Minion (Vampire Huntress Legend, #1)

Jul 04, 2007 Kel rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: dont-bother

I was excited to see a vampire book written by and about an African American woman, but once I started reading I was totally let down and couldn't finish the book. There's way too much bad dialogue and "hip hop" talk for my tastes. I don't know anyone (of any color) who speaks like the author made her characters speak and if I did I'd probably have to walk away from them just like I walked away from the book. Real disappointing.

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Dec 10, 2009 Mistress ~ ♠ Mistral's Kiss ♠ ~ (Mist) rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Masochists

Shelves: loathe-this-book, urban-fantasy, abandoned-series-graveyard, bad-author-no-cookie, sucktastic-the-writing-it-burns

The writing it burns...

I gave up after a few chapters. I know, I know...she's an author of color, writing about characters of color in the fantasy genre, and I'm a woman of color. So it all should be very exciting. Unfortunately all I could feel was annoyance at how contrived the plot was and more than a little offended at the pretentious "urban" dialogue.

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Mar 16, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First this is one of those times when I feel I need to open with an apology to those who liked this book and encouraged me to read it. I know you like the book.

I don't.

To categorize a book as good or bad is often somewhat difficult to do. If a book is badly written, if the sentence structure is bad or the writer can't make him or her self understood, that would be a bad book. In most cases however whether a book is liked or disliked depends on "taste". Do I like the writer's style? Do I like the...more First this is one of those times when I feel I need to open with an apology to those who liked this book and encouraged me to read it. I know you like the book.

I don't.

To categorize a book as good or bad is often somewhat difficult to do. If a book is badly written, if the sentence structure is bad or the writer can't make him or her self understood, that would be a bad book. In most cases however whether a book is liked or disliked depends on "taste". Do I like the writer's style? Do I like the type book this is? So, here we are.

The book in question is the first in the Vampire Huntress Legend Series by L.A.Banks (Leslie Esdaile Banks) who died this year (Aug. 2, 2011) of adrenal cancer. This book while nominally an urban fantasy is (to my mind) actually more a romance. So much of the story leans on who loves who, why and how much they may or may not be in love and so on. The main character (Damali) is an expected, special, vampire slaying maiden (one that is born only every thousand years or so....not sure what "we" do in between, die I guess). One of her "powers" has to do basically with pheromones...when female vamps "smell her" they attack when male vamps "smell her" they are torn as whether to attack or bring her on over into vampirism.

Sigh.

Some of the reviews I read (unfortunately after I'd already finished with the book) actually reveled in the romance aspect of the book, especially the relationship between Damali and Carlos.

I'm sorry all you who love these books...but I just can't take PNR or for that matter most romances. I almost put this book aside several times as the author waxed poetic about the heroin's hair or some vamp's physique, or maybe when the internal monologues about Damali's feelings concerning Carlos went on and on...or when Carlos was thinking about Damali's pouty lips or the swell of her breasts. Get the picture?

Aside from this I just never really got into the story. Every time I began to get interested the romance would intrude and overwhelm the storyline...again. The book's plot line in many ways kept reminding me of a sort of inner city Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of course her "crew" was more war-like and less light hearted than Buffy's.

All in all I see that a lot of readers like these and I'm happy for you...no really I am, but they're not for me. I don't plan to follow the series up myself but please...enjoy.

Really....if it's your cup of, plasma. (less)

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Oct 01, 2008 Jim rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Yuck. The writing was poor, the attitude was bad & the heroine was a whiner. No redeeming features to this book, IMO.

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Mar 10, 2008 Venessa rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one, sadly.

Ugh. I had high hopes for this book, but it came nowhere near following through. I must admit to not finishing the book. It became due at the library and though I'd made it through half the book, I decided that the book wasn't worth a renewal. And I really hate leaving books unread. If I'd owned it (I'm glad I didn't waste money on it), I probably would have finished it.

I had three huge issues with this book:

1. The characters, though seemingly diverse, fell flat. The main character is an African...more Ugh. I had high hopes for this book, but it came nowhere near following through. I must admit to not finishing the book. It became due at the library and though I'd made it through half the book, I decided that the book wasn't worth a renewal. And I really hate leaving books unread. If I'd owned it (I'm glad I didn't waste money on it), I probably would have finished it.

I had three huge issues with this book:

1. The characters, though seemingly diverse, fell flat. The main character is an African American vampire huntress. That seemed a very interesting premise to me and not done very often (this is why I picked up the book). However, by the middle of the novel, even though I knew her age to be almost 21, I couldn't tell her maturity level. She alternated between acting like an adult and acting like a 15 year old. It seemed as if the author had trouble "being" a 21 year old. Supporting characters seemed stereotypical - the hispanic guy, the white biker, the asian martial arts master, etc.

