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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I love the show Criminal Minds, so a book about a FBI profiler + Vampires/Werewolves/Golems = Greatness!!
Dying Bites has an awesome plot, so no complaints there. My major problem is that I'm not sure if I like Jace (the main character). At the start of the book I had the impression that she was the typical sarcastic, kickass heroine-which I love. Then about 30% in she started annoying me and that pretty much continued until the end of the book. She makes pretty dumb mistakes and she says really insensitive things.
I love her partner, Charlie! This is the second series I've ever read with golems so it's nice to have one as a main character. There seems like there could be a bit of a romance in later books-not with Charlie.
Also, throughout the whole book I kept hoping that she got bitten or scratched, but I guess that would ruin the whole her being in the minority thing...
Great book, recommended! Looking forward to the next book in the series :)
Dying Bites has an awesome plot, so no complaints there. My major problem is that I'm not sure if I like Jace (the main character). At the start of the book I had the impression that she was the typical sarcastic, kickass heroine-which I love. Then about 30% in she started annoying me and that pretty much continued until the end of the book. She makes pretty dumb mistakes and she says really insensitive things.
I love her partner, Charlie! This is the second series I've ever read with golems so it's nice to have one as a main character. There seems like there could be a bit of a romance in later books-not with Charlie.
Also, throughout the whole book I kept hoping that she got bitten or scratched, but I guess that would ruin the whole her being in the minority thing...
Great book, recommended! Looking forward to the next book in the series :)
Very good read, I enjoyed this book a lot and will probably read the sequel. FBI profiler Jace Valchek has just been reassigned -- to an alternate world. The world is populated mostly with vampires, lycanthropes and golems, with humans being an endangered species. But Jace is a specialist in the criminally insane, and this world now has its first serial killer. The world in this book was well imagined and described, and Jace makes an appealing heroine who is tough enough to be believable. Although infected with the usual sarcastic humor urban fantasy seems to be plagued with, it doesn't overwhelm the plot, and some of it was actually funny.
The world building and character building took a while and so was a little slow to get into but once established I was just along for the ride.
Jace is pulled into a alternate reality which humans are an endangered species. They need a trained agent to hunt down a human killer. There were definite twist and turns and you were never really sure whether Jace was on the right side or whether she would think of changing sides. She is obviously stressed, who wouldn't be, and counters it with sarcastic humor. If you like sarcastic humor, with quick wit, this could be a good fit.
I thought it was fun, she is jaded, and she is taking the whole new world rather well, after a manner. Her new "colleagues" all have their idiosyncrasies that Jace is rather well trained to define. Her new "boss" an old vampire that is obviously hiding something, her "partner", who has his own sarcasm, is a golem and is pretty jaded in his own right. Golems are the minority in this reality and he uses sarcasm right back. I really liked this character as he was very original. I would've like to get to know him better. Then there is the geeky scientist Were, and the doctor Were, along with a secretarial Vamp. Then the semi-love interest Were from Japan, definitely hiding something.
The one thing that is missing is a true romantic interest. This might either be a benefit or not depending on how you like your urban fantasy. I didn't mind it so much but would've like something a little more.
Spoiler
The only sexual encounter is a emotional alcohol and drug enhanced decision. She really doesn't show an incredible attraction ahead of time and immediately thinks it is a mistake when it is over. She thinks on the other men in her new world and doesn't have a real pull towards any of them either, though she does have some sort of attraction to some.Since this was written by a man, I tend to see it as a different POV.
I will read the next and see if I've found a new series to follow. Unless it gets darker, I think it will be.
The story was engaging and I enjoyed the little mentions of pop culture here and there. I will probably continue on with the series as I did enjoy the storyline and the characters. My only real issue was that at times some of the plot got a little disjointed. The author threw in elements such as romantic thoughts, etc. These things felt as if they were thrown in the story just because it was expected. Despite that, I think the author did a good job of storytelling and I enjoyed her humor. I enjoyed the book, and certainly will look into continuing with the series.
I chose the audiobook version of this book. For those who choose to listen than reading "Dying Bites" I will say the narrator was good. She did a good job of establishing character personalities with her voice inflections and choice of 'voices'. My only complaint was that at times she would yell in order to emphasize the character's emotion. This was a bit rough on my ears and irritating. Thankfully, it didn't happen often. Unfortunately, this created an effect that gave the character the feel of being mentally unstable. So...maybe she is, I don't know, but I am not entirely sure that was what the author was going for.
I chose the audiobook version of this book. For those who choose to listen than reading "Dying Bites" I will say the narrator was good. She did a good job of establishing character personalities with her voice inflections and choice of 'voices'. My only complaint was that at times she would yell in order to emphasize the character's emotion. This was a bit rough on my ears and irritating. Thankfully, it didn't happen often. Unfortunately, this created an effect that gave the character the feel of being mentally unstable. So...maybe she is, I don't know, but I am not entirely sure that was what the author was going for.
