Staked (Void City, #1)

Oct 22, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, the-great-shelf-of-meh

I'm going to list for you three incredibly stupid things done on behalf of humanity. Now, I'm not saying these are the stupidest things ever done in the history of man, but I'm saying they probably cut it pretty close.

1. The Mary Rose was commissioned and built by the English Navy in 1511. If wikianswers is anything to go by then the roughly *Kat looks for the pound symbol* where's the fucking pound symbol? Okay, never mind about the pound symbol, just use your imagination. The 400 pounds plus t...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Buggy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lmao, shelf-10, vampalicious, urb-fantasy, weretastic

“In the end a friendship between vampire and a human is like a friendship between a dog and a chicken nugget. Sooner or later, the nugget is going to get eaten; the only real question is how many bites it will take.”

I don’t read much urban fantasy, Oh I try, because friends keep recommending “awesome” books to me but in all honesty I rarely get through them, getting confused by creatures and worlds that change on a whim and generally lack in the romance department. Anyways STAKED was another one...more “In the end a friendship between vampire and a human is like a friendship between a dog and a chicken nugget. Sooner or later, the nugget is going to get eaten; the only real question is how many bites it will take.”

I don’t read much urban fantasy, Oh I try, because friends keep recommending “awesome” books to me but in all honesty I rarely get through them, getting confused by creatures and worlds that change on a whim and generally lack in the romance department. Anyways STAKED was another one of ‘those’ recommendations however this one turned out to be different, piquing my interest from page 1 with its dark laugh-out-loud humour, bumbling anti hero and no holds bared sex, blood and gore. Yup this was a fun ride.

Told in alternating POV’s between the likable but remorseless vampire Eric and his human (waiting to be turned) girlfriend Tabitha, Staked gives us a new take on the mainstream vampire story. And while I much preferred being in Eric’s confused head Tabitha’s journey is at the very least eye opening. With a fast paced storyline set in the unique and very cool world of Void City, this is one Urb fantasy book that I will now be recommending to others.

Eric just wants to be left alone to run his strip club, drain the occasional waitress and drive his 64 Mustang but being undead isn’t easy and ‘life’ just keeps getting in his way. Compounding things is the fact that Eric was embalmed shortly after his ‘death’ and his short term memory now resembles Swiss cheese. He can’t remember who he had for lunch yesterday much less why he’s standing in a back alley with a Master Vampires head in his hands.

Then theres the whole enchanted bullets and sunlight issues (he keeps catching on fire) the missing money and assorted business problems he’s having with the co-owner of Demon Heart, a girlfriend just begging to be turned -with a really cute younger sister and his would be wife Marilyn, who although getting up there in years still refuses to join him in undeath but won’t leave his side either. Throw in the fact that a pack of werewolves is seeking revenge for Eric killing one of their own (come on it was self defence) his girlfriend Tabitha is about to learn the unromantic version of what it means to be undead and oh, his kids are coming to visit.

So you guessed it, I recommended this bloody great ride, even to those who don’t like the urban fantasy genre. JF Lewis has created an excellent world here and I’m looking forward to more adventures with book #2 ReVamped (less)

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Jul 01, 2008 Daelith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: permanent-collection, 2008-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First, I must start out by saying that most women, myself included, are going to think Eric is a complete pig. Be interesting to have himself turn into one then have Tabitha shot him with those special bullets so he’s stuck in that form for awhile. But then, he’d be a roast piggy so that wouldn’t work. Darn! Regardless of his “women problems” I still managed to like Eric. Then again, I’m a sucker for flawed heroes. You weren’t kidding when you say Eric has issues. *L*

Tabitha, I felt, needed a go...more First, I must start out by saying that most women, myself included, are going to think Eric is a complete pig. Be interesting to have himself turn into one then have Tabitha shot him with those special bullets so he’s stuck in that form for awhile. But then, he’d be a roast piggy so that wouldn’t work. Darn! Regardless of his “women problems” I still managed to like Eric. Then again, I’m a sucker for flawed heroes. You weren’t kidding when you say Eric has issues. *L*

Tabitha, I felt, needed a good swat up the side of her head in several instances, but again I still liked her. It was fun watching her fumble and experiment with her new found powers.
The funny thing as I was reading and thinking in what ways I like and dislike these characters, I had to give a mental chuckle at Lewis catching me off guard like this. I’ve always said I really like a writer who can elicit an emotion from me whether it be laughter, tears or anger. They’ve done their job, and very well, when they’ve achieved that. (Still only one has managed to tick me off enough to throw the book across the room though.) Here Lewis had me going back and forth with both of these characters as to how I felt about them. One chapter, I’m ready to stake Eric myself then the next I’m rooting for him to kick some werewolf ass. Kudos Jeremy!

