Great story about human vampires!  (With emphasis on "human"...)
927329
I was thrilled to discover this book.  At first blush, despite the subtitle, it may seem like it's yet another paranormal romance featuring vampire/human relationships.  I was pleased to learn that this book is about the human vampire subculture (and the different types of vampires therein).  Armand is sterotypically sexy, Darus and Lohr are disturbing, Angel is enticing, and Slade is intriguing.  (Read the book, I'm not giving away their secrets.)  That brings us to the protagonist, Julia.  Oh sweet, naive Julia.  I'm not going to lie - I did want to throttle her for a decent portion of the book.  However, I can't really hold her naivite against her.  I would probably get caught up in folklore, atmosphere, and Armand as well.

Will I read other books in this series?  Definitely.
2656262
In THE HUMAN CURE, Kate gets kidnapped by the vampire Hunter and held captive in a underground city to become a breeder for him.

What intrigued me: As if I could ever, ever say no to a vampire book, guys.

Old school vampires!

Sometimes books seem to find you at the perfect time. THE HUMAN CURE looks like a scary vampire read, possibly with a side of romance. But what it actually is, is a flat out hilarious, incredibly witty, and captivating fun urban fantasy story. This is fast-paced, strangely funny, and a delight for any vampire lover.

I loved all the characters. I seldom say that because there's always one I despise, especially with a dual POV (which is almost never done well). I love, love, love how this isn't your average "girl meets swoony, mysterious boy. they kiss. they are in love now. but wait, he's a vampire!!!" story. It's actually quite the opposite. The vampires in THE HUMAN CURE are reckless, mean, rude, and absolutely perfect. This is how I like my vampires - old school and angry. I'm so very glad I decided to read this.

All the basic ingredients for the perfect fun vampire read

The biggest issue I had with this is the length. THE HUMAN CURE is truly a fun and entertaining read, but I struggled a little with connecting to the characters up until the end, just because this is such a short novel. Sometimes it felt like the characters were rushing from one scene to the next, and I just wanted it all to slow down a little, give the reader more time to fall in love with the undoubtedly unique concept and great characters.
The novel doesn't do itself a favor by being so fast-paced. The writing style and sentence structure mirrors the pace of the novel - it's quick, it's down to the point, it's devoid of metaphors and anything that doesn't bring the story forward. That's not a bad thing necessarily, it's very easy to read, but it makes getting attached a little difficult and doesn't compliment the world building (which has so much potential!).

What I cherished most about this is the very unexpected hilarity. I grew very attached to Hunter's vampire cousin Chase, whose dead-pan tone and dislike of humans is definitely the highlight. The protagonist Kate has a bunch of lines that almost made laugh-cry, too! THE HUMAN CURE is really entertaining and that's exactly what I wanted from this - a short distraction that made me laugh. You can't argue with that, it's a great read.

Rating:


Overall: Do I Recommend?

I do. It's quick, it's fun, it won't hurt to read this. If you like your vampires mean and gore-y, you're going to love Chase just as much as I do.
1546580
I am loving this human vampire series!  This installment was a bit short but packed with action that seemed nonstop!  The characters are well developed.  The story line seems to go from book to book very smoothly.  There was one part of the book that seemed anticlimactic... but it was something that had to be done.  I look forward to more in this series!
1111039
One thing I've noticed about vampires in many of today's books is that they've been romanticized to the point where they're not really all that scary any more. Think about the vampires you know the best - Edward from the Twilight series, the Brothers from the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Simon from The Mortal Instruments. These are the sexy, sweet vampires who don't kill humans and love their women fiercely.

Holly Black has reminded us in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown that vampires are inherently evil and bad and so scary. When I learned that this book was about vampires, I was prepared for the usual. What I got instead was something dark, bloody and freaky. It was awesome!

Tana wakes up the morning after a party and 48 of her friends are dead. She discovers her ex-boyfriend and a vampire chained in a room and saves them. The three of them set off for Coldtown, with Tana having every intention of returning home when her cargo is delivered. Things don't happen according to plan, though, and before she knows it, Tana finds herself fighting for her life as she knows it.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is unique in many ways. In it, our world knows about vampires and fears them. Vampirism is treated as a disease, and something that can be fought - like a cold. It's a different way of looking at it, for sure.

