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zoe_e_w's review
5.0
Crooked Fang has been on my list of books to pick up for a while, but I was reluctant to read it because I know the author, Carrie Clevenger, on Twitter, and we've talked for a few years now. At one point, while I was live-tweeting a book I hated, she'd even joked, "Don't read any of my books, please." But I've got a thing for vampires, and so eventually, I knew I'd have to read this. I just had to hope it didn't suck.
Thankfully, it did not. In fact, it's one of the better vampire books I've read in a while, and it's every bit as good as Let the Right One In. Xan Marcelles is a relatively young vampire, one who had previously worked as an assassin for his sire. His job was killing the vampires who risked exposure to the humans, but after burning out on killing, he moved to Pinecliffe Colorado and made up a quiet new life for himself at a bar called Pale Rider. He plays bass in his band, Crooked Fang, and as the story opens, his bandmates are pushing for something more than playing as a house band for a podunk bar.
Xan's problems are all over the place. He's confronted by a vampire hunter, and the bar is burned down by an unknown enemy. While he's still trying to deal with those problems, he's contacted by the sister of a girlfriend he left back when he was alive, Silvia, who has news that Heather was killed in an what the police are calling an animal attack. This sends Xan back to a home he hasn't known in well over twenty years, posing as his own son to assist Silvia in finding out what really happened to Heather.
There's not much else I can say without getting into spoilers, so I'll focus on Xan instead. Here we have a vampire whose job was to kill other vampires when they became a liability to their peoples' need for secrecy. Death has left him weary, so despite his relatively young age, he's still something of an old soul. He's also a bit of an asshole, but that's not a complaint. If anything, it's a compliment to the writing that I could accept his uglier moments as a part of the package deal. He's a complex character, not just a stereotype from one side of the vampire trope or the other. He sips from humans to keep himself fed, and he has several connections to the living world, some who know what he is, and others who he has to keep in the dark. So he's not a hero, but he's not exactly a villain either. Which, to me, is how it should be.
Xan is one race of vampire, and another variety is part of his story too, though I won't spoil that part. I get the feeling there's probably a lot of vampire races from different cultures, and these are the only two put on display for this book. If this is the case, I hope to find out more in the next book Traitors. What I learned in this book was certainly fascinating, and I like that the author made an effort to explain how vampires could remain hidden in a modern world by policing themselves.
I don't really have any complaints about the story. It did bug me that when the shit hit the fan, Xan forgot to check in on one of his human friends because I felt she deserved better. But again, Xan's a bit of a dick, and he tends to get self-centered at times. So this was in character for him, and I can accept that and let it go.
I give Crooked Fang 5 stars and recommend it to all fans of vampires. It was a great read, and I look forward to reading the sequel.
Thankfully, it did not. In fact, it's one of the better vampire books I've read in a while, and it's every bit as good as Let the Right One In. Xan Marcelles is a relatively young vampire, one who had previously worked as an assassin for his sire. His job was killing the vampires who risked exposure to the humans, but after burning out on killing, he moved to Pinecliffe Colorado and made up a quiet new life for himself at a bar called Pale Rider. He plays bass in his band, Crooked Fang, and as the story opens, his bandmates are pushing for something more than playing as a house band for a podunk bar.
Xan's problems are all over the place. He's confronted by a vampire hunter, and the bar is burned down by an unknown enemy. While he's still trying to deal with those problems, he's contacted by the sister of a girlfriend he left back when he was alive, Silvia, who has news that Heather was killed in an what the police are calling an animal attack. This sends Xan back to a home he hasn't known in well over twenty years, posing as his own son to assist Silvia in finding out what really happened to Heather.
There's not much else I can say without getting into spoilers, so I'll focus on Xan instead. Here we have a vampire whose job was to kill other vampires when they became a liability to their peoples' need for secrecy. Death has left him weary, so despite his relatively young age, he's still something of an old soul. He's also a bit of an asshole, but that's not a complaint. If anything, it's a compliment to the writing that I could accept his uglier moments as a part of the package deal. He's a complex character, not just a stereotype from one side of the vampire trope or the other. He sips from humans to keep himself fed, and he has several connections to the living world, some who know what he is, and others who he has to keep in the dark. So he's not a hero, but he's not exactly a villain either. Which, to me, is how it should be.
