Sassy, but-kicking girl and devoted vampire....
593972
How could I resist? I liked this book alot. I won't reiterate the plot line as that has already been done and I am not one for restating what you have doutless already read if you got to the review area.

I almost loved this book because I can't pass up a sassy/snarky heroin when there is one to be had. She was scarcastic for a reason and never passed, in my mind, into the just plain rude side of the scale. The book was easy to fallow, the charectors were lovable, the "bad guys" not so much, and mysterys still abounded at the end to keep you wanting more.

There was some room for growth within the writing and that is why 4 and not 5 stars. It is the little things that polish the good story into the great that were my only hang-up with this book. My biggest pet peve with it was not seperating the paragraphs enough for POV change. It happend sometimes, but not every time, and the lack of that consistancy got just a little bit annoying as I got pulled out of my total obsorbtion of the story to figure out who is talking to whom. I am not usually a grammar nazi as long is it is aparent that a book wasn't written by a 4 year old, but I was a little bummed that this issue did slow the flow of the story that I otherwise couldn't put down.

I did, however, love the story and what was going on was facinating. It was so different from other PR storys that I was hooked from the get go. I also loved that there was a reason for everything that happened in the story and even if we arn't told what that was (yet) it was still obvious that it will be unfolded over time and another book. Haha way to keep us hanging Ms. Ann, my hat is off to you. NO PUBLISH THE NEXT ONE ALREADY.... please? I can't wait to read what happens next!
599961
Erin is a seventeen-year-old girl living in Podunk-I mean Copperfield, Arizona. The town comes to life when a movie crew comes in to shoot a vampire movie featuring an up-and-coming actor named James. Nearly everyone in town joins the movie craze as movie extras, assistants, or groupies. Little does Erin know, this development is going to change more for her than her summer plans.

I'm still as excited as ever to read a book about vampires, and this one didn't disappoint. While some traits of the usual vampire-human relationship are present-vampire can't help but fall in love with human girl he barely knows, but in this case, he may be the one in for more than he bargained for. Erin is a small-town girl who wants nothing more than to get away from home and move on to something better. She's a smart and determined girl, who doesn't so easily fall for the vampire's (James) charm. She sees through his cover, quickly figuring out there is something off about him, and then she realizes that she recognizes him from a thirty year old TV show she used to watch with her mom. I also enjoyed James, he wasn't always "perfect," he didn't claim to be. He admitted to hunting, killing, he still feeds on humans and uses his powers to his advantage. All wonderfully intriguing qualities for a vampire. James typically reminded me of Barnabas from Dark Shadows, which I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed.

The plot was also quite different from many of the vampire novels I've recently read. It took me a while to figure out what was so different, but it's not filled to the brim with supernatural everywhere. The vampire is the core element of the story, and the plot is wound tightly around the unfolding of James' mysteries and the growth of the main characters.

There were some dialogue tags I would've liked to seen slashed to bits, and some areas needed more showing rather than telling in terms of emotions and reactions, but overall the story kept me turning the pages (or clicking the arrow key). The story was fun, and I particularly enjoyed the part changing technology played in Erin's ability (and inability) to discover James' true identity.

Favorite Quote:
"You're kind of a weirdo, aren't you." she said. It wasn't a question.
"And you're kinda honest. I like that."

My verdict-I endorse it completely and look forward to more from this author (preferably involving more vampires as well).
(Disclaimer: I received the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
2813789
Meena hates vampires. They're ruining her life.

First, they invade her work. Meena doesn't get the promotion to head writer she's been hoping to achieve.  Then they announce the popular daytime drama will be adding a vampire storyline to compete with its major competition.

Second, there's a serial killer on the loose, leaving dead female bodies drained of their blood in the various parks of New York City.

Third, Meena goes out to walk her dog, Jack Bauer, in the middle of the night. She's attacked by numerous bats, but protected by a mysterious man. She almost thinks she dreamed this late night incident.

Fourth, she starts dating this man after meeting him again at a party, only to discover he's a vampire prince - ruler of all vampires. She discovers the truth about her boyfriend after a member of Palatine, Alaric Wolf, comes to warn her and worm his whereabouts out of her. She refuses to give up his location, even when she realizes that he IS the prince of darkness.

