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amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Really fun vampire book with a twist on their typical creation, a great hero who's for once not a typical hero, and a kick-ass trickster with the attention span of an ADD goldfish. REALLY like how this series is starting out, how the main character Fortitude is beginning to grow, and can't wait to find out what happens to him!
flerpi's review against another edition
4.0
Review with pics: https://bewareofsloth.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/generation-v/
This book could have been bad. Nowadays any book that has vampires in it makes me suspect that sexy blood suckers and/or Bella-sues will be making an appearance. However, this book really doesn’t have that. Thank goodness.
Meet the Scotts, a family of vampires. Madeline is the matriarch, an old, powerful, and respected vampire with a large territory and three children she sired. Prudence is the oldest child; she’s independent and cold. Proper, obedient Chivalry is the middle child, and although he’s married, he still lives with Madeline. Then there’s Fortitude, the youngest sibling and the main character of the book.
Fortitude (Fort) is a loser. He works at a crappy Starbucks knock-off, has a useless liberal arts degree, and a junker car. He has a girlfriend, but she’s a rebellious super-liberal and she’s openly cheating on him with his bum of a roommate. The only “cool” point is Fort’s favor is that he’s a vampire. Or rather, he will be after he goes through vampire puberty. But he doesn’t want to be a vampire, so he avoids his family and eats veggie wraps instead of steak, hoping that’ll delay vampire adulthood.
Fort isn’t a complete lost cause. In fact, he’s the most empathetic of his family; not difficult, considering most of his family has as much empathy as a brick. His family sees humans as pets, servants, and food, while Fort likes and respects humans as sentient beings. This is part of the reason why he doesn’t want to become a full-fledged vampire.
Thing is, even with his good heart and good intentions, Fort does some stuff that firmly qualifies as stupid. A big bad vampire visits the Scott family, and while in their territory he kidnaps a girl. Fort is horrified, both by the kidnapping and his family’s lack of concern about it. So he, a weak baby vamp and with a bad poker face, decides to try to confront the vampire and bluff him into releasing the girl. His backup plan? A gun he’s not even sure can kill the vampire.
Other interesting characters appear in the book. There’s a curmudgeonly witch, a half-elf, and a family of kitsunes. One kitsunes, Suzume, is funny and becomes an important character. I suspect she’ll be a love interest in later books, but for now I like her.
Overall this is a was a fun book. It wasn’t deep or ground-breaking, but it was fun, had a good pace, and wasn’t bogged down by an insipid romance. The author’s take on vampire biology was interesting, and I like dynamics of the Scott family. I plan to try to read at least the next book in this series.
This book could have been bad. Nowadays any book that has vampires in it makes me suspect that sexy blood suckers and/or Bella-sues will be making an appearance. However, this book really doesn’t have that. Thank goodness.
Meet the Scotts, a family of vampires. Madeline is the matriarch, an old, powerful, and respected vampire with a large territory and three children she sired. Prudence is the oldest child; she’s independent and cold. Proper, obedient Chivalry is the middle child, and although he’s married, he still lives with Madeline. Then there’s Fortitude, the youngest sibling and the main character of the book.
Fortitude (Fort) is a loser. He works at a crappy Starbucks knock-off, has a useless liberal arts degree, and a junker car. He has a girlfriend, but she’s a rebellious super-liberal and she’s openly cheating on him with his bum of a roommate. The only “cool” point is Fort’s favor is that he’s a vampire. Or rather, he will be after he goes through vampire puberty. But he doesn’t want to be a vampire, so he avoids his family and eats veggie wraps instead of steak, hoping that’ll delay vampire adulthood.
Fort isn’t a complete lost cause. In fact, he’s the most empathetic of his family; not difficult, considering most of his family has as much empathy as a brick. His family sees humans as pets, servants, and food, while Fort likes and respects humans as sentient beings. This is part of the reason why he doesn’t want to become a full-fledged vampire.
Thing is, even with his good heart and good intentions, Fort does some stuff that firmly qualifies as stupid. A big bad vampire visits the Scott family, and while in their territory he kidnaps a girl. Fort is horrified, both by the kidnapping and his family’s lack of concern about it. So he, a weak baby vamp and with a bad poker face, decides to try to confront the vampire and bluff him into releasing the girl. His backup plan? A gun he’s not even sure can kill the vampire.
Other interesting characters appear in the book. There’s a curmudgeonly witch, a half-elf, and a family of kitsunes. One kitsunes, Suzume, is funny and becomes an important character. I suspect she’ll be a love interest in later books, but for now I like her.
