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Blood Destiny #4
Blood Domination
"To whom are you taking her?" Merrill asked, uncharacteristically curious. "Dragon," Griffin grinned. I stared at Griffin, my mouth surely open in surprise. Dragon? There was somebody named Dragon? That didn't sound promising. Who named their kid Dragon? Xenides has witnessed Lissa's talents first-hand and now he is desperate to find her. After all, under his compulsion, Lissa can topple governments and bring any race to its knees. Wlodek understands Xenides' motives all too well. As a result, he looks to hide Lissa in perhaps the most unusual place of all....
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2011
67 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Connie Suttle
76 books808 followersConnie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three cats.
Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.
Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 23, 2011
oh dear. Books 1 - 3 were excellent - I found Ms Suttle to be fresh and new.Her main characters were crisp and fulfilled their roles well. I eagerly set about book 4 and am so disappointed.
The newly nubile heroine is no longer fat fair and forty. She looks 23, is obviously beautiful and petite. Considering the fact that Lissa has a fear of men, she has grown a devoted fan base of characters - male vampires, werewolves and sundry other species who all appear to adore her, even when they trample all over her dignity and show very little respect for her as a person. She also appears to have an active lust for most of them and monogamy is "old hat". She pouts, sulks and cooks meals for them, she shakes, quivers and chatters her teeth when she is scared of them. They call her "little girl" and offer lots of hugs and knee sitting.
the sudden departure from earth to another planet was also a bit of a surprise. Lissa takes it all in her stride and quickly makes more male friends. There are some important plot threads here, but I almost missed them as I was tempted to skip bits to find out what the lads were up to back on earth!
I remember starting to read the "Anita Blake" series by Laura K Hamilton with equal enthusiasm and enjoyment. Unfotunately, Anita's world degenerated into a lurid sex-fest and I gave up trying to find the plot within the pages of lurid sex scenes and the self-pity of the main character. Anita had also been a fiesty, courageous woman at the beginning. I dont know what she became as I gave up when she began sharing her bed with a litter of meek little men who changed occasionally into some sort of big cat.
I am a little weary of all the lap sitting, the communal meetings which are adoration of Lissa moments. And she has been given so much power by her creator (Ms Suttle) that she really hasn't met a challenge yet! which is probably why Ms Suttle had to send her to another planet so that the menfolk could actually get a chance at solving something without her interference! So far, nasty, evil characters are being introduced and some have seemed quite promising; but Lissa hears how nasty they are, gets a bit miffed, meets them, cuts their heads off and mists off into the sunrise...
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Lissa will become the 40+ year old woman she once was, with the anger and determination of an abuse victim who is coming into her own at last. I want her to get through a situation without hugging the nearest hunk or slamming a door whilst pouting. I would like her to be fiesty, vicious and sexy, not cutesy and ditzy.
Fingers crossed!!
The newly nubile heroine is no longer fat fair and forty. She looks 23, is obviously beautiful and petite. Considering the fact that Lissa has a fear of men, she has grown a devoted fan base of characters - male vampires, werewolves and sundry other species who all appear to adore her, even when they trample all over her dignity and show very little respect for her as a person. She also appears to have an active lust for most of them and monogamy is "old hat". She pouts, sulks and cooks meals for them, she shakes, quivers and chatters her teeth when she is scared of them. They call her "little girl" and offer lots of hugs and knee sitting.
the sudden departure from earth to another planet was also a bit of a surprise. Lissa takes it all in her stride and quickly makes more male friends. There are some important plot threads here, but I almost missed them as I was tempted to skip bits to find out what the lads were up to back on earth!
I remember starting to read the "Anita Blake" series by Laura K Hamilton with equal enthusiasm and enjoyment. Unfotunately, Anita's world degenerated into a lurid sex-fest and I gave up trying to find the plot within the pages of lurid sex scenes and the self-pity of the main character. Anita had also been a fiesty, courageous woman at the beginning. I dont know what she became as I gave up when she began sharing her bed with a litter of meek little men who changed occasionally into some sort of big cat.
I am a little weary of all the lap sitting, the communal meetings which are adoration of Lissa moments. And she has been given so much power by her creator (Ms Suttle) that she really hasn't met a challenge yet! which is probably why Ms Suttle had to send her to another planet so that the menfolk could actually get a chance at solving something without her interference! So far, nasty, evil characters are being introduced and some have seemed quite promising; but Lissa hears how nasty they are, gets a bit miffed, meets them, cuts their heads off and mists off into the sunrise...
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Lissa will become the 40+ year old woman she once was, with the anger and determination of an abuse victim who is coming into her own at last. I want her to get through a situation without hugging the nearest hunk or slamming a door whilst pouting. I would like her to be fiesty, vicious and sexy, not cutesy and ditzy.
Fingers crossed!!
December 14, 2011
I'll skip the recap:
I started on this series on the recommendation of a favorite author of mine, and at first I was thrilled!! This nontraditional vampire story took my heart in the beginning. Lissa started off as an overweight, 47 year-old grieving widow. She has no idea of what's going on, and really gets the short-end of the stick as far as the whole paranormal-world goes. BUT she refuses to pout about it, she picks herself up, gets a job bodyguard - now this is the where things started going to the left...
Not at first, I'll say the first 3 books were really good. It was really this one where I started questioning things really hard.
Things that pissed me off:
1) In the last book, we deal with the aftermath of Lissa's suicide attempt (had me bawling like a baby). Merrill, Gavin, Wlodek, Rad, Charles, etc etc etc all weep and go on about how they love Lissa so much and never want to see her despair like that again... then they go and try to rule her life again?
2)Remember in the attempted suicide aftermath, when Lissa comes out smaller than she previously was and the explanation was that she lost mass while her body tried to heal.... And that's also why she's so much smaller as a vamp than when she was human. Yet all these vampire men are so "wide in the shoulders" and 6'3 or 6'4... are we to believe that they were giants as humans? Is that part of what qualifies a human to be a good candidate for turning?
