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WVMP, The Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll. Real
Music for Real Vampires.
If you’re just joining us, welcome to radio station WVMP,
“The Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.”
Con-artist-turned-station-owner Ciara Griffin manages an
on-air staff of off-the-wall DJs—including her new boyfriend
Shane McAllister—who really sink their teeth into the music
of their ‘Life Time” (the era in which they became
vampires). It’s Ciara’s job to keep the undead rocking, the
ratings rolling, and the fan base alive—without missing a
beat.
For Halloween, WVMP is
throwing a bash sure to raise the dead. They’ve got cool
tunes, hot costumes, killer cocktails—what could go wrong?
Well, for starters, a religious firebrand ranting against
the evils of the occult preempts the station’s midnight
broadcast. Then, when Ciara tracks down the illegal
transmission, the broadcast tower is guarded by what appears
to be…a canine vampire? And behind it all is a group of
self-righteous radicals who think vampires suck (and are
willing to stake their lives on it).
Now Ciara must protect
the station while struggling with her own murky relationship
issues, her best friend’s unlikely romance with a fledgling
vampire, and the nature of her mysterious anti-holy powers.
To make it to New Year’s in one piece, she’ll need to learn
a few new tricks.…
***
I was lucky enough to
get an ARC of Bad to Bone to write this review. JSR had
nothing to fear about letting down her readers with the
second book in the series. I know that frequently the
sophomore slump hits, but that is not the case here. I’m not
a reviewer who gives spoilers. It’s a review not a book
report…so you’re safe to read this.
The first thing I really
enjoyed was there was no big info dump about what happened
in Wicked Game. The characters introduced that back story in
bits and pieces in just the right place to fill the reader
in without cluttering up the new story.
This is not an action
packed, drinking from a fire hose, book. But that doesn't
hurt it one little bit. Bad to the Bone is
primarily a relationship story. It’s about Ciara making a
new life with Shane her vampire boyfriend. They have a lot
of issues to deal with, not unlike any human couple, and
it’s quite an enjoyable read as their story unfolds. Shane,
being the youngest of the vampire DJs still has human family
out there to deal with to, and finding out about them
rounded out his character nicely.
Ciara’s relationship
problems don’t end with Shane. She’s dealing with daddy
issues, hot boss issues and how to balance pretending the
vampires are pretending to be vampires when a reporter for
Rolling Stone shows up. All in all it’s a rocky ride, and
then we get to the life and death story when the bad guys
make their presence known.
Jeri Smith-Ready has
created a unique brand of vampire for her world. The way
they die is possibly the ickiest I’ve ever read, positively
horrific when it happens. So far the vampires are the only
supernatural elements openly discussed, but it looks like
there may be other factors coming out soon. But like I said,
I don’t give spoilers.
If you’re a fan of
Jeaniene Frost’s books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the
Dresden Files and rock n roll, you will love this book.
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