Better off Undead (The Bloodhound Files 4) by DD Barant

Like i promised you, here comes the second review of the day after the ghosts, we go back to werewolves and vampires with a golems' touch.

You have learned this month that i really love this series however i must admit that not all the books gave me the same pleasure. So i will let you make your own opinion on it.

Enjoy!

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication: 2011

ISBN:  0312545053

Genre: urban fantasy, romance, suspense
Violence: strong
Langage: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodreads :

 Dark magic, unknown enemies, monsters of every stripe—FBI profiler Jace Valchek has seen it all. In this bizarre parallel universe, shape-shifting werewolves and blood-thirsty vampires don’t even warrant a raised eyebrow. That is, until Jace has to face what life might look like as one of them …

It starts off as just another run-of-the-mill assignment: to track down the rogue don of a mafia werewolf family before he upsets the delicate balance of the underworld. But Jace wasn’t counting on being bitten…and soon she’s fighting the growing wolf inside her with a startling antidote—vampirism. Stopping a bloody gangland war won’t be easy when Jace is feeling some new, and very inhuman, desires …

My opinion:

          I really love this series but this book kind of disappointed me. The rhythm is still rapid, the action well described, the plot and investigation well written but the humour was not as present as in the first book while the romance is put up front.

Jace wants to help doctor Pete and still feeling guilty for what happened because of that she isn’t as cautious as she was in the first book ( and it was already quite a lot to say^^). Then when she is infected she is acting even more out of character though it’s normal, believable and really well written. I enjoyed seeing her when she struggles with new instincts and senses. However as she does her job she doesn’t see immediately who is behind, she doesn’t try to see the problem in global point of view when normally she is keener on discerning manipulations and such thanks to her profession. It bothered me a little.

The whole mob of werewolves is interesting and we get to see a bit more how it works however even there she is not at her best and since the first part happens before her infection that’s not an excuse. For the first time she is fighting to stay human and taking a lot of risks with that, it was a good way to go deeper in her psyche to have a glimpse of her vulnerability and all but it was done by sacrificing the humour presents in the first 3 books that lightened the atmosphere. This book is darker than the other so far.

While this book is all about Jace and her new problem, we also get to see a new side of Cassius and about his past. We also learn a bit more about the human enclave only cited before. We discover that their world is as bad as ours with their own kind of traffic of living beings. Charlie and Jace have a great partnership and it works better than before even if for protecting the other one has to lie sometimes. Finally too, Jace starts a relationship but until she had her mind on it she wasn’t suspecting anything.  Galahad is still there, cuter and s loyal, as well as the other secondary characters

It ‘s a good in a whole and i’m really curious about the next one, DD Barant keeps surprising me i just hope i will find again the same felling with book 5 that did with book 1-3.

Really a good series of urban fantasy with a lot of suspense and action in a universes complex but  described in a master’s way.

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

 

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Killing Rocks (the Bloodhound Files 3) by DD Barant

Hello to all,

                   after receiving some good news to help a bit after all the bad ones, i wanted to share with you a book i loved, so far i love all this series, so today we get some vampires, werewolves but mostly golems!

Happy Reading!

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication: 2010

ISBN:  0312942605

Genre: urban fantasy, romance, suspense
Violence: strong
Langage: normal
sex: none
Public: 18+

Source: bought
 

Short description from goodreads :

 FBI profiler Jace Valchek’s ticket home from the twisted parallel universe where she’s been called to duty hinges on the capture of serial killer Aristotle Stoker—and an alliance with a sorcerer known as Asher. The problem: Asher has joined forces with some of the most dangerous creatures Jace has ever encountered. The solution: There is none, without Asher’s help…
Jace’s goal seems simple enough—to get her man, like always. But just hours after she arrives in Vegas, she’s abducted…and she isn’t even sure who the real enemy is. Now Jace has to wonder if she’s the predator or the prey in a very dangerous game that could change not only her fate, but the world’s…Meanwhile, a serial killer is still on the loose. And time has already run out…

My opinion:

          As always Dd Barant manages to catch my complete attention as soon as I open a book from this series. Since the first pages I don’t want to put it aside and I’m completely immersed in the intrigues and secrets. It's a surprise how we are learning more and more about the universe and the plot that concerns Jace and in the same time it’s becoming more complex and nebulous in a positive way.

Jace is confronted to a hard choice, for the fist time she can nearly touch the portal to her home universe but is she ready to pay the price?  She also could let things how they are with the Lems’ revolt and become part of the “ruling race” however she isn’t not so such short-minded and becoming an oppressor isn’t her goal. She is discovering that the parallel universe are more numerous that she first thought and she even get a glimpse of several of them while her target reveals the prime reason she was chosen.

Unfortunately, things don’t get simpler for her while she is discovering that she could get a new ally, she fears losing her partner and her heart has already chosen even if she doesn’t acknowledge that fact yet her actions spoke volume (and the same for her counterpart) I love how the romance part is there , important, but just showing  bit by bit at first  and not keeping the first plan.

Really this one of my favourite Urban fantasy series , I’m so happy to have discovered it and I hope DD Barant won’t disappoint me in the future because it’s my “ coup de Coeur” of this year.