Lucien, despite his family history, seems to love Meena and wants to protect her. However, Alaric Wolf can't stand by and let that happen. He's determined to rescue Meena if it's the last thing he does.

When she puts everything together, Meena's seriously annoyed, but with a vampire war looming, which side will she end up on?

I LOVED this book.  Meena is sweet with a wicked sense or humor, snarky, and feisty. Plus, she has a secret where she can see how people are going to die. Her vampire romance is sexy and sweet. Lucien's one part charming and one part dangerous. Wolf is amusing. Meena's vampire neighbors are hilarious - always causing a ruckus in the vampire world, all in the name of matchmaking. All in all, it's a charming, sexy read full of romance, danger, protective men, and one kick-butt heroine.

While this is an adult novel, I think some older teens will naturally gravitate towards it because it's Meg Cabot - and also vampires!

Reviewed by:  Jennifer Rummel
4777504
I had grown very bored with the vampire genre and I haven't read a new vamp series in some time. It's not my favorite genre anyway, I'm a fan of thrillers and suspense, but I saw this box set and grabbed it due to the great reviews and comments on the sympathetic heroine and thought, "Why not?". I was ready for a change in pace.

I also saw one very negative review about poor writing and several inconsistencies from book to book and went in with that in mind.

First, I did not find any inconsistencies. Samantha has no reflection and can only be photographed if she has makeup on. I did not notice any other book-to-book continuity errors. So that's out of the way. I also was happy to see that there were very few grammatical errors and typos. So few, in fact, that none come to mind at the time of this writing and that is unusual in Indie books, so I believe that this author does indeed have an editor or at the very least, a proof reader. Now on to the real review!

Samantha Moon is a charming and sympathetic heroine, a vampire who is also a mother and an average 30-something woman with normal feelings who was an unwilling victim of a vampire's vicious attack. Now she's a vampire who is just trying to 'live' like a normal person. She tries to live in a moral way, she doesn't kill people for food and is proud that she once was a 'highly trained Federal agent', lol (you'll laugh too once you read the book, I don't do spoilers).

She is now a PI who works mostly at night, for obvious reasons, but the police are starting to catch on and that causes Sam some trouble.

Samantha has some very quirky friends: Fang, a wannabe vampire who is her online friend; Kingsley, a rather hairy defense attorney who hires her to find the man who shot him; a creep of an ex-hubby she has to contend with and her one family member who knows about her situation, her sister.

Samantha cruises around North Orange County in her soccer-mom minivan with its heavily tinted windows and gets into a lot of silly and sometimes dangerous adventures. It sounds a bit ludicrous now that I'm typing it, but somehow it all just works.

Is this Anne Rice vampire lit? Nope, but it's light-hearted (most of the time), entertaining reading that won't tax your brain. I read a lot of heavy stuff these days and these books were a great break when I needed one. I enjoyed every bit of it.

Although I did get this set when it was free (not from the author, whom I do not know) from Amazon, I am going to buy the 5th book in the series as soon as I can afford it. I found couple of other books by him sitting in my Kindle archives that I got free in the past (pays to watch that Top 100 Free list!) which are going to the top of my 'to be read' list. Things get lost when you compulsively collect free books, lol!

My only regret is that I didn't get started with this author sooner.

Buy the set, you won't be sorry!
2402549
Title:  Don't Bite The Bridesmaid

Series:  Sons of Kane Series, Book #1

Author:  Tiffany Allee

Genre:  Romance

Blurb:  Alice Shepard needs one thing: a date for her sister's wedding. And not just any date. A hunk who will make her fianc rue the day he left her for her best friend. Her drop-dead gorgeous neighbor fits the bill--even if he is a bit quirky and never comes out during the day--and Alice has downed just enough appletinis to ask him. But she makes it quite clear that there will be no funny business.

Spending a week on a cruise ship full of humans while sleeping close to his sexy next-door neighbor sounds like a helluva bad idea to vampire Noah Thorpe. But his friends need time to get him out of a shotgun wedding--a vampire bonding that will tie his fate to a female vampire he's never met. And Alice's offer comes at just the right time.

What could possibly go wrong?

Thoughts:  Alice is a sweet character who has been hurt by her jerk of a boyfriend.  After being in a relationship with him for years, she catches him with her best friend - but unfortunately her sister is marrying his brother!  So, it's impossible to avoid him when it comes to her sister's wedding.  Enter next door neighbor Noah, who has always been somewhat reclusive - in part because he is so tempted by the delectable Alice.