Let's talk characters. Tana was an awesome heroine. She had something truly awful happen to her as a child, and although that event certainly helped shape her, it hasn't defined her like we see so many times in characters that are in situations like this. She's brave and strong and smart. She's cautious when she needs to be, and she doesn't blindly trust anyone.

Gavriel was... wow. He was something else. A centuries-old vampire who is more than a little nuts-o, yet young-looking and hot (of course!) and so dynamic. He says the craziest things, and pairs them with moments of lucidity that make you think that perhaps there's a method to his madness. And, there's definitely more to him than what meets the eye - that was evident from the very first moment we see him.

The way that Black layered the chapters with one flashback followed by one present-day helped to slowly develop the characters and the world so that it wasn't so much info dump all at once. I did appreciate that a lot.

The other thing I appreciated is that, although there is a very nice slow burn romance, it wasn't thrust in with a crowbar. Many times, a romance is added just for people like me who need something like that in my stories. Not because the story calls for it. In this case, the romance is a little darker, but no less sweet. Gavriel is an a-typical hero and leading man, and I was okay with that. I still fell in love with him, just like Tana did.

At 419 pages, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a smidge long. It could've been tightened up some. Some of the flashback chapters felt unnecessary. In fact, I think the addition of Tana's sister Pearl was completely nonessential to the main story, and I don't think I would've felt like I was missing anything important if she had been omitted entirely.

Despite that, I really loved the dark and foreboding aspect of this story. The romance that I need was there, although it wasn't prominent. The heroes are exciting. The villains are confusing in a very good way (Are they all bad? Good? How bad are they?). If you like vampire stories even a little, you really should give this one a shot. I can't wait to see where Black takes this story next.
13613
The story grips you from the beginning! Jasmine has such an intriguing take on vampirism it's hard not to be engaged in Charles' story. I honestly loved this quick read. At only 150-ish pages it's done in a day, but makes for a very entertaining afternoon.

I was pleasantly surprised with the non-cliche vampire story. NO SPOILERS but I never saw some of the twists coming!

Definitely a must read for any and all who love vampires and are looking for a new and interesting plot!

*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reading copy of this book*
4547698
I loved the story!

 Kyle Cicero delivered the goods in his wonderful characters of the vampire Tortega (from the Spanish Inquistion), Jaime the very hot sex-changing demon who dresses in the style of clothes from the '40's, her uber-sexy fiance a werewolf called Jean-Claude and Vinnie. The boyfriend and lover of Mark who is a broken man (can't give away the plot!)

I love the many characters that Cicero brings in as vampires from different parts of history. They are all interesting and make the story come alive and add to the storyline, far as I am concerned.

There are many threads laid out in this story that will take the reader happily to the next book which I am looking forward to reading!  Murdering vampires by other vampires is never taken lightly. Two powerful leaders are now in New York in a game of 'who can spit farther!'

Mark has demons to kill on the outside and Vinnie has demons on the inside.

There is never a dull moment in his wonderful series!

I recommend this series to anyone who is interested in a good vampire series with lots of interesting characters, plots and all laid out in New York City.
331654
First off-this book was great-I was hooked from page one and now I'm at the point of doing anything to "meet" one of them-if that were possible anyway.  Anne Rice makes the story come alive and she does a great job in making us think that there could possibly be vampires etc. among us ("woo-hoo!!!")
The book is about Louis, who at first is mortal, and he tells his tale to a mortal, who is an interviewer (i forgot his name-ahh-sorry-he is usually referred to as "the boy") and Louis tells the story of his life and how he became a vampire (he was made into a vampire by Lestat) and he tells about his love for Claudia (a doll-like 6-year-old who feels like a daughter to him) she was also made into a vampire.
I think that its a great book and I recommend it to everyone (12+ tho-because there are some scenes that I wouldnt think to be appropriate for anyone younger)
I even went out and borrowed the movie from a friend after I read it-AN AWESOME BOOK!! GREAT JOB ANNE RICE!!
4697975
Very cool vampire story... Totally draws you in... I am told this is being made into a movie and I could totally envision it while reading it. Even in talks with the author about providing music for the film! Enjoy the book!
1557272
Steven Luna took a hot topic and turned everything you thought you knew on its head and made it interesting. Apparently Vampires are just like us, they don't sparkle, they fall in love, they agaonize over relationships and they just want to be left alone, or so they think.

