into a vampire. First she can´t believe what she had become but soon other vampires are getting interested in her. First and foremost the enigmatic Avery who plays his own game regarding Anna..
It´s a fast moving story with action, excitement and a stubborn independent and feisty heroine who doesn´t want to leave her friends in danger – against the wishes of ther vampire mentor Avery who thinks vampire superior to humans. There were some interesting twists in the story I didn´t see coming and I´m still wondering about "Casper" Anna´s mysterious vampire guardian she never got to see. I liked Anna but I was a bit irritated with her babbling when mindspeaking with other vampires or talking to herself. But I surely will read the next books in the series I really want to know what will happen next to Anna and her friends in the future.
Website of the author: http://www.jeannestein.com/
Verführung der Nacht
Anna and her partner David are bounty hunters and one night while chasing an escaped criminal she gets attacked and accidently turned into a vampire. First she can´t believe what she had become but soon other vampires are getting interested in her. First and foremost the enigmatic Avery who plays his own game regarding Anna..
It´s a fast moving story with action, excitement and a stubborn independent and feisty heroine who doesn´t want to leave her friends in danger – against the wishes of ther vampire mentor Avery who thinks vampire superior to humans. There were some interesting twists in the story I didn´t see coming and I´m still wondering about "Casper" Anna´s mysterious vampire guardian she never got to see. I liked Anna but I was a bit irritated with her babbling when mindspeaking with other vampires or talking to herself. But I surely will read the next books in the series I really want to know what will happen next to Anna and her friends in the future.
Website of the author: http://www.jeannestein.com/
February 3, 2012
The novel starts promising. Then you get 60 or so really boring pages where the main character is "talking" with someone telepathically. There are few things which are interesting in this story and only because of them I didn't give one star.
not-interested
October 22, 2019"It's frightening you because you realize you were a participant, not a victim."
This is addressed to the recent VICTIM (yes, victim!) of a rape -- someone telling her that she wasn't actually a victim just because the consequences of the rape itself (by a vampire) infected her with a supernatural lust.
Yeah, no. Just no. Hard no.
This is addressed to the recent VICTIM (yes, victim!) of a rape -- someone telling her that she wasn't actually a victim just because the consequences of the rape itself (by a vampire) infected her with a supernatural lust.
Yeah, no. Just no. Hard no.
December 27, 2023
NB: As a general comment, here is a link to a more general complaint of mine regarding romance novels (this novel was cited as an example of the problems I discuss in my complaint).
I was really disappointed in this one, which turned out to NOT be worth the time and effort I put into it.
Good points: I liked the initial set-up of the story. For instance, I very much liked the idea of a strong female character who was working as her own boss in what was very much a man's world. I also very much liked the fact that she did this despite her parents' disapproval. The idea of this strong, independent woman having to face a setback such as being attacked and raped, and thus accidentally turned into a vampire, was quite interesting to me as well.
Then things quickly went downhill from there, unfortunately.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
(i) Again, there were NUMEROUS grammatical issues in this book. This personally ANNOYS me to no end. Editing is not a difficult concept to understand (I tend to blame publishers for this, save in the case of self-published novels, of course).
(ii) The main character quickly became annoying. One of the 'love interests' of the main character in the novel was a vampire and a Night Watcher (i.e. apparently a vampire who watches out for and tries to act to protect the vampire community), who wound up somewhat by happenstance being the only person who could counsel her through her transformation into a vampire. For some reason, the main character wound up trusting this fellow implicitly and considered she might be in love with him, VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT. Oh, and let's not forget that she also slept with him, despite having a longtime boyfriend. I don't consider myself a prude, and I am pretty liberal in my views in general, but I did find this rather uncool on her part. More to the point, it didn't entirely make sense to me, since she didn't KNOW this person.
Another annoying aspect of the main character was that she vacillated between blind trust of this man and being convinced he was the bad guy behind everything. Which brings me to element (iii), namely, the plot.
(iii) The plot did not work. I tend to find that one of the CHEAPEST tactics in fiction, be it mystery or urban fantasy or television or what have you, is to have the 'bad guy' turn out to be the narrator and/or their best friend. This is a very *cheap* and easy tactic, IMHO, and frequently implies that the author does not want to have to BUILD suspense gradually such as by subtly slipping in clues to the reader and by gradually building a psychologically believable picture for the reader. Rather, one slips in the fact that the narrator or their close friend Bud is the killer and voila! Instant gratification for very little effort. (Except that it ISN'T gratifying for the reader, IMHO. Not by a long shot.)
