A review by zeecorster
Out for Blood by John Peyton Cooke

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

All in all, this was a fun book to read, especially in June, as the majority of its cast is queer in some capacity and queerness is essential to its plot, yet never explained away or presented inappropriately. I liked the vampire mythos the author created, and I was very charmed by Temsik as a character, though I found the protag, Chris, to be just a little bit of an idiot. It’s not necessarily a great work of literature, but it’s a fun lark and presents a nice spin on the traditional vampire story. 

I would have liked to see a bit more done with the emotional fallout of the Sheridan incident where a simple hookup turns into creating a vampire who was immediately kidnapped by the villain and tortured/imprisoned, as well as with the character of Tim Duffy, a kind gay man who cares for Chris when he’s still suffering from leukemia. Sheridan survives until the end as a vampire, but Tim is only briefly seen again on a missing-person TV show in a bar, which causes Chris to have to scramble away. Both were pleasant enough characters who went through sone rough stuff that is never explored.