In "Joe Vampire", Mr Luna explores the very nature of humanity by cursing a human to a life immortal as a vampire. And turns out it isn't all baseball games and sparkles. There is a whole other side to this and Joe takes us on a trip of becoming a vampire, well becoming a human with vampire like tendancies.

The story starts off at a fast pace for several posts and then the writing style seems to change from a blogger telling about himself and talking to an audience to a narrator telling a story. Once I got through the style change the story took off again and I was hooked. And then all of the sudden Joe stops blogging.

I like that Steven left very little to the imagination in wrapping up the story, you know where all of the characters are headed and how they are getting along.

Kudos to you Mr Luna and I cannot wait to see the hijinks that Joe Vampire gets into in the next installment. Perhaps a monster child like in the Nightfall books?
466449
Paranormal and fantasy are not in my top 5 of favorite genres. So I was a little insecure about this book.
I got an ARC from the author and since the synopsis caught my attention I decided I was going to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did!

In this book you find a very sexy vampire named Devon (Dev) who happens to be a vampire lord regent...this reminded me of the tv show True Blood (great first 2 seasons, can't say the same for the others and the finale- but that's another story) and the Vampire sheriff Eric Northman played by Alexander Skarsgrd  And since this thought crossed my mind I pictured Alexander everytime I read Dev so I really, really enjoyed reading everything Dev did to Kate,  picturing Alexander doing it. I have to apologise to the author for this, Alexander doesn't really fit Dev's description but my hormones won't let me follow your description of Dev, sorry about that.

I haven't read vampires for a few months and was surprised with this story. It has the old saying about vamps: drink blood, have special habilities and stuff like that but also includes the author's own version of vampires: vamps are not made, they are born, vamps can walk in the sun, vamps can eat human food, vamps have their vamp-soul?-mate called Moira, female vamps are infertile...and so many things like this that made me like more this book. I know the author enjoyed writing this story almost as much as I enjoyed reading it ;)
It's also a long book which is really really nice because I got to spend more time with Dev.

This story has drama, love, sex, vampires, witches, dreamwalkers, suspense, surprises,  good vrs. evil vamps...a mix that can only make you enjoy it.
It also has a nice plot with great main characters and secondary characters well developed.

My review in two words: Loved it!

P.S.: Kate origins...well played! Didn't see that one coming.
2678699
As everyone else, I downloaded this book because it was a freebie, but the story is really interesting, a little bit dark and adult oriented, which is refreshing in the current vampire fiction trends. I read also&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Blood-Hunt-The-II-AM-Trilogy/dp/B005JDGUS4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Blood Hunt (The II AM Trilogy)</a>, and I'm not disappointed at all and I can't wait for the upcoming The Children of the Sun.
1579642
I enjoyed reading this from the beginning. It starts off pretty horrific with the killing of Reed's family and I was left wondering what in the world can happen next? L.M. Justus does a great job of keeping the plot engaging but not to the point of ridiculousness. Reed goes through his ups and downs, even as a vampire. And what was really extraordinary is that I kept wondering if Reed was really a vampire considering everything that kills a vamp easily, doesn't kill Reed.

Nathaniel is a very interesting character and it was nice to see his demeanor melt a little as you go through the story. He's still a bit uppity but Justus explains everything very neatly so I didn't have any questions about him at the end.

And although this book was a really fun read, I was very excited about the ending. I don't want to say too much but it was completely worth reading and now I can not wait to start reading book two. The questions in this book were answered but the ending left questions all on its own!