2. The story was probably the saving grace, but it wasn't plotted out very well. Again, by the middle of the book, I understood that the creature that they would eventually do battle with was different and more dangerous than what they were used to, but I had no idea how this world was supposed to be. It seemed like no one knows all these beings existed, yet there were huge gun-battles in alleyways. I didn't know enough background to have a clue as to what was significant and what wasn't until the characters (literally) said, "Hey, you know, this is significant!" I'm still not 100% sure of what was going on.

3a. I don't care if you're writing African American, Asian, or Martian characters: use proper English spellings! Skillz is not a word. Neither is boyz. The word "skillz" showed up in dialog. It was *almost* forgivable. Almost. But the instance of "boyz" showed up in narrative. In freaking narrative! Grrr. It was all I could do not to throw the book across the room.

3b. There were tons of info dumps, but most were short enough to be overlooked, except for the numerous, "As you know, Rider, when we'd do a show, we'd get one or two vampires in the audience and we'd take care of them after the show." ... "Right, (whatever the main character's name was that I've forgotten already), but then Marlene decided we should go hunting them." .... "Yes, and since then, they've been coming out of the woodwork and it's all we can do to clear them out every show." ... Ugh. Two characters telling each other what they already know.

I know so many people who have such great work who can't get a foot in the publishing door. Then I read this crap. I'm sure the story would have been a whole lot better if this author had actually had an editor to point out the shortcomings. As it is, it seems as though the book went from draft form (not rough draft, but perhaps second draft?) straight to print. (less)

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Jan 30, 2009 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 50-books-2009, owned, paranormal

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 21, 2009 Adrienna rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the beginning of the book, caught my attention immediately, as other vampire books have all this gibberish between teen-agers. L.A. Banks brings action and legends all in one package. What makes me excited to read this book, is to not only see drama in the first few pages, but AA characters--female AA slayer! Buffy Vampire step back, Damali is on the attack. Buffy Vampire Slayer (white female) with twists of Blade (black male), now we got a black female slayer--and I am reading the new scenes...more In the beginning of the book, caught my attention immediately, as other vampire books have all this gibberish between teen-agers. L.A. Banks brings action and legends all in one package. What makes me excited to read this book, is to not only see drama in the first few pages, but AA characters--female AA slayer! Buffy Vampire step back, Damali is on the attack. Buffy Vampire Slayer (white female) with twists of Blade (black male), now we got a black female slayer--and I am reading the new scenes added version. Love the action scenes, well written, I have to read it twice and makes my heart jump a beat...suspense is intense!

The legend starts with the dark angel (reminds me of Lucifer) from Paradise, where good and evil meet, and speaks about twelve Guardians (twelve tribes in Israel)--the Covenant foretells the coming of Neteru, who is a super-being mortal like Buffy? She/He will fight in the Millennium Neteru.

Sarah Richards consoles her infant, but discovers infidelty in their own bedroom--sheets has residue of blood. Of course, most women will assume it is a female. Virgin? Yet, it was one of those down-low brothers--married and child as a cover up of his secret rendevous with a handsome, tall man. She conquers up a spell for revenge in the old mansion (plantation), yet, it backfires, only releases a green-eye, snake-like monster. Have to read to the end to find out the hidden truth.

Damali is not only fighting vampries, but demons. This is hotness! I like the sci-fi atmosphere to it--reality and spiritual dimensions--astral plane. I am really loving this book. This is the first vampire book that deals with the drug-fested dealers, realness of ghettos, and Damali facing her own demons within (horniness, aura of Neteru as a warrior, and hard to listen to others in her clan...feels she is the leader and can handle it alone). Some of the secrets twenty-years back, her parents Sarah and Reverend Richards is coming out, and Marlene had to raise the infant because of what happened to them...got me like dayum! I want to read the next series. It is better than the others like Twilight (Stephenie Meyers) P.C. + Kristin Cast (only read the first book, will read Marked next).

Damali was trained by the best, her guardians (Marlene, Shabazz, Big Mike, and Rider), and wanna-be protectors die in battle except Dee Dee turns into a vampire that was destroyed by the slayer.

144,000 (12 tribes of 12)--this is from the book of Revelation. She added this too...biblical, historical, science fiction, and paranormal elements in this book. I am loving it, since I was thinking of rewriting one of my stories from my novella, Mystery Lies Within, and make it a series. This is so encouraging now...not sure if I will write 13 series like L.A. Banks, but at least 7 or 8 series. It will be called "Empire of Vampira" Series--focuses on a female vampire that leads the pact, name changed to Vampira!