Xan is one race of vampire, and another variety is part of his story too, though I won't spoil that part. I get the feeling there's probably a lot of vampire races from different cultures, and these are the only two put on display for this book. If this is the case, I hope to find out more in the next book Traitors. What I learned in this book was certainly fascinating, and I like that the author made an effort to explain how vampires could remain hidden in a modern world by policing themselves.
I don't really have any complaints about the story. It did bug me that when the shit hit the fan, Xan forgot to check in on one of his human friends because I felt she deserved better. But again, Xan's a bit of a dick, and he tends to get self-centered at times. So this was in character for him, and I can accept that and let it go.
I give Crooked Fang 5 stars and recommend it to all fans of vampires. It was a great read, and I look forward to reading the sequel.
snarkymotherreader's review
4.0
Xan Marcelles is your typical small-time bassist: he can drink his weight in whiskey, smokes a pack a day on a slow day, and uses his giant height and long, dark hair to get the ladies right where he wants them. He won’t buy you roses, and he can’t afford a fancy dinner, but he’ll respect you for as long (or little) as you’re together. The only difference between Xan and your average local band member is that Xan is dead. Well, undead. He’s a vampire, though you’d never be able to tell if it weren’t for the occasional need to slurp blood.
Crooked Fang by Carrie Clevenger is a strange, but enjoyable, story. The first part of it acquaints you with Xan and how un-stereotypical-vampire-like he is. There isn’t much action, save an out-of-place scene with a “zombie vampire.” It’s a complete departure from the second half of the novel which is darker and grittier, allowing me to finally get into the storyline.
Full review available at http://www.bittenbybooks.com/54880/crooked-fang-by-carrie-clevenger/.
Crooked Fang by Carrie Clevenger is a strange, but enjoyable, story. The first part of it acquaints you with Xan and how un-stereotypical-vampire-like he is. There isn’t much action, save an out-of-place scene with a “zombie vampire.” It’s a complete departure from the second half of the novel which is darker and grittier, allowing me to finally get into the storyline.
Full review available at http://www.bittenbybooks.com/54880/crooked-fang-by-carrie-clevenger/.
janetted's review
4.0
I'd been anticipating this release for quite a while, and I wasn't disappointed. Anyone who knows me knows I like a good vamp book, emphasis on the good. I'm not much for the cheesy, stereotypical vamp novels, but I like one that will take a vampire and give him some depth. Carrie Clevenger definitely delivered on that front.
Xan Marcelles is one interesting guy - vampire bassist of the band Crooked Fang. My mind immediately wanted to put him in that "rocker" category, which BTW is a category I REALLY like. ;) Is he a sexy as hell bass guitarist? Yeah. Is he your stereotypical musician? Hell no. As the story unfolded it became clear that there were so many layers to Xan - things he kept hidden, feelings he wasn't willing to share or acknowledge, honor & integrity he struggled to maintain. You got a sense of what he was like before his "death," and in some ways it made my heart break. After seeing his friendship with Scott it occurred to me that everyone needs to have a friend like that in life. Just the best kind of unconditional acceptance/friendship ever. I know I'm fumbling my words and not doing it proper justice, but you need to trust me. LOL
Despite all that touching stuff I mentioned about friendship, the story is NOT sad. Well, not really. (Or is it? Maybe at times?) What happens in this first volume of Crooked Fang is kind of a wild ride. There's action and upheaval, and I applaud Carrie Clevenger for how she was able to mix the action with intense emotion on so many levels. Many authors like their plots & subplots in neat little packages - not here. She trusts the reader to be smart enough to juggle multiple crises at a time and follow all the twists and turns. I don't know about you, but I appreciated that.
I'm definitely looking forward to what's to come for the Pale Rider gang!