Extra kudos for several laugh out loud moments. The little addition of the Three Stooges move in a fight and Eric’s learning of his bat wings had me rolling. And in bringing these two scenes up in topic, let me just add...Greta Rocks!! Seriously, as warped as it may be, I adored Greta. So help me if you kill her off in future books, I may have to go find the little old voodoo priestess who runs around downtown Memphis mumbling and shaking her fistful of feathers at everyone and have her come up with an extra special curse for you.

Also, I’m thoroughly intrigued by Talbot and looking forward to learning more about him in future books. Rachel had me pondering as to just what she was up too quite a bit. I have a feeling she’ll prove to be more of an upcoming quandary. The Japanese ogres were a great touch too. I had this mental image of some Sumo looking creatures squatting in the street stuffing their faces. And the holy roller lycans! I’m still snickering over them.

Now as for the ending. Holy cliffhangers, Batman!! I turn the page expecting there to be more and there’s “Hope you liked the book” and I’m thinking -- What the heck?! There’s got to be more. Frantically flipping through the last few filler pages, I realize that was it. Porky Pig might has well have popped out of the back cover and said “Th-th-the-th-the-th-that's all, folks!” I quickly looked up the release date of the next book. March 2009. Sheesh, I’ve got nine months to wait. I can just hear the “Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!” Curly impression Lewis is doing now from his office.

All kidding aside though, this was a great read. If I hadn’t had things that had to be done this past weekend, I probably would have read this in one sitting. Lewis has all the ingredients I love in a book...action, paranormal, mystery and humor with a different twist.

Thank you for the opportunity to read your book, Jeremy. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next installment.
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Jul 12, 2008 Ranata rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: vampire lovers, those who enjoy a good l augh

Shelves: void-city

Meet Eric, a vampire that blacks out and when he awakens, somebody's dead. He has a human girlfriend that wants him to turn her into a vampire so they can be together for all eternity and like an idiot, he goes and does it even though it never seemed to work out before. Now he's checking out her little sister..In between women problems, he has werewolves out for his blood. What's a short term memory losing vamp to do?

I thought this story was brilliant. I loved the plot and I thought it flowed to...more

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Dec 10, 2008 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was fantastic first novel. Quite humourous actually. Eric with the convenient amnesia and temper to boot, really gave the story a bold entrance to the vampire scene.

I await the publication of the sequel.

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Nov 21, 2008 Linda added it

Highly recommended! If you enjoy the Buffyverse, you'll enjoy the world of Eric in STAKED.

This is a great first novel, and I look forward to the second one (out in March '09, I believe).

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Nov 24, 2008 Vincent Diamond rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Staked by J.F. Lewis

Thinking this might be a fun little vamp romp, I took a chance on this. Paranormal tales are all the rage these days, of course, and my exposure to them is limited to the tedium of one of the later Anita Blake vampire hunter series (I can't remember the name but it's the one where the psychological/mental/ possibly physical threesome was drawn out for like, 60 goddamm pages. Yes, a three-way rendered utterly boring by inert prose and way too much navel-gazing), and what stori...more Staked by J.F. Lewis

Thinking this might be a fun little vamp romp, I took a chance on this. Paranormal tales are all the rage these days, of course, and my exposure to them is limited to the tedium of one of the later Anita Blake vampire hunter series (I can't remember the name but it's the one where the psychological/mental/ possibly physical threesome was drawn out for like, 60 goddamm pages. Yes, a three-way rendered utterly boring by inert prose and way too much navel-gazing), and what stories come over my desk for editing and proofing. At least those have somewhat sympathetic vampire characters.