Anyhow, the reason I mention this is that this is what winds up being the source of the majority of the plot, i.e. that the bad guy was her trusted companion all along, bla bla bla.
Unlike our dopey 'heroine', who realized this at the end of the novel, I had had a sinking (and growing) feeling that this would be the case as I progressed through the novel. And the plot did not disappoint. Or rather it did, because I was right, and the author was just 'yanking our chain' the entire time.
I also couldn't help but be annoyed at the way in which the plot 'lurched' back and forth between being convinced and then not with regards to this character's guilt (this was actually the majority of the plot, such as it was), since it felt like I was being manipulated by the author: 'Keep reading!! No, really!! He might not be the bad guy! Oh well he was, haha, fooled you.'
(iv) Very few basic answers were provided by the end of this first novel. As is all too usual, we are expected to buy the next X number of books in the series in order to have any answers, save the fact that the trusted friend of the main character was a manipulative evil guy who was obsessed with her. For instance:
-Who was 'Casper', the person who continually helped her through various situations?
-Why did Williams say she was 'the one'? Why was she able to defeat not one but two OLD & POWERFUL vampires despite being a completely new addition to vampiredom?
-What was the story with Culebra? What was he, and why was he so powerful? What is with all the people at Beso de la Muerte?
-What did Max (i.e. her DEA boyfriend) know? Did he know about her?
-Would Max be upset with her (i.e. since she did cheat on him)? Did he know about this?
Those are just off the top of my head. So, essentially I felt like I had read 1/2 or 3/4 of a book. Very annoying.
(v) This book also came perilously close to one of my personal triggers, which is implying that rape is 'all right' if the woman has an orgasm. I disagree with other reviewers in that I don't think that this book said this, but it did come perilously close to it. Ugh, just NO.
So I recommend staying away from this one. Definitely not worth it.
I was really disappointed in this one, which turned out to NOT be worth the time and effort I put into it.
Good points: I liked the initial set-up of the story. For instance, I very much liked the idea of a strong female character who was working as her own boss in what was very much a man's world. I also very much liked the fact that she did this despite her parents' disapproval. The idea of this strong, independent woman having to face a setback such as being attacked and raped, and thus accidentally turned into a vampire, was quite interesting to me as well.
Then things quickly went downhill from there, unfortunately.
Bad points/constructive criticism:
(i) Again, there were NUMEROUS grammatical issues in this book. This personally ANNOYS me to no end. Editing is not a difficult concept to understand (I tend to blame publishers for this, save in the case of self-published novels, of course).
(ii) The main character quickly became annoying. One of the 'love interests' of the main character in the novel was a vampire and a Night Watcher (i.e. apparently a vampire who watches out for and tries to act to protect the vampire community), who wound up somewhat by happenstance being the only person who could counsel her through her transformation into a vampire. For some reason, the main character wound up trusting this fellow implicitly and considered she might be in love with him, VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT. Oh, and let's not forget that she also slept with him, despite having a longtime boyfriend. I don't consider myself a prude, and I am pretty liberal in my views in general, but I did find this rather uncool on her part. More to the point, it didn't entirely make sense to me, since she didn't KNOW this person.
Another annoying aspect of the main character was that she vacillated between blind trust of this man and being convinced he was the bad guy behind everything. Which brings me to element (iii), namely, the plot.
(iii) The plot did not work. I tend to find that one of the CHEAPEST tactics in fiction, be it mystery or urban fantasy or television or what have you, is to have the 'bad guy' turn out to be the narrator and/or their best friend. This is a very *cheap* and easy tactic, IMHO, and frequently implies that the author does not want to have to BUILD suspense gradually such as by subtly slipping in clues to the reader and by gradually building a psychologically believable picture for the reader. Rather, one slips in the fact that the narrator or their close friend Bud is the killer and voila! Instant gratification for very little effort. (Except that it ISN'T gratifying for the reader, IMHO. Not by a long shot.)
Anyhow, the reason I mention this is that this is what winds up being the source of the majority of the plot, i.e. that the bad guy was her trusted companion all along, bla bla bla.
Unlike our dopey 'heroine', who realized this at the end of the novel, I had had a sinking (and growing) feeling that this would be the case as I progressed through the novel. And the plot did not disappoint. Or rather it did, because I was right, and the author was just 'yanking our chain' the entire time.