Score:  4,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

 

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Death Blows ( The Bloodhound Files 2) by DD Barant

Hello to all,

                    i'm starting to get more and more works but the topic of this month being "urban fantasy" i'm really motivated to read and review a maximum of books.

Today i'm introducing you to the second book of a series i've come to love a lot  "Death blows" book 2 of the Bloodhound Files by Dd Barant. If i manage to keep my schedule i wilml try to review all the books published in this series ( but don't worry i will share more than one author and sries with you during this month)

Have fun!

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication: 2010

ISBN:  0312942591

Genre: urban fantasy, paranormal
Violence: mild
Langage: normal
sex: none
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodread :

 FBI profiler Jace Valchek was pulled into this parallel realm to hunt for Aristotle Stoker, a human serial killer who preys on vampires and werewolves. Now she works for the National Security Agency of the Unnatural States of America - and her boss is a vampire.

At a bizarre crime scene, Jace finds a bloodsucker murdered by magic, fried to the bone and dressed in the costume of the comic book hero the Flash - a character who isn't supposed to exist here. Comic books have been outlawed for their powers, including crossover spells like the one that transported Jace to this world. Soon, she's following a trail of dead bodies into the sinister underworld of black-market comics - where a deranged madman gives new meaning to the term "super-villain."

My opinion:

          I’m becoming a fan quickly, I really appreciate this universe and there is romance but it’s not the principal focus of the book (even if the romance here is the beginning of a love triangle) so it makes the story even better.

In this book we are learning more about the parallel universe and we discover that there are some who are fanatic of our world where comics can be found easily. It’s an interesting perspective. Also her prime objective “capture Stoker” is a bit put aside due to special events but it’s a good opportunity for Jace to learn more about Cassius and the Vampires ’part of the world. I knew Cassius was important and old but I haven’t imagined him to be part of a group like we see it now. He also reveals more about his feelings and how far he is willing to go for his “friends”.

Charlie and Jace relationship is changing in a deep friendship and not a lot of golems can hope for such as a result his loyalty is even deepening. Both have to accept that and they are used to these feeling and having someone watch their back so some adjustments are still needed and it’s funny to see them interact.

Galahad is a new aspect of the weres and he is so cute^^, I’m a bit jealous. Now there was also some part a bit confusing, I got who Tair is, but I don’t get how he became at first. So I can’t wait to see if I will get more explanation about that in the next book. We also discover the past of Doctor Pete and in the same time DD Barant give us a lesson of the weres’ “society”. That part was not what I expected and it was very interesting.

I’m fond of this author that keeps surprising me with a universe so well constructed and well balanced. A “Pure délice”. I want more.

Score:  4,5/5

 Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Dying Bites (The Bloodhound Files 1) by D. D. Barant

Hello to all,

Sometimes you can make the best discoveries without knowing. The first time i've read the summary of this book i was hooked, intrigued and i wanted it, i got the book but it was lost in my TBR pile, forgotten too quickly.

When i was looking to put some order in my books for a challenge i've entered i refound this one, however i wasn't really sure how to classify it, could i use it for the challenge and thus should i wait or should i give it a try and see? I've devoured it and i got my answer: it can enter the challenge so you will have to wait before i read and review the others books of the series but i will do it because The bloodhound Files is a real urban fantasy pearl.

So without waiting here is my review of Dying Bites first book of The Bloddhound Files by DD Barant.

happy reading

Publisher : St. Martin's Press

Publication : 2009

ISBN:  0312942583

Genre: urban fantasy, romance
Violence: strong
Langage: normal
sex: none
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodread :

 Her job description is the “tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers.” What this really means in FBI profiler Jace Valchek’s brave new world—one in which only one percent of the population is human—is that a woman’s work is never done. And real is getting stranger every day…

Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she’s the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David’s world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again…

My opinion:

          Exciting and original! Those were my first impression of this book. The summary was intriguing but the story is even better than that.  If you like the paranormal genre and TV shows like Criminal Minds you will love this series. It’s a perfect mix of suspense, investigations and paranormal with a touch of romance.

Jace is a strong heroine and more adaptable than other. In the space of one night she arrives in a new universe and she isn’t crazy or completed overwhelmed no she just does her job. Now it’s true that being a parallel universe, part of the whole are similar or at least look likes things she knows but  there humans are a minority, less than 1 percent of the population whose majority is vampire, werewolves and golems. Magic also is legal and quite common. However what is rare is “psychological troubles” so when a murderer, one crazy one, must be arrested they need a specialist and thus they “kidnapped” Jace. Of course nothing is that simple but the reader can’t feel lost. Immediately in the first chapters we get a explanation of the universe and one official explanation about why the humans being are so few and along the story we will learn others explanations and historical facts so we don’t get confused and that’s really great.

I was sick while reading this book so concentration wasn’t easy but with this one I was captivated. I loved how everything wasn’t how it seemed, I disliked Tanaka and I wanted to sympathize with Charlie the golem.

The rhythm of the story isn’t too slow neither too rapid, the plot is unfolding bits by bits like a real investigation and the action and revelations keep the readers grounded, trying to decide which is the good side if there is one.

The characters are interesting and complex; I can’t wait to see how DD Barant will develop the rest of the series and what we will learn about the whole team.

It’s really a good book for the fan of the urban fantasy genre.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Score:  4,5/5

Challenge:

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading