Monthly Archives: October 2015

Book Review of Bloodshot & Hellbent (Cheshire Red Reports #1 & 2), by Cherie Priest

I picked Bloodshot and Hellbent (by Cherie Priest) up from my local library.

BloodshotDescription from Goodreads:
Raylene Pendle (AKA Cheshire Red), a vampire and world-renowned thief, doesn’t usually hang with her own kind. She’s too busy stealing priceless art and rare jewels. But when the infuriatingly charming Ian Stott asks for help, Raylene finds him impossible to resist—even though Ian doesn’t want precious artifacts. He wants her to retrieve missing government files—documents that deal with the secret biological experiments that left Ian blind. What Raylene doesn’t bargain for is a case that takes her from the wilds of Minneapolis to the mean streets of Atlanta. And with a psychotic, power-hungry scientist on her trail, a kick-ass drag queen on her side, and Men in Black popping up at the most inconvenient moments, the case proves to be one hell of a ride. 

Review:
A fun, if shallow read. I enjoyed Raylene’s OCD self-identified craziness. I loved the drag queen side kick and I thoroughly enjoyed that the vampire love interests was a little broken and vulnerable—no alpha a-holes here.

It was a little on the predictable side and the writing was nothing extraordinary (though perfectly readable). Basically, the book was a fun fluffy vampire read.

HellbentDescription from Goodreads:
Vampire thief Raylene Pendle doesn’t need more complications in her life. Her Seattle home is already overrun by a band of misfits, including Ian Stott, a blind vampire, and Adrian deJesus, an ex-Navy SEAL/drag queen. But Raylene still can’t resist an old pal’s request: seek out and steal a bizarre set of artifacts. Also on the hunt is a brilliant but certifiably crazy sorceress determined to stomp anyone who gets in her way. But Raylene’s biggest problem is that the death of Ian’s vaunted patriarch appears to have made him the next target of some blood-sucking sociopaths.  Now Raylene must snatch up the potent relics, solve a murder, and keep Ian safe—all while fending off a psychotic sorceress. But at least she won’t be alone. A girl could do a lot worse for a partner than an ass-kicking drag queen—right?

Review:
Another fluffy, easy read. As in the first book, I liked Raylene’s OCDness and the way she was just so matter of fact about it. I liked her side kick. I liked her family-building, as well as the fact that romance is hinted at but never becomes part of the story. I also liked the writing and narrative style, which is surprising as it’s first person and I generally don’t like first person. I did think this one came across as a little juvenile. Mostly because Raylene was tasked with hunting down baculum, which requires 14 thousand references to penis bones and the likes. It because apparent that this was there for comic effect, but it also made me feel like a 15-year-old would have appreciated it more. Despite that, if there were a 3rd book I’d pick it up.

Book Review of Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1), by Carrie Vaughn

Kitty and the Midnight Hour I borrowed Kitty and the Midnight Hour, by Carrie Vaughn, from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station – and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?

Review:
I picked this up as a random audiobook from the library. While nothing about it amazed me, I was amused throughout the entirety of it. Kitty’s ‘I’ve always been weak’ bothered me, but it was also always in context of ‘I’m not anymore,’ so I dealt with it. I did feel like the book didn’t really accomplish anything significant. The smaller mystery was solved, but the primary conflict wasn’t and the book felt a little like a randomly selected period of time. But as a basic fluff read, the book did the job admirably. My library has the next two. I imagine I’ll listen to them at some point.

Book Review of Stalked (The Slayers #2), by H.C. Brown

StalkedI received a copy of Stalked, by H. C. Brown, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Who’s more dangerous – a stripper, an assassin, or a serial killer?

The Stripper Ripper is stalking the streets of New York City, preying on male strippers, and the press is making mincemeat of a helpless police force.

In desperation, the police refer the serial killer’s case to the Slayers, a team of enhanced, undercover super soldiers. The commander of the Slayers puts his team on the streets to watch over the Ripper’s favorite targets.

One of these targets is Micah, a twink stripper and a desirable sub. Micah’s baby sitter is one of the newest members of the Slayers, Sorren, as cold-blooded an assassin as they come, and the last person you’d expect to harbor feelings for his charge.

True to form, Sorren is as surprised as anyone at his new infatuation, but Micah is hiding something. Will Micah learn to trust his protector, or is he destined to be the next victim on the Stripper Ripper’s list?

Review:
When I finished this book and went to Goodreads, to write this review,  I discovered that this is a second in a series. I wouldn’t have picked it up if I had known that. I like to read series in order. But I don’t think having read the first book would have made me like it any more. But I am always baffled why publishers don’t put that information on book covers. It’s freakin’ important!

Anyhow, this book was a fail for me. My overall impression was of overpowering, almost unbearable cheesiness. Everything about The Slayers was too perfect. Sorren flashed cash constantly, bought Micah new clothes, pampered his cat, had an easy solution for everything, etc. As an example, at one point Micah demands $1,000 a night as a fee in order to accept a job. This is apparently the going rate for a skilled dancer. (I don’t know.) The counter offer was an apartment in the five star building, food, living expenses (hair cuts, clothes, massages, sex are listed as examples), and $5,000 a show. Um….too good to be true and painfully unbelievable. But pretty par for the course of a book trying too hard to be like a fairy tale.

But my main complaint was with the characters. There was no depth at all, no history, no development. And as much as I like the occasional growly alpha a-hole, Sorren was just a dick. Here’s a quote: “No! I refuse to discuss limitations, or contracts. I am a Dom and in my dungeon, we go by my rules. I will push you to the edge and you will trust me to give you pleasure.” That pretty much sums the book up. That’s the level of trust and communication presented as the norm. Keep in mind that these men have known each-other less than a day and this is his response to Micah’s request for boundaries.

There’s an earlier scene, in which they had known each-other less than an hour and Micah asks Sorren if he’s into edge play, ’cause for Sorren Micah claimed to be willing to learn it. Micah had never done more than be spanked and they were no discussing kink, but hey let’s throw this random one out as an invitation. No matter that less than an hour earlier he’d watched his best friend get his throat slit and been stabbed himself. Of course knife play is gonna be exactly what the reader expects him to be fantasizing about. WTF? What the actual f*ck?

Basically, I found the plot anemic, the use of “I’m a Dom” to excuse and explain almost everything in life irritating and artificially highlighted, the cheesy ‘Dom-speak’ like sandpaper, the villain cliche beyond words, the events predictable, Micah was TSTL, there are a number of inconsistencies/contradictions, and the whole thing (almost every aspect of it) rushed and underdeveloped. The actual writing itself was fine. The book is easy enough to read, but not much of what was written actually appealed to me personally.