Succubus Series by Richelle Mead

Georgina Kincaid is a reluctant, but outstandingly good at her job, Succubus, she feeds on men claiming pieces of their souls for her “team”, but she longs for the love that she has been denied her for centuries. 

Hugh is an Imp who negotiates for your soul should you have a desire to swap it for something, but he is also one of her best friends, along with Cody and Peter her friendly local, and very gay, vampire buddies. 

During the day Georgina must earn a living and works as a deputy manager and the local books store, with her human friend Doug, and Warren her human boss who is good for a quick energy fix from time to time, apparently he lost his soul years ago.

When Duanne, the obnoxious vampire, gets murdered its Georgina that is main suspect, especially to her Demon boss Jerome; Arch Demon of Seattle, who just happens to hang out all the time with Carter the cryptic Angel. Not your usual pairing, especially as Jerome looks exactly like a certain movie style whilst Carter seems to like the grunge scene a little too much. 

Throughout the story we are told snippets of her former human life, and given peeks into her previous bodies, names and places she lived.

Enter Seth Morgansteen, local author who just happens to be Georgina's favourite, not to mention he is doing a book signing in her store. Seth was not the sort of guy I would have thought the energetic Georgina would fall for but when you start to see her history and the reason she sold her soul in the first place you can see why Seth and his delicate, artistic nature, call to her.

On the flip side, and not so much in the background is Roman, an enigmatic character who suits Georgians love of life, dancing and danger. 

Back to the super naturals killings and the race is on to find who or what is doing it, why and stop them. Can Georgina do it? When the final showdown happens its electric but the deal our lost little succubus has to make is heart breaking.

I totally loved the start of this 6 book series, the plot was fantastic, full of twists, turns and mystery. All the characters were strong, some were down to earth and likeable and some were dark and mysterious, humour, sex and horror the perfect combination. I cannot wait to read what happens next in Georgina's life. 

Succubus Blues

Poor Georgina starts this book at a demon award ceremony, could her week get any worse! Totally love all the humour in these books.

Bastian her incubus friend, is also an ex-lover, ex-partner in “crime” and is dumped back into her life to bring down a huge Evangelist in the shape of the very austere Dana.

Doug, her book store buddy get wrapped up in a whole “ambrosia and God mystery” which was a brilliant and thrilling story line.

RM reveals another failed relationship from poor Georgina’s fated history. As she and Seth dance around the relationship that they have the torment for both is beautifully written.

All previous Demons, Angels, Imps and Vampires make appearances and spice up the story line even further. 

Succubus on Top / Nights

Georgina and Seth are continuing their relationship with the no sex rule, but Georgina is losing all her energy during protracted dreams that promise her the life she has always day dreamed and wished for.

Tawny is the new succubus and provides some angst and humour, badly dressed and with no clue how to “suck souls” Georgina is set the task of mentor by Arch Demon Boss Jerome.

Dante and Erik are the new human characters, they have a history together but can Georgina save them both from

Love all the outfits and food references, so keen to try a Grey Goose gimlet!

Eventually the mystery is solved with a bit of heart stopping action, love, lust and all sort of other goings on. RM never fails to bring it on.

Succubus Dreams

Therapy works unless you sleep with the therapist and suck out their life force! Jerome has forced Georgina into therapy, she is being horrifically sulky and he has had enough of her.

When that fails he sends her to Canada, to spy for another Arch Demon who is having problems with a demonic cult that are giving Satan a bad name!

Another mystery for Georgina to solve as Jerome is “summonded” in a turf war and goes missing.  

Fearful that a new Arch Demon will be appointed Georgian rushes to locate and save Jerome, with the help of her current destructive relationship, gosh this girl knows how to punish herself.

However whilst Jerome is captured she soon discovers that she can have rampant sex with Seth, which is not good news as he is in a different relationship and trying to make a happy, non-Georgina filled life for himself.

The erotica in these books is always fresh, never repetitive, sensitive but heat inducing.

More heart breaking revelations about previous relationships from the past.

RM is really evolving all her main stay characters in new and wonderful ways.

Succubus Heat

A new and suspicious Succubus arrives just as Sirens trap Georgina in a dream state from which she cannot escape.

As the bond between Seth and Georgian is becoming stronger, others are starting to notice, this is not liked by many in her circle, lest of all her best friend Maddie who she is supposed to be helping to marry Seth!