Alice's character was sweet and funny - I really liked the fact that she was over the old boyfriend.  She wasn't trying to make him jealous, or win him back, simply recoup some of her pride.  She was easy to relate to, and reacted in a lot of ways like most other women would if faced with the same circumstances.  She struck a nice balance of confident, yet vulnerable, that was so refreshing.  And her whole family provided a nice foil to the characters.

I enjoyed the author's take on vampires with this book, and I really enjoyed Noah's character.  I only really had one major complaint with the book, and that is that I wanted to see what happened after they got together - more importantly, did Alice decide to become a vampire?  How did she react to that?  A major point was made that people who find out about their species are usually turned or their memories clouded.  Was Noah forced by the Council to turn her?  Other than that I really didn't have any major complaints, however I would have enjoyed it more if the author had went into more detail about the inner-workings of this particular vampire society.  While she does touch on some things briefly, it's not enough to really pull you fully into the story.  And for some reason I half expected Noah's "betrothed" to make an appearance.  I actually figured that the other vampire mentioned in the book, Olivia, would wind up being his future bride - but that turned out not to be the case.  Though it would have made for an interesting twist!

The book was very good and a joy to read, but I would have enjoyed it more if it were a bit longer, with a little more depth.

Rate:  B

Review by: Sarah

- See more at: [...]
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As the new Queen of the vampires, Lizzie Vaughn has discovered ruling is not nearly as easy as she thought it would be. dd into the chaos the fact that Lizzie is pregnant, and you get one tired, cranky vampire not willing to take guff off of anybody. But with her cowboy, Tucker, by her side, she feels as though anything is possible. Now, if she can only get the vampiric population to agree with her

Lizzie and Tucker are the perfect couple. Although they do not always see things eye to eye, they have a way of somehow managing to meet in the middle and work it out. The family they have created with Tuckers dad and assorted friends-both human and not-is the driving force behind all that they do, and it shows. Of all of their companions, I think I like the government paranoid Lenny the best. He is like the Q of the vampire world, always coming up with the next thing in vampire extermination gear.

Like its predecessor, The Cowboy and the Vampire, Blood and Whiskey is full of action, goofy but lovable characters, and so much humor that your sides will ache by the time you are finished reading. I love that the authors worked in several different races of vampires and gave each a bit of history behind them. Being a huge lover of backstory, having that kind of information enriches the story for me. Also, I always really enjoy the way vampires handle their politics-it is fascinating and much more amusing than the human version. Blood and Whiskey combines action and emotion with unforgettable characters and an off-kilter sense of humor into one fascinating bronco ride of a story.
2487062
`Undead and Unworthy' is the seventh book in MaryJanice Davidson's eclectically awesome `Undead; Queen Betsy' paranormal series.

At the end of the sixth instalment, `Undead and Uneasy', Davidson mentioned in an author's note that the next few books in the `Queen Betsy' series would be focusing on a new plot trajectory, like a mini-trilogy within the already established series.

`Undead and Unworthy' in many ways stays true to the good old Betsy. She has many of the same problems - a sultry and conniving husband, vampire minions she doesn't know what to do with and a vampiric kingdom she's not entirely sure she's equipped to run. But Betsy is also battling a few new issues - like married life to a husband who is keeping secrets, a rocky `friendship' with her bestie's boyfriend (who, admittedly, wants to kill her). Not to mention an old problem is coming back to haunt the queen . . . the `Fiends', dazed and wild vampire barbarians, are back and somewhat lucid while also homicidally intent on killing Betsy.

There's certainly a lot happening in this book, and it does feel transitional. Davidson is putting a few old storylines to rest, while gearing up for a whole new trajectory for Betsy and co.

Something I am looking forward to in future books is Betsy and Sinclair's evolving relationship. In this book Betsy has a lot to deal with, and she does wonder if Sinclair will be comfortable and willing to put up with her many mini-disasters . . . though they are married, it's obvious that Sinclair and Betsy have a lot to work on. Neither of them is prone to outpouring of emotions or long, romantic diatribes. But there is clear affection between the two and I am eager to read how Davidson explores their relationship while staying true to their prickly dispositions and outlandish characters.