I also couldn't help but be annoyed at the way in which the plot 'lurched' back and forth between being convinced and then not with regards to this character's guilt (this was actually the majority of the plot, such as it was), since it felt like I was being manipulated by the author: 'Keep reading!! No, really!! He might not be the bad guy! Oh well he was, haha, fooled you.'
(iv) Very few basic answers were provided by the end of this first novel. As is all too usual, we are expected to buy the next X number of books in the series in order to have any answers, save the fact that the trusted friend of the main character was a manipulative evil guy who was obsessed with her. For instance:
-Who was 'Casper', the person who continually helped her through various situations?
-Why did Williams say she was 'the one'? Why was she able to defeat not one but two OLD & POWERFUL vampires despite being a completely new addition to vampiredom?
-What was the story with Culebra? What was he, and why was he so powerful? What is with all the people at Beso de la Muerte?
-What did Max (i.e. her DEA boyfriend) know? Did he know about her?
-Would Max be upset with her (i.e. since she did cheat on him)? Did he know about this?
Those are just off the top of my head. So, essentially I felt like I had read 1/2 or 3/4 of a book. Very annoying.
(v) This book also came perilously close to one of my personal triggers, which is implying that rape is 'all right' if the woman has an orgasm. I disagree with other reviewers in that I don't think that this book said this, but it did come perilously close to it. Ugh, just NO.
So I recommend staying away from this one. Definitely not worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2011
Wow, Stein really did NOT do her research on what happens in a hospital after a woman is sexually assaulted. When the doctor is telling Anna that she's been in the hospital for about ~24 hours after being raped and having her throat cut, he tells her, "'Because there was evidence of penetration, we had to run pregnancy tests. They were negative. However, there are other tests that will take longer to process. We'll screen for sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis...' A brief hesitation. 'HIV.'"
First of all, if you had sex 24 hours before, you can't be pregnant. It's not physiologically possible. It takes days for the sperm to reach the egg, fertilise it, and then for the egg to migrate to the uterus and implant. Pregnancy is defined as starting with implantation, which is what triggers a series of hormonal changes in the body that doctors can measure. Medical science doesn't generally weigh in on when life begins, but it does define when pregnancy begins, and it's not for at LEAST a week after sex.
So if you go to the hospital after a sexual assault, the only reason they would give you a pregnancy test is to determine whether you were *already* pregnant prior to the assault, which may be important information for women trying to decide whether to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term. But it *wouldn't* be for the purpose of telling the woman whether the rape has left her pregnant.
What an ER *would* do for a sexually assaulted woman is offer her emergency contraception (EC), which is essentially a higher dose of the same hormones found in regular oral contraceptive pills (levonorgestrel [+ sometimes ethinyl estradiol]), taken up to 5 days after sex to prevent pregnancy. That's PREVENT pregnancy, not terminate one. EC has no effect on an existing pregnancy. See Princeton's awesome Emergency Contraception website for more info about EC: http://ec.princeton.edu
Second of all, a decent ER wouldn't be taking a passive attitude towards the possibility of HIV infection, either. There's a treatment called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) that can be started up to 3 days after sex (or exposure to blood, infected needle, etc) to significantly reduce the chance of ending up with an HIV infection. (Like EC, the sooner you start it, the more effective it is.) It's a course of antiretroviral drugs and rather than a one- or two-dose EC treatment, it takes up to 4 weeks and can have some nasty side effects, but it's thought to be fairly effective at reducing the risk of seroconversion.
That's enough Reproduction 101 for today, kids. I'm getting back to the book now that I've got that off my chest.
Update 4 July 2011:
OK I've finished reading it, and maybe I shouldn't be so indignant over Dr Avery's failure to offer emergency contraception and PEP to a rape survivor, since there are a lot of ways that he goes off protocol when handling Anna. That's partly because Dr Avery recognises that she's been attacked by a vampire and is turning into one herself, and partly because
Overall I liked this book. I'd avoided it for a long time because I hate books that are narrated in first person present tense. (I know everyone raves about the Hunger Games but I just can't get past the first page because of the stupid verb tense!) But once I got a few pages in, I hardly noticed it. I only give it three stars instead of four because I didn't get that feeling of connection with any of the protagonists that makes me want to keep the book on my shelf to re-read in a couple of years. No one is especially unlikeable (except where they're supposed to be), but no one stands out as especially appealing or memorable, either, except for the bad guy, and as he is dispatched at the end, I can't look forward to more of him. Too bad, because he's a really good bad guy -- but for that reason, it's really satisfying when he gets offed. Anna is smart and self-sufficient and not too whiny. However, her relationship with her boyfriend Max is a complete mystery (and not in a "tell me more!" sort of way, more like in a "Huh? How can she love a guy she sees only every couple of months, can never reach on the phone, and cheats on so easily?" sort of way). And several reviewers here have commented on the way the author describes the psychological aftermath of rape, which doesn't ring true for me. (The one author who does this particularly well is Patricia Briggs -- holy moly is that scene ever powerful when Mercy crawls into the bathroom: it makes me feel like I'm going to cry just thinking about it.)