One cannot say the same for Eric from Staked.

Initially, the first-person, chatty voice was kind of charming. This isn't a stuffy, ascot-wearing, smoking jacket kind of vampire. Eric runs a strip club and starts off the action by killing another vampire. With lots of references to bowels and bodily fluids, this should have given me a clue that the narrator has the interests of the average thirteen year old. Boobs, bowel movements, and gore.

But, okay, I get past that. When Eric returns to his strips club (first clue), he has a fairly angy encouter with Tabitha, his human girlfriend. Of course, she waxes. (second clue).

And then. And then I run into this charming bit of prose:
"Tabitha was the only kind of girlfriend I let myself have anymore. She had a great body, a bad attitude, and extremely low self-esteem. She wasn't dumb, but she wasn't smart, and she thought she wanted to be a vampire when she grew up…. In short, if I broke her by accident I wouldn't feel too bad about it and no one would really miss her. Cruel, I know, but I am a vampire, remember?"

Third clue. This is a misogynistic, psychopathic, frightened character who doesn't want a grown-up, real woman but a childish, dumb, busty female who won't challenge him in any way. And about whom I wish to read nothing more. This is a character I'm supposed to care about and be in his head for the next 370 or so pages? Um, no, I don't think so.

So, J.F. Lewis, you lost me. And you lost me fast, on page 15. At least it was a quick screwing because the $14 paid for this could have gone to something with a tad more value like half a tank of gas or a meal for two at McDonald's.
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Dec 02, 2012 Brad Middleton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampire-fiction

In a genre filled to capacity with romanticized vampires, "Staked" -- by new author J.F. Lewis -- offers a distinct alternative with his anti-hero Eric, a vampire who's a bit of a jerk. He turns his faithful girlfriend into a vampire, only to dump her in favor of her younger sister; he's a smart ass strip club owner who cares little about the people around him and only wants to be left alone; and he isn't shy about killing his own kind, let alone the other supernatural creatures that inhabit the...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eric has rage issues. And memory issues, to be truthful. He tends to get angry and then come back to himself amid a pile of dead bodies. One of his latest dead bodies happens to be the son of William, who leads the local werewolves. Eric wastes no time worrying since he's pretty hard to kill. In Lewis's vampirism system, Eric's at the top. (Your abilities are determined both by your sire and by your inner strength.)

Of course the werewolves are getting pretty pesky, especially since they think th...more Eric has rage issues. And memory issues, to be truthful. He tends to get angry and then come back to himself amid a pile of dead bodies. One of his latest dead bodies happens to be the son of William, who leads the local werewolves. Eric wastes no time worrying since he's pretty hard to kill. In Lewis's vampirism system, Eric's at the top. (Your abilities are determined both by your sire and by your inner strength.)

Of course the werewolves are getting pretty pesky, especially since they think they can threaten his daughter Greta. He also needs to make some sense of his personal life. He just turned Tabitha, his girlfriend, but now he's dating her younger sister Rachel. He knows he shouldn't, but something about her is irresistable. His longtime friend and business partner, Roger, is acting suspiciously. Eric would rather not deal with any of this.

STAKED combines action, well-drawn characters, and little bit of raunchiness to good effect. Tabith and Eric's relationship really gets me. She wants much more than he wants to give and she's willfully naive about the outcome of her desires. I could really despise Eric for the way he treats her, but he makes no excuses about it. He tells her the truth and surrounds her with people who can tell her the truths Eric refuses to face as well. I liked the both of them, although I worry about their specialness. (Yes, both of them have special vampire abilities.) In most urban fantasies, the gaining of special powers by the lead is a sign of the beginning of the declined. STAKED is promising and I do not want to see that happen.

I liked the side characters as well. Rachel and Greta, the two young girls, would typically be the innocents of the story. But Rachel is something of a criminal mastermind, and Greta has quite the appetite. As they say, fear the cute ones. Marilyn is the woman who loved Eric when he was alive and still stays by her side. She offers insight into his past and provides a strong human presence. Talbot, the bouncer, adds a few more mysteries to the plot. Some of his abilities are explained, but STAKED ends with little known about him or why he hangs with Eric.

