Wendy H. (donkeycheese) -
Helpful Score: 2
Vampires and lycanthropes rule the world and the humans are almost extinct.
Jace Valchek is a FBI profiler. She tracks and apprehends mentally fractured killers. She ends a particularly long day with a few drinks and after a self-guilt trip about all the things wrong with her life, she falls asleep. She dreams about her job. It's not unusual as lots of people dream about their work. In this particular dream, two impeccably dressed men reassure Jace that she has been re-assigned and assist her through the door; a door on her bedroom wall that was not there before. But as dreams go, stranger things have happened. The problem arises when she is confronted by the boss, David Cassius, the head vampire of the NSA. Unfortunately for Jace, she soon determines she isn't dreaming.
David Cassius has gone to great lengths to bring Jace to his reality. There is a serial killer in their world, and until Jace apprehends who is responsible, he won't show her the way home. Stuck beside a rock and a hard place, Jace quickly agrees. She doesn't have much choice in the matter anyways. This world she has been brought to is full of vampires and werewolves. The humans only make up about one percent of the population. Since the vampires and lycanthropes don't have experience with mental illness and Jace does, she is their best shot.
Jace quickly sets to work, along with her newly assigned partner Charlie, a golem. The perpetrator is showing the murder on the internet of the previous victim as he stages a new one. Frustrated to always be one murder behind, Jace is soon racing from murder site to site to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together. But when she unveils the killer as a descendant of the famed Bram Stoker and also human, the stakes change. The killer sends Jace a self-destructing letter that urges her to join his side and that the NSA is lying to her. Jace needs to make some decisions soon or she'll never get back to her own world.
Jace is a multi-faceted character that I instantly liked. Quick on her feet, intelligent, and down to earth, she cuts right to the heart of matters. DD Barant takes time building a unique and magical world that mirrors our own with a twist. Paranormal and fantasy fans will love DYING BITES: THE BLOODHOUND FILES.
Jace Valchek is a FBI profiler. She tracks and apprehends mentally fractured killers. She ends a particularly long day with a few drinks and after a self-guilt trip about all the things wrong with her life, she falls asleep. She dreams about her job. It's not unusual as lots of people dream about their work. In this particular dream, two impeccably dressed men reassure Jace that she has been re-assigned and assist her through the door; a door on her bedroom wall that was not there before. But as dreams go, stranger things have happened. The problem arises when she is confronted by the boss, David Cassius, the head vampire of the NSA. Unfortunately for Jace, she soon determines she isn't dreaming.
David Cassius has gone to great lengths to bring Jace to his reality. There is a serial killer in their world, and until Jace apprehends who is responsible, he won't show her the way home. Stuck beside a rock and a hard place, Jace quickly agrees. She doesn't have much choice in the matter anyways. This world she has been brought to is full of vampires and werewolves. The humans only make up about one percent of the population. Since the vampires and lycanthropes don't have experience with mental illness and Jace does, she is their best shot.
Jace quickly sets to work, along with her newly assigned partner Charlie, a golem. The perpetrator is showing the murder on the internet of the previous victim as he stages a new one. Frustrated to always be one murder behind, Jace is soon racing from murder site to site to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together. But when she unveils the killer as a descendant of the famed Bram Stoker and also human, the stakes change. The killer sends Jace a self-destructing letter that urges her to join his side and that the NSA is lying to her. Jace needs to make some decisions soon or she'll never get back to her own world.
Jace is a multi-faceted character that I instantly liked. Quick on her feet, intelligent, and down to earth, she cuts right to the heart of matters. DD Barant takes time building a unique and magical world that mirrors our own with a twist. Paranormal and fantasy fans will love DYING BITES: THE BLOODHOUND FILES.
Helpful Score: 2
Not a bad book and interesting enough that I did finish it. Just not interesting enough to get me to try the next one. meh
Helpful Score: 2
I picked this book on a lark. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't usually like books written in first person but I liked this one. I normally read a book in one or two days. This one took me over a week because there were parts that were really slow and I couldn't stay interested. The author's humor amused me and the characters were interesting. In short, it was worth reading to me but I don't know if I am invested enough in the characters/story to make me pick up the next book in the series.
Irene L H. (NonExistence) -
Helpful Score: 1
Thought that this was a good start to a new series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Jace adjusts to her new world. I also enjoyed the alternate reality bits and learning about how different this new world was from ours. People are people no matter what, even if they are vampires or werewolves.
Yes, it is true that Jace is extremely abrasive, enough that at times could get a little old, but she was still an interesting and often amusing part of the book. I didn't dislike her as many reviewers did, it was clear that her sharpness was largely a defense mechanism.
It's a good plot, interesting and likable characters, well paced action, and the central mystery of discovering the serial killer. Recommended to anyone who enjoys the urban fantasy world where supernaturals have regular jobs instead of being all mysterious and stereotypical.
Yes, it is true that Jace is extremely abrasive, enough that at times could get a little old, but she was still an interesting and often amusing part of the book. I didn't dislike her as many reviewers did, it was clear that her sharpness was largely a defense mechanism.
It's a good plot, interesting and likable characters, well paced action, and the central mystery of discovering the serial killer. Recommended to anyone who enjoys the urban fantasy world where supernaturals have regular jobs instead of being all mysterious and stereotypical.
Debra F. (DebraSFleming) -
I thought this book was really well written. In a world where vampire and werewolf books are a dime a dozen, this author did something really different with a tired genre. I thought it was witty and well done. Looking forward to reading the next several in line.
I think that any book with a main character who has a sarcastic, biting wit has a good chance of being a hit with me. We have our bad ass female agent, Jace, whom I knew I liked in the first 5 pages. Then we have the culture shock as she's thrust into a parallel universe with Golems, Vampires, and Weres where humans make up only about 1% of the population. I really liked the support characters too. I especially loved Charlie and wish there was more of him in it.
I liked that although everything was vastly different, there were many similarities.
I was kind of disappointed in the personal interactions, or the lack of depth in the existing ones, but I understand that this is the first of the series. There is all the world building and character introductions, and not only that but our main character is certainly a fish out of water and she has every intention of getting back to her own pond, sooner rather than later, so she has no desire to get too close to the people' living in this other universe.
I liked that although everything was vastly different, there were many similarities.
I was kind of disappointed in the personal interactions, or the lack of depth in the existing ones, but I understand that this is the first of the series. There is all the world building and character introductions, and not only that but our main character is certainly a fish out of water and she has every intention of getting back to her own pond, sooner rather than later, so she has no desire to get too close to the people' living in this other universe.
I really liked the plot and the characters but the fact that the author kept changing tenses drove me nuts do I didn't even finish it. As a style I don't care for things written in the first person anyway but to go back and forth...please...just pick one.