But I digress. Overall the writing was solid, the story moved along at a nice pace, and there was a good mystery that was wrapped up neatly enough to satisfy at the end, but there were enough unsolved mysteries to make me want to read the next book in the series. A solid entry in the UF genre, and I suspect that when I read more books in the series, I'll develop more of a feeling of connection with Anna and crew.
First of all, if you had sex 24 hours before, you can't be pregnant. It's not physiologically possible. It takes days for the sperm to reach the egg, fertilise it, and then for the egg to migrate to the uterus and implant. Pregnancy is defined as starting with implantation, which is what triggers a series of hormonal changes in the body that doctors can measure. Medical science doesn't generally weigh in on when life begins, but it does define when pregnancy begins, and it's not for at LEAST a week after sex.
So if you go to the hospital after a sexual assault, the only reason they would give you a pregnancy test is to determine whether you were *already* pregnant prior to the assault, which may be important information for women trying to decide whether to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term. But it *wouldn't* be for the purpose of telling the woman whether the rape has left her pregnant.
What an ER *would* do for a sexually assaulted woman is offer her emergency contraception (EC), which is essentially a higher dose of the same hormones found in regular oral contraceptive pills (levonorgestrel [+ sometimes ethinyl estradiol]), taken up to 5 days after sex to prevent pregnancy. That's PREVENT pregnancy, not terminate one. EC has no effect on an existing pregnancy. See Princeton's awesome Emergency Contraception website for more info about EC: http://ec.princeton.edu
Second of all, a decent ER wouldn't be taking a passive attitude towards the possibility of HIV infection, either. There's a treatment called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) that can be started up to 3 days after sex (or exposure to blood, infected needle, etc) to significantly reduce the chance of ending up with an HIV infection. (Like EC, the sooner you start it, the more effective it is.) It's a course of antiretroviral drugs and rather than a one- or two-dose EC treatment, it takes up to 4 weeks and can have some nasty side effects, but it's thought to be fairly effective at reducing the risk of seroconversion.
That's enough Reproduction 101 for today, kids. I'm getting back to the book now that I've got that off my chest.
Update 4 July 2011:
OK I've finished reading it, and maybe I shouldn't be so indignant over Dr Avery's failure to offer emergency contraception and PEP to a rape survivor, since there are a lot of ways that he goes off protocol when handling Anna. That's partly because Dr Avery recognises that she's been attacked by a vampire and is turning into one herself, and partly because
Overall I liked this book. I'd avoided it for a long time because I hate books that are narrated in first person present tense. (I know everyone raves about the Hunger Games but I just can't get past the first page because of the stupid verb tense!) But once I got a few pages in, I hardly noticed it. I only give it three stars instead of four because I didn't get that feeling of connection with any of the protagonists that makes me want to keep the book on my shelf to re-read in a couple of years. No one is especially unlikeable (except where they're supposed to be), but no one stands out as especially appealing or memorable, either, except for the bad guy, and as he is dispatched at the end, I can't look forward to more of him. Too bad, because he's a really good bad guy -- but for that reason, it's really satisfying when he gets offed. Anna is smart and self-sufficient and not too whiny. However, her relationship with her boyfriend Max is a complete mystery (and not in a "tell me more!" sort of way, more like in a "Huh? How can she love a guy she sees only every couple of months, can never reach on the phone, and cheats on so easily?" sort of way). And several reviewers here have commented on the way the author describes the psychological aftermath of rape, which doesn't ring true for me. (The one author who does this particularly well is Patricia Briggs -- holy moly is that scene ever powerful when Mercy crawls into the bathroom: it makes me feel like I'm going to cry just thinking about it.)