3) Why is Lissa the only likeable or intelligent woman in the world? First of all, there aren't many women named in this series to begin with. I'm not even going to go into Winklers' floozies. Of the few we have to choose from, one is a ditzy shopaholic were, one is a conniving evil she-devil were, we do meet 1 decent female were. Of the vampires, the ones on the council voted to kill Lissa, then Xenides has an evil lady vamp. The one human woman that gets a name, Lena, might as well not even be there.
4) Why does Lissa let men treat her like a doll? They touch her, they kiss her, they fondle her. She might swat a hand away at first, but eventually she'll let them cop a feel or kiss or drink their blood (giving them the orgasm of their life). She'll express some distaste to herself, but only in her narration not out loud. The guys come into her room while she's sleeping, they do things to her while she's asleep, they're there when she wakes up, she'll wake up naked and not know why... It's like she has absolutely NO control over her own body! She's like a RealDoll, they they prop up and tote from place to place and show off to their socially inept friends. It's creepy! I can't believe the author is a woman, and that she'd cosign for her character to be treated this way.
5) And yet Lissa is perfect! She's beautiful, all who lay eyes upon her immediately lust after her or love her. She's invincible, superfast, superstrong, can mindspeak, mist, and is resistant to compulsion. She lays golden eggs too!! Why is she in vampire training for 5 years?
I think that covers it for now. Clearly I like the series, since I just bought the 5th ebook and am going to read it shortly. It is exciting, and suspenseful. The sex isn't all that great, it's still kind of creepy because she doesn't ever seem to be in charge of her own destiny. She gets sexed, if that makes any sense. She's the one being seduced, she can't resist his kisses kind of thing, or she'll go to sex for comfort. I'd like to see Lissa take charge, put on her big girl panties, get a guy that she is attracted to and seduce him. Be more take charge, seize her own destiny! Captain her own ship!!
I started on this series on the recommendation of a favorite author of mine, and at first I was thrilled!! This nontraditional vampire story took my heart in the beginning. Lissa started off as an overweight, 47 year-old grieving widow. She has no idea of what's going on, and really gets the short-end of the stick as far as the whole paranormal-world goes. BUT she refuses to pout about it, she picks herself up, gets a job bodyguard - now this is the where things started going to the left...
Not at first, I'll say the first 3 books were really good. It was really this one where I started questioning things really hard.
Things that pissed me off:
1) In the last book, we deal with the aftermath of Lissa's suicide attempt (had me bawling like a baby). Merrill, Gavin, Wlodek, Rad, Charles, etc etc etc all weep and go on about how they love Lissa so much and never want to see her despair like that again... then they go and try to rule her life again?
2)Remember in the attempted suicide aftermath, when Lissa comes out smaller than she previously was and the explanation was that she lost mass while her body tried to heal.... And that's also why she's so much smaller as a vamp than when she was human. Yet all these vampire men are so "wide in the shoulders" and 6'3 or 6'4... are we to believe that they were giants as humans? Is that part of what qualifies a human to be a good candidate for turning?
3) Why is Lissa the only likeable or intelligent woman in the world? First of all, there aren't many women named in this series to begin with. I'm not even going to go into Winklers' floozies. Of the few we have to choose from, one is a ditzy shopaholic were, one is a conniving evil she-devil were, we do meet 1 decent female were. Of the vampires, the ones on the council voted to kill Lissa, then Xenides has an evil lady vamp. The one human woman that gets a name, Lena, might as well not even be there.
4) Why does Lissa let men treat her like a doll? They touch her, they kiss her, they fondle her. She might swat a hand away at first, but eventually she'll let them cop a feel or kiss or drink their blood (giving them the orgasm of their life). She'll express some distaste to herself, but only in her narration not out loud. The guys come into her room while she's sleeping, they do things to her while she's asleep, they're there when she wakes up, she'll wake up naked and not know why... It's like she has absolutely NO control over her own body! She's like a RealDoll, they they prop up and tote from place to place and show off to their socially inept friends. It's creepy! I can't believe the author is a woman, and that she'd cosign for her character to be treated this way.
5) And yet Lissa is perfect! She's beautiful, all who lay eyes upon her immediately lust after her or love her. She's invincible, superfast, superstrong, can mindspeak, mist, and is resistant to compulsion. She lays golden eggs too!! Why is she in vampire training for 5 years?
I think that covers it for now. Clearly I like the series, since I just bought the 5th ebook and am going to read it shortly. It is exciting, and suspenseful. The sex isn't all that great, it's still kind of creepy because she doesn't ever seem to be in charge of her own destiny. She gets sexed, if that makes any sense. She's the one being seduced, she can't resist his kisses kind of thing, or she'll go to sex for comfort. I'd like to see Lissa take charge, put on her big girl panties, get a guy that she is attracted to and seduce him. Be more take charge, seize her own destiny! Captain her own ship!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2011
In the fourth book in the Blood Destiny series, Lissa finds herself involved in a fierce war to save humans and vampires alike from the priests of Solar Red, a pseudo-religion with deep secrets and deadly intentions. She continues to develop her abilities, some of which she still hides from the Vampire Council in fear of retribution for her secrecy or because she fears they will destroy what they cannot control.
Lissa's once mundane existence was completely overthrown when, out of necessity and practicality, she had to accept the fact that werewolves and vampires truly did exist. But now, even her updated world-view must undergo a massive revision as the next assignment to which she is assigned exposes her to a reality she never would have believed if she didn't experience it herself.
Along the way she meets many new friends who turn out to have connections to her past, present, and future. Much is discovered about her family situation, and some of the most enigmatic characters who have come into her life since she became vampire are revealed to be... Well, you'll just have to read it to find out!
Blood Domination brings the reader along on an unexpected, yet delightful, departure from traditional vampire fiction. Prepare to be impressed!
Lissa's once mundane existence was completely overthrown when, out of necessity and practicality, she had to accept the fact that werewolves and vampires truly did exist. But now, even her updated world-view must undergo a massive revision as the next assignment to which she is assigned exposes her to a reality she never would have believed if she didn't experience it herself.
Along the way she meets many new friends who turn out to have connections to her past, present, and future. Much is discovered about her family situation, and some of the most enigmatic characters who have come into her life since she became vampire are revealed to be... Well, you'll just have to read it to find out!