`Undead and Unworthy' is perhaps the darkest `Queen Betsy' book so far. There's death and foreboding, and Betsy is questioning the danger her future holds while concerned for those closest to her. I was quite shocked by the finale of this book - it's sad and bloody and definitely ends on a note of sombreness that the `Queen Betsy' series is unused to. But I like this new trajectory that Davidson is taking fans on . . . Betsy is manning up and taking responsibility while managing to remain fabulous.
2389380
Title: Soulless

Author: Gail Carriger

Genre: Steampunk, Supernatural, Victorian England, Action/Adventure, Romance,

Plot: In a steampunk world populated by fashionable people by day and werewolves, ghosts and vampires by night, one Alexia Tarabtti is about to make several waves in her little social circle. Born without a soul and with the unpopular tan complexion of her dead Italian father, Alexia was put on the shelf at fifteen and spent her youth reading the fascinating books in her father's library. Now twenty-six, Alexia is a force to be recounted with and proves it by single-handedly killing a strange vampire who was bent on attacking her - and without an introduction no less!

This incident thrusts Alexia in the path of Lord Maccon, a Scottish werewolf who rapidly rose to power in the London area and commands the London branch of BUR - Bureau of Unnatural Registry which is a division of the queen's Civil Service. Having known each other for a few years now, Alexia and Lord Maccon are none too pleased to be mixed up in each other's company for long and fiery arguments abound. But with danger lurking in the shadows and the full moon just around the corner, things might get more than just a little steamy.

Likes/Dislikes: This was my first official steam-punk novel. I've been nosing around the genre for awhile now and picked quite the book to dive into. I was a little worried it would be weird - vampires and werewolves aren't really my thing, though I would take a werewolf story over a vampire one if given the choice. But aside from some distracting references to the vampires being gay, it wasn't nearly as dark and weird as I thought it would be. Instead, I was treated to some delicious {and very distracting} steamy scenes between our hotheaded hero and heroine. Teenage me would've burned the book but being married and having had a hospital birth did wonders for me in that regard, *wink* I still didn't much like the gay vampires though or the lengthy science experiment by the bad guys. And the carriage scene at the end was sadly anti-climatic to me.

Rating: PG-18 and up, mainly for content {a grand total of four steamy scenes that progressively got steamier toward the end, interesting little tid-bits of innuendo, gay vampires running around and a bloody torture scene/end battle}. Recommended for mature readers only.

Date Review Written: October 27th 2015
1566969
I picked up an older used paperback copy of Bloodsucking Fiends and was a bit worried when I saw the girly, pastel cover with the subtitle: A Love Story. Had vampire literature turned into trashy chicklit drivel decades before Twilight ever came out? Thankfully, not--at least not with Bloodsucking Fiends.

The novel, simply put, is a raucous adventure--part crime noir, part horror, very much a comedy, and yeah, just a bit of a love story. The characters and dialogue are sharp, the story is intricately put together, and the prose are smart, making the book an all around good time.
1929853
The world has been broken up into district cities. Each city is ruled by a master vampire who requires that registered citizens donate blood. In exchange they get protection from the rabids who run on the outside of the city's wall.

Rabids are similar to zombies, that began when hybrid virus that grew from a simple plague into a frenzy seeking edible flesh. Highly dangerous and very contagious. Which is one reason why people avoid the ruins.

Allie is a survivor. Growing up on the Fringe, she has had to scavenge, hunt, and steal to stay alive. As an unregistered no one will care if she dies, except for a few of her unregistered friends. As an Unregistered citizen, Allie is not subjected to the required twice a month blood donations, but she also does not get any meal tickets and she does not get any protection from guards who believe that since she does not exist as an unregistered that they can pretty much do whatever they want; target practice, beatings, etc.

With surviving being Allie's main goal, she and her small group of friends set out for the ruins. After being attacked by rabids, Allie is slowly dying along with her friends, but Kanin, a vampire, discovers her and gives her a choice - die, die as a rabid, or take his bite and hope you get turned into a vampire.

After Allie's past, she hates vampires with a passion, but being a survivalist she chooses vampirism. Once a vampire, Allie struggles finding a balance between her humanity and being a vampire. At first she struggles with her sense of predator and prey.

Kanin is an unusual vampire who has done a few things in his life that he regrets. The way he speaks and his body language shows that he really is inhuman. His speech slow, calm, and steady, but with an attitude that says 'this is all amusing, but I can still kill you.' He really grew on me, and I really look forward to seeing more of him in the second book.