Whilst the gang, including human Eric, try to save Georgina she continues to be stuck in a different dimension where she is shown truth, possible futures, tainted truths and outright lies, in horrible torturous semi dreams. This is horrific to read as I have come too really like Georgina

Only an American would suggest that Guinness goes with shepherd’s pie!! Seriously, NO!

RM does well to keep this book from becoming too dark and utilises Georgina’s more light hearted friends to accomplish this; Peter and his soirées really make me want to be an immortal!

Succubus Shadows

Hahaha I loved that all the immortal gang are now using Facebook!

From the start you can feel that this book is going to have an explosive ending as Georgina ends up in Hells court with unlikely allies and lawyer. A loop hole has been found in her Soul Contract.

A beautiful ending that brings all the little comments throughout the series together, I think this is the only book in the series you could not read as a standalone.

The climax was one of those "I saw that coming from a mile away", but it wasn't lame or upsetting

I could easily read this series over again many times, so lovely, so funny and wonderfully circular. 

Succubus Revealed

Coyote the Outlander by Chantal Noordeloos

Set in the Wild West it is clear that Coyote is a bounty hunter with a difference, not just her gender but what she hunts.  Its wild west meets steampunkish sci-fi; not a genre I have ever been enticed into reading but this was by an author I love (her horror is exquisite) and I had to give it a whirl!

Coyote is a great stereo type that does not shy away from that fact, she is a beautiful yet tough woman who goes out of her way to be so. She cannot shake her beauty though, even the “stuff” that shines from the inside as her kind heart and morals clearly get her into more trouble than her physical appearance. CN does well to bring this beauty to life without being cliché.

When Coyote is commissioned to hunt down a baby killer her search takes her into baddie territory in the shape of a gorgeous hunk called Westwood, but clearly the story remembered by Coyote is not a true memory as many try to guide her the right way into seeing the truth.

Sparks fly whenever they meet and CN does well to portray the tension (some of it highly sexual!) and hatred felt by Coyote without giving the plot twist away until the end when explosions of all sorts occur.

Some great banter and snippets of truth pass between her and partner, Caesar. CN makes use of every comedic moment possible giving little grins to outright snort and laughs. She is also subtle in her portrayal of sexism and racism. It’s not overt but just enough to annoy and niggle, not the writing but the subject, very clever.

Loved the little added bonus contents; music, stories etc throughout the book (the second screen experience) giving little physical glimpses into Coyote’s world.

Lots of new critters were introduced, love me some “monster” creation and some amazing groups of people.

Ming’s Emporium;  what a hoot I do hope this features more heavily in sequel books as it’s a character and place I would love to know more about.

Revelations abound at the end leaving a nice cliff hanger to the next instalment. Impressive start to what could be an amazing series, crack on CN, whip crack away on!

 Coyote the Outlander

The Pleasure Games by Karma Leah

Poor Kelly, stumbles into the real world of "no experience" when trying to enter the job market with her English Degree.

Whilst trudging around on the wrong end of the job interview list she comes to her final appointment of the day and is propositioned in a most unusual way.

There is some serious hot and heavy action going on in here, no shying away and no stupid analogies. The ending was very satisfying!

For an erotica book this has a surprisingly good pace, some tongue in cheek (thankfully other places too!) humour, literacy and a passable story line, not a plumber or vampire in site.

The Pleasure Games

The Picture Frame by Iain Rob Wright

Blake and his over exuberant son are treasure hunting with a metal detector, when they come across the ancient and dirty picture frame, Ricky is overjoyed at the find/adventure, which is something  but from the moment they find it you can feel the vibe that something is wrong.

The inner dialogue and history of Blake is so akin to my own childhood I was instantly his “friend” and could have been a “fan” – hopefully not a crazed one though; like slasher Heinz who nearly broke his family, broke them to the point of having to move from his lush, millionaire lifestyle funded by his award winning books, to a secluded cottage at Redlake.

Both photo frame and cottage have a history, full of blood, death, demons and gods.

The first death broke my heart and really set the grief up within the family. IRW does well to portray the emotions and general bitter banter that often appears in family dynamics, this serves well to focus the reader in on the story. Furthermore IRW loves his trapped in themes and utilised it well to ratchet up the tension.

The second death was a shock and well-staged to bringing in the cursed frame, I loved the clichés of the Priest, misty glass and splashes of blood.