Blood Domination brings the reader along on an unexpected, yet delightful, departure from traditional vampire fiction. Prepare to be impressed!
October 20, 2011
I want to start this by saying I think Connie Suttle is a very strong writer in a world where being even half-assed will get you a contract. I'm happy she's here. She has incredible world building skills, along with a good head for intrigue.
So, here is what I will write now that my hands are tired (since I lost the first rant) and I need a cup of coffee...
Everybody stand and face the left - things just got really....weird.
Distant planets.
Aliens.
Big Blue Genies.
Vampire companions (on this distant planet) that can't, uh.."get together" with each other ... *big stage wink* who are alive solely for feeding vamps, who..ahhh, satisfy the need with a bite, that they miss out on because they can't "get together". At all. *now the other eye*
Check, check, check and double check.
The author can still write like hell, but the plot completely fell on it's face, rolled out the door and was struck by a car. This should have been a new series for her.
And that's just the start.
Anyway, I really need that coffee now.
So, here is what I will write now that my hands are tired (since I lost the first rant) and I need a cup of coffee...
Everybody stand and face the left - things just got really....weird.
Distant planets.
Aliens.
Big Blue Genies.
Vampire companions (on this distant planet) that can't, uh.."get together" with each other ... *big stage wink* who are alive solely for feeding vamps, who..ahhh, satisfy the need with a bite, that they miss out on because they can't "get together". At all. *now the other eye*
Check, check, check and double check.
The author can still write like hell, but the plot completely fell on it's face, rolled out the door and was struck by a car. This should have been a new series for her.
And that's just the start.
Anyway, I really need that coffee now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2020
I have read other books like this, where the main character is so powerful that she can talk on more lovers and its understandable so that part doesn’t bother me. I quite liked that she was taken to another place and was treated the way I wish she had by Merrill and the others.
Gavin I am still wondering how he is going to take this.
Lissa cares for him but she is afraid of him and I don’t know that, that will happen.
Griffin is and interesting character (dragon) and the other guy that laid claim on Lissa I wonder how the next book will play out.
Great narration!
Gavin I am still wondering how he is going to take this.
Lissa cares for him but she is afraid of him and I don’t know that, that will happen.
Griffin is and interesting character (dragon) and the other guy that laid claim on Lissa I wonder how the next book will play out.
Great narration!
May 3, 2020
Well we got everything except steam - aliens, monsters and off world setting, her father revealed, she's married by proxy, and the vamps are planning to control her forever. Meanwhile the 'heroine?' spends her time killing, baking and cleaning house, literally. And oh yes, she's a Queen! Really way too much stuff, no real growth for anyone, it was just silly. No grovel for her, and she deserves to hear something. This was just so frustrating, doubt I'll bother with any more.
March 22, 2012
Lissa is turning into an Anita Blake clone.
*Cough* Slut *Cough*
Not sure if I'm happy with where this series is going. Why can't I stop reading them!?! *Cries hysterically*
*Cough* Slut *Cough*
Not sure if I'm happy with where this series is going. Why can't I stop reading them!?! *Cries hysterically*
June 3, 2020
Notes:
- 1st The cover is wrong because Lissa's hair was burnt off in the last book. It's only down to her neck/shoulders at this point. =P
- The story totally jumped the shark but it was in a manner that entertained me. I had to see where that went and it's still pretty funny when I got to the end of the book.
- Each of these books end on a cliffhangery ending and if I didn't have the books lined up to read, I would be ticked off. =P
- Some of the plot twists are like what you would get if a young teen dreamed up a scenario. They're that ridiculous but not so dumb that I can't stand the story being told.
- The characters are fun. The way the connections are being made are predictable but fun because the plot is different from most stories out there.
- It's too bad that there are basic grammar/writing/spelling errors in the book and the story wasn't ironed out to shine at it's best because this could have been one of the best PNR series written if that was the case.
- For those that care, there's hot scenes but none of them are graphic. This series is definitely heading towards the land of Reverse Harem but you're not going to get a bunch of descriptive sex to go with it. At least, I don't think so from what I've read thus far.
- 1st The cover is wrong because Lissa's hair was burnt off in the last book. It's only down to her neck/shoulders at this point. =P
- The story totally jumped the shark but it was in a manner that entertained me. I had to see where that went and it's still pretty funny when I got to the end of the book.
- Each of these books end on a cliffhangery ending and if I didn't have the books lined up to read, I would be ticked off. =P
- Some of the plot twists are like what you would get if a young teen dreamed up a scenario. They're that ridiculous but not so dumb that I can't stand the story being told.
- The characters are fun. The way the connections are being made are predictable but fun because the plot is different from most stories out there.
- It's too bad that there are basic grammar/writing/spelling errors in the book and the story wasn't ironed out to shine at it's best because this could have been one of the best PNR series written if that was the case.
- For those that care, there's hot scenes but none of them are graphic. This series is definitely heading towards the land of Reverse Harem but you're not going to get a bunch of descriptive sex to go with it. At least, I don't think so from what I've read thus far.
September 30, 2015
Due to her being hunted by various forces, Wlodek decide the best thing to do with Lissa is get her out of the way for a while. Thankfully mysterious Griffin has an idea
Send her to an entirely new world where she can use her great powers to solve a whole load of easily-fixed-by-violence problems in a not-very-alien-society
Meanwhile Wlodek & co try to continue the hunt against Xenides while simultaneously making terrible decisions.
So I pick up the next book in this vampire series and….
Aliens.
Ok that was unexpected. I admit to having reservations, but I’m not adverse to genre mash-up even if I’ve rarely actually seen it do well and if, after three books in this series, I’m not confident that this series would be the one to do it well. And, alas, I was surprisingly right.