When I first picked up this book, the whole concept seemed rather interesting and unique. Most of the time we're used to seeing urban fantasy books that present an alternate view of reality—a reality where supernaturals live alongside the human population. However, in this book, that isn't the case. Jace must be transported to a parallel universe in order to pull in the UF elements. Something about that was different and fresh. Nevertheless, once I started the book, the whole concept was just blasé. The world creation just fell short. Tracing the supernatural takeover back to WWII was neat; however, I still felt it was underdeveloped.
As a character, Jace was annoying and unsympathetic. She vacillated between different bouts of moodiness. Half of the time I couldn't decide if she needed to be medicated or just take time off for PMS. It was obvious that the author intended for Jace to be witty, funny, and snarky; however, she just came across as a bitch. There are several times when Jace jumps to conclusions and is extremely rude/unpleasant toward the people she works with. Many times she would attack Charlie for no apparent reason.
While some of the other character seemed like they could have had interesting back stories, they were one dimensional and embryonic. Further, all of the races seem to be the same: the lycanthropes are in a constant state of rut, the vampires feed to the cold and aloof stereotype, and so on.
There were a lot of weird things in the book that didn't sense to me. The humans, while stating that they were not supes, could have magical powers and shape change. That seemed rather weird. If humans were a helpless minority, why would they be able to control magic? It was obvious that the author did a lot of research; however, she has regular humans as selkies. Huh?
For me, the book rounds out to a big, resounding meh. It just didn't do it for me. It was a rather mindless read and never helped me move beyond my initial feelings. Moreover, the ending was extremely predictable. That being said,there are some sui generis themes that could easily be cultivated into something amazing. As it stands, this book is immature, badly paced, and not well thought out.
As a character, Jace was annoying and unsympathetic. She vacillated between different bouts of moodiness. Half of the time I couldn't decide if she needed to be medicated or just take time off for PMS. It was obvious that the author intended for Jace to be witty, funny, and snarky; however, she just came across as a bitch. There are several times when Jace jumps to conclusions and is extremely rude/unpleasant toward the people she works with. Many times she would attack Charlie for no apparent reason.
While some of the other character seemed like they could have had interesting back stories, they were one dimensional and embryonic. Further, all of the races seem to be the same: the lycanthropes are in a constant state of rut, the vampires feed to the cold and aloof stereotype, and so on.
There were a lot of weird things in the book that didn't sense to me. The humans, while stating that they were not supes, could have magical powers and shape change. That seemed rather weird. If humans were a helpless minority, why would they be able to control magic? It was obvious that the author did a lot of research; however, she has regular humans as selkies. Huh?
For me, the book rounds out to a big, resounding meh. It just didn't do it for me. It was a rather mindless read and never helped me move beyond my initial feelings. Moreover, the ending was extremely predictable. That being said,there are some sui generis themes that could easily be cultivated into something amazing. As it stands, this book is immature, badly paced, and not well thought out.
Good story line but hard to engage with. Parts were confusing. Would have liked more details after she read the scroll
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-book-54.html
medium-paced
Really good hook, but could not keep it up. The author just did too good a job demonising the world Jace finds herself in, and frankly, I sympathise with the humans.
3.5 stars
Between the gore, the first person present narrative, and the please-no-love-triangles mantra I kept chanting, I feel like I shouldn't like this, but I'm a sucker for a competent, smart-ass heroine. Overall, I enjoyed the story and found the alternate Earth the author created to be fascinating -- I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of vampires being Muslim Shintoists. Another major plus: whenever a character has an accent, be it Japanese or French-Canadian, the author just says that instead of trying to write in dialect (thank you!).
I think my favorite part, though, is Jace's burgeoning friendship with her golem bodyguard, Charlie:
NB: While the murder victims' deaths are gruesome, the descriptions aren't gratuitous. Also, the swearing is mild and the sex takes place off screen.
Between the gore, the first person present narrative, and the please-no-love-triangles mantra I kept chanting, I feel like I shouldn't like this, but I'm a sucker for a competent, smart-ass heroine. Overall, I enjoyed the story and found the alternate Earth the author created to be fascinating -- I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of vampires being Muslim Shintoists. Another major plus: whenever a character has an accent, be it Japanese or French-Canadian, the author just says that instead of trying to write in dialect (thank you!).
I think my favorite part, though, is Jace's burgeoning friendship with her golem bodyguard, Charlie:
"... where I come from [we have] partners. A partner is a person who watches your back, points out when you're screwing up, trusts you completely and occasionally saves your life. They do that for you... and you do that for them."
We glare at each other for a long moment.
"Problem is," he says at last, "we're here, not there."
"Doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me."
He considers this. "You know, that'd be a lot more reassuring if you weren't so damned fragile."
"I'm fragile? At least I don't burst into tears when I'm feeling unappreciated."
"True. You're more likely to shoot something."
"I find it therapeutic. You should try it sometime."
"No thanks. I'll stick to knitting tea cozies and sobbing into my pillow."
"We done?"
"Pretty much."
NB: While the murder victims' deaths are gruesome, the descriptions aren't gratuitous. Also, the swearing is mild and the sex takes place off screen.