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A review by xeyra
Staked by J.F. Lewis
4.0
It seems sometimes the urban fantasy genre has pretty much the same basic premise: badass girl who is special in some way fights bad guys while falling in love/having torrid affairs/engaging in love triangles with other special people. While I enjoy the genre, and haven't yet read enough of it to become completely and utterly tired of it, it is nice to find a book in the genre with a different sort of feel to it.
For one, Staked's protagonist is a guy. With all that comes with being a guy, including being an asshole who doesn't understand women and is absolutely stupid. And can't keep it in his pants. He's also kind of endearing in his cluelessness, even when you want to slap him. Eric has a good heart, which helps the likeability factor. He's also a totally Gary Stu power-wise but you can kind of let that pass because of his other character traits and flaws, including being completely dumb.
The female protagonist is a little different. It was not difficult to sympathise with Tabitha but it was easier to get frustrated at her because of her own blindness. She's strong and self-possessed, and I'm really glad she's turning out to be a pretty unique vampire in her own right, but she's also whiny and a little dumb and completely obsessed with making Eric love her and share with her a long immortal love life, even when he tries to dissuage her of such thoughts. As a woman reading it, it kind of makes you want to go 'gurrrl, snap out of it!'.
The tone of the book was an aspect I really liked. The comic timing was great, making for some really hilarious moments. Eric's dry sense of humor and his cluelessness made for an interesting rollercoaster of a ride. I liked the dual points of view. It provided a good insight into each character and allowed us to peak into different events happening in parallel. I finished the book wanting to know what the hell would happen to all these characters. What will the next books reveal about Eric? What will Tabitha do? What is Talbot? Will Eric find out about the wolf in sheep's clothing trying to manipulate him through sex?
Overall, I enjoyed this more than what I thought I would after the first chapters of idiotic maleness. And I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. At least it makes for something a little different.
For one, Staked's protagonist is a guy. With all that comes with being a guy, including being an asshole who doesn't understand women and is absolutely stupid. And can't keep it in his pants. He's also kind of endearing in his cluelessness, even when you want to slap him. Eric has a good heart, which helps the likeability factor. He's also a totally Gary Stu power-wise but you can kind of let that pass because of his other character traits and flaws, including being completely dumb.
The female protagonist is a little different. It was not difficult to sympathise with Tabitha but it was easier to get frustrated at her because of her own blindness. She's strong and self-possessed, and I'm really glad she's turning out to be a pretty unique vampire in her own right, but she's also whiny and a little dumb and completely obsessed with making Eric love her and share with her a long immortal love life, even when he tries to dissuage her of such thoughts. As a woman reading it, it kind of makes you want to go 'gurrrl, snap out of it!'.
The tone of the book was an aspect I really liked. The comic timing was great, making for some really hilarious moments. Eric's dry sense of humor and his cluelessness made for an interesting rollercoaster of a ride. I liked the dual points of view. It provided a good insight into each character and allowed us to peak into different events happening in parallel. I finished the book wanting to know what the hell would happen to all these characters. What will the next books reveal about Eric? What will Tabitha do? What is Talbot? Will Eric find out about the wolf in sheep's clothing trying to manipulate him through sex?
Overall, I enjoyed this more than what I thought I would after the first chapters of idiotic maleness. And I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. At least it makes for something a little different.