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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
So this is a mystery/thriller/fantasy/paranormal/romance-y hybrid. I like the idea of this a lot, an FBI investigator woman transported into an alt universe where humans are the minority, vamps and werewolfs and golems are the majority. It's just the execution is spotty because the world is just unbelievable in some of the building blocks. And unfortunately the deeper you get into this series the harder it is to have your disbelief suspended because of some of those worldbuilding aspects as well.
-Liked the main character, pretty standard tough-girl but not too forced, so I liked her. I liked that she got involved with a dude and it wasn't "WE ARE MEAN TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER". More realistic and I appreciated that
-Loved the Golems, thought that was the cleverest part of the book and made it different from typical Vampire/Werewolf stories.
-Hated the whole gun rationale, it was just ridiculous. And the whole drug thing that she had to take and, well, a few other things like this took me out of the book, which is my basic overall negative. Building worlds from scratch is hard, and this one has a few potholes.
Overall this satisfied my itch for an urban paranormal book on the beach!
-Liked the main character, pretty standard tough-girl but not too forced, so I liked her. I liked that she got involved with a dude and it wasn't "WE ARE MEAN TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER". More realistic and I appreciated that
-Loved the Golems, thought that was the cleverest part of the book and made it different from typical Vampire/Werewolf stories.
-Hated the whole gun rationale, it was just ridiculous. And the whole drug thing that she had to take and, well, a few other things like this took me out of the book, which is my basic overall negative. Building worlds from scratch is hard, and this one has a few potholes.
Overall this satisfied my itch for an urban paranormal book on the beach!
Totally awesome! She just needs to get with her boss.
This series is wildly underappreciated. I'm rereading them after a few years, and I still find them utterly delightful. Fascinating world-building, amazing characters (Charlie is forever and always my favorite), and lots of interesting relationships.
I rated this book a little higher than I might have if it were not part of a series. The main plot of the book is about a FBI Profiler who is quite a smart ass and a bit anti social who gets "summoned" against her will into an alternate universe. In this universe Vampires and Werewolves are the majorities and humans are next to extinction.
The person responsible for pulling her into this universe is the head of the NSA, and a vampire. She is told she can be sent home if she tracks down a serial killer who has evaded the authorities in this universe.
Here is one thing that really bugged me about this story. Jace (the main character) barely puts up a fight on this. Where most people would rebel against this she pretty much takes it with not much more than some wise cracks. This made it a bit hard to relate to her for the first part of the story. Once she got into the investigation it was much easier to believe she got wrapped up in the case.
I also felt that there could have been more internal struggle about tracking down her own race for the people who were responsible for making them near extinct.
Overall I enjoyed the world the author created. I liked how the relationships developed by the end of the book. It definitely left the series open and I look forward to reading the next books in the series.
The person responsible for pulling her into this universe is the head of the NSA, and a vampire. She is told she can be sent home if she tracks down a serial killer who has evaded the authorities in this universe.
Here is one thing that really bugged me about this story. Jace (the main character) barely puts up a fight on this. Where most people would rebel against this she pretty much takes it with not much more than some wise cracks. This made it a bit hard to relate to her for the first part of the story. Once she got into the investigation it was much easier to believe she got wrapped up in the case.
I also felt that there could have been more internal struggle about tracking down her own race for the people who were responsible for making them near extinct.
Overall I enjoyed the world the author created. I liked how the relationships developed by the end of the book. It definitely left the series open and I look forward to reading the next books in the series.
Fun read, action packed story, multi-dimensional characters (good guys and bad guys) and an interesting parallel world idea. Well done.
Really really different. And I like it. FBI profiler gets sucked into another world where humans only make up 1% of the population.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the plot in this book. I love the combination of fbi thriller and paranormal so I’m always looking for books in that genre.
The storyline was engaging. The murders were gruesome and cruel. The characters were alright. The fell a little flat for me. Jace was the hard ass agent but that’s all I can really tell you about her. Just snark and teasing but then shed get all pissy at the drop of a hat. Her constantly lusting after all these men was a little much. She had no connection with them but yet couldn’t tear her eyes away from theirs. It made it feel like any feelings between them were being pushed and in genuine.
The world building was a little confusing. There were like 3 names (at least) for every species and it’s not handled well it’s just all kind of thrown at you and could get confusing.
