My 2008 DIKs
(from debut - June 2005 *)
My January column
My February column
My March column
My April column
My May column
My June column
* Co-authored Oct column
 What was begun as an online journal of the books I read evolved...or maybe it devolved...to also feature behind the scenes goings-on at All About Romance from my perspective (mostly based on my personal feelings - okay, it's a personal pity party); topics I've gone over ad nauseum in commentary at AAR, including the nature of reviews and online behavior; and my non-cyber life (including family and items in pop culture that capture my interest, which is just about everything). Please do not violate my trust. I restricted certain AAR-related and personal entries for a reason...to keep them as private as possible. Now that my blog is read-only, to access restricted entries you must already have a password; if you do, hold onto it so that you can continue to read restricted entries. This blog is not part of All About Romance. I ask that you keep comments or questions regarding restricted blog content off of AAR. |
Blood Drive
 | Jeanne C. Stein Grade: C- Sensuality: Subtle Another day, another female bounty hunter. Another week, another paranormal heroine. |
Granted, in this instance they are one and the same, but at least what makes the heroines of Armstrong, Harris, Arthur, and Hamilton "unique" is that they are involved in preternatural crime-solving. Anna Strong, Stein's baby vamp, isn't, and her solving the mystery involving the possible off-spring of her long-dead brother and his skanky girlfriend would have made more sense I been watching NBC to see the case unfold due to the efforts of Stabler, Benson, Munch, and Tutuola.
This is the second in a series - in the first Anne Strong was "turned" - and when she's not working on the case, she's learning more about what it means to be a vampire. Often the world-building of paranormal stories can be very interesting, and because Anna is a new vamp, what she learns feel fresh to the reader. But I'm not sure I want to live in a world where vampires don't need to stay out of the sun. It was one thing when Anne Rice took god out of vampirism, but the sun thing, well, that's something else.
There's nothing horribly wrong with Blood Drive, but the lack of a paranormal crime combined with the "haven't we already read this before?" element couldn't make up for the ho-hum nature of the story. Even the glimpses of a parallel "other" world that looks like a telemarketing center to Anna didn't help. Please, publishers, I don't want some more.
TTFN, Laurie Likes Books