Scan barcode
A review by roxanamalinachirila
True Love Bites by Joy Demorra
4.0
I rarely buy books without knowing what they're going to be about, but True Love Bites was one of them. I follow the author on Tumblr, and I had faith she could write. Spoiler: she can!
I came into this without knowing what to expect except that there would be vampires and werewolves. Here are my findings:
True Love Bites is so much fun, and it has a sense of humor
It starts with a bit of a tragedy, in the form of a dead magical tree and a blight threatening to spread throughout the world. It starts with a young soldier returning home from the war, maimed, but alive.
I wasn't sure it would be quite my cup of tea until the first family scene happened, and the humor started shining through. After that, I fell in love.
The world is full of magic and complex...
...and alas, much is left unexplained. But, in short: there are vampires (who... eventually feel their age? I'm not sure) and werewolves (who live for upwards of two centuries, as far as I can tell), as well as liches and various other magical creatures, such as werebears. It's not entirely clear to me exactly how all the pieces fall together, and what wars are waged. Also, a long time ago, there was a great magical disaster leading to the destruction of great areas.
I'm also not entirely sure whether the world is modeled on Earth or not. There's a place called Ingleton, there are northern werewolves... I mean, it could be about the British Isles... or not.
But while I felt the need to find out more, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to understand the world completely to have fun reading the novel.
The characters are charming - and isn't that what we're here for?
Vlad the vampire, is dramatic, clever, unable to stick to a single thing, but capable of coming up with all sorts of clever ideas to improve pretty much anything. Alas, he's also entirely convinced of his own lack of worth, which he hides through sarcasm and a flippant attitude.
Nathan the werewolf is stubborn, with a heart of gold, and capable of seeing the best in people. Not always thinking of consequences, but capable of seeing through bullshit, he's the exact sort of friend you'd want at your side.
And together, they're quite stellar.
Ursula, alas, is present a lot less in the novel, but she's quite charming herself.
There are two sides to this book and
First, there's the romance, which builds quite nicely, and which is quite fluffy and sweet. I'm not sure I'm 100% persuaded by their first bedroom interaction, which felt quite... didactic?... But I'm quite persuaded by the rest of the romance. It's got support, and humor, and attraction, and all the good things.
There's a bit of a hint of polyamory to come, but it's not here yet.
The second part (and I do mean "second part"; it's only foreshadowed for the first half of the book) is a larger plot about magic, saving the world, and a looming threat. And some of that threat is implied to be solved at the end.
But the book just ends. After a bit of looking around, it became apparent this is because Joy Demorra split a single volume into two where it felt appropriate, because otherwise it would have become much too long. Which is fine, but it also means we have to wait awhile before some things get resolved and/or explained.
Overall, it's quite fun, and really recommended
I loved it. It made me smile, and laugh. It made me feel excited and thrilled and intrigued.
I'm looking forward to some things getting explained and continued in the next volume, but I'm nothing if not patient. Now, if only I could find out when it will be published...
I came into this without knowing what to expect except that there would be vampires and werewolves. Here are my findings:
True Love Bites is so much fun, and it has a sense of humor
It starts with a bit of a tragedy, in the form of a dead magical tree and a blight threatening to spread throughout the world. It starts with a young soldier returning home from the war, maimed, but alive.
I wasn't sure it would be quite my cup of tea until the first family scene happened, and the humor started shining through. After that, I fell in love.
The world is full of magic and complex...
...and alas, much is left unexplained. But, in short: there are vampires (who... eventually feel their age? I'm not sure) and werewolves (who live for upwards of two centuries, as far as I can tell), as well as liches and various other magical creatures, such as werebears. It's not entirely clear to me exactly how all the pieces fall together, and what wars are waged. Also, a long time ago, there was a great magical disaster leading to the destruction of great areas.
I'm also not entirely sure whether the world is modeled on Earth or not. There's a place called Ingleton, there are northern werewolves... I mean, it could be about the British Isles... or not.
But while I felt the need to find out more, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to understand the world completely to have fun reading the novel.
The characters are charming - and isn't that what we're here for?
Vlad the vampire, is dramatic, clever, unable to stick to a single thing, but capable of coming up with all sorts of clever ideas to improve pretty much anything. Alas, he's also entirely convinced of his own lack of worth, which he hides through sarcasm and a flippant attitude.
Nathan the werewolf is stubborn, with a heart of gold, and capable of seeing the best in people. Not always thinking of consequences, but capable of seeing through bullshit, he's the exact sort of friend you'd want at your side.
And together, they're quite stellar.
Ursula, alas, is present a lot less in the novel, but she's quite charming herself.
There are two sides to this book and
First, there's the romance, which builds quite nicely, and which is quite fluffy and sweet. I'm not sure I'm 100% persuaded by their first bedroom interaction, which felt quite... didactic?... But I'm quite persuaded by the rest of the romance. It's got support, and humor, and attraction, and all the good things.
There's a bit of a hint of polyamory to come, but it's not here yet.
The second part (and I do mean "second part"; it's only foreshadowed for the first half of the book) is a larger plot about magic, saving the world, and a looming threat. And some of that threat is implied to be solved at the end.
But the book just ends. After a bit of looking around, it became apparent this is because Joy Demorra split a single volume into two where it felt appropriate, because otherwise it would have become much too long. Which is fine, but it also means we have to wait awhile before some things get resolved and/or explained.
Overall, it's quite fun, and really recommended
I loved it. It made me smile, and laugh. It made me feel excited and thrilled and intrigued.
I'm looking forward to some things getting explained and continued in the next volume, but I'm nothing if not patient. Now, if only I could find out when it will be published...