Driving Mr. Dead
By
Molly Harper
Summary:
Miranda Puckett has failed at every job she’s ever had. Her mother just wants her to come home, join the family law firm, and settle down with Jason, the perfect lawyer boyfriend. But when Jason turns out to be a lying cheater, Miranda seizes on a job that gets her out of town: long-distance vampire transportation.
Her first assignment is to drive vampire Collin Sutherland from Washington to sleepy Half Moon Hollow without incident—no small feat for a woman whom trouble seems to follow like a faithful hound dog! And she has to do it without letting her passenger—the most persnickety, stuffy, devastatingly handsome vamp she’s ever met—drive her crazy. As she and Collin find disaster on the roads, they also find an undeniable spark between them.
Could Miranda have found the perfect job and the perfect guy for her?
Review:
Well I am not sure what I expected when I grabbed this title and started reading since I was just looking for something that would give me a break from the blood and violence of my normal PNR/UF reading (which I love but you need a break every now and then to maintain).
I am sure I did not expect this to be the funniest stand alone PNR book I ever read. It was all I could do not to wake “She Who Must Be Obeyed” with my laughter. It was that funny.
This is the story of Miranda who seems to have a superpower of chaos and bad luck combined with a job of ferrying Collin, an arrogant and fastidious vampire half way across the country in a vampire safe vehicle dubbed “The Batmobile”.
The chaotic events that follow combined with the hilarity of Molly Harper’s writing would be a winner in any story but the myriad subplots along the way combined with exceptional bad luck result in an exceptional novel that only the most heartless among you could dislike.
In the end it is a story of romance and perseverance in the face of unbelievable circumstances (hence the power of chaos and bad luck combined), you will love it. 5 Stars with little if any reservation, this is not a literary masterpiece, it is pure entertainment done to perfection.
The Nightman Cometh
By
Tony-Paul de Vissage
Summary:
In 1249, Damien La Croix willingly choses Undeath rather than perish of the Plague. Once risen as a vampire, he takes his betrothed into the dark with him, but something goes wrong and Antoinette perishes. Thus, Damien begins a solitary walk down the corridors of time in search of Antoinette’s replacement.
Beginning with Konstancza in 15th century Romania where Damien and his garde de nuit serve Voivoide Vlad Drakula, his search extends into the far future to a fateful meeting in a snow-filled Chicago. Until then, Damien meets, loves, and loses each person he thinks may be the one to replace his Antoinette—Kate in Colonial America, who avenges herself against her rapist but prefers to hang rather than become an Undead; Bess, a 21st century Goth, wanting both an Undead lover and a living one and dying for the wrong choice; Michel, a concentration camp guard where Damien and his kind are imprisoned in the human answer to the Vampire Problem; Alyss – descendant of his beloved Konstancza –lost to a rival vampire’s seduction.
All could be his but all perish, for when the Night Man Cometh, can Death be far behind…?
Review:
This novel was pretty much a gift from someone who suggested I read it, as with a lot of literary gifts I put it in my “To Be Read” stack and moved on until about 45 days later I pulled it out in my version of Kindle roulette.
It took me several chapters before I realized I had cheated myself out of one of the better literary treats of the last several months, possibly longer. This novel covers such a huge scope of around 3500 years that it boggles the mind. It is a changing genre novel of historical, horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and ending with a bit of science fiction. Never read anything like it unless you want to count HG Wells masterpiece The Time Machine.
It starts out with a young man who only wants 2 things from his existence, he wants to live (this is during the Black Plague) and he wants to be with his love Antoinette. He will get his wish and lose much more in the process. Damien became a vampire by choice, making some terrible and soul killing decisions when he did and now he must live with himself. There are some terrible things in this book but it is a more dark look at vampires.
This is not a short vampire romance novel with a great “happy ever after” this is a masterpiece of work that covers some horrible things concerning our hero Damien and tragic periods of history. Life is not all roses and happiness, far, far from it. Damien tries to retain a bit of humanity from time to time which serves to frustrate him as much as it helps him at times.
What he really wants is to find “the one”, that woman who will make him feel complete, the true love he has always wanted but seems to lose each time he comes close.
This is not a singular romance, this is a story of a vampire cut from the Dracula mold of Bram Stoker (garlic, crosses, holy relics, all hurt him) and his search through centuries for the woman he feels sure is out there if he can find her. He is at times heroic, other times tragic and many times, just the vampire he has become.
A large part of the action takes place prior to the 20 century since that is the time that shapes his persona but we are taken on a ride through history and into the yet imagined future with this novel and all of it captures the imagination.
I give this 5 Stars because I cannot think of anything to compare it to and the scope combined with the highs and lows of Damien’s life is exceptional. It felt like the author may have rushed the ending a bit but then again it was almost to the point of “you gotta stop somewhere” and the ending was very fulfilling and satisfying to me. Highly recommended but this is NOT a novel you will read in one session, it may take days to soak it in, but I loved it.
Did any of you try these titles for yourself, or do you plan to? I was eyeing the Molly Harper story, but I am trying to behave and not add to the TBR too much.