Great vampire read... Totally bloody and gory and to the point (hah!).
1884684
I really enjoyed the continuing story that Rob Cornell has embarked upon.  I am looking forward to the third volume to see where he takes us next.  His version of vampires and their interaction with the "humans" in this world is different and intriguing.  I love this kind of story!
2457897
This book is a great read for those of you who enjoy vampires!  The story begins with an extremely descriptive sense of everything about Orin Cottage.  It really makes you feel like you are connected to him in many ways.  You feel his struggles and his discontent with the ways of the human race.  The story then begins to get so exciting through the middle that its hard to put down!  Orin has so many different facets of his life and his friendships that it keeps you guessing what will happen next.  He battles good and evil and tries to figure out what his future holds and why his life was chosen to be so drastically changed.  The ending was not at all what I expected and I was kind of sad, in that it happened so fast.  I wanted to see more of what Orin had to offer in changing the world and in uncovering the honesty and trust of those around him.  This book really makes you think hard about the world we live in.  It also gives a new twist to the old beliefs of how vampires are portrayed.
1670726
As soon as I began reading BRACED2BITE by new author Serena Robar, I was immediately reminded of another one of my favorite vampire series--the "UNDEAD..." series by MaryJanice Davidson. Both authors have a smart-mouthed heroine, an annoying yet total hottie vampire hero, and a set of circumstances that makes you throw everything you ever thought was true about vampires right out the window. And believe me when I say that this comparison is not a bad thing! Ms. Robar has managed to pen a fun, exciting vampire story that will have you reading long into the night--and the comparison to MJD is nothing but outright flattery.

Sixteen-year old Colby Blanchard is the typical blond-haired, blue-eyed cheerleader. She's also very intelligent, has plans to get hunky Aidan Reynolds to ask her to the Homecoming dance, and, while she's at it, will finalize plans for her upcoming seventeenth birthday party. What Colby didn't plan on, or enter into her BlackBerry, was getting knocked out by the Eastside Attacker on the way home from a football game. Where, she might add, Aidan the slimeball went off with Allison to an after-game party.

When Colby comes to and returns home, she's very surprised to learn she's been missing for nearly forty-eight hours. Even more surprising, though, is drinking her mother's blood and healing her wound when she cuts herself with a knife. Oddly enough, although frightened, it's not until her Great-Aunt Chloe points out the puncture wounds on her neck that Colby realizes something weirder than a nighttime attack has happened to her. Colby is now a vampire, with the pale, pasty skin, yellowish eyes, and thirst for blood to prove it.

Her family seems to take the change in their daughter relatively in stride--Aunt Chloe even had to stake a few vampires years ago during the War when she was a nurse. Her father rushes to help in the only way he knows how (he's an orthodontist) and makes her a hideous headgear apparatus so she can feed, since her canine teeth were removed years ago. So not only is she a freak vampire, she's a mutant freak vampire.

To add insult to injury, two vampires come a-calling, informing Colby that she's been summoned to make an appearance to the Tribunal for, and get this, being Undead without a license. The fact that Thomas, the cute, helpful vampire, wants to help her make her case before the Tribunal is one thing. The fact that he's asked to be her Executioner if the Tribunal rejects her plea for a license is quite another.

BRACED2BITE is a fun, hilarious read. All of the characters are well-rounded, and the fast-paced dialogue makes the book a delight to read. If you like vampire stories with a dash of romance and a whole bunch of humor, this is definitely the book for you. And thankfully, the next book in the series, FANGS4FREAKS.

Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
261898
Awesome!!
I just finished this book and LOVED it!  I like reading vampire novels like a lot of people, but I was totally surprised by this one.  It's so refreshing to read one that's not the same-old, same-old.  Loved all the variation in the powers the vampires have and enjoyed the foray into the evolution of the species as well.  The characters are great, and I especially enjoyed Ema's predicament with the wall.  Can't wait to read the next one in the series!
643936
Good vampire story without a bite. This was my first story by this author and I admit, I want more. Misty is the overnight waitress at the local truck stop. One night, she notices that one of the regulars just isn't acting like himself. After hearing his tale, she invites him back to her place so that he can get some sleep. It seems that hed been visited one night while he was sleeping in his semi and hasn't been able to sleep since.
In her second story apartment that night, Misty and Charlie are visited by a vampire looking in her window. Being the smart woman she is, she did not invite him in. The story only gets more interesting from that point.
The characters are all personable, even the curmudgeon of a boss, Ralph. Youve got both good and bad characters and they are play their part well. I cant wait to read the next book!!