Minion=demon that was conjured up, seeking revenge against a vampire, but the master vampire and demon made a pact. Humans can trade their souls for their deepest desire, with a signature bite from a revenge-like demon called Amanthra, who merged with Nuit's Minion--that uses vampire bodies as hosts to move around freely (hybrid). It lurks or feeds on human emotion: jealousy, vengeance, and blind anger. They act without thinking...Nuit is allowed in their tunnels as they use the vampiric bodies...what a trade!(less)

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Jul 14, 2008 Gina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hello goodreads! This is my 1st review of anything so here goes! Minion (A Vampire Huntress Legend) by L.A. Banks. It's been a while since I've read it. I'm on the 7th or 8th book in the series... but WOW!! I've been hooked on Damali Richards & that sexy Carlos Rivera ever since! The Vampire Huntress series has it ALL.. romance, action, mystery, religion, history, and of course some good ole' fashion Demon-A@#-Kicking! But at the heart of it all, relationships continue to be at the core of L...more

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Sep 15, 2008 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was really excited to start this series, as the cover basically says that if you like Buffy, Anne Rice and Blade, you will LOVE this series. Well, I don't 'love' it. In fact, I didn't like the first half much at all, but it FINALLY started to get interesting and then BAM! Book ends?!? What?!? It's like a tv series in that you seriously end in the middle of a story and have to move on to the next book to find out what happens next! Not like most book series where you have a main character and e...more

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Feb 02, 2009 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, books-read-in-2009

This is the first book in the Vampire Huntress series, and it is incredibly hard to get through. The first 3/4 of the book took me over a week and I'm a fast reader. However, having read the next two books it's worth it - and I believe that is 100% having to do with Carlos' story. So while this first book is hard to trudge though I'm glad that I did because I've loved the books that follow.

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May 19, 2013 Mark Ross rated it 1 of 5 stars

If it were possible to give negative stars, this book would deserve it. I've never read a published book with this level of writing. I don't expect a lot from paranormal romance - I'll accept cardboard characters, derivative plots, and pedestrian technique. But this book sank to new lows. I honestly looked at the author's bio to see if she went to a mail-order college because I didn't believe that you could graduate from a real, physical, college with writing skills this poor. Did her teachers a...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fiction, urban-fantasy, vampire

I really, really wanted to like this book but I just could not get into it. Normally it would only take me a couple of days to read a book like this but I struggled with this book for about a week. The main problem was I just didn't understand what was going on. I thought maybe it was just me but after reading some other reviews, it turns out that's not the case. In the first half of the book, not much was happening. It was written as if the reader should know what the characters were talking ab...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Minion is a delectable morsel that promises to be part of a much larger, tantalizing entree. Filled to the brim with genuine emotion, action around every corner, delicious characterization and an even, rapid pace -- this one's a definite addition to any vampire or horror addicts plate. When the ending came around I was drooling for more; my own bloodlust was so aroused I will personally hunt down the next addition just to sate my newfound hunger.

Minion kept me enthralled from the first chapter....more Minion is a delectable morsel that promises to be part of a much larger, tantalizing entree. Filled to the brim with genuine emotion, action around every corner, delicious characterization and an even, rapid pace -- this one's a definite addition to any vampire or horror addicts plate. When the ending came around I was drooling for more; my own bloodlust was so aroused I will personally hunt down the next addition just to sate my newfound hunger.

Minion kept me enthralled from the first chapter. Beginning with people from simpler times, it leaves the reader in a daze and a cliffhanger of sorts, only to lure us closer to the main co! urse . I wasn't quite sure what to think at different moments; I went from having my questions about a certain person, to trying to unravel the plot in my head, to trying to figure out the outcome. To my delight I couldn't accomplish ANY of these things, and as a result this story ended up as my favorite type: unpredictable and knuckle-grinding.

The only complaint I could find about this one -- and it took plenty of searching to conjure up ANY negativity, believe you me -- was that I wanted more. The ending left me unsatisfied simply because I am not the biggest fan of cliffhangers. I was rabid with curiosity about what bloody mess Damali and her crew would drop into my lap next, and I have to wait to get it. But of course that technique IS the best way to draw in faithful fans for the next installments. It brings to mind what the main big bad vampire Nuit said (although not in these words) -- the newly turned will want to return to the master's cup. That being said, I for one want to know more about that vampire!

Proper suspense was built at the right moments; there's plenty of violence to satisfy the graphic crowd. The atmosphere was tight, dark, gritty. But thankfully this book did not revolve around endless, pointless violence only for the sake of doing so -- it had a heart AND a soul. The style was all about realism in a fantasy we ourselves do not reside in.

