Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Bitten to Death


Bitten to Death is book 4 of the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. Jaz parks is a government secret agent who fights the supernatural bad guys. Her partner is the handsome vampire Vayl. They have been working together to stop the notorious bad vampire guy Samos.

In Bitten to Death Jaz and Vayl, and Jaz’s twin brother set out to work with Vayl’s old vampire trust to try and bring down Samos. Jaz and Vayl are caught by surprise when the Trust’s leader has been killed and they must redo their agreement with the new leader to capture Samos. Vayl has some dark secrets with the new leader and Jaz must learn to trust Vayl in the creepy house that seems to have a power of its own while dealing with her own demons and trying to keep her brother’s demons from compromising the mission.

Jennifer Rardin's books are unique and enjoyable. Jaz is a funny redhead who has been through a lot of traumatizing events because of her line of work. She is constantly trying to overcome her past. She has some supernatural abilities because of her brush with death, which puts her in an ideal position to work against the bad vamps on other supernatural creatures.

Jaz and Vayl’s relationship with each other is still not cemented, but they realize what needs to change in order for them to do great things together. Jaz’s brother is also working harder on his own issues stemming from his past missions, and Jaz is making new friends and starting to let people in a little bit more.

Jaz, Vayl, and her brother think a lot about their personal lives, but that doesn’t mean this book isn’t full of action and danger, or even humor. I laughed out-loud several times, got pissed off when Jaz had her own anger issues, and was eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

Jennifer Rardin’s writing style is also a bit different than the usual; she constantly flashes back to past events and dialogs. I’m not sure if I like this type of writing. Sometimes I find myself reading a flashback and I get a bit confused about what is going on. Jaz also has conversations in her head with her various personalities and her grandmother, sometimes I think it’s interesting and funny, other times I find it a little weird.

Overall I enjoyed Bitten to Death and the rest of the books. Although I get a little frustrated that Vayl and Jaz haven’t really hooked up, I am also thankful that this isn’t a paranormal fiction with all the mushy love stuff, filled with steamy, graphic sex scenes. I like that Jaz is a funny, kick-butt sort of gal, but she is also quite vulnerable to the trauma around her. I would definitely recommend this book series to those who not only love a vampire mystery, but to those who like action and suspense and a take charge heroine.

Book 5 - One More Bite, is set to come out January 09 and I look forward to what will happen next!

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