Dear Ms. Rowen:
I doubt Jayne will want to read this. She’s written off fanged and funny books. And I admit to some reluctance when I picked this up but when I started reading I couldn’t stop. It’s funny, at least to me, and really my opinion is the only one that counts right now since its my letter.
Sarah Dearly is a newly turned vampire who engaged in a fierce battle and was forced to take down one very bad vampire hunter. Like a bad game of telephone, the whispers of this event have grown to the extent that now Sarah has the nickname, Slayer of Slayers. This makes her a mark for those hunters wanting to appear greater amongst the vampire hunting community and to the vampire leaders.
Sarah also has the problem that her vampire boyfriend, Thierry, is growing colder and seemingly more disinterested by the day. Thierry is the master vampire of Toronto. His position and the rumors about Sarah has placed her life in danger. He feels responsible for Sarah’s becoming a vampire (he didn’t bite her but he did save her); for being Sarah’s boyfriend; for giving Sarah his blood and thus advancing her change; for . . . everything. Yes, Thierry takes on the martyr mantle and walks around as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders. You don’t give us his POV (point of view) and I am grateful for that because I suspect it is quite maudlin and boring.
Sarah is always getting in trouble and she’s a bit, dense, so I forgave her when it appeared that she was totally being played by several characters. She couldn’t help herself. She is just so gullible. The secondary characters and the dialogue were really what made the book so enjoyable.
Her best friend, a gorgeous newly made vampire, was worried about her fledling marriage with Barry, the 4 foot vampire. There was George, the very hot but gay, friend that Sarah lives with. Veronique, Thierry’s wife, who gives Sarah relationship advice:
“No, you are a friend in need. And I am here with the advice to hep mend your broken heart.”
“I’m listening. Help me mend.”
“He is a very important man of business, you are esentially a glorifid waitress. you see? It is best it ends now to avoid any unnecessary pain.”
It’s cute, harmless fun. The hero is a bit - um, moody - and um, uninteresting. There are inconsistencies and contrivances and Sarah acts a little too dumb and trusting at times, but she’s got a good heart. The dialogue made me laugh out loud more than once and I read it in one sitting and didn’t want to put the book down. That’s worth a B-, right?
Best regards,
Jane
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It sounds like a reconstituted Buffy fanfic. Oh, the names have been changed, but the characters bear enough resemblance to the originals to make me suspicious. The Slayer of Slayers is Sarah (as in Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy). She has a vampire boyfriend who is aloof and broody–gee, I can’t imagine who that reminds me of! Sarah lives with a gay (male) friend, just as Buffy lives with two gay female friends after her mother dies. And Sarah is a glorified waitress, just as Buffy was when she was working at the Doublemeat Palace.
I read one book from this author. Um, I think it was called Angel with an attitude. It was a cute fluffy read, but I wasn’t impressed enough to want to read anything else by the author.
I’m with Jayne. No fanged and funny. Matter of fact no funny. At least not in romance.
I’m a sucker for anybody who can make me laugh, and Michelle does! I got sucked in by her Yellow Brick Roadkill and ran to buy Bitten & Smitten. Looking forward to reading this when B&N delivers!
Any book that makes me laugh out loud is a keeper. I enjoyed F&F a lot. And I really, REALLY like Quinn, the gorgeous, newly made vampire — and I’m looking forward to his book, which is the next one in the series.
Clarification: I haven’t totally sworn off vampire books or funny vampire books but I’m mainly limiting myself to 1) authors I already like and/or 2) series I’ve already started.
Having only watched a few snippets of Buffy, I will have to trust your comparison, but I thought Buffy was always quite self aware. Sarah reminded me a bit more like the star of Clueless.
Tracey, I had the same idea from the descriptions. I went, “Oh, goody. Apparently one Angel wasn’t enough. Yippee, except totally not.” Thierry sounds almost exactly like Angel, down to the martyr complex. I watched all seven years of Buffy, even though I pretend the last two never happened, and while the situations are different, the characterizations sound exactly like Buffy-Lite fan fic. The glorified waitress reminded me of her time as Anne, when she was a diner waitress. If I want to watch that, I’ll watch a vamped up Slayer.
And Jane, she was self-aware, but she wasn’t until she was called to be a Slayer. Referenced in the last two episodes of Season 2, when she’s talking to Whistler. Buffy was a tad into self-denial, too. She was a bit like Cher (the lead from Clueless) in the early seasons. Much like my generation usually is. *laugh*
This book was so laugh-out-loud funny people thought I’d lost my mind when I’d burst out in guffaws every few seconds. It is hilarious. Great, witty lines. I still like Quinn better than morose Thierry, but when he gave Sarah his Platinum Amex, I thought hey! Maybe this guy ain’t so bad after all!