So, Lissa ends up going to another world and meeting a range of new species and it is done so incredibly lazily that was just quite depressing. Lissa is moved to this new world through woo-woo. That woo-woo also comes with convenient understand-any-language woo-woo to avoid any kind of culture shock
Of which there is absolutely none. The world is called Refizan, the people are Refizani and may or may not be human. If they’re not they look entirely like humans. And by humans I mean white western humans (there’s an Asian-appearing-alien-who-looks-human-because-LAZY who is apparently clearly not from this planet because he’s not white). Their culture seems to be a vaguely western parallel. Their buildings, cities, market place, food, manufactured products, modes of travel, news dissemination, media – none of it is presented as any different from what Lissa had experienced in the US and London. There was no real description of the world to make it seem any different from a generic western city. Flying over the city as mist, Lissa can pick out buildings like shops and hospitals and religious buildings. Their government is a fairly generic democracy which, like anything el
Honestly, you could replace “Refizan” with “Ohio” and not really make any real difference to the story. An alien world that is completely unrecognisable from a western nation populated by people who are indistinguishable from white westerners with all language and transports difficulties being resolved by woo-woo is some of the laziest damn aliens I’ve ever seen – and that includes every film and TV show that decided a little bit of heavy make up would be sufficient to depict an alien species. Though we did have a giant blue dude. Who was giant. And blue. That’s kind of it.
Even on the supernatural side, the world has its own vampire circle which is basically a direct parallel to Wlodek and his people on Earth. Except lazier
Why lazier? Because to make this lazy plot glide along with minimal difficulty there is no real conflict. And one of the sources of no conflict is Gabron, head of the Refizan vampire council who basically nods and smiles to everything Lissa says because she is the Specilist Person Ever, Praise be Her Sueness and, like so many others, he found her super hot and wants to have sex with her. Despite being a complete stranger and alien, Lissa is trusted, her every suspicion and suggestion is quickly followed up. Including when she declares various prominent vampires to be super evil and deserving of imprisonment. Effectively this turns the vampires into Lissa’s personal army.
Yet the laziness continues! Because this book is AMAZINGLY lazily written. The next item of laziness is Lissa’s powers. Her super shiny Mary Sue powers that make her super-duper dangerous even if she is only 5 years a vampire and able to kill just about anything she comes across with zero conflict at all because she is just that special. Her powers are completely unprecedented and completely eclipse everything any other vampire has ever been able to achieve. On top of being able to kill anything around her with minimal effort, she also has the useful ability of being able to smell evil
Yes we’re introduced to dimension hopping light and dark elves to try and justify this, but it comes down to being able to “smell evil”. With this infallible evil detector she kills bad guys with her super killy powers. No, really, she uses this detect evil power with such lack of subtlety that a 10 year old playing a Paladin in a D&D game would disapprove.
There is no nuance in Lissa’s powers and also no nuance in the bad guys – the Solar Red priests. This is a foreign religion coming to this planet and is regarded with suspicion and worry and accused of human sacrifice. Of course this is an excellent way to examine suspicion of the outsider, how foreign faiths can be demonised, how the rituals we’re familiar with are comforting while foreign ritual seems barbaric even though, objectively, both make as little real sense and seem a little weird and it could be a great way to examine how the persecution of minority religions happens
HAH! No. Solar Red priests are evil. They rape, torture and murder with impunity. In fact that’s all they do. The entire point of this religion is to be pure evil – I can’t even imagine this religion having holy texts. They regularly kidnap and torture people for funsies, they’re brutal for the sheer sake of brutality. They are caricatures of evil. There’s no attempt at nuance here, let alone any attempt to depict HOW this religion has gained so many adherents. I mean, what do you do, hand out religious tracts about the joys of torturing children?
They’re super-duper evil because they’re being controlled by super-duper-evil aliens. Again, that pretty much sums up what they are. Evil for the sake of evilness
Read More
Send her to an entirely new world where she can use her great powers to solve a whole load of easily-fixed-by-violence problems in a not-very-alien-society
Meanwhile Wlodek & co try to continue the hunt against Xenides while simultaneously making terrible decisions.
So I pick up the next book in this vampire series and….
Aliens.
Ok that was unexpected. I admit to having reservations, but I’m not adverse to genre mash-up even if I’ve rarely actually seen it do well and if, after three books in this series, I’m not confident that this series would be the one to do it well. And, alas, I was surprisingly right.
So, Lissa ends up going to another world and meeting a range of new species and it is done so incredibly lazily that was just quite depressing. Lissa is moved to this new world through woo-woo. That woo-woo also comes with convenient understand-any-language woo-woo to avoid any kind of culture shock
Of which there is absolutely none. The world is called Refizan, the people are Refizani and may or may not be human. If they’re not they look entirely like humans. And by humans I mean white western humans (there’s an Asian-appearing-alien-who-looks-human-because-LAZY who is apparently clearly not from this planet because he’s not white). Their culture seems to be a vaguely western parallel. Their buildings, cities, market place, food, manufactured products, modes of travel, news dissemination, media – none of it is presented as any different from what Lissa had experienced in the US and London. There was no real description of the world to make it seem any different from a generic western city. Flying over the city as mist, Lissa can pick out buildings like shops and hospitals and religious buildings. Their government is a fairly generic democracy which, like anything el
Honestly, you could replace “Refizan” with “Ohio” and not really make any real difference to the story. An alien world that is completely unrecognisable from a western nation populated by people who are indistinguishable from white westerners with all language and transports difficulties being resolved by woo-woo is some of the laziest damn aliens I’ve ever seen – and that includes every film and TV show that decided a little bit of heavy make up would be sufficient to depict an alien species. Though we did have a giant blue dude. Who was giant. And blue. That’s kind of it.
Even on the supernatural side, the world has its own vampire circle which is basically a direct parallel to Wlodek and his people on Earth. Except lazier
Why lazier? Because to make this lazy plot glide along with minimal difficulty there is no real conflict. And one of the sources of no conflict is Gabron, head of the Refizan vampire council who basically nods and smiles to everything Lissa says because she is the Specilist Person Ever, Praise be Her Sueness and, like so many others, he found her super hot and wants to have sex with her. Despite being a complete stranger and alien, Lissa is trusted, her every suspicion and suggestion is quickly followed up. Including when she declares various prominent vampires to be super evil and deserving of imprisonment. Effectively this turns the vampires into Lissa’s personal army.
