Review:
I ended up enjoying this book even more than the first!
For one thing, it was funny. Possibly funnier than the first, but I admittedly don’t remember exactly how funny the first one was. It also got pretty intense and dark right near the end. Then it wrapped up with mostly good feelings again. So I wouldn’t say it was too dark overall, and I like when books can balance both humor and intensity.
For another thing, the story was more focused, interesting, and entertaining, and I’m not just saying that because it involved vampires. However, I do like vampires, so that was a plus. And it was fun seeing this author’s version of Dracula and the Dracula story.
The characters were more likeable too. Dale was significantly less of a misanthrope, James seemed less unnecessarily mysterious, and Coyote was less of a troll (not literally, I mean the kind of person who likes to screw with other people) and more lovably playful. All the main characters in this series are imperfect but mostly lovable (well, if you ignore some of the things they’ve done in the past, especially James). Seeing the dynamic between Dale and Coyote as friends was nice too. And I gotta say, I think Coyote and Daphne may be an even cuter couple than Dale and James, haha. Poor Coyote doesn’t understand the nuances of modern human dating, but he tries.
There were a couple things I didn’t like though, the main one being the head hopping, again. It’s something that’s especially frustrating to me in these books because, aside from that, the writing is really good and does draw me in. I guess I’ve decided that it’s worth it to just deal with the head hopping since it doesn’t happen too often, and I like the characters too much to stop reading now.
I also didn’t care much for any of the POVs other than Dale’s, but other people might enjoy them. I did at least understand why the author gave us Abraham’s POV.
The other thing I didn’t like was that they cured James’s mental illness with magic, at least temporarily. In real life though, there is no insta-cure, so I don’t like seeing this in books because it can lead to harmful misunderstandings. I don’t actually know what illness it is that he had, but before they fixed it, it had seemed realistic in the sense that, even though he knew he was being irrational and that he was going to face serious consequences if he didn’t get back to his job, he just couldn’t get past it, he couldn’t will it away and force himself to get over it no matter how much he wanted to.
So overall, I had a problem with the head hopping and the mental illness cure, but I really liked the characters and the story.
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes M/M urban fantasy, humor, a bit of mystery, and imperfect but mostly likeable characters.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: The Man in the Long Black Coat (Dale Bruyer Book 1) by J.L. Aarne
Book Review: Love Song for a Vampire (Dale Bruyer Book 2) by J.L. Aarne
Book Review: The Watcher’s Son (Dale Bruyer Book 3) by J.L. Aarne
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I have the 1st book on my wishlist, mostly because of the humor. I don’t mind different POVs, sometimes even prefer them. It needs to be done right, though.
Well, maybe you won’t mind the different POVs and whatnot. It does have some great humor!
where have I seen that face in the cover before??? is that Lucky? Thor’s brother??? I have to say this is NOT one of my fav covers of yours! please don’t hang it in our living room!
Kinda does look like Loki, doesn’t it??
I hadn’t noticed either until she pointed it out lol.
Lol he does look kinda like him now that you mention it. I actually like the cover though! Stop hating on the cover I like, haha.
Lol I knew I was misspelling his name! Is Loki!!! Lol
We knew who you meant, it’s all good!
A great review, Kristen – but the head-hopping would really annoy me. There are very few authors that can genuinely get away with it, I think.
Yeah, head-hopping is one of my biggest reading pet peeves. But sometimes I’m willing to deal with it if it’s not done too often and/or the book is good enough.
I like it when a dark book can have humor too, balances it out! Coyote sounds interesting. And multi POV’s can work or really not work, definitely. It’s great if they do, but yeah not always.
I agree with you on magically healing real life problems, like mental illness. Not a fan really. But nice that it explores that you can’t just “will” yourself over something- even if you know it’s irrational, you can’t just make it go away. Sounds like a pretty good read overall!
Humor and darkness are always an odd combo, but they work really well when done right. Coyote is so much fun lol. And he’s some sort of old god, so he really just doesn’t understand the human dating thing.
Well see, that’s why I was so disappointed. It portrayed that whole “can’t will it away” aspect of mental illness really well… until they cured it with magic -_- But yes, other than those couple issues, I did enjoy the book!
I really like this author and I am hoping I Hear They Burn For Murder has a sequel soon. I’ve wanted to read this series but felt like it was YA so I haven’t picked it up..
NB: I didn’t read your review just in case I do get to read the series 🙂
I haven’t read any of his other books, just this series. This one is def not YA though, the MC is nearly 40 I think, so now you can read it 🙂
What are you saying? 40 is still a youngster for me.. lol. Thanks for letting me know.
Lol in that case I have been labeling my book reviews all wrong 😉
I’m glad you enjoyed this overall despite those few issues you had. I’m impressed with how many books you find that also have humor. That’s my favorite thing and I have such a hard time finding books like that. (Which is why I have a list of the books you rec)
For What It’s Worth
I never realized I found a lot of books with humor. But I read a lot of urban fantasy, and I guess that is a genre that often has humor. Maybe you should try reading one of the books I said was funny so that you’ll know if we even have the same sense of humor. Your list might be all for nothing if we don’t, haha.
It’s always annoying when a good book has features you don’t like, like a magical cure for a mental illness that is plain old unrealistic. The story itself sounds pretty good, though. And the fact you actually enjoyed this more than the first is good. I find it really depends on the thing which bothers me in a book.
I agree, it’s kind of even more frustrating when it’s a good book since it could’ve been GREAT, you know? But yeah, whether I can still enjoy a book depends on the thing and how good the rest of the book is.
That’s nice it balances the humor and intensity well. And that sounds nice how the characters are more likeable in this book than in the first. Too bad about the head hopping, but that’s a good thing if you still keep reading even with that issue. I can enjoy multiple point of views, but the other point of views do have to add something. I usually can still enjoy a book even I some things in the writing bother me, but it also depends on what exactly it is and if the rest of the book is good enough to compensate for that.
I do like when books can balance humor and intensity. Sometimes it’s worth it to put up with something that bothers you when the book is good enough! But yeah, it does depend.