My BIGGEST issue is I don’t know if Jace chose the right side or if there even was a right side. The fact that her employer was fine with mass genocide in the past to better HIS species I don’t know that I can look past that. Especially if he develops into her boyfriend or something. Especially since as soon as things get bad again their first instinct is for mass genocide AGAIN of another species to save theirs. Where’s the right in that. Kill millions of innocents to save theirs million that were infected. We’ll see how the story keeps going for me.
The storyline was engaging. The murders were gruesome and cruel. The characters were alright. The fell a little flat for me. Jace was the hard ass agent but that’s all I can really tell you about her. Just snark and teasing but then shed get all pissy at the drop of a hat. Her constantly lusting after all these men was a little much. She had no connection with them but yet couldn’t tear her eyes away from theirs. It made it feel like any feelings between them were being pushed and in genuine.
The world building was a little confusing. There were like 3 names (at least) for every species and it’s not handled well it’s just all kind of thrown at you and could get confusing.
My BIGGEST issue is I don’t know if Jace chose the right side or if there even was a right side. The fact that her employer was fine with mass genocide in the past to better HIS species I don’t know that I can look past that. Especially if he develops into her boyfriend or something. Especially since as soon as things get bad again their first instinct is for mass genocide AGAIN of another species to save theirs. Where’s the right in that. Kill millions of innocents to save theirs million that were infected. We’ll see how the story keeps going for me.
The idea was promising and the main characters seemed interesting. I even tried the second book of the series. But every issue I had from the start only grew and worsened with every page.
Surprisingly good.... makes me realize I cannot trust the reviews on Goodreads. I know reviews are always subjective, however some people are very bias in their reviews. This book is not life changing or affirming, however it was a good way to pass the hours of a cold grey winter's day.
Dying Bites has the basis of your typical Urban Fantasy with a dash of Alternate Reality thrown into the mix. Jace Valchek is an FBI profiler from our world - no supernatural creatures, no magic. That is, until she's pulled into an alternate reality where vampires head the NSA, werewolves are Catholic, golems are "basically human-shaped plastic bags filled with sand" and humans are less than 1% of the population.
I really enjoyed the world building in of this novel. The world she creates has some interesting new layers for some typical paranormal creatures. Her supernaturals are more an evolution of humanity than a predator of humanity (though they are still predatory), her ideas about golems are clever, and she has an answer to vampire procreation (and boy did I not see that coming).
Character wise, it fell flat for me. Jace is dragged into another dimension and medicated with Urthbone (an herbal remedy that helps her stay connected to her new dimension rather than being rejected by it in much the same way a transplant can be rejected by a body). The problem with Urthbone is that it also makes you somewhat empathic, which leads to all kinds of crazy mixed signals, a one-night stand, an almost one-night standing with another guy, and two other hardcore crushes. Just a wee bit excessive, in my opinion. (Also, unfortunate that the one guy I actually liked happened to be the bad guy in disguise.) Jace claims to be independent and self-reliant, but really all she does is freak out when someone else tries to do their job and protect her. Later on, she gives the same someone a lecture about how partners have each other's backs and she wants them to be partners. There were just a lot of little things that irked me here and there.
I'm vaguely interested in what happens next, but mostly in the sense that it's just newly on my mind and I will likely forget all about it after I read the next book and never pick up the sequel.
I really enjoyed the world building in of this novel. The world she creates has some interesting new layers for some typical paranormal creatures. Her supernaturals are more an evolution of humanity than a predator of humanity (though they are still predatory), her ideas about golems are clever, and she has an answer to vampire procreation (and boy did I not see that coming).
Character wise, it fell flat for me. Jace is dragged into another dimension and medicated with Urthbone (an herbal remedy that helps her stay connected to her new dimension rather than being rejected by it in much the same way a transplant can be rejected by a body). The problem with Urthbone is that it also makes you somewhat empathic, which leads to all kinds of crazy mixed signals, a one-night stand, an almost one-night standing with another guy, and two other hardcore crushes. Just a wee bit excessive, in my opinion. (Also, unfortunate that the one guy I actually liked happened to be the bad guy in disguise.) Jace claims to be independent and self-reliant, but really all she does is freak out when someone else tries to do their job and protect her. Later on, she gives the same someone a lecture about how partners have each other's backs and she wants them to be partners. There were just a lot of little things that irked me here and there.
I'm vaguely interested in what happens next, but mostly in the sense that it's just newly on my mind and I will likely forget all about it after I read the next book and never pick up the sequel.