Brekke K. (sfvamp) - , reviewed on 2/8/2010 + 108 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

Surprisingly good! I normally avoid serial romances with love triangles because I dislike the soap-opera style drama. The only time it works for me is if all three characters are "together." But a few reasons made me give this book a chance. 1) Kresley Cole, Meljean Brook, and Ilona Andrews recommended it; 2) Jill Myles is a self-proclaimed armchair Egyptologist and explains her archaeological plot points in her afterward; and 3) I read the ending before I bought the book, realized it was a self-contained story with few loose ends, and liked the humor with which the heroine dealt with having two boyfriends.

But I was still worried I'd be disappointed once I actually started reading. Those fears were quickly dissipated once I realized that Myles was not going to make her Succubus heroine have sex every 20 pages nor have her turn into some collected ass-kicking Anita Blake wannabe. Jackie is a nerdy, ex-size 14, paranormal Bridget Jones who suddenly doesn't have all the answers or become super cool after she becomes immortal. The only good thing that comes out of her being a Succubus is she suddenly develops a killer body and can eat whatever she wants. It is really funny reading about her trying to exist in a new world that suddenly includes other Succubi, vampires, fallen angels, and vengeful archangels. What makes this novel unique is that, despite the sexy cover, it actually reads more like chick lit with a lot of pages used to develop Jackie's character. Unlike most romance novels, the heroine spends great chunks of the story without either lover. I thought this would detract from the developing romances, but somehow it doesn't. An inordinate amount of the story is about Jackie and her new best friend and fellow Succubus, Remy. Their relationship is just as interesting, if not at times more interesting, than the story developing between Jackie and her two men. In other words, every character has a distinct personality that draws you into their world and makes you want to keep reading about them. I want to read more about Remy and I hope in the ensuing novels she gets her own happy ending.

For those of us who actually care when archaeology is used intelligently and interestingly, I can honestly say that I was very pleased with how Myles used it to enhance her story. Yes, there is actual research involved in this book.

My only critique about the story is that I'm still not clear about how Jackie became a Succubus and why. You know who created her and that it was done out of love, but not why. It is the only thing that really irks me and a big reason why I didn't give this novel a 5 star review. Still it is a strong novel and I hope the magic continues into the next several novels--one of which will hopefully explain why Jackie was made immortal.

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