Xan Marcelles is one interesting guy - vampire bassist of the band Crooked Fang. My mind immediately wanted to put him in that "rocker" category, which BTW is a category I REALLY like. ;) Is he a sexy as hell bass guitarist? Yeah. Is he your stereotypical musician? Hell no. As the story unfolded it became clear that there were so many layers to Xan - things he kept hidden, feelings he wasn't willing to share or acknowledge, honor & integrity he struggled to maintain. You got a sense of what he was like before his "death," and in some ways it made my heart break. After seeing his friendship with Scott it occurred to me that everyone needs to have a friend like that in life. Just the best kind of unconditional acceptance/friendship ever. I know I'm fumbling my words and not doing it proper justice, but you need to trust me. LOL
Despite all that touching stuff I mentioned about friendship, the story is NOT sad. Well, not really. (Or is it? Maybe at times?) What happens in this first volume of Crooked Fang is kind of a wild ride. There's action and upheaval, and I applaud Carrie Clevenger for how she was able to mix the action with intense emotion on so many levels. Many authors like their plots & subplots in neat little packages - not here. She trusts the reader to be smart enough to juggle multiple crises at a time and follow all the twists and turns. I don't know about you, but I appreciated that.
I'm definitely looking forward to what's to come for the Pale Rider gang!
lit_lady's review
4.0
A fantastic vampire read if you're wanting to step away from the gushy romance novels.
Xan's a crude, brooding, young vampire who's a big softy under it all. There was a wide array of complex characters, and great attention to details from Clevenger. The whole novel all I could smell was cigarettes and hard liquor, quite displeasing, but I enjoyed the immersion.
This book does a lot of things right with what is an over saturated market for vampire novels. It stays refreshing in personality and setting, while being loyal to widely loved vampire lore "rules." No one sparkles here, or anything else that might be too far from the reservation.
Though, the ending felt odd, like there should be more, perhaps this is suppose to be part of a series and I'm not aware. Also, I really was upset that Xan while he isn't abusive sort of mean, he is kind of a jerk, and doesn't "grow" out of it by the end of the book. Probably wouldn't have bothered me if I didn't perceive it as immaturity from my personal bias based on real life experiences.
This one is defiantly for ADULT READERS who are looking for a change of pace when it comes to stereotypical paranormal vampire.
Xan's a crude, brooding, young vampire who's a big softy under it all. There was a wide array of complex characters, and great attention to details from Clevenger. The whole novel all I could smell was cigarettes and hard liquor, quite displeasing, but I enjoyed the immersion.
This book does a lot of things right with what is an over saturated market for vampire novels. It stays refreshing in personality and setting, while being loyal to widely loved vampire lore "rules." No one sparkles here, or anything else that might be too far from the reservation.
Though, the ending felt odd, like there should be more, perhaps this is suppose to be part of a series and I'm not aware. Also, I really was upset that Xan while he isn't abusive sort of mean, he is kind of a jerk, and doesn't "grow" out of it by the end of the book. Probably wouldn't have bothered me if I didn't perceive it as immaturity from my personal bias based on real life experiences.
Spoiler
Also I was a little bothered by his girl Tabby just always instantly forgiving him and jumping into bed with him, but facts like these in the book made me kind of feel this book was more intended for a male reader, as guys while they do have complex emotions are pretty cut and dry and they don't like the long drawn out emotional pow-wows women like to have sometimes. Not to mention Xan doesn't seem the kind of guy who would sit around and talk about his feelings, and he's pretty noncommittal when it comes to relationships.This one is defiantly for ADULT READERS who are looking for a change of pace when it comes to stereotypical paranormal vampire.
suzjustsuz's review
4.0
ARC Review originally posted at http://paperbackdolls.com/?p=12388
Xan Marcelles is not your average vampire. Well, that’s not exactly right. Perhaps the primary thing that makes Xan Marcelles different from most of the vampires you are likely to read about in contemporary paranormal romance or urban fantasy is that Xan is so “normal” it’s kind of unnatural. He’s a gritty, heady mix of biker/ musician hottie next door and badass vampire trying very hard to just stay off everyone’s radar. There will be no ruffled poet shirts here. Expect lots of whiskey and cigarettes, Harleys and muscle cars, and references to rock music that will span most of the history of rock. He’s also got a low tolerance threshold for bullshit, but that doesn’t stop him from ending up in it.