With alcoholic brothers, rabid foxes, strange accidents, thunder and lightning IRW delivers another fast read thriller that kept me engrossed, unable to put the book down until I had finished. 

The finale is rather sudden and I felt that IRW could have stretched this book out much further, maybe played on the local folk lore more, given some more flashbacks etc.

I always enjoy the British setting and IRW always manages to interject as much of it in to his writing as possible, it’s almost palate cleansing from all the American authors.

 (Spoilers) Niggles: 

How was the metal detector able to “find” the photo frame when it was made of glass and wood?

They can’t use their phones in the house but get internet, surely they could have emailed for help rather than google search!?

Bonus content - Reminiscing by Matt Shaw

Valerie didn’t want a birthday party, but she got one anyway and she got her bestest birthday present, Brian.

Brian currently has a pink Mohawk, but that’s ok it’s his “thing”; he is her life, her love, her Sparkle. 

Something has happened to Valerie but she can’t remember what, she remembers the family cinema trips, loving three cats, even the Taekwondo classes her son takes…… but what can’t she remember? And why is she on the floor.

A sad little story full of love, grief and pain.

The Picture Frame

Dying Days: Origins 2 by Armand Rosamilia

This chapter of the Dying Days world is about Cheryl and David and how they have prepped, it’s in a pretty awesome way but when the crunch comes not all goes to plan.

As they fight to stay alive and gather those that they love all that planning comes up short, which is a real shame as it was so meticulously done. I loved how AR spelled each element out, an apocalyptic daydreamer’s blue heaven (that’s me btw!)

The main characters are a really lovely couple and AR really breathes life into them. These are people I would like to have as friends, so I could hide in their bunker with them.

As they travel across the country trying to reach their intended destination they come across various people, some are so good natured you know they can’t possibly survive, but I could not help but route for them and then there were the groups of people that were so wrong in so many ways.

The “name dropping” of characters is really clever (hence the name Origins!) but it did make me smirk at the small worldyness of it all.

There are some really heart rending moments, especially early on in the book when the initial horror wave hits and fantasy becomes reality as people are lost and reality bites. The little sub plot stories along the way tie up so many loose ends and also start new stories.

The zombies feature only as a background in this book as the characters and their personal tragedies, heartbreaks and realisations are the real horror story.

The zig zag route that AR takes to tell all these stories means you can dip into any book in the series and not feel left out, the characters all link in to each other as do places and time lines. It’s a fun read with a serious undertone whichever book you choose, however I expect certain characters will become more prominent as AR gets more feedback on them.

Looking forward to no.3 already!!

Dying Days: Origins 2

French Fries and Flame throwers by Glen Johnson

Totally love the fact that GJ does NOT apologise for being an English author and uses all the correct spellings!

He is the master of short, sharp stories and excels at it in this set. Each of the stories are based around residents in a block of flats, GJ cleverly links them all but you can read each one individually, but I challenge you just to read one and not be drawn into finishing the entire set.

GJ has pulled a master stroke in managing to link every single story to each other, places, times, people, relevant news items.

Really enjoyed all the prologue “chats”

The Insomniac:

Oh dear, poor obese Trevor is so tired keeping up with demand in his chip shop that he makes a fatal error, and then his efforts to make good don’t go as planned.

GJ manages to do the inner dialogue perfectly giving a great “view” of the British chippy on a Friday night with all its bawdy customers and informs us of how Trevor feels about life, family, love and everything really!

Then his desire for late night french fries (chips) occurs, add in a little slip and an incident involving some cling film, mix in some mud and finally a twig!

I did not know whether to laugh or cry at the ending, it was so beautifully thought out and executed, this author just blows me away.

The Taxidermist:

Fred has a disturbingly disgusting desire to start practising on his neighbours cats. Thankfully they decide to not be cooperative.

I despise all animal cruelty, even in fictional stories, it was fairly obvious where this story was going but as I follow this author on FB I note that he too is an animal lover and trusted him with my emotions. I was not disappointed, although the story made me feel glad in one way it still irked my heart.

The horror is slow and painful to endure and made me squirm but ultimately it was the gore that made me cheer.

The Butcher:

GJ does cliché and stereo type so well its wonderfully kitsch!

Anton the Russian has been up to naughty things and tension is high in the preparation room but when Anton is given a promotion he refuses all bloody hell reigns down, how do you say no to a drug baron?