Speaking of the ending . . . STAKED is a cliffhanger. I was lucky enough to receive a signed copy with this little note in the back:

Don't worry! The sequel is coming soon.

J. F. Lewis, like Eric, obviously realizes his own evil. I would say something about how he doesn't have the protection of immortality, but if he died we wouldn't get the sequel. Although STAKED ends with a bang and mysteries yet to be solved, it is a fairly self-contained sequence. The main plot begins and ends satisfyingly. (less)

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Aug 01, 2011 Madame X rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy, vampires

The protagonist of STAKED, Eric, is kind of like the male equivalent of Mary Janice Davidson's Betsy Taylor - scatterbrained, unrepentant about his gendered vices (Eric likes hot stripper girlfriends where Betsy favors expensive shoes), but at some fundamental level, his heart is in the right place.

The guy's got serious flaws - early on in the novel, Eric decides he wants to drink from a body wearing nice perfume and so he heads on over to the rich side of town, plucks a celebrated news anchor...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Malleck rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. firs let me start be saing i am sorry for any gramar mistakes, english is not my native language so this review may anoy u but all in all you will understand what i mean

Ok this book was strange, let's talk about Eric,he is a pig in just about every moment of his unlife, he choses his girlfriend because nobody would miss her if she died, he bangs her younger sister, his only care in the world seems to be his car and his daughter, he is a realy bad ass vampire but despise that he is a coward, he t...more firs let me start be saing i am sorry for any gramar mistakes, english is not my native language so this review may anoy u but all in all you will understand what i mean

Ok this book was strange, let's talk about Eric,he is a pig in just about every moment of his unlife, he choses his girlfriend because nobody would miss her if she died, he bangs her younger sister, his only care in the world seems to be his car and his daughter, he is a realy bad ass vampire but despise that he is a coward, he turn his girlfriend even when he doesn't want to, and even though he is not as stupid as he let people believe (he usualy knows people are trying to fool him) he lets them do it not because he doesnt care but he prefers to not know anything about it, if he actualy didn't ignore everything people do he could have easyli found out all the plots in the book, but he just wants to live his life peacefully and everybody can fool him, just don't do it so obviously that he can't ignore, i will give him the fact that he has his memory problem but evem with it he could just kill everybody and be done with all the planing behind his back, then again there would be no book to read if that hapened

while it apears that i hate the guy with those afirmations the fact is i actualy love the guy realy Lewis should get a medal for making a vampire who is the perfect antidot for crepuscle the only vampire who ever came close to Eric in that aspect would be Cassidy from preacher and my youger days, for some reason his memory problem and his character makes me laught out loud, his vampire powers are funny as hell and even his way of treating his girlfriend and her litle sister is sometimes funny even when he could definely get the Jerk of the year award for that

the other characters are all like that they have many defects but are ultimately likable, the only eceptions are Tabitha and Greta, i cannot stand Tabitha, every moment i spent in her head killed a litle part of me, while Eric was anoyng when he was being a jerk i hated Tabitha for filling every thing Eric said she was, her mind gave me a new insight in the mind of those cheerleaders that apear in movies, and i hated every second of it, she worships Eric when he clearly don't want to and at some time she get to the point of letting him get ambushed by the bad guys without saing anything just because he was ignoring her, ok he is a REALY big jerk with her and i can understand why she would want to stay away, if those were her reason but they aren't, she just wants him to get jealous of her "o you're going to kill him ? Good luck with that when ur done tell i am stayng in an hotel until he comes get me ok" seriously thats about what she says to the guys who clearly are trying to kill him, Lewis realy droped the ball on this one, I don't thing any serious woman can simpatize with her, perhaps just to say, Well i was once that stupid but i got over the guy,don't get me wrong I am not sayng there isn't guys who were that stupid about a woman but thats not the point here, if someone actualy likes that bimbo please never speak to me, on the other hand there is Greta the psicopat daughter of Eric, she is a total freak but i love her she doesnt apear as much as eric or Tabitha but she doesn't have any of theyr flaws, ok she is a nutjob but there is something about her unmercyfull and twisted ways that is just so cool.

the book by itself is prety obvious, the plot can be found out in the first 50 pages or so but it is realy very fun to read, i definitely recomend for young people who just want a good laught and an interesting reading, but dont expect great misteryes and hidem plots in this book (less)

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Jun 12, 2011 Shannon C. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Recommended to Shannon by: find books by title / author / isbn

Shelves: shapeshifters, magic-special-powers, vampires

This is the first book I've read by this author. I usually love urban fantasy books, but this one not so much.