Oh yeah, did I mention he’s a hottie musician?
He hasn’t been a vampire long enough to be ancient but he’s been around long enough that if he looked his age some of the groupies that hang around would probably call him middle aged, or maybe even an old guy. He’s still in a place where he has to be careful because people from his mortal life are still alive and can still recognize him, but it’s been long enough that seeing him unchanged would cause a lot of questions. We get hints of his early life as a vampire and those hints coupled with many other insights that are revealed throughout the course the story tell us that this world has a lot of intrigue and danger, but we hover around the edges of that world in this book. Even on the edges there is enough dangerous activity to let us know that Xan is no fool for wanting to keep his head down.
As his band continues to get better known keeping his head down gets harder, demand for their performances increases and the band is chaffing at Xan’s bit. But Xan just wants to be a small, local house band where he can play the music that he loves and have access to a sip here and there as his need dictates. Fame and notoriety, and his band members, have other ideas though.
While Xan would like us all to believe he’s an asshole he also has a very large streak of the white knight in him. He’s pragmatic enough to know that it’s this streak that is as likely to get him into trouble as anything but insightful enough to realize that it’s also a part of him that keeps him connected to his humanity, so it’s another fine line he tries to walk with varying results. In this book his white knight will get him involved with a human woman with significant boyfriend problems and it will send him out on the road to try to help solve a mystery concerning some people from his mortal life. In the process he’ll learn things about his own world that will shake up what he thinks he knows about his reality and about himself.
This book read like it was laying the groundwork for a series. That’s not to say that it was all world building because just the journey was engaging and fun. But by the end I had more questions than when I started even though the primary mystery that sent Xan out of town was solved. Xan is the kind of character that draws you in but you can’t figure out why, like that guy in the local band who isn’t living large and you certainly don’t feel star struck but somehow he still commands your attention. That’s Xan Marcelles, unwilling and undiscovered rock star that makes his own rules and doesn’t really give a fuck who likes it or not.
Did I mention he’s a hottie musician?
Don’t be confused when you start looking for this book. There are two covers, one for the ebook, shown above, and one for the dead tree book, shown below.
Although this book is set to release on August 20, 2012, it’s been available for download on Amazon since August 16, so you can get it now if you just can’t wait (I wouldn’t wait).
If you’d like to get a free taste of Xan then take heart! Clevenger teamed up with author/ editor Nerine Dorman, who wrote my previously reviewed Inkarna, to do a back-and-forth writing style novella entitled Just My Blood Type. Featuring Xan written by Clevenger and a female romance author written by Dorman, the distinct writing styles come together in a compare/ contrast sort of way that is fun and will leave you wanting to know more about Xan. It’s a tasty first look at the character and the world. You can find this free download at Goodreads and Smashwords.
Xan Marcelles is not your average vampire. Well, that’s not exactly right. Perhaps the primary thing that makes Xan Marcelles different from most of the vampires you are likely to read about in contemporary paranormal romance or urban fantasy is that Xan is so “normal” it’s kind of unnatural. He’s a gritty, heady mix of biker/ musician hottie next door and badass vampire trying very hard to just stay off everyone’s radar. There will be no ruffled poet shirts here. Expect lots of whiskey and cigarettes, Harleys and muscle cars, and references to rock music that will span most of the history of rock. He’s also got a low tolerance threshold for bullshit, but that doesn’t stop him from ending up in it.
Oh yeah, did I mention he’s a hottie musician?
