Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair - Review

Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair has been on my radar since back in August when Tracey appeared on my Getting To Know... feature, which you can check out here if you'd like. I'm actually surprised I hadn't picked it up before as it's something that's right up my street, so when Tracey was looking for people to review Dark Dates I waved my arms around loudly. (That makes sense I promise).  

About The Book

All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you’re a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward – especially when there’s a supernatural war brewing in London, a sexy new bloodsucker in town and your mysterious, homicidal and vampire hating ex-lover chooses this moment to reappear in your life…

Witty, sharp and entertaining, Dark Dates is a heady mix of vampires, witches and werewolves – with the occasional angel thrown in – and introduces Cassandra Bick, a likeable heroine destined to join the ranks of fantasy’s feistiest females.

My Review

This book is so much fun! There were times that I laughed full on out loud (sometimes in not the most appropriate of places... ahem). I loved all the characters and I'm already looking forward to continuing with the series. 

Cassandra or Cass I swear deals with everything the same way I do - sarcasm and food! She is the perfect mix of everyday woman and one who can defend herself with whatever is nearby even if it is by accident. She feels so very real to me and I really enjoyed her honesty about what (*read who) she thought was hot and how awkward she is around people on a day to day basis. 

Medea is a great sidekick character, she is powerful, intelligent and beautiful and there is even more to her than meets the eye. Katie who you meet later in the book, I'm still not 100% about yet, BUT she is definitely interesting and certainly surprised me. 

Now to my absolutely favourite character - Cain. Yes he is a completely heartless a$$hole at times, but he's hot and he's a bad boy with a soft side and who doesn't want that in their fictional boyfriend? There are also so many more interesting things I could say but I would be spoiling far too much so that will have to do. 

I can see why people would like Laclos as he is basically lust personified and who knows what will happen further into the series, but for now I am full on #teamcain. 

The story is really interesting as there is a war brewing in the vampire world and somehow Cass has got herself mixed up in it and decides to try and deal with a lot herself while the menfolk (Cain and Laclos) preen and stalk about like peacocks. They do come in more than handy when they're needed though and make up for lost time. 

Throughout there are some brilliant references to pop culture and I loved that I could pick some out, though I think I missed the Buffy ones as I've only ever seen the original movie but none of the TV series. 

Overall a really, really good and enjoyable book and as I said I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series. I know this has been  more of a ramble than usual, but this happens when I really like a book. 

I gave this book 5 stars. 

Land Of Midnight Days - Katrina Jack

I was very lucky to receive an e-book copy of Land Of Midnight Days direct from the author, Katrina Jack, in exchange for an honest review. 

Omgoodness this book sucks you right in and doesn't let you out until its done! Land Of Midnight Days is fast paced and action packed. I genuinely couldn't put this book down when I picked it up as I needed to know what happened next. 

Jeremiah the main character is a half Elwyn/half human and a genius with the flute. He is an amazing character, he is broken but he refuses to give up. I think he is also the first mute character that I have come across and it was really interesting watching the struggle of trying to make himself understood when the other person couldn't use sign language. I thought this was all handled extremely well and the author also highlighted the presumptions that people have about differently abled people. I think the description in the synopsis of Jeremiah is perfect, he knows how to survive, but not how to live. 

The characters are all fleshed out really well and there isn't a single character that I didn't find interesting. The author has updated elves, ogres and demons in a really interesting way and in a way to make them work in an urban environment instead of rolling hills and valleys. Apart from Jeremiah, I really liked the characters of Joe, Big Fred and I thought Ezra's character wasn't nice but was interesting. As a parent I just couldn't find anything redeeming in either Sylvan or Zeb as both of them let Jeremiah down in the worst way time and time again. 

The world described is one of violence and of people just trying to survive. It is a very bleak place and one that can be recognised as somewhere we could end up one day. You can feel the hopelessness of the population, though there are spots of light that are shining through the darkness and hopefully they will be the one to succeed by the end of the story. 

I'm not sure why I have never heard of this series before or why more people aren't talking about it. I would 100% recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy or urban fantasy. I will definitely be picking up the rest of the books in the series to find out what happens next to Jeremiah and the other characters. 

I gave this book 5 stars. 

Land Of Midnight Days 

What would you do if your life was filled with fear: hide, run away - or would you fight back? In a city at war with itself, Jeremiah Tully already knows how to survive, now he must learn how to live. Mute from birth, of mixed race heritage and his only possession a charmed flute, Jeremiah tries to discover where his remarkable talent as a musician will take him.