Yet the laziness continues! Because this book is AMAZINGLY lazily written. The next item of laziness is Lissa’s powers. Her super shiny Mary Sue powers that make her super-duper dangerous even if she is only 5 years a vampire and able to kill just about anything she comes across with zero conflict at all because she is just that special. Her powers are completely unprecedented and completely eclipse everything any other vampire has ever been able to achieve. On top of being able to kill anything around her with minimal effort, she also has the useful ability of being able to smell evil
Yes we’re introduced to dimension hopping light and dark elves to try and justify this, but it comes down to being able to “smell evil”. With this infallible evil detector she kills bad guys with her super killy powers. No, really, she uses this detect evil power with such lack of subtlety that a 10 year old playing a Paladin in a D&D game would disapprove.
There is no nuance in Lissa’s powers and also no nuance in the bad guys – the Solar Red priests. This is a foreign religion coming to this planet and is regarded with suspicion and worry and accused of human sacrifice. Of course this is an excellent way to examine suspicion of the outsider, how foreign faiths can be demonised, how the rituals we’re familiar with are comforting while foreign ritual seems barbaric even though, objectively, both make as little real sense and seem a little weird and it could be a great way to examine how the persecution of minority religions happens
HAH! No. Solar Red priests are evil. They rape, torture and murder with impunity. In fact that’s all they do. The entire point of this religion is to be pure evil – I can’t even imagine this religion having holy texts. They regularly kidnap and torture people for funsies, they’re brutal for the sheer sake of brutality. They are caricatures of evil. There’s no attempt at nuance here, let alone any attempt to depict HOW this religion has gained so many adherents. I mean, what do you do, hand out religious tracts about the joys of torturing children?
They’re super-duper evil because they’re being controlled by super-duper-evil aliens. Again, that pretty much sums up what they are. Evil for the sake of evilness
Read More
October 21, 2018
Action Action and More Action
Paranormal. Uf. Vampires. Werewolves. Dragon. Demons. Other worlds. This time around the Vampire Counsel loans Lissa out to Griffin for and assignment in a different world. A bunch of killing more than the last books. Loved it. I am soooooo loving this series.
Paranormal. Uf. Vampires. Werewolves. Dragon. Demons. Other worlds. This time around the Vampire Counsel loans Lissa out to Griffin for and assignment in a different world. A bunch of killing more than the last books. Loved it. I am soooooo loving this series.
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February 1, 2012I do not even know how to rate this book. I was quickly pulled in, unable to put the book down and finished in a single night - but this is not beacuse it was that good. Nope, it was because it was that bat sh!t crazy!!
What the hell did I just read? And how can so many other readers give this book such glowing reviews?
Book 1 was OK, book 2 was a little better and book 3 was pretty good. If I had paid more than .99 cents for any of them, then I would be rating them a lot harder and most likely never would have even purchased the second book.
So onto book 4. I mean, really, I am still dumbfounded. I love all types of fantasy, supernatural and a wide variety of sci-fi, but I have to say the way Suttle mixed her insanse sci-fi world with her supernatural vampire/werewolf world just did not work. And not only does she just introduce a few strange new creatures or some basic ideas, no, she goes all out with many different creatures, worlds and numerous universes, along with some pretty hard to follow new philosphies. Each new chapter saw the introduction of a new sci-fi species, a new world and more hard to understand ideas. It gave me a headache just trying to follow it all.
And on top of it all Lissa NEVER even one time questioned all this insanity going on around her. I mean come on! As an author Suttle knows how to bring the action, but needs to learn that a believable charater has to internalize what is going on around her. In writing ACTION = REACTION. A character's reaction to their experiences helps the reader process and accept what is going on.
A lot of other readers' comments commend Suttle on her creativity in book 4, but IMO, if you take away all the supernatural elements and just leave the sci-fi part with Solar Red and their corruption - it isn't even an original story. It may as well be the holocaust just changing Germany to Refiziwhatever, the Nazi's to the Preists and the Ra'Ak to Hitler. Wow, how creative.
I do not have a problem with using aliens to explain the origins of vampires or even beings from another dimension as many other authors have done successfully, but in this book, it just did not work. Suttle should have split the two ideas and just started a different series focusing on sci-fi and kept her vampire world in the supernatural realm.
What the hell did I just read? And how can so many other readers give this book such glowing reviews?
Book 1 was OK, book 2 was a little better and book 3 was pretty good. If I had paid more than .99 cents for any of them, then I would be rating them a lot harder and most likely never would have even purchased the second book.
So onto book 4. I mean, really, I am still dumbfounded. I love all types of fantasy, supernatural and a wide variety of sci-fi, but I have to say the way Suttle mixed her insanse sci-fi world with her supernatural vampire/werewolf world just did not work. And not only does she just introduce a few strange new creatures or some basic ideas, no, she goes all out with many different creatures, worlds and numerous universes, along with some pretty hard to follow new philosphies. Each new chapter saw the introduction of a new sci-fi species, a new world and more hard to understand ideas. It gave me a headache just trying to follow it all.
And on top of it all Lissa NEVER even one time questioned all this insanity going on around her. I mean come on! As an author Suttle knows how to bring the action, but needs to learn that a believable charater has to internalize what is going on around her. In writing ACTION = REACTION. A character's reaction to their experiences helps the reader process and accept what is going on.
A lot of other readers' comments commend Suttle on her creativity in book 4, but IMO, if you take away all the supernatural elements and just leave the sci-fi part with Solar Red and their corruption - it isn't even an original story. It may as well be the holocaust just changing Germany to Refiziwhatever, the Nazi's to the Preists and the Ra'Ak to Hitler. Wow, how creative.
I do not have a problem with using aliens to explain the origins of vampires or even beings from another dimension as many other authors have done successfully, but in this book, it just did not work. Suttle should have split the two ideas and just started a different series focusing on sci-fi and kept her vampire world in the supernatural realm.
August 4, 2017
I still don't understand why Lissa still even slightly loves Gavin. There are so many strikes against him.
1. Gavin took Lissa's blood without her knowing before they even dated
2. Gavin was going to kill Lissa for the council.
3. Gavin put the worst kind of compulsion on Lissa when she didn't even know anything about vampires or the council.
4. Once Gavin and Lissa got together, he tried to control her at every step and behaved as if just because he was older, he knew everything.
5. Gavin has anger management issues. He yells about everything even when it's not Lissa's fault.
6. He was willing to put compulsion on her in order to control her every move for Wlodek and the council.
7.