Overall this is a was a fun book. It wasn’t deep or ground-breaking, but it was fun, had a good pace, and wasn’t bogged down by an insipid romance. The author’s take on vampire biology was interesting, and I like dynamics of the Scott family. I plan to try to read at least the next book in this series.
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first in an urban-fantasy/vampire series. Years ago, a friend persuaded me to read the first couple of books in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I didn't enjoy them. Since then, I've encountered a succession of vampires without warming to them. So it came as a surprise that I enjoyed this. Indeed, I enjoyed it very much. Spoilers ahead.
I had great fun reading this. I've already ordered book two.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Spoiler
I liked Fortitude, the vampire narrator: struggling to make ends meet, at odds with his relatives. One reason he has trouble with his relatives is that they view his concern for humans as a distinctly dubious trait. And Fortitude's concerns get him into dark waters when he tries to save young girls from predators. On the occasions when the book deals with atrocities such as pedophilia, the tone is grim. For the most, however, there's an unexpectedly light, humorous tone. In another happy surprise, the book includes several kitsune (from Japanese folklore), a family ancestor having immigrated to Rhode Island in the wake of World War II. Between the likable vampire hero and the kitsune,About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
blodeuedd's review against another edition
4.0
I am wavering between a 3 and a 4, and only cos I really did enjoy it, but what if the second book is even better? Oh well then it will be :) So more a 3.75 or something ;)
I liked Fort, he was so not kick-ass. He let his room mate walk all over him, his girlfriend, his boss. But you know what, I do not always need kick-ass. Would I be able to stand up to everyone all the time? No. So it only made him more human. But as the progresses he doe get better, which I liked. Because sometimes you really do need to stand your ground.
Fort is a vamp, but has not really become one yet. And he likes being "human" as long he can. His family is rich and arrogant and all vampire. While he has a shit job, a room mate who does not pay his rent, and a degree that gives him nothing.
The world was interesting. Vamps, we saw kitsunes (I have always liked those), and humans who know nothing (as I like it).
Conclusion:
There was a bit of action, a hunt, and just good times. I enjoyed the book nad I certainly look forward to book 2. *fingers crossed it will be good too*
I liked Fort, he was so not kick-ass. He let his room mate walk all over him, his girlfriend, his boss. But you know what, I do not always need kick-ass. Would I be able to stand up to everyone all the time? No. So it only made him more human. But as the progresses he doe get better, which I liked. Because sometimes you really do need to stand your ground.
Fort is a vamp, but has not really become one yet. And he likes being "human" as long he can. His family is rich and arrogant and all vampire. While he has a shit job, a room mate who does not pay his rent, and a degree that gives him nothing.
The world was interesting. Vamps, we saw kitsunes (I have always liked those), and humans who know nothing (as I like it).
Conclusion:
There was a bit of action, a hunt, and just good times. I enjoyed the book nad I certainly look forward to book 2. *fingers crossed it will be good too*
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
I don't read a lot of UF these days, outside of a few long running series that I've been reading for years, because most of it is the same-old-same-old, recycled stuff. This book was a pleasant surprise. It offers up a fresh take on vampires (it can be done!) and gives readers a totally average hero in the guise of Fortitude Scott, Fort for short. He's a vampire, yes, but he's a baby vamp and thus not very strong at all. He has no fighting skills to speak of. In fact, he's usually the punching bag for others, both literally and metaphorically. When he pisses off a powerful, visiting vampire at a dinner hosted by his mother, he gets assigned a kistune bodyguard named Suzume. I liked her but her schtick did get a little old by the end. As an introvert I'd find her utterly exhausting to be around in real life. And the constant reference to how sexy she is and how seductive her every move is got annoying. I get it already. I assume she's meant to be the eventual love interest but I was really more interested in Fort's relationship with his much older brother, Chivalry. I liked the bond that seemed to be there and I'm a sucker for sibling bonds. The humor in this book was another highlight for me and I laughed aloud several times while reading this.
saluki's review against another edition
4.0
This was sooooo much fun!
Fort (Fortitude) is not a full-fledged vampire - he's physically weak as he hasn't transitioned yet, but it's his empathy towards humanity and his reluctance to lose his own human emotions and morality that is unique for his kind. And, a source of contention within his vampire family who are an interesting, if scary, bunch.
As much as I like Fort for his self-effacing nature and ready sarcasm, plus his growth in this first in a six book series, it is Suzume who I loved. She's a kitsune, a fox-shifter who is smart, tricksey, and enchanting - she not only has attitude in spades and kicks ass but is powerful with illusions too. She had me rocking my socks off. That fox is hellish fun and Fort's life is turned topsy-turvy when she turns up to guard his baby vamp butt.