Damali Richards is a character easy to identify with. Strong and somewhat stubborn, she is young, spirited, ambitious, but also very well-rounded. She has her doubts and is experiencing her own version of growing pains; being able to bond so well with her helped this reader keep her smile. The other characters all had their own personal magic, and while at time I had thoughts about whether I would have liked to slug the "mother" Marlene or not, in the end her personality shone through and it all made more sense.

Although the bulk of the story is through the eyes of the Vampire huntress Damali, Banks also changes pace by showing different avenues of interest through the minds and actions of other key players such as Carlos, a man with his own personal kingdom.

Walk, run, hitchhike to the nearest bookstore to pick yourself up a copy. Or else take the lazy route like I do and just click onto the Internet.(less)

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May 13, 2012 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars

MY TAKE:
Highly stylized writing, with a lot of “sistah better recognize,” and “for real, stop trippin” and fist bumps throughout. It continually felt like you were coming in on the middle of the story, and not at the beginning of a series. There were a large number of references to past incidents and history without any details or explanation. If she was trying for mystery, she failed – all it managed was making the reader confused and out of the loop. I did like that the heroine was a spoken wo...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Hayat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those with the patience of a saint

Shelves: black-african-latino-hh, dangerous-hero, vampire, uf, part-of-a-series, owned_copy, kick-ass-heroine

I'm a huge fan of all things vampire and I've been eying this series for a couple of years now but for some reason, I never got around to reading it...well...actually, I know why it took me this long to read it and it’s because I've been busy gorging myself on my favourite series such as the Anita Blake, Kate Daniels, Sookie Stackhouse and the night-huntress series as well as both series by Karen Chance among many others.

However, at long last I gave into the temptation of discovering this new au...more
I'm a huge fan of all things vampire and I've been eying this series for a couple of years now but for some reason, I never got around to reading it...well...actually, I know why it took me this long to read it and it’s because I've been busy gorging myself on my favourite series such as the Anita Blake, Kate Daniels, Sookie Stackhouse and the night-huntress series as well as both series by Karen Chance among many others.

However, at long last I gave into the temptation of discovering this new author/series. And let’s face it, what could go wrong with a book that has all my favourite elements in the UF/PNR genre (vampires, a kick-ass vampire huntress and her posse who are also her fellow band members, vamp politics, evil entities, eclectic side characters who are shades of grey and the ultimate grey character and would-be love interest of our heroine, Carlos, the ultimate anti-hero)...well, it seems a lot can go wrong with this inspired recipe!

I was attracted to this book because it was different because it was a vampire book written by an African American author and it’s about a young African American woman and other from various ethnic minority backgrounds and I thought it was going to be something special or at the very least enjoyable but, sadly, the seemingly never ending dialogue and monologue and hip-hop lingo was driving me to distraction, the lack of tension and action(except in a few places throughout) made the experience of reading this book a drag. Damali, our heroine, only gets to kick ass twice only and the rest was taken up with her mentor going on and on about how Damali should take care not to go off on her own to hunt the bad guys, blah, blah, blah... actually, that’s exactly what I wanted her to do! It would’ve made things more interesting. This was enough to make me think of throwing in the towel several time (I have a lot of other books that I'm anxious to be getting on with) I wanted less talking and more action but that was not to be. The romance side of the plot never got to see the light of day or night either, unless you count the weird shower scene where she may or may not have been having sex with a ghost/or an invisible someone ...I'm still trying to work it out! ... However, i did enjoy reading about some of the other character’s POV.

I managed to finish it, and although I was disappointed with this one, I’m prepared to give the series another chance because first books are usually the weakest of the bunch.

I'm also intrigued by the vampire council and its politics. I’d also like to see more of Carlos the ambitious and very sexy bad boy and how his relationship with Damali develops. I’d also like to see Damali becoming more independent while kicking major ass! The idea of evil and good fighting over the souls of humanity and its salvation is captivating in that I'd like to see those on the side of heaven/good since we are introduced to the agents of evil in this book. Here is hoping there are heavenly creatures in the next instalment of this series ...any angels?

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped but I’d give it 2 and half stars!
(less)

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Nov 30, 2011 Ta§chima Cullen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, 2-star-shelf, all-books-to-trade-non-arcs

I'm going to start by saying this is not going to be a very large review. I have a few thoughts about this book, but not as many as in Lover Avenged.