But I digress. Overall the writing was solid, the story moved along at a nice pace, and there was a good mystery that was wrapped up neatly enough to satisfy at the end, but there were enough unsolved mysteries to make me want to read the next book in the series. A solid entry in the UF genre, and I suspect that when I read more books in the series, I'll develop more of a feeling of connection with Anna and crew.
September 17, 2019
Overview:
This was a fast-paced origin story with a unique mythos. I'd recommend it for fans of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.
Characters & Voice:
The first thing to strike me about this book was that it was written in present tense. Personally, always find a present tense narrative a bit jarring. It takes me longer to lose myself in the story. That said, it was well done. Just something to bear in mind if you (like me) have a tense preference.
The narrative character was a woman named Anna Strong who becomes a vampire. (That's not a spoiler, it's the main premise of the story.) Anna is a strong, no-nonsense kind of woman who makes her living as a bond enforcement agent partnered with an ex-football player. She spends a lot of time being angry (not too surprising considering all that happens to her) and a lot of time having sex. (Note: the sex scenes are frequent, but not explicit.)
This book had a relatively small cast, consisting primarily of Anna, her friend David, and her vampire teacher Avery. There were a few walk-on characters, and a couple others who were mentioned but never existed on the page, but Anna pretty much only interacted with David, Avery, and some bad guys.
Anna's relationship with David, or rather his with her, seemed a little too close for friends or co-workers. David is *very* protective of Anna. So much so he's willing to blow off his own girlfriend to be available for Anna despite her saying she doesn't want his help. I think it's great that Anna has a solid guy friendship, but David's solicitude felt a little more like unrequited love to me. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.
Language & Mechanics:
There were several places where people said things like "You are vampire," or "what it is to be vampire," and I kept feeling like there was a word missing there. I assume Stein wrote it this way to mirror the way we say "I'm human" as opposed to "I'm a human," but it always sounded a little weird to me.
Aside from that, the language flowed well. Descriptions were detailed enough without dragging on. Anna's internal thoughts and feelings were well described.
One interesting mechanic was the use of mind-to-mind interactions in the book. Stein's vampires could communicate telepathically, reading thoughts, emotions, and memories. This was portrayed though the use of italicized dialog, much as an internal monologue would traditionally appear. For the most part, Stein did a great job utilizing this mechanic for a strong effect. There were only a couple times that it was unclear who was "speaking," or when the main character thought something and then added, "but I hid those thoughts," which was a little confusing.
World Building:
Like many urban fantasies, Stein's book is set in an alternate version of our world. One in which vampires are not only real, but have adapted over the centuries to survive in sunlight. Stein incorporates several well-established myths about vampires while throwing others out the window in favor of her own unique twists. It's always nice to see authors interpret old stories in new ways.
I was a little lost as to the setting at the beginning of the story. I eventually came to learn the book was taking place in southern California, but I was lost in the initial scenes. It's possible some of the scene descriptions would have tipped off a local, but being unfamiliar with that area, it took me a while to get my bearings.
NOTE (including a spoiler): I would not recommend this book to anyone sensitive to the topics of rape or cheating partners.
This was a fast-paced origin story with a unique mythos. I'd recommend it for fans of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.
Characters & Voice:
The first thing to strike me about this book was that it was written in present tense. Personally, always find a present tense narrative a bit jarring. It takes me longer to lose myself in the story. That said, it was well done. Just something to bear in mind if you (like me) have a tense preference.
The narrative character was a woman named Anna Strong who becomes a vampire. (That's not a spoiler, it's the main premise of the story.) Anna is a strong, no-nonsense kind of woman who makes her living as a bond enforcement agent partnered with an ex-football player. She spends a lot of time being angry (not too surprising considering all that happens to her) and a lot of time having sex. (Note: the sex scenes are frequent, but not explicit.)
This book had a relatively small cast, consisting primarily of Anna, her friend David, and her vampire teacher Avery. There were a few walk-on characters, and a couple others who were mentioned but never existed on the page, but Anna pretty much only interacted with David, Avery, and some bad guys.
Anna's relationship with David, or rather his with her, seemed a little too close for friends or co-workers. David is *very* protective of Anna. So much so he's willing to blow off his own girlfriend to be available for Anna despite her saying she doesn't want his help. I think it's great that Anna has a solid guy friendship, but David's solicitude felt a little more like unrequited love to me. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.