Loved this read so much that I'll be devouring the following books... pronto!
audiobook_addict's review against another edition
5.0
I've read a lot of vampire books. Heck, I even fell into the Twilight saga for the vampires and the hype surrounding it, and it was ok. Of course I'm a sucker for anything vampire, werewolf, shapeshifter whatever. I even dove into the True Blood series. Nothing was like this. It's been a long time since I've stumbled onto a vampire novel that kept me engaged from start to finish like this one did. was truly curious to see if Fortitude Scott would pull it all together or if he would get his butt kicked in the process and how bad. But, it didn't turn into a trainwreck at all. I was truly curious to see how the story wrapped up, and ML Brennan did a fabulous job of pulling you in from the very start. I can't say enough about this book, and the Nls narration by Alec Vols was phenomenal. I am about to start Iron Night and I'm excited to see if it will hold up to the first book. Here's hoping it will. I'll let you know. I was going to binge watch a show or two on netflix, but, this might just put that on hold for the moment. Happy reading yall.
booksabrewin's review against another edition
4.0
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review from the author. M.L. Brennan also provided a signed finished copy for a giveaway on my site. Very sweet!
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know if I was going to like this book when I first went into it. I knew there was a slight lack of romance that was mentioned by others who have read the book. I am a romance fanatic so the fact that it wasn’t going to be prevalent in this book was something that made me a bit weary. I thought I wouldn’t like this book at all.
Boy, was I ever wrong. I was hooked within the first few chapters. Fortitude fighting against his nature and the indifferent emotions of his race toward humans was admirable. I was surprised by how little other vampires felt about the human race since you would think they would find their food source to be valuable enough for at least a passing thought. Fortitude struggled with the same issues. He couldn’t sit back and do nothing while humans were being harmed, tormented, and used for only what they could provide before being discarded like trash.
Brennan's vampires are much more complex than your run-of-the-mill vampires. They are the brain children of science and fantasy. In Fortitude's world, vampires are born to be vampires, not created by a simple bite or exchange of blood. Originality at its finest!
The book really got interesting after Suzume made an appearance. She and Fort had so many hilarious interactions that I found myself in stitches through half the book. I was reading around my boyfriend and he couldn’t understand why I kept lapsing into relentless giggles. That would be Suzume and Fort for you.
Of course, the book was not all fun and games the entire time. There was a disturbing twist in the evil that enters Fort’s world. I was squirming in my seat as some very adult situations started to happen. I won’t reveal too much, but let’s just say that this book is not suitable for young teenagers. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
The end of the book was perfectly written to lead into the next installment of the series. I look forward to seeing how Fortitude and Suzume develop both as characters and in a possible relationship. Those two were adorable together and I would love to see them become an item. Fortitude is also slowly growing into his role as a vampire.
Overall, the book was extremely well written, the characters were well developed, the comedy was beautiful, and the serious parts made my heart swell. I have not written a book this good that didn’t contain an overwhelming amount of romance, since… well, I don’t even know. M.L. Brennan is a genius and I recommend this book to people who want a slightly different take on the vampire race.
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lizzy_22's review against another edition
3.0
Generation V I would have said that Generation V was a perfectly adequate vampire story, albeit with some interesting twists on the mythology of vamps, but the combination of a male POV and the developments toward the end of the story changed it into something wholly different and interesting.
Fortitude is a vampire with a conscience, much to the consternation of his family, and that, combined with the complications the completion of his vampire transformation poses, makes me eager to read the next book in the series.
Fortitude is a vampire with a conscience, much to the consternation of his family, and that, combined with the complications the completion of his vampire transformation poses, makes me eager to read the next book in the series.
kimreadsthings's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
I just cannot with a main character who says both "elf-juice" (meaning elf semen, seriously??) and "va-jay-jay" in the same sentence. I wanted to like Suzume so much, too. She's clearly a badass, and I liked that she was not a perfect angel and is somewhat morally ambiguous. But good god, she was just too much...too annoying, too over the top for me. It's also a shame because I liked Fort a lot (I love me a good beta hero). The plot is too predictable, though, and so I found myself rather bored. No romance in this one but the set up is clearly there for a Fort and Suzume pairing in future books.
I just cannot with a main character who says both "elf-juice" (meaning elf semen, seriously??) and "va-jay-jay" in the same sentence. I wanted to like Suzume so much, too. She's clearly a badass, and I liked that she was not a perfect angel and is somewhat morally ambiguous. But good god, she was just too much...too annoying, too over the top for me. It's also a shame because I liked Fort a lot (I love me a good beta hero). The plot is too predictable, though, and so I found myself rather bored. No romance in this one but the set up is clearly there for a Fort and Suzume pairing in future books.