What I liked:
1. It's an urban fantasy with a good amount of suspense and action
2. The vampires aren't watered down--they are scary killers

What I didn't like:
1. The characters--and when I say that I mean ALL of the characters. They just were not appealing. I wasn't interested in reading about any of them and really had to force myself to finish the book. The lead guy was a complete pr*ck...more

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May 18, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: see review

Staked by J.F. Lewis is a Good Read!
Staked (Void City, Book 1)
Cover of
by J.F. Kewis

Kindle Edition: File Size 388 KB
Publisher: Pocket (March 11, 2008)
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc.
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Pocket; Reprint edition (June 30, 2009)
Language: English
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket (March 11, 2008)
Won Paperback in contest from Vampire Wire
Read 5/16 and 5/17

Some ick, normal in terms of how I see men write sex or refer to women in books....more

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Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, urban-fantasy-male-protagonist

I was skeptical when I first started reading this book. I thought I was in for a let down, but I was pleasantly surprised. My first impression of all of the characters was that they were rude, sarcastic, and annoying. Eric has no backbone. Turns his girlfriend that he doesn't love into a vampire when he knows he will want no more to do with her. She thinks being a vampire will bring them closer together, which is not the case at all. Shortly after that things pick up. Eric, our main character, i...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Lady Rogue rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The blurb pretty much tells what the story is about. The protagonist Eric, was in no way the sterotypical alpha male vampire. He wasn't protective, honorable, or romantic. In fact, he was a jerk and I don't think he would disputed it. He was morally and remorsefully inept. He sucked at relationships with both his lovers and so called friends. But even with all his flaws, I kinda liked him. I also think that he was purposely cruel. Especially, considering all the crap he went through over the yea...more

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Oct 01, 2010 ALPHAreader rated it 5 of 5 stars

Eric has it tough. All he wants is to run his strip club in peace – but his girlfriend is bugging him to turn her immortal, werewolves are turning up dead and rage blackouts are turning his mind to Swiss cheese.

Meanwhile, Tabitha (Eric’s vampire-groupie girlfriend) has finally convinced her man to give her the bite of death. And once she’s immortal Eric will finally be able to reveal his true, deep feelings of love and adoration for her and they will live happily ever in undeath... until one of...more

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Sep 15, 2010 is mee... kissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. i kind of thought that i wouldn't like this book... i mean obviously when i saw it and decided to read it i figured it would be an okay read, but during the book, i though this would get 2 stars... seems like it got 3 instead...

right... Rachel bah! i found it really obvious that she was in league with the bad guys... i don't know why... probably because Eric's reaction to her was too instantaneous and i'm suspicious of those kind of stuff...
Eric went up and down for me... i like him at the begin...more i kind of thought that i wouldn't like this book... i mean obviously when i saw it and decided to read it i figured it would be an okay read, but during the book, i though this would get 2 stars... seems like it got 3 instead...

right... Rachel bah! i found it really obvious that she was in league with the bad guys... i don't know why... probably because Eric's reaction to her was too instantaneous and i'm suspicious of those kind of stuff...
Eric went up and down for me... i like him at the beginning, once he met Rachel though argh... nup, completely lost all the likingness i had for him... then when he saved Greta i liked him... by the end of the novel... he was awesome again... for some reason i like the fact that he has bad memory
Tabitha seems like such a... something... i don't know... she does what she thinks will please him.. i feel kind of sympathetic to her character.. i think most people would say she was a weak character and all that but... yeah..
i actually liked whats-his-face at first.. i already forgot his name... Tabolt or something... Talbot! that's it... i liked him at first but once he slept with Tabitha i just... nup... didn't like him anymore...
*end spoiler*
haha Greta.. i loved Greta... i don't know why... sort of twisted murderous girl that she is.. she seems like such a bubblly character, despite the fact that she's willing to kill kids... she's so much fun but i loved her! for some odd, twisted reason i liked her... that sounds scary since she's a bubbly 21-year old looking murderous girl... but she's just awesome!