Language & Mechanics:
There were several places where people said things like "You are vampire," or "what it is to be vampire," and I kept feeling like there was a word missing there. I assume Stein wrote it this way to mirror the way we say "I'm human" as opposed to "I'm a human," but it always sounded a little weird to me.
Aside from that, the language flowed well. Descriptions were detailed enough without dragging on. Anna's internal thoughts and feelings were well described.
One interesting mechanic was the use of mind-to-mind interactions in the book. Stein's vampires could communicate telepathically, reading thoughts, emotions, and memories. This was portrayed though the use of italicized dialog, much as an internal monologue would traditionally appear. For the most part, Stein did a great job utilizing this mechanic for a strong effect. There were only a couple times that it was unclear who was "speaking," or when the main character thought something and then added, "but I hid those thoughts," which was a little confusing.
World Building:
Like many urban fantasies, Stein's book is set in an alternate version of our world. One in which vampires are not only real, but have adapted over the centuries to survive in sunlight. Stein incorporates several well-established myths about vampires while throwing others out the window in favor of her own unique twists. It's always nice to see authors interpret old stories in new ways.
I was a little lost as to the setting at the beginning of the story. I eventually came to learn the book was taking place in southern California, but I was lost in the initial scenes. It's possible some of the scene descriptions would have tipped off a local, but being unfamiliar with that area, it took me a while to get my bearings.
NOTE (including a spoiler): I would not recommend this book to anyone sensitive to the topics of rape or cheating partners.
April 27, 2018
I picked this book up because I had read a short story about her in Hexed which I liked. However I do not like this book, I didn't even finish it. I stopped a little less than half way through the book. I thought this book would be a good urban fantasy but Anna Strong isn't a very deep character and has baffling reactions to the situations she finds herself in. Also I'm pretty sure the author doesn't know what rape is and that makes me really upset.
If you want a good read pick something else.
********spoilers for the first few chapters*********
Right off our main character is attacked raped and turned into a vampire, the next day she ok with all of this. She is not traumatized by this at all after a few hours and in fact wants to hop into bed with the first guy she sees; even though she has a boyfriend and the guy she about to sleep with is kind of a dick. Meet Dr. Avery, he is a vampire and dick. He explains how she was not raped and was really a participant due to the drugs in her system and therefore should be ok with becoming a vampire and the sex that I still consider rape. He hordes information and refuses to tell her things and keeps her at a disadvantage, like being new and weak (for a vampire) isn't enough. He was the one who told her she was raped (he was her doctor at the hospital) but later that day says she really wasn't so he manhandles her and tries to get into her pants. He even becomes confused when she is out of sorts about becoming a vampire. These are not believable or likable characters. The only person I do like is David her bounty hunter partner. And she gets annoyed and angry with him when he acts like a normal person and actually worries about her after she is raped and beaten and he doesn't even know about the vampire part.
If you want a good read pick something else.
********spoilers for the first few chapters*********
Right off our main character is attacked raped and turned into a vampire, the next day she ok with all of this. She is not traumatized by this at all after a few hours and in fact wants to hop into bed with the first guy she sees; even though she has a boyfriend and the guy she about to sleep with is kind of a dick. Meet Dr. Avery, he is a vampire and dick. He explains how she was not raped and was really a participant due to the drugs in her system and therefore should be ok with becoming a vampire and the sex that I still consider rape. He hordes information and refuses to tell her things and keeps her at a disadvantage, like being new and weak (for a vampire) isn't enough. He was the one who told her she was raped (he was her doctor at the hospital) but later that day says she really wasn't so he manhandles her and tries to get into her pants. He even becomes confused when she is out of sorts about becoming a vampire. These are not believable or likable characters. The only person I do like is David her bounty hunter partner. And she gets annoyed and angry with him when he acts like a normal person and actually worries about her after she is raped and beaten and he doesn't even know about the vampire part.
July 14, 2016
I'm about half way into this book, when I realize that I have constant sour expression on my face when I listen to it. And to be honest that isn't how I want feel (or look) when I'm listening to a book. So I think it's time for me to put this book away.
And don't get me wrong. It wasn't that badly written. Sure it was a bit clichéd. But not so bad that it warranted me deleting it after only getting half way through it. In fact based on the writing and world building alone I'm guessing this would have been a solid three stars from me.
But! Because of this book's treatment of sexual assault and rape. I gave this book one star.
