Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne

3 stars
R- 2.5

Okay, first off, can we talk about the cover?

Cool cover, right?

Except for the fact that whoever created it CLEARLY DID NOT READ THE BOOK.  At all.  :P

Second, amount of innuendo/imagined or daydreamed sexual or near sexual encounters: 250-300

Not kidding.  Not exaggerating.

It's nearly EVERY SINGLE PAGE.  Talk about overkill.

For the record, actual sexual encounters: 0

I wanted to like this one.

Yeah, vampires, werewolves etc really aren't my thing, but I wanted to like this.

The tone felt a little like the Lisa Shearin books, and y'all know how much I love those.

But in the end, it fell flat.

Like a cheap Lisa Shearin knock-off.  Total bummer.

Overall, meh.

(Speaking of Lisa Shearin, is it May yet??  I need the next book......)

Are You FREAKING Kidding Me???

That's it.  This has gone too far. 

I overlooked the idea of

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

and Jane Slayre

and whatever the other one was...

But Little Vampire Women?  Seriously.

ENOUGH I say.  E-FREAKING-NOUGH.

Okay, getting off my soapbox and ending the tantrum....

(Though I must admit feeling slightly intrigued and amused by the idea of --




Could just be me, though.)

Blood Bar by Norm Applegate

3 stars
R- 4.5

Probably the most risque book I've ever finished. And I'll be honest, if it weren't a Virtual Book Tour book, I probably wouldn't have finished it for exactly that reason.

Strip away the sexual content (I've never seen the word "erotic" used so many times) and it's a good vampire thriller/mystery. (And I'm sorry, blood is not sexy. I've swallowed blood, it's nasty.)

Strip away the vampire elements and it could be a really good secret society mystery/thriller. THAT'S more my style.

Either way, Twilight it ain't.

I was slightly confused by it, but that's probably because it's the third book in a series. Lots of missing backstory.

Anyway, Kim Bennett, a San Francisco madame who specializes in S&M, is called to New York to help a friend investigate a murder. What follows is a nightmarish whirl of activity and it's almost impossible to tell who can be trusted. In the end, she realizes she must find the Black Testament (the Vampire code of sorts, written by Jack the Ripper) in order to save herself.

The idea of Jack the Ripper as a vampire I found really intriguing. Not a theory I'd heard before. ;)

So yeah, intriguing, but way too much sex for my taste.

If it sounds like your cup of tea, start with Into the Basement and then Into the Spell. I'm sure it will make far more sense if you read them in order!

To find out more, check out Virtual Book Tours and Norm Applegate's website.