GJ does well to make you like what should be an unlikable man, then feel his pain at his demise, in a rather unique fashion.

The Florist:

Elena is just trying to make her orchids grow,  when it all goes a bit wrong.

GJ pays such attention to detail I could not help but be drawn into the story. The way he interconnects the characters is charmed, having learnt about Jimmy in The Insomniac and the “sister” we now meet her in all her weird glory.  

Elena and her son Jimmy have been busy installing a watering system but she has added a special fertilising ingredient she found in the Sky High shop.

As she gets a good dousing of the newly enhanced misting spray strangeness ensures – riveting reading all the way to the crescendo.

The Lovers:

Nalin and Isaac seem to have a perfect life until something random happens to change things for them.

Having already met the characters I felt like I slipped into their lives unwatched and with the brilliantly researched and factual back history of Nalin’s life I was engrossed, and sad at the world’s history.

During some amazingly erotic love making something awful (and funny) happens and I was left heartbroken at the ending.

The Animal Lover:

Gertrude can’t fit out her apartment door but her animals keep her company.

Whilst I love animals the description of the smell in her flat and what the various animals did was enough to make me gag! Over all her cruelty was far worse than Fred the Taxidermists. The ever so accurate portrayal of obesity was both sickening and fascinating.

As Gertrude teeters on the edge of a heart attack on her trek around her flat to find her inhaler I found myself breath holding and waiting for the inevitable.  Her final demise was very slap stick in what appears to be GJ signature way of killing people off, most amusing.

The Agoraphobic:

Gordon is the building manager with a nice money making side-line involving hidden cameras, so all the goings on are being watched, recorded and broadcast.

It is in fact his best night ever with all his regularly voyeurs logging on to watch the mayhem going on in the building, and the revolting Gordon is just watching it all with £ signs dancing in his eyes.

It was a brilliant way to catch up on what was happening in each flat from another perspective, the time line alone was magnificent in its perfection. In a few sentences GJ summed up the night of horror.

When he gets a knock on the door the person on the other side is not who he expected.

The Foreigner:

GJ launches from one dead body to another, and does it with superb style.

Samira is a covert spy and assassin, but she also has a complex and sad past, however now is the time she must make a quick escape as Gordon’s little internet business has alerted authorities to her.

GJ could easily write thrillers as he clearly has all the knowledge and skill to lead readers down a dark path of intrigue then set them on fire with the truth.

Another amazing little snippet of the bigger story, another sad ending but with that little hint of a giggle.

The Geek:

Poor schoolboy Benedict is often bullied and left alone by his hard working (and playing) mother, but he has been working hard on his school project and he has a dream.

I loved the way GJ interjects all these little comments that just speed you make to other scenes, this would make a brilliant Tarantino style film.

In the epilogue GJ really rounded up the horror and giggles, tying up every loose end and giving an incredible to ride to his readers. 

French Fries & Flamethrowers

Eyes Deep: A Clandestine Daze novella by Tim Marquitz

When the first few lines include a gross out murder followed by some sort of eyeball eating ritual I could not help but be hooked. But this is no out and out horror novel, more a supernatural, dark urban thriller.

Our main “man” is simply named Z but goes by so many other personas and skins!

After he has consumed said eyeball he is now able to become that person, a doppelganger, this allows him to do his day job of finding a piece of stolen equipment and ascertaining why it was even being built as this seems to be a machine designed to pull energy from another plane/world/dimension, and so the fun begins.

I wasn’t too fussed with Jace the other main character simply because her personality was kept so closed and in the dark, although she clearly has “something” for our main man Z to be so enthralled. I really enjoyed the sexual undercurrent, even if it was all one sided!  Maybe TM will expand her character in the next book, she obviously has a “history” to be the cold, feisty, uber killer that she is.

The pace is edgy and face and I really enjoyed the new world that TM is building done, which is leaked out slowly  as the story progresses, you can’t afford to take your eye of the page for a second or you will miss something. 

There was a great fight scene early on before Z and Jace resort to guns and all the chatter that goes along with that! But there were some very visual shape shifting moments too that really cheered me up.

I found less humour in this novella than what I used to from TM, his other major characters all have a sharp, sarcastic wit to them, Z not so much more of a sad underlying story to him, but then this was an intense story line and apart from the odd one liner there was not much room for humour.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this world/plane/dimension and the characters develop, judging by TMs other “worlds” this should prove to be brilliant!

Eyes Deep