As things should have it, Allie is stuck on her own in the ruins. Where she runs into a group of humans looking for Eden. A city where there are no vampires, no rabids, and everything is peaceful. Being out in the ruins, there are not a lot of people to feed from. So on the off chance, Allie joins up with them in hopes of a future meal.

She did not expect to meet Zeke, a boy who is about her age with the biggest heart in the world. Zeke helps everyone, gives as much as he can, and appears naive. All of this draws Allie to Zeke and she wants more than to just bite him.

Julie Kagawa created a great cast of characters, each one more different than the other. The vampire dystopian world she created is genius. A feed lot of people, solely depended on vampires to stay safe from rabids. I truly enjoyed Immortal Rules and I really look forward to reading more of Allie's adventure.
4923816
Legally Undead is Fang Freakin Tastic. The main character, Elle, is likable and I really felt for her when everything started falling apart. She adapts to situations well and has a sense of humor. I really like Elle. She goes through so much in such a short time, that she could have just fallen apart, but instead she handles her business and does what she needs to get the answers she is looking for.

This book is full of action and intrigue. Elle is recruited to be a vampire hunter after she comes home to find her Fiance being bitten by a vampire in her living room and immediately stakes the vampire. The next thing you know, Gregs body is gone, and that just opens up a whole lot of questions she wants answers to. She doesnt seem to want to do it, but she really is cut out for the job. She comes to it honestly though. She doesnt have any super powers or extra senses; shes just a normal chick that wanted to live a normal life. Elle is realistic in that even after she discovers the vampire underworld, her life goes on. She still has responsibilities that she has to take care of. The earth doesnt stop spinning just bc she suddenly discovers vampires.

I like that the vampires in this book aren't the good guys. Many vampire books that I have read lately focus so much on the romanticism of the idea of vampires that its often forgotten that they are parasites who live off the lifeblood of another. Most of them anyway. Theres nothing sweet about these vamps, and Im ok with that.

Margo Bond Collins has become one of my favorite authors. I have enjoyed all of her books and I am very impatiently waiting for the next book in this series. I will continue to read her books as they come out. Legally Undead is a great series to start with if you like vampires, vampire hunters, and women on a mission to solve a mystery.
4630215
Sabrina Kane is of mixed blood: She is half vampire and half mage. Her mage father died before she was born and her vampire mother died in childbirth, so she has been raised by her grandmother Lavinia. Vampires and mages hate each other [makes a change from the usual vampire versus werewolves stuff], so everyone treats Sabrina as a second class citizen due to her heritage, punishing her for her parents sins.

Granny Kane isn't a sweet, white haired, old lady however, she is the Alpha Domina of the Dominae; Which is the vampires major religion, worshipping their creator Lilith [the followers are known as Lilims]. Lavina - embarrased by her granddaughter - has seen Sabrina trained as an assassin for the Dominae, which is a lowly job, suitable for an outcast which she is seen as.

Which brings us to...

The Domina learns that a fellow mixed blood [vampire and demon] named Clovis Trakiya is building a rival religious sect and is preaching about unity amongst the races. He is rumoured to be gaining interest - if not outright support - from the other supernatural races, including mages. The Dominae don't like the sound of this friendliness between vampires and mages, so Sabrina is ordered to dispatch Clover. Well no, not simply dispatch him. She wants Sabrina to go undercover, infiltrate the cult, uncover any spies, then dispatch Clover, but A: Sabrina knows how to kill people, not investigate and spy and B: Who are the real bad guys here?

Whilst trying to figure everything out she also has a mage stalker to deal with and the fact that the demon that he sent to 'test' her [no, she doesn't know why] is now stuck in this realm, drinking her beer and watching her TV...

This book was so much fun. I'm delighted by the fact that the heroine is a assassin and drinks from humans, sometimes to the point of death [she hates drinking synthetic blood]... True she does go for drug dealers and would-be rapists ala Dexter, but it's still a ton better then most of the other "blood is yuck" and "kiss don't kill" otherworldly heroines many publishers are trying to sell to me. If I'm looking at a book about vampires, cults and assassins I know that I'm going to read about murder and gore, so let the characters be less then squeaky clean accordingly. Thanks.

