Seleste reviews: Don’t Bite the Messenger by Regan Summers
January 10, 2012 in Reviews
Format: ebook- File Size: 251 KB
- Price: $3.99
- Publisher: Carina Press (January 16, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00699QQ8G
- Regan Summer’s Website
Buy Don’t Bite the Messenger at:
Anchorage, Alaska
The vampire population may have created an economic boom in Alaska, but their altered energy field fries most technology. They rely on hard-living—and short-lived—couriers to get business done…couriers like Sydney Kildare.
Sydney has survived to the ripe old age of twenty-six by being careful. She’s careful when navigating her tempestuous clients, outrunning hijackers and avoiding anyone who might distract her from her plan of retiring young to a tropical, vampire-free island.
Her attitude—and immunity to vampires’ allure—have made her the target of a faction of vampires trying to reclaim their territory. Her only ally is Malcolm Kelly, a secretive charmer with the uncanny habit of showing up whenever she’s in trouble. Caught in the middle of a vampire turf war, Sydney has to count on Malcolm to help her survive, or the only place she’ll retire is her grave…
Creating a twist on vampires is an interesting proposition these days. Sometimes they work really well. Sometimes they don’t. And what works for one person might not work for someone else. So, when I saw the premise of Don’t Bite the Messenger with the whole tech-issue, I was more than a little intrigued.
The messengers was really effective for me, the way they evaded vamps and had to work to stay alive in a business where they’re considered chess pieces (and likely to get in horrible accidents if they aren’t killed by the enemy). Except… I would have liked a much better understanding of exactly how the technology difficulties worked. For example, as best as I can tell, they can travel (guessing via cars and planes) and don’t blow out light fixtures, but they can’t use technological means of communication or such. Basically, the lack of clarity there meant it took me a while to sink into the story because I kept trying to figure out how the rules operated.
However, I really enjoyed the characters of Sydney and Malcolm. Even though the relationship moved very fast, the attraction–both physical and emotional–felt genuine. I wanted them to be together from the very first time they met, which is rare for me. And the sex was hot, which is always a bonus. Individually, Malcolm wasn’t quite the wounded hero, more of the trapped hero, the screw-up who’s stuck paying a price, which was a pleasant change from alpha-alphas. And while she’s a risk-taker, Sydney was more bold than bad-ass–also a nice change.
I liked the set-up of the plot as well with rival vampire “families” vying for control of Alaska of all places. But… Don’t Bite the Messenger didn’t round out that plot. It was really about getting Sydney and Malcolm in place for what seems set up to be a series. So while it was an enjoyable read, it felt unfinished. It’s rare I say I want a novella to be longer, but I think this story could have done with about twenty more pages to pull all the pieces together.
***Disclaimer: Seleste also writes for Carina Press.***