He hasn’t been a vampire long enough to be ancient but he’s been around long enough that if he looked his age some of the groupies that hang around would probably call him middle aged, or maybe even an old guy. He’s still in a place where he has to be careful because people from his mortal life are still alive and can still recognize him, but it’s been long enough that seeing him unchanged would cause a lot of questions. We get hints of his early life as a vampire and those hints coupled with many other insights that are revealed throughout the course the story tell us that this world has a lot of intrigue and danger, but we hover around the edges of that world in this book. Even on the edges there is enough dangerous activity to let us know that Xan is no fool for wanting to keep his head down.
As his band continues to get better known keeping his head down gets harder, demand for their performances increases and the band is chaffing at Xan’s bit. But Xan just wants to be a small, local house band where he can play the music that he loves and have access to a sip here and there as his need dictates. Fame and notoriety, and his band members, have other ideas though.
While Xan would like us all to believe he’s an asshole he also has a very large streak of the white knight in him. He’s pragmatic enough to know that it’s this streak that is as likely to get him into trouble as anything but insightful enough to realize that it’s also a part of him that keeps him connected to his humanity, so it’s another fine line he tries to walk with varying results. In this book his white knight will get him involved with a human woman with significant boyfriend problems and it will send him out on the road to try to help solve a mystery concerning some people from his mortal life. In the process he’ll learn things about his own world that will shake up what he thinks he knows about his reality and about himself.
This book read like it was laying the groundwork for a series. That’s not to say that it was all world building because just the journey was engaging and fun. But by the end I had more questions than when I started even though the primary mystery that sent Xan out of town was solved. Xan is the kind of character that draws you in but you can’t figure out why, like that guy in the local band who isn’t living large and you certainly don’t feel star struck but somehow he still commands your attention. That’s Xan Marcelles, unwilling and undiscovered rock star that makes his own rules and doesn’t really give a fuck who likes it or not.
Did I mention he’s a hottie musician?
Don’t be confused when you start looking for this book. There are two covers, one for the ebook, shown above, and one for the dead tree book, shown below.
Although this book is set to release on August 20, 2012, it’s been available for download on Amazon since August 16, so you can get it now if you just can’t wait (I wouldn’t wait).
If you’d like to get a free taste of Xan then take heart! Clevenger teamed up with author/ editor Nerine Dorman, who wrote my previously reviewed Inkarna, to do a back-and-forth writing style novella entitled Just My Blood Type. Featuring Xan written by Clevenger and a female romance author written by Dorman, the distinct writing styles come together in a compare/ contrast sort of way that is fun and will leave you wanting to know more about Xan. It’s a tasty first look at the character and the world. You can find this free download at Goodreads and Smashwords.
bookertsfarm's review
2.0
Rock and Roll vampire smut. Maybe because True Blood premiered this week, or perhaps even more because this book is due back at the library soon, I picked up Crooked Fang looking for an interesting adult read. Well, interesting is one word I guess you can use to describe it. This story jumped around more than a kid playing hopscotch.
I do have to admit I enjoyed Xan as a character. Yeah, he is an ass, but he is a true vampire, not one of these insta-love, sparkly kind. In fact, Xan is the primary reason I finished this book. I did not care for how this book ended as much as I cared about it just ending.
However, I guess the author did something right because I have her next novella about Xan lined up to read in the next few days (also from my library - I would never spend my own money on it). Basically there was a major story line from the novel which was never wrapped up. Yet instead of believing the author purposefully left us with a cliffhanger, it reads more like she forgot her own story. Oh well, you win some and lose some.
I do have to admit I enjoyed Xan as a character. Yeah, he is an ass, but he is a true vampire, not one of these insta-love, sparkly kind. In fact, Xan is the primary reason I finished this book. I did not care for how this book ended as much as I cared about it just ending.
However, I guess the author did something right because I have her next novella about Xan lined up to read in the next few days (also from my library - I would never spend my own money on it). Basically there was a major story line from the novel which was never wrapped up. Yet instead of believing the author purposefully left us with a cliffhanger, it reads more like she forgot her own story. Oh well, you win some and lose some.
frantic_vampire's review
5.0
Seriously loved this book!!!!! It's such a great read and I could not put it down!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a better vampire story. :)
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