Books featuring vampires are ten to a penny post-Twilight and every scenario has been done countless times so I ignored this book when Amazon kept recommending it to me, before coming across it in my local library and biting the bullet. Fortunately author Jaye Wells has come up with a formula that I've not come across before; The vampires in this author's world are descended from Lilith's affair with Cain, so in addition to Lilith's blood thirst, all vampires also have inherited Cain's red hair (God marked Cain with red hair after he murdered Abel) and inability to go out in sunlight. Oh yeah - if you want to stake a vampire make sure you use applewood, or if you can somehow get a vampire to ingest the forbidden fruit it will strip away their immortality and make them kill-able.

I'm not religious, but the biblical origins of the vampire paired with the inner workings and politics of modern cults was fascinating and the aspects of the uneasy supernatural races also helped lend an air of realism. People not liking others who are different to them? differing cultures? killing people over religious ideals? It is a story that is startlingly relevant and is slightly unsettling. It will stay stuck in your head long after you've read it.

Was there anything that I didn't like? I wouldn't depend on my description of the Dominae as being a major religion for vampires as fact in a [unlikely] life or death situation; Whilst I'm fairly sure I've deciphered it correctly, it's never made crystal clear [maybe it was and I'm just a tad slow to catch on].

** Book two in the Sabrina Kane series is titled The Mage In Black **
2480826
Power of the Moon , by Tina Carreiro Thank god that this book had real vampires, not the wussy teen vamps but the hungry for blood, sexy, passionate, almost Anne Rice style vampires. (which is what I hold any vampire books up against) Detective Cole Barnettt is a strong sexy in control aged vampire that falls in love was slightly spooky Miakoda Starr (Mia). Mia can read auras, has visions and even has contact with the dead which is only lightly touched on. Mia gets dragged into having to help the police/FBI with a investigation which leads her to learning about other worlds of super natural sorts. All the while fight with here urges to open herself mentally and physically to Cole with very steamy and slightly frighting out comes.
I loved the story and am waiting on the next, also some of the details in the book where very well done such as the funeral home with the cremation oven. That said i did have a little bit of a hard time to get into the book there was a lot of description for the first two chapters that I had a difficult time getting into. The cover art seemed very pixely and also stretched to fit the space (but that may have been the look they where going for) but I felt it made the book look a little cheap and may deter people from picking it up, and the printing was very small but these are personal feelings and are not what is needed to be a good book. I would recommend this to any real paranormal/romance/Female Heroines lovers but no kids for this one it's for the grow ups.
366463
Why I Read this Book: Even though Merit didn't completely win me over in Some Girls Bite, I really enjoyed the world of Chicagoland Vampires. So I am continuing on with the series.

What I Liked: I love the romantic tension between Ethan and Merit. Their attraction is smokin hot! Ethan is very clear in his desires; it's Merit who has hesitation. And I love the banter between them.

There's an interesting plot going on in this book. There are also some new discoveries regarding people from Merit's past.

I love Catcher and Mallory together. I also love that even though Merit isn't around Mallory a lot these days, we still get to see what's going on with Mallory and her magic. Speaking of secondary characters, Lindsey is another character I like. She's a good friend for Merit and one of the few vampire friends Merit has. I would like to see Lindsey end up with Luc; there's some flirtation going on between the two but they're both a little stubborn.

What I Didn't Like: I still don't know what Merit's first name is and it's bugging me. And she's still lacking a bit in the fierce kick-ass heroine department.

Overall Impression: Even with my grumbles regarding Merit's character, I am enjoying this series. It's a fun Urban Fantasy read and I want to read more of Ethan and Merit. And the small cliffhanger ending has me anxious to read Twice Bitten, the next book in the series.
1742487
A reluctant yet heroic girl becomes a vampire queen in the blink of an undead eye. Loveable and devoted cohorts, handsome and irresistible leading man (vamp). All the right ingredients for a ghoulish romance. Quirky and loveable characters and snappy repartee make this a delightful, laugh-out-loud romp. Can't wait to read the next book in the series!
1786680
Secret McQueen is unique.  Well, or an abomination, depending on who you ask.  She's the only half-werewolf, half-vampire hybrid known and neither side would be happy to know that she's a mix of the other so she keeps that little bit of information private.  Right now she's playing all fangy and working for the Vampire Council bringing in rogues or ashing them depending on her orders.