what else....?
don't really have much to say on this... except i'm not really sure how to react to it... i can't get a feel of whether i really enjoyed this book or just found it okay... maybe i should change my stars again... to 2? yeah? nah...

i love the fact that Eric has these weird abilities... sort of... they're different to me... i don't think i have ever heard of a character do something like that... especially when the werewolves trapped Greta and he turned into Ericzilla.. loved that!

werewolves and vampires... typical... the werewolves are as they normally seem... the whole silver bullets and stuff... the fact that they need holy water to kill the Alpha was weird though, especially cos he seems like such a religious guy... which i found totally weird... i recognise the fact that humans could talk about vampires being damned and stuff.. but not werewolves, they're supernatural too so they don't have room to throw stones....(less)

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Apr 15, 2010 Brandi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Eric is a vampire with memory problems, a snarky attitude, and a whiny fangbanger girlfriend. He really just wants to be a guy - drink a little blood, tend to his strip club, avoid any emotional stickiness. Problem is, the people around him aren't what they seem at all, and Eric finds himself targeted by the local werewolf pack over a misunderstanding. Question is, can he fix everything before they kill him?

I thoroughly enjoyed Staked, and I really like J.F. Lewis' writing style - it's a real ju...more

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Feb 14, 2010 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

How do you describe a book that makes you cringe with the coarseness of the language and constant sexxoring of the main character, but that makes you keep reading just to find out what happens anyway? Oh yeah, that would be Staked.

Eric is a really, really powerful vampire who runs a strip club and keeps getting pretty much totally wasted by various factions of werewolves.

He just made his human girlfriend into a vampire, and her supposedly-dead little sister is out to seduce him. And he's being f...more

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Oct 01, 2009 Ladiibbug rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Highly Recommend to UF fans!

#1 Void City series - Urban Fantasy

Hilarious, very entertaining, lots of action & sometimes violent UF -- this is *not* a pnr romance with a vampire hunk as the leading man. There are relationships, but romance is not the main storyline.

A varied group of characters are lively, very, very funny (or weird, or bizarre) and the many sub-plots are so much fun!

Eric and his friend Roger, both vampires, co-own Demon Heart, a strip club. Eric's girlfriend is hounding him to turn her into a vampire....more

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Mar 14, 2012 Naomi Dillon rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review is for all 4 books, because I've just very happily whipped through them, at super speed. There well written, fast paced and funny.

The main character is brilliant. Eric..........Is real, I'm sure he is. I want to maybe not meet him because that would be dangerous, but in amongst all the gore and dodgy memories and the anger issues is a nice bloke.Not a saint.Not a supportive I'll cook you dinner and hoover and understand all your issues bloke. But an ordinary don't want to know, but i...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Krista rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ok. I give this book a 3 because i liked the story line overall. I just thought Eric turns out to be more whiny then brooding. I think Tabitha should have been with Talbot from the minute shes turned BECAUSE of who she turns out to be and who he is hinted to be. you can clearly see and feel the tension and need that radiates off of them. I felt if Marilyn cared enough to spend her whole life wasting away because of Eric she should have just been turned and been with him so we wouldn't have had t...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Christal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: magic, multiple-leads, mind-bullets, urban-fantasy, vampires, weres-and-shifters

I really enjoyed this book. The vampires are not toned down at all. They are vicious killers, most of the time. The lead character, Eric, actually reminds me of Dante from A Rush of Wings, albeit in a more humorous, self-effacing way. He has this whole secret background mystery going on that we just barely scratch the surface of in this book. I really enjoyed his scenes with his daughter, Greta, and hope we find out more about her in the next books. I even enjoyed Tabitha until her last chapter...more