8. He doesn't respect personal boundaries. Well, really no one in this series does. Everyone wants Lissa and they don't care if she is with someone else and Lissa and she doesn't want to be with them. But with Gavin, even in book one, he was determined to "help" her in the shower even though she didn't need it and they didn't have that kind of relationship. Why didn't Lissa just punch him in the face or something? She's always given in way to easily with the psycho Gavin.
Seriously, why couldn't Gavin die instead of Rene!
1. Gavin took Lissa's blood without her knowing before they even dated
2. Gavin was going to kill Lissa for the council.
3. Gavin put the worst kind of compulsion on Lissa when she didn't even know anything about vampires or the council.
4. Once Gavin and Lissa got together, he tried to control her at every step and behaved as if just because he was older, he knew everything.
5. Gavin has anger management issues. He yells about everything even when it's not Lissa's fault.
6. He was willing to put compulsion on her in order to control her every move for Wlodek and the council.
7.
8. He doesn't respect personal boundaries. Well, really no one in this series does. Everyone wants Lissa and they don't care if she is with someone else and Lissa and she doesn't want to be with them. But with Gavin, even in book one, he was determined to "help" her in the shower even though she didn't need it and they didn't have that kind of relationship. Why didn't Lissa just punch him in the face or something? She's always given in way to easily with the psycho Gavin.
Seriously, why couldn't Gavin die instead of Rene!
December 19, 2011
Ooooook, this series has me laughing and crying out in frustration at the same time. I like the general idea of the books, I like Lissa (the heroine) and some of the other characters. I absolutely HATE all the male powerplayers. Each and every one of them is an egotistically, selfsufficient, high handed macho asshole - and Lissa takes all the crap, crys when she's alone, but doesn't do a damn thing about it.
The series is kinda like Twilight with adult protagonists - a totally wimpy female who lets every man trample over her and her feelings and just accepts it, a crapload of arrogant stupid macho men, and behind all that (which distinguishes the books from Twilight) a light plot.
Oh yeah, the plot: whenever Ms. Suttle wrote herself in a corner, she just gave Lissa another wonderful extremely rare power ... and finally explains all that away with Aliens. Too easy, way too easy, where's the creativity and the suspense?
I just saw that there are another 5 books scheduled to this series, I don't think I'll pick them up. I read the first four in the hopes of Lissa developing some backbone and slapping her men around a little if they treat her like dirt, but no ... even when she finally does rebel, she comes back like a beaten dog.
The series is kinda like Twilight with adult protagonists - a totally wimpy female who lets every man trample over her and her feelings and just accepts it, a crapload of arrogant stupid macho men, and behind all that (which distinguishes the books from Twilight) a light plot.
Oh yeah, the plot: whenever Ms. Suttle wrote herself in a corner, she just gave Lissa another wonderful extremely rare power ... and finally explains all that away with Aliens. Too easy, way too easy, where's the creativity and the suspense?
I just saw that there are another 5 books scheduled to this series, I don't think I'll pick them up. I read the first four in the hopes of Lissa developing some backbone and slapping her men around a little if they treat her like dirt, but no ... even when she finally does rebel, she comes back like a beaten dog.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2011
This one really pushed the boundary and took this world to a whole new level, literally! Connie Suttle was seriously thinking outside the urban fantasy/paranormal box and has even ventured into scifi territory.
If it hadn't been for Tony Hancock (annoying little shit that he is) I might have given that elusive last star.
The story in this series is good - it must be I'm now on book five and I only started reading this series four days ago! However there are annoying habits such as so many background characters that take up valuable plot time explaining where they all are at all times and a lot of sentences do not flow, the narrator 'tells' too much and has a tendency to info dump.
Plus Lissa is too darned forgiving. I wish she would hold a grudge and kick the asses of those who abuse her trust and even violate her body. Seriously - these boys will just keep repeating their crap if she lets them get away with it over and over!
Some excellent new characters in this one - I love Kifirin and Dragon and despite breaking a lot of writing 'rules' I still could not put this book down.
If it hadn't been for Tony Hancock (annoying little shit that he is) I might have given that elusive last star.
The story in this series is good - it must be I'm now on book five and I only started reading this series four days ago! However there are annoying habits such as so many background characters that take up valuable plot time explaining where they all are at all times and a lot of sentences do not flow, the narrator 'tells' too much and has a tendency to info dump.
Plus Lissa is too darned forgiving. I wish she would hold a grudge and kick the asses of those who abuse her trust and even violate her body. Seriously - these boys will just keep repeating their crap if she lets them get away with it over and over!
Some excellent new characters in this one - I love Kifirin and Dragon and despite breaking a lot of writing 'rules' I still could not put this book down.
June 5, 2017
This is still very interesting. I love how Lissa has held herself back regarding her talents. I hate how everyone treats her but this stuff is interesting and so cool. I only wish it wasn't fade to black. This is one of those that would have been great erotica if it were part of it!
Very interested in seeing how the story progresses before we ever got to Reah's story. (High Demon).
Very interested in seeing how the story progresses before we ever got to Reah's story. (High Demon).
January 9, 2019
MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
Wow. Just wow. I am going to try to put all of my thoughts into coherent sentences for this review but no promises because I am fan-girling so hard in my head right now. This book was so good, that a part of me wants to go back and change my rating on the previous books because this book blew them out of the water. There were so many new characters and revelations that I am struggling to wrap my head around it all.
I have to admit that I was very skeptical going into this book because I heard of the sci-fi/aliens element. I am generally not a person that goes seeking that genre and I was actually very surprised that I liked it as much as I did. Yes, the world-building needs a little more work, but other than that, I really enjoyed that element to the story and was happy that the author went there.
Lissa finally became the girl I always knew she could be in this book. While on Refizan, Lissa realized that she was strong and she didn't need the males in her life to "protect" her. She also realized what she had been missing. Lissa has had a lot of her freedom taken away from her since she became a vampire, but after being on Refizan and seeing how much of a rarity and specialty she is, she didn't want to go back to being under the Council and other vampire's thumbs. When she stood up to Wlodek at the end, I was SO happy and that was such a "You go girl!" moment for me. She told Wlodek, Gavin, and Merrill exactly how it was and they finally got that slap of harsh reality that I have been dying for.