Between that whole no sunlight thing and her job for the council, Secret's dating life has dwindled to nothing.  Her friend keeps setting her up on dates but when they usually end with Secret getting called out on a job... well, there's only so much a friend is going to put up with.  She's giving her one last chance with a really nice guy - and to Secret's surprise, he really is a nice guy and they hit it off.  Of course things just can't go right because mid-date, her Council liaison Holden shows up with an urgent job for her - urgent as in right now, tonight.  Of course it can't be anyone easy, it's one of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood, the Council wants him ashed and he just happens to be in Times Square.

I'd read the first full book in the series,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Something-Secret-This-Way-Comes/dp/B004QQ3MGI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Something Secret This Way Comes</a>&nbsp;before this and it references the sort of major event that takes place as something that was pretty remarkable in Secret's life and career.  It made this both a lot of fun and important to read for the series.

The more I read about her, the more I really like Secret.  She's a UF heroine who doesn't have any particular superpowers from her vamp or werewolf sides other than being a little faster, being able to see better in the dark and some speedy recovery time from getting hurt.  Her preferred weapon is a gun to blow the vampires' heads off with to get it over with nice and quickly.  She's funny - she gave me more laugh out loud moments than places where I thought she was just snarky - and in general she's just a less hardened version of what I'd think of as the typical UF heroine.

Because it's a novella there's really only space for one secondary character and it's Secret's Council liaison Holden who'll play a larger part in the next couple of books.  He's very suave and slick and overall just delicious and surprisingly has some very hot and sexy moments with Secret.  She has a very strict policy - don't date coworkers.  Holden seems to have his own policy - date anything with a pulse.

The action segments of the story are actually pretty fun if you don't mind the whole cutting bodies into parts thing.  There's another reference to Secret's infamy that I always liked in SSTWC (her name is supposedly used to strike fear into children and make them be good, among other things) and there's an interesting revelation about Holden's tie to the Hollywood star.  When the fighting moved to the subway station, it was clear what the connection was to a reference in the first book and it was all the more exciting to see it play out, knowing what it was going to cause.

I really, really liked this prequel novella because it gave me a better perspective of Secret that may just improve my feelings about Something Secret This Way Comes.  This had lots of great swordplay and action, some very hot and sexy moments, lots of humor and a UF heroine that's a little something different.
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In Full Blooded, Jessica McClain became the first female werewolf to ever exist. She also gained a mate, Rourke, a sexy, muscled, tattooed mercenary werecat - only to have him ripped away by his evil ex, Selene, the powerful Lunar Goddess. Hot Blooded, the second book in the Jessica McClain series, finds Jessica and her assembled motley crew battling a series of supernatural creatures as she tries to save her mate from the sadistic goddess.

Hot Blooded is action packed from beginning to end.  Butt-kickings and magic are thrown around about every other page and each member of the crew - wolves, vamps, and human alike, are all able to get in on the action at some point along the journey.  A bunch of new supernatural creatures are introduced and we learn about the Underworld and the Demon Sect, as well as some additional details about the Vampire and Shifter Sects (which were introduced in the previous book).

With Full Blooded I had kind of a love/hate relationship with Jessica's character due to her glaring specialness (I love me some kickass female leads, but she's not only the only female werewolf in existence, she's also some super powerful Lycan form of werewolf that hasn't existed for thousands of years and her mate is this super hot mercenary who's not only strong and powerful, but the last of his kind and so sexy women fight over him - but don't worry, he only wants Jessica). Thankfully, Hot Blooded had me leaning more towards the love side. Jessica's still so terribly special and powerful, even more special and powerful than previously thought actually, but this is tapered by her not really knowing what to do with it most of the time.  It also helped that I was cheering for her to beat that man-stealing ex down. I loved the whole battling the evil ex thing. For anyone who's ever had to deal with their significant other's sexy, successful ex whom you just wanted to punch in the face, this is total wish fulfillment. It also was great to watch a bit of gender role reversal with Jessica as the hero and Rourke as the "damsel in distress" as it were.

Hot Blooded can be read as a stand alone if you wish (I would recommend reading Full Blooded first, but you won't be lost if you don't). I'm finding this series to be super addictive (I've already started reading the next one) and I can't recommend it highly enough.

*I received a free copy of this book to review.