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lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
I want to start off this review by saying that I LOVE Bethany Anne! She's strong, doesn't take s***, and lives a very interesting life. Also, the plot of the book in and of itself was very interesting in general, a sort of military/paranormal mashup. I am definitely reading book two. I really enjoyed this book. 4 stars! No editing errors either!
whattamess's review against another edition
3.0
Michael Anderle has a really good story idea. I loved his "vampires". Interesting twist to what a "vampire" is. The series has great potential BUT it's a tad bit boring. The characters are great! He just needs to get down on a personal level. Have more dialogue. Tell the story through feelings instead of paragraph after paragraph of explaining things from a non personal viewpoint. But, that's my preference on how I enjoy reading.
Some time in the future I'd like to give the second book a go.
tomasthanes's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to a podcast (Writers of the Future) where they interviewed Michael Anderle which is why I read this book. He is both an author and a publisher (https://lmbpn.com/) and he wants to help authors become financially stable by writing and collaborating on book series (this is an incomplete summation).
He writes quickly and uses a team of alpha readers to clean up the story before quickly publishing it (which, if you're the publisher, become an option).
So, I read this book with lowered expectations. True, it wasn't literature (Charles Dickens) or top tier Sci-Fi (The Expanse) yet it wasn't all bad. There were consistent characters with their own voice. Sometimes I got mixed messages from the pronouns (was he just talking about Bethany Ann or Ekaterina?). Sometimes the descriptions could've been a bit fuller (but this is entirely subjective). I do think that the editing could've been more thorough.
When he said "It was obvious she had no bra on-- and it didn't look like one was necessary...", I couldn't grok what he was trying to tell me. Flat-chested? I'm confused.
One of the things that makes this book stand out is that it's not Sci-Fi or Urban Fantasy. It's a pleasant mixture. There's a space ship. There are vampires and werecreatures (at least two - we'll see if there's more types). The relationship between Algerian (werewolf) and Petre (vampire) was ambiguous; why were they working together in the first place?
It's interesting that the reviews on Amazon are either 1 star or 5 stars. That tells you something.
I never did find out who the second woman on the cover was; I never would've guessed that it was Ekaterina. It does look like the covers get better over time.
I really don't understand the fascination with Christian Louboutins but that might be a generational/gender thing.
Nevertheless, the book was a quick read and I'm moving on to Book 2 in the series.
He writes quickly and uses a team of alpha readers to clean up the story before quickly publishing it (which, if you're the publisher, become an option).
So, I read this book with lowered expectations. True, it wasn't literature (Charles Dickens) or top tier Sci-Fi (The Expanse) yet it wasn't all bad. There were consistent characters with their own voice. Sometimes I got mixed messages from the pronouns (was he just talking about Bethany Ann or Ekaterina?). Sometimes the descriptions could've been a bit fuller (but this is entirely subjective). I do think that the editing could've been more thorough.
When he said "It was obvious she had no bra on-- and it didn't look like one was necessary...", I couldn't grok what he was trying to tell me. Flat-chested? I'm confused.
One of the things that makes this book stand out is that it's not Sci-Fi or Urban Fantasy. It's a pleasant mixture. There's a space ship. There are vampires and werecreatures (at least two - we'll see if there's more types). The relationship between Algerian (werewolf) and Petre (vampire) was ambiguous; why were they working together in the first place?
It's interesting that the reviews on Amazon are either 1 star or 5 stars. That tells you something.
I never did find out who the second woman on the cover was; I never would've guessed that it was Ekaterina. It does look like the covers get better over time.
I really don't understand the fascination with Christian Louboutins but that might be a generational/gender thing.
Nevertheless, the book was a quick read and I'm moving on to Book 2 in the series.
duni100's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marcelozanca's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
atagarev's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I can properly call this a book. Its a synopsis for the beginning of a typical but interesting urban fantasy series. Unfortunately the writing is absolutely amateurish and destroys the potential of the series. It all reads like a teenager's first attempt to write something and the first draft of that to boot.
Two stars mostly because I am a sucker for urban fantasy and I would have enjoyed a series with this plot if it was remotely competently written.
Two stars mostly because I am a sucker for urban fantasy and I would have enjoyed a series with this plot if it was remotely competently written.
girlwithsense's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mr_rane's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed the book overall but a few things bothered me. The first 60% was setting everything up but seemed a little long then the last 40% was more action packed but skipped over a lot of details. Things just happened and it was a sentence or two where if it was in the first half it would have been explained better.
Looking forward to the next book.
Looking forward to the next book.
starryeyedreamer's review against another edition
3.0
I read this entire series over a few days. Based on his own notes, the author appears to have written it (other than this, the first book) over a few months or maybe even weeks. Fast is the way to read it, because if you go too slow you'll trip over the clunky writing. Writing that fast the author jumps awkwardly between plot exposition, the internal dialogue of his characters, technical description of the fancy military/computer hardware they use, actual dialogue, and action scenes, and doesn't seem to have taken any time to sit back and say: 'Hey, maybe that bit would be better here than there.' The writing generally is not high quality, but I found the premise irresistible and the narrative ride fun.
The 'cussing', as my US friends refer to it, isn't a problem for me because I'm an Australian, but be warned, it is absolutely gratuitous - the author is clearly adding it in there because it amuses him. There are lots of characters, but the central one, though biologically female, and identifying as both heterosexual and female...well, let's just say you can tell the writer is strictly only one of the above. (On the other hand, her thoughts are way more recognisable to me than those Robert Heinlein put in the heads of his women so well done Michael Anderle for that - you recognise that humans are humans, even when they are female, or vampires, or werewolves.)
The writer openly admits that he wrote this to be pure escapist fiction and doesn't care about any of the other stuff. So, if you don't care too much about the other stuff either, can handle a lot of naughty words, and want to read a rollicking but distinctly un-woke tale of vampires and werewolves using expensive tech and massive amounts of violence to kill the bad guys and save the world, with occasional intervals for horizontal leisure activities, go for it.
The 'cussing', as my US friends refer to it, isn't a problem for me because I'm an Australian, but be warned, it is absolutely gratuitous - the author is clearly adding it in there because it amuses him. There are lots of characters, but the central one, though biologically female, and identifying as both heterosexual and female...well, let's just say you can tell the writer is strictly only one of the above. (On the other hand, her thoughts are way more recognisable to me than those Robert Heinlein put in the heads of his women so well done Michael Anderle for that - you recognise that humans are humans, even when they are female, or vampires, or werewolves.)
The writer openly admits that he wrote this to be pure escapist fiction and doesn't care about any of the other stuff. So, if you don't care too much about the other stuff either, can handle a lot of naughty words, and want to read a rollicking but distinctly un-woke tale of vampires and werewolves using expensive tech and massive amounts of violence to kill the bad guys and save the world, with occasional intervals for horizontal leisure activities, go for it.