Something that shocked me was Merrill being a Vampire King. I was shocked and I honestly don't know how I was because it was so obvious looking back on it. I don't know how that will impact the story but I am dying to find out. Another thing that shocked me was Griffin being Lissa's father. I totally did not see that coming and if you did, I really think you are a genius. It was totally brilliant on Connie Suttle's part.
I still have a strong dislike for Gavin. I don't think that will ever change. I have said before that I believe that his and Lissa's relationship is unhealthy and I will say it again. In my opinion, they have no business being together and I am 100% on board with Kifirin. I loved him and I can't wait to see more of him in the future. He did mention meeting a Vampire Queen in the past who had multiple advisors who were all her lovers. Is that how Lissa gets introduced to the idea of multiple mates?
I am so pumped for the next book! I want to read it so bad that I feel like I am rushing this review a little so I can read it faster. I am really starting to love this series and I just can't wait for more.
Wow. Just wow. I am going to try to put all of my thoughts into coherent sentences for this review but no promises because I am fan-girling so hard in my head right now. This book was so good, that a part of me wants to go back and change my rating on the previous books because this book blew them out of the water. There were so many new characters and revelations that I am struggling to wrap my head around it all.
I have to admit that I was very skeptical going into this book because I heard of the sci-fi/aliens element. I am generally not a person that goes seeking that genre and I was actually very surprised that I liked it as much as I did. Yes, the world-building needs a little more work, but other than that, I really enjoyed that element to the story and was happy that the author went there.
Lissa finally became the girl I always knew she could be in this book. While on Refizan, Lissa realized that she was strong and she didn't need the males in her life to "protect" her. She also realized what she had been missing. Lissa has had a lot of her freedom taken away from her since she became a vampire, but after being on Refizan and seeing how much of a rarity and specialty she is, she didn't want to go back to being under the Council and other vampire's thumbs. When she stood up to Wlodek at the end, I was SO happy and that was such a "You go girl!" moment for me. She told Wlodek, Gavin, and Merrill exactly how it was and they finally got that slap of harsh reality that I have been dying for.
Something that shocked me was Merrill being a Vampire King. I was shocked and I honestly don't know how I was because it was so obvious looking back on it. I don't know how that will impact the story but I am dying to find out. Another thing that shocked me was Griffin being Lissa's father. I totally did not see that coming and if you did, I really think you are a genius. It was totally brilliant on Connie Suttle's part.
I still have a strong dislike for Gavin. I don't think that will ever change. I have said before that I believe that his and Lissa's relationship is unhealthy and I will say it again. In my opinion, they have no business being together and I am 100% on board with Kifirin. I loved him and I can't wait to see more of him in the future. He did mention meeting a Vampire Queen in the past who had multiple advisors who were all her lovers. Is that how Lissa gets introduced to the idea of multiple mates?
I am so pumped for the next book! I want to read it so bad that I feel like I am rushing this review a little so I can read it faster. I am really starting to love this series and I just can't wait for more.
December 19, 2011
I didn't like all the secret service stuff in Blood Sense(#3),but was so happy with the switch up in Blood Domination. We get a whole different world!I liked where this book went in that it took us to a completely different setting and we get to meet different types of mythical beings.It just felt like a breath of new air in the series. We get to see more of Griffin, and meet new characters like Pheligar, Dragon, Karzac,Gabron and Kifirin ....I wish Lissa would just stay in this setting surrounded by all these cool characters who let her do what she wants. I felt she was free in this book without the vampire council breathing down her neck.
I don't like Gavin all that much so I'm glad he wasn't with her a lot. Like I mentioned before the new characters actually felt like normal people (despite not being normal at all) instead of the stuffy overbearing vampires (I love Merill and Charles though...)from the previous books. Lissa has a show-down of sorts with the council and I'm glad she is growing a bit as a character. Although I wish she'd stop revealing her talents so quickly to people she just meets, and for once can she just stay mad at Gavin? I'm not sure what to think of all her suitors....except I can kind of understand the situation, she's rare and awesome, but I hope she sticks with one guy. I mean she can shop around,I just hope she doesn't keep them all at the same time...and please dump Gavin, please. I hope we see more of Dragon and Karzac though. This is an awesome book and the storyline is really interesting...and Kifirin is neat. I hope that Lissa never stops showing her emotion as well. I like how she sings... Can't wait to start the next book! Thank You Connie Suttle for this awesome series and making me get so involved in the story.
I don't like Gavin all that much so I'm glad he wasn't with her a lot. Like I mentioned before the new characters actually felt like normal people (despite not being normal at all) instead of the stuffy overbearing vampires (I love Merill and Charles though...)from the previous books. Lissa has a show-down of sorts with the council and I'm glad she is growing a bit as a character. Although I wish she'd stop revealing her talents so quickly to people she just meets, and for once can she just stay mad at Gavin? I'm not sure what to think of all her suitors....except I can kind of understand the situation, she's rare and awesome, but I hope she sticks with one guy. I mean she can shop around,I just hope she doesn't keep them all at the same time...and please dump Gavin, please. I hope we see more of Dragon and Karzac though. This is an awesome book and the storyline is really interesting...and Kifirin is neat. I hope that Lissa never stops showing her emotion as well. I like how she sings... Can't wait to start the next book! Thank You Connie Suttle for this awesome series and making me get so involved in the story.
April 3, 2013
OK, that's it for me. After 25% through, this book earned a dubious honor of joining my limited DNF folder.
This series for me started as an UF with an interesting concept of a middle-aged women being turned in to a vampire as a bet. The cliffhangers at the end of each book kept me intrigued enough to keep going. But not anymore.
Through the previous books our heroine developed some extraordinary but still marginally "believable" abilities however in this book the storyline disintegrated and slid in to ludicrous. Lissa now morphed in to an Invisible Girl/Batman/Green Lantern hybrid and spent first part of the book interstellar traveling and fighting malevolent religious order and other deadly demons from other star system????!!! WTF (and I very rarely swear)!! Oh, and by the way , she is still a doormat, still calls everyone, including aliens, "Honey" they still call her "Little Girl" and dump her on their lap at every opportunity.