Firstly i want to say that I'm not against addressing serious and heavy subjects in books. In fact when it is handled in the right ways they can be incredibly valuable.
This book however was not one of those books.
Here's a couple of things i felt this book implied:
*"It's not rape if you "enjoy" it". This made me so angry. And might be the thing i disliked the most about this book.
Just because something physical, medicinal or in this case magical makes you feel some kind of pleasure. DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT RAPE. The question of whether it's rape or not about CONSENT.
*"Strong women just shrug of sexual assault". No just no.
And don't get me wrong. It wasn't that badly written. Sure it was a bit clichéd. But not so bad that it warranted me deleting it after only getting half way through it. In fact based on the writing and world building alone I'm guessing this would have been a solid three stars from me.
But! Because of this book's treatment of sexual assault and rape. I gave this book one star.
Firstly i want to say that I'm not against addressing serious and heavy subjects in books. In fact when it is handled in the right ways they can be incredibly valuable.
This book however was not one of those books.
Here's a couple of things i felt this book implied:
*"It's not rape if you "enjoy" it". This made me so angry. And might be the thing i disliked the most about this book.
Just because something physical, medicinal or in this case magical makes you feel some kind of pleasure. DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT RAPE. The question of whether it's rape or not about CONSENT.
*"Strong women just shrug of sexual assault". No just no.
November 30, 2011
This was pretty meh to me. Could've been better, could've been worse. Sort of like an old Sillouhette novel in terms of easy/quick reading and it runs smooth enough to get a 3 for readability.
However, I find myself not really caring about Anna. I mean, I cared and was on her side up until and then I wanted to hit her. I mean, I get it. I understand why it happened but how this wasn't the same as what happened to her before, I don't know. She trusted too easily and yes, she's not a detective but holy hell, if she had rubbed two brain cells together then I wouldn't have had to read another hundred and some odd pages.
Also, since I didn't really know too much about Anna I couldn't say whether or not her reactions were in character but I will say that Avery changed from day to night (not literally) from one chapter to the next. Also, Max is listed in the synopsis
It could've been a better book, it wasn't and that's ok. It's like Vampire lite.
However, I find myself not really caring about Anna. I mean, I cared and was on her side up until and then I wanted to hit her. I mean, I get it. I understand why it happened but how this wasn't the same as what happened to her before, I don't know. She trusted too easily and yes, she's not a detective but holy hell, if she had rubbed two brain cells together then I wouldn't have had to read another hundred and some odd pages.
Also, since I didn't really know too much about Anna I couldn't say whether or not her reactions were in character but I will say that Avery changed from day to night (not literally) from one chapter to the next. Also, Max is listed in the synopsis
It could've been a better book, it wasn't and that's ok. It's like Vampire lite.
Read
December 11, 2012Here's another of those books I've been putting off forever, only to find I should have left it on the shelf. The Becoming was summarily unappealing. The biggest shortcoming was the flatness of characters. Some lacked that spark which makes characters interesting; some were downright unlikable. I think it was the author's failure to create compelling characters that produced such a lack of urgency, as with poor acting in low-budget films. And so I was bored and didn't care what happened in the book. Sadly, this book commits a few other sins. I mentioned the unlikable characters -- chief among these were the main protagonist and her male counterpart/villain. (That was a bit of a spoiler... oops.) Anna Strong, in an attempt to come off as a tough girl, is simply shallow and irritating. There's a love triangle that makes all involved seem like wastes of time. And -- most irksome of all -- a majority of the dialogue takes place through italicized telepathy, which became old after just a few pages. I would call this book a complete flop because I was more bored after half-reading it than I was before.
May 26, 2011
I picked this up in a second hand shop because I loved the cover, too bad the inside didn't deliver... The worldbuilding was more or less non existent. "You're a vampire, I'm a vampire, we can stand in the sun and read minds, Great, now let's have lots of sex". And good job actually coming up with boring vampires! Altho Avery managed to personify at least three different character types: the flirty fun doctor, the intense smoldering vampire lover AND the maniacal villain. Saves creating more characters I guess. I have to admit I was a bit surprised that Anna got to kill Avery, I was sure he would hang on as her nemesis, it felt a bit of a waste and a sure way of getting me even less interested in reading the next book. David was whiny and apparently a homophobe. Michael never even showed up and Max, who had potential, didn't get enough page time to make me interested in him. No thanks to this series unless find more used cheap copies. At least the covers look great!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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