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Jan 14, 2009 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Well, unlike some of the books I've picked up in the last year I can at least say that I finished this one even if I'm not sure why. I was unimpressed from the start. I really liked some of the concepts and themes of this book but the execution was a bit awkward. The main characters were not even remotely likable, which is frustrating since it's written in first person. I spent most of the time wanting to slap Tabitha and stake Eric for being an idiot and a jerk (respectively). I'm all for a fla...more

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May 25, 2009 Rhonda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, vampire

I was rather reluctant to start another series with vampires in it. I mean how many authors have butchered them recently? Making them into something other than what they are, supernatural hunters meant to inspire fear? Far too many. Thankfully I was not annoyed or disappointed with Lewis' treatment of vampires and I enjoyed the two different view points we got the story from. I will definitely read more by this author =)

Eric was definitely unique and Tabitha was interesting despite her reasons f...more

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Mar 18, 2008 Jenna Rock rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who liked the Dresden Files series.

Despite the horribly cheesy cover, this book was a great read. An amusing, not taking itself too seriously, fantasy book about a vampire that runs a strip club and experiences rage black outs. If you like the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, then this book would be right up your alley.

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Dec 10, 2010 Jenna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-of-2010, urban-fantasy

I gave this four, when it really deserves three, because the author did something that rarely happens; he made me dislike a character, then really like her later on.

I spent the first four or five chapters of this book thinking that I wasn't going to read it, I was going to put it down in a minute and read something better, but... yeah. Kept reading. I liked it more than I thought I would.

I like that the author isn't afraid to kill characters. Isn't afraid to be gross and gritty. I like that Eri...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Cupcake Cassie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own

Ok so this took longer that it should have, to be honest.

At the start I totally love Eric, and then I hate him, and then I like him and then I hate him again. So I guess I hate a love/hate relationship with him!

Now Tabitha I really love all the way through, though I think she should grow some balls and get over Eric and be with Tablot instead.

Through out the plot I would say some of it is predictable, like your best friend screwing you over? Yeah, saw that one coming! Though I couldn't figure...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Diana (Offbeat Vagabond) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, urban-fantasy, paranormal

Review also posted here: Offbeat Vagabond

It has taken me a few days to get to this, but finally, my review is here. I must say, Lewis debut is why he has made it on my favorite authors list. But even so, there were some things in this book that sort of annoyed me to the point that I wanted to start smacking some sense into people. Not Lewis mind you, although I don't think he would mind, given this book, he seems sort of kinky.
This book throws you right into the action, which I love. We are i...more Review also posted here: Offbeat Vagabond

It has taken me a few days to get to this, but finally, my review is here. I must say, Lewis debut is why he has made it on my favorite authors list. But even so, there were some things in this book that sort of annoyed me to the point that I wanted to start smacking some sense into people. Not Lewis mind you, although I don't think he would mind, given this book, he seems sort of kinky.
This book throws you right into the action, which I love. We are introduced to the main vampire named Eric. I love Eric just due to the fact that he has this won't-take-any-bullshit attitude. We instantly find out that Eric seems to have some issues with his memories. There is a dead vampire next to him in a filthy alley, he killed him, but has no idea how. In that same filthy alley, Eric is stalked by a werewolf who pretends to be a bum. They fight and it was dirty and graphic and I loved it. This pretty much sets the mood of this book.
After being saved and barely making it out alive from the rising sun, Eric goes back to the strip club he owns, The Demon Heart (great name) and this is where we meet the main female of the book. His girlfriend (aka warm sex toy), Tabitha, is head over heels for Eric. But we know Eric doesn't really feel the same way, not only due to the fact that he is a jerk, but the only woman he has ever loved, Marilyn, never wanted to become a vampire. Nonetheless, Tabitha begs him to turn her and he does it as a way to let her go. This is where plenty of bullshit ensues. I mean like the good oh my God I can't believe that happened bullshit, not the bad bullshit. That makes sense, right?
We are introduced to Talbot who is a sexy werecat (I think he is, we are never told) and he is the one who helps Tabitha, not Eric. Eric is off trying to save his ass and screwing Tabitha's barely legal sister, Rachel. Eric is in hot water, but ends up in hotter water when he finds out he killed the packmaster's son (alley bum). I loved how the werewolves were like God's warriors. They are out to destroy vampires at all costs. It is nice and different. But we see that they end up fighting for the same cause over time. I believe this is partially because no one can kill Eric. He is a Vlad. An actual, real immortal vampire. He is impossible to kill, he just regenerates. It is nice to read a book that has immortality correct. Immortality just doesn't mean living forever especially if a simple stab to the heart is all it takes to put you down for good. I don't know, maybe it is just me.
I absolutely loved this book. It is a great urban fantasy, that is written by a man. That alone is enough for me to buy it because it is so rare, well at least it seems that way. This book was very action packed and gory. It really took me back to the beginning of the Anita Blake series, just a little more macho. I loved that it sticks to the original myths about vampires. It is sort of old school, which makes it more enjoyable.
With that being said, I did have a few problems though.
1) Well this isn't much a problem, but it is something that I would have liked. I wish Talbot had a bigger part. He was very mysterious throughout and that only peeked my interest more in him. It would have been nice to see him have a little story.