Gentle reader, it you enjoy this type of storyline - have fun. I've had enough. I think I'll go and read the book where the characters have , well, some character .
This series for me started as an UF with an interesting concept of a middle-aged women being turned in to a vampire as a bet. The cliffhangers at the end of each book kept me intrigued enough to keep going. But not anymore.
Through the previous books our heroine developed some extraordinary but still marginally "believable" abilities however in this book the storyline disintegrated and slid in to ludicrous. Lissa now morphed in to an Invisible Girl/Batman/Green Lantern hybrid and spent first part of the book interstellar traveling and fighting malevolent religious order and other deadly demons from other star system????!!! WTF (and I very rarely swear)!! Oh, and by the way , she is still a doormat, still calls everyone, including aliens, "Honey" they still call her "Little Girl" and dump her on their lap at every opportunity.
Gentle reader, it you enjoy this type of storyline - have fun. I've had enough. I think I'll go and read the book where the characters have , well, some character .
May 2, 2013
In the first 3 books of this series, we see Lissa handling villains, monsters and even good, well-meaning vampires and werewolves who intruded into her personal space and freedom again and again. She’s a wonderful heroine, too perfect at times, and too powerful. It would be good though to see a failing or other to make her a more realistic character.
There was definitely a large amount of repetition in terms of theme and perspective in the first three books, but “Blood Domination” offered something different. However, something different may not be different good. I found myself overwhelmed by plot developments which came across as just a trifle unbelievable, even for a paranormal series!
I like this series enough to read on; but I do hope the author will re-work some of the themes to give this story more oomph.
There was definitely a large amount of repetition in terms of theme and perspective in the first three books, but “Blood Domination” offered something different. However, something different may not be different good. I found myself overwhelmed by plot developments which came across as just a trifle unbelievable, even for a paranormal series!
I like this series enough to read on; but I do hope the author will re-work some of the themes to give this story more oomph.
November 22, 2018
Lissa is being taken to a whole new world, where she meets new vampires, and a new race as well. In this new world she helps out the people in it, and makes some new friends, and really comes into her own in this one. The vampires and other people in this book treat Lissa with respect, and let her take care of things herself.
But, she knows she was sent here for a reason, and she understands that the vampires back home probably didn't expect her to get up to so much trouble here, but that's what happens.
This book was really good. It brought in a crazy new aspect to the series, and really showed how crappy Lissa is being treated back home. I loved the new people she met, and I really enjoyed everything that happened in this one.
I'm a little nervous about this cliffhanger ending though.
But, she knows she was sent here for a reason, and she understands that the vampires back home probably didn't expect her to get up to so much trouble here, but that's what happens.
This book was really good. It brought in a crazy new aspect to the series, and really showed how crappy Lissa is being treated back home. I loved the new people she met, and I really enjoyed everything that happened in this one.
I'm a little nervous about this cliffhanger ending though.
January 28, 2016
This is review is for books 4-7. I think I may have a problem.... I have found a series that I am seriously having trouble putting down. I stayed up until five am to finish two of the books. Man, they just have everything. The story just tugs at your heart and I love all the action. I just honestly cannot stop reading this series. I am so glad I came across it!
November 7, 2025
Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow!!!!! Amazing book, amazing story, amazing action, just amazing in general!!!! This book takes you places you've never imagined and yet keeps you where the rest of the stories have taken place. It is an amazing read by an amazing author!
October 17, 2011
I didn't think this series could get any better, but I think this book is the best in the series so far! Just...amazing. I can't wait for number five!
December 14, 2011
This one was my favorite! It started off weird but turned out great. It was frustrating when it kept switching from one point of view to the next but it was easy to work through.
April 5, 2018
So this book took off in a totally unexpected direction. Let me just say that it now has definite syfy feel to it as well as supernatural. And I totally loved it! I guess that it might part the ways of opinion if people are expecting a conventional vampire book but this so far surpassed that that I am in a state of glee over the thought of another 7 books still to read in this series. I had a suspicion of where we might be going with Griffin but this took it so much farther. I don't feel I can say very much really without giving the whole story away, other than I absolutely loved it. The whole writing style was unique and engaging and I can totally see this as a popular TV show, the way that other characters and events were being covered, not a style you come across often in urban fantasy and I found myself really enjoying it. All round great read, on to the next!
July 7, 2019
I Think My Head Is Spinning
OK, that went in an unexpected direction! I can’t tell you what happens because you should be as surprised as I was. I can only tell you that you should just go with it. It will all make more sense as you read more. A lot of things are explained in this book, and it’s well worth reading.
OK, that went in an unexpected direction! I can’t tell you what happens because you should be as surprised as I was. I can only tell you that you should just go with it. It will all make more sense as you read more. A lot of things are explained in this book, and it’s well worth reading.
July 18, 2019
I am hopeful that in later books I will find out why our heroine suddenly goes to a different planet and becomes (almost) a one-woman wrecking crew. There were at least two storylines going at once; I found them confusing and difficult to sort out. We ended up with another cliff hanger, and I am really tired of Gavin.
August 19, 2021
Great!
When I first read this series I burned through the books so fast I never left reviews. This is probably the third time that I've re-read Lisa's series, and past time for me to leave a review. I have loved every book in this series, each one is full of adventure and romance. Highly recommend!
When I first read this series I burned through the books so fast I never left reviews. This is probably the third time that I've re-read Lisa's series, and past time for me to leave a review. I have loved every book in this series, each one is full of adventure and romance. Highly recommend!
November 6, 2017
Fantastic
I don’t remember why I didn’t leave a review the first time I read this book but I am reading it for the fifth or sixth time and it it just as wonderful as the first time. Timeless
I don’t remember why I didn’t leave a review the first time I read this book but I am reading it for the fifth or sixth time and it it just as wonderful as the first time. Timeless
July 11, 2020
This went off in an unexpected direction but just go with it. The more you read the more it will make sense. I love that the story keeps progressing however Lissa is starting to grate abit she hasn't developed as much as I would have liked as a character.
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