2) The cover. I know, nitpicky, but still. A cover tells you a part of the story inside. The cover as seen above is misleading. It shouldn't be Tabitha on the front cover. It should be Eric. He is the main character. Most of the chapters are about him. It starts with him and it ends with him. Also the gun she is holding she actually can't hold. The gun can only be held by Eric because it was made for him. So the real cover to stick to should be the one below. Eric looks a tad bit older than I imagined (he "died" when he was 30) and still doesn't seem to be the dominant focus, but it still makes more sense than the one at the top of this post.

description

3) I loved Eric, he is probably one of the coolest vampires ever. But he is a guy which means he is "man-stupid*" (Thank you Adrian Phoenix, I will start using that). You know he is a good guy. Deep, deep, deep down he is a good guy. He has a brain, he is not stupid as far as the real world goes, but where common sense is concerned, he is a dumbass. He is sleeping with Tabitha's sister. To make that situation worse, he knows there is something off about her, he admits it to himself. But being that he is a guy, his blood is elsewhere. He cares for Tabitha, but does seem to love her in a warped sort of way, but he doesn't try to work with her on it, instead he wants their relationship open. Then there is the stuff about who it is that is actually setting him up, he tries not to think about it because he knows it is as bad as it seems.

4) The character of Tabitha herself. Don't get me wrong, I like her, I just can't respect her. The reason I love Urban Fantasy is because the lead characters are a force to be reckoned with. I love stories about strong, female leads who will do anything to protect people especially those she loves. Tabitha is not that character. She wants to be turned into a vampire for the wrong reasons (well, in retrospect, I am not sure there are right ones). She says it is because she loves him, but she is so selfish, she doesn't take the time to figure what he really wants. Tabitha doesn't fight for him anywhere in this book, instead, she is a doormat. She would be his puppet if that means she can stick with him. I wanted to punch the hell out of her because of what happened in the end. If she actually grew a pair of lady balls, it probably would have ended differently. I mean I didn't expect her to become a instant badass overnight, but she didn't even try to be a badass. She never tries to get to know him outside of the bedroom. I am hoping the further I go she learns to pull her head out of her ass, but for now, she needs sense slapped into her.

Overall, this book was just fun to read. Again, the fact that it was written by a man really gives you perspective. It is a book that I believe women will enjoy and men would love. Lots of violence with actual mean and scary ass vampires. If you are a fan of Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series (review for Already Dead posted HERE ) then you will love this. It was an adrenaline rush for me. I wish vampires movies would be done more like this. I liked all the characters, no matter their faults This book has some dark humor to it which I will always love. So if you are someone who wants to like vampires and breaks out in hives at the mention of Twilight (BOOOOOO!), then get your hands on this. It will be one hell of a read.(less)

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Jul 03, 2009 marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

this book reminded me of the queen betsy series. well, if betsy was a man with a heck of a libido and a case of serious memory lapse. i think i fell in love with eric by page three when i was laughing so hard i choked on my drink. this book had some truly hilarious moments in it. ok more than moments, most of the book had me in stitches. not too fond of the female lead tabby. i was kind of hoping she would get blown up along the way. if i had to read her panting like a puppy how "he loves me! he...more

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Staked (Void City #1)

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