We start easily enough. With a quick tour of the past, and then we go head first to the future. Damali is your average rock star. Few gigs here, and there. But she has a darker secret only her fellow band members know about. She is a huntress. Hunts vampires, and a few extra demons at night. Her friends, and practically family back her up, preparing...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-fantasy

Interesting story idea, but it just doesn't deliver.
Bottom Line: Try before you buy
When I read the synopsis of this book, it seemed really cool. Sort of a different take off Buffy, chick slayer, with a larger group of sidekicks.
However, I could not, for the life of me, get into the characters, at all. They did not seem believable. Added to that, their dialogue, their 'lingo' seemed just lacking...and dumb. It felt like the author was trying to hard to be 'hip', trying to hard to get it down, tha...more

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May 24, 2011 Netanya rated it 2 of 5 stars

I felt the dialogue was unbelievable, as an Irish person who gets offended by the rampant stereotyping of my accent and way of speaking I am sure that the average African American would feel equally unhappy with the dialogue.

The beginning of the book was far too slow and contained a good deal of self-reflection by Damali which, as we barely knew her, comes across as whiny and not at all what you would expect from a woman who has had a hard life in foster families etc.

Also just when it starts to...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fallon Nuit is a master vampire who had a seat on the vampire council but when he went rogue he was banished into eternal darkness. Through a series of accidents Fallon was able, with the help of the evil Egyptian deities known as Amanthra, to free himself and make several second- generation vampires that his rescuers can inhabit. Fallon's goal is total control of the vampire territories on Earth and the death of the slayer.
Street smart Damali Richards is making a name for herself and her group...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Michelle Randall rated it 5 of 5 stars

Minion was the first book by L.A. Banks that I ever read. I bought it a couple of years ago, and then life got in the way of my having the time to read it and it got shelved away.
After a visit with my sister-in-law, where she loaned me her collection of Sookie Stackhouse novels to read while we were there and o nthe drive home, I knew I wanted to read more in this type of genere. This being said, I am NOT a Twillight fan, couldn't stand the first book and never watched the movies, but I find so...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Minion was the first book by L.A. Banks that I ever read. I bought it a couple of years ago, and then life got in the way of my having the time to read it and it got shelved away.
After a visit with my sister-in-law, where she loaned me her collection of Sookie Stackhouse novels to read while we were there and o nthe drive home, I knew I wanted to read more in this type of genere. This being said, I am NOT a Twillight fan, couldn't stand the first book and never watched the movies, but I find som...more

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Oct 29, 2010 Chibineko rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'd had this series recommended to me so many times that I've lost count. I've long since wanted to read another good vampire hunter series ever since Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series started going downhill. I finally started reading this series & I just had to wonder... why was I even wasting my time with the Anita Blake series?

Since so many other people have outlined the plot, I'm not going to bother repeating it here. The book starts off slowly. VERY slowly, in fact. It took me a...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No One

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Shelves: contemporary, fantasy, horror, ultimate-reading-list, fiction, novels

My vision of Hell? Being caught in traffic with a guy who insists on blaring rap music. This is the urban fantasy equivalent, and I'm so glad I could just shut the book and back away slowly. Awful writing full of romance aisle descriptions and ridden with cliches and mixed metaphors.

The prologue is hysterical--both in tone and hilarity, albeit unintentionally. A preacher's wife discovers her husband in what seems an embrace. With a man! Quel Horror! So naturally, leaving her baby with the praye...more

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May 25, 2010 Looney rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: will-never-read-again

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. LOONEY'S BOOK REVIEW for MINION AND THE AWAKENING (first two books of Vampire Huntress Legend Series):
Okay. So I know these books came out a while ago, but I'm just getting around to reading them and I want to review them so I can spare others the wasted time and energy. I'll just say it now:
DON'T READ THESE BOOKS!
I rarely start a series and don't finish it, but there is no way I am reading the next 8 books in this series. Here's why:
1. Poorly written- I have rarely, if ever, read a published au...more LOONEY'S BOOK REVIEW for MINION AND THE AWAKENING (first two books of Vampire Huntress Legend Series):
Okay. So I know these books came out a while ago, but I'm just getting around to reading them and I want to review them so I can spare others the wasted time and energy. I'll just say it now:
DON'T READ THESE BOOKS!
I rarely start a series and don't finish it, but there is no way I am reading the next 8 books in this series. Here's why:
1. Poorly written- I have rarely, if ever, read a published author so bereft of the basic skills needed to describe a scene to a reader. Half the time I had no idea what was going on. I'm not exaggerating here.
2. Weak characterization- she jumps right into the middle of a team of vampire/demon hunters and only gives a basic description of each team members physical characteristics (once, at the beginning of the book) and hardly any description of their personalities. This comes out a little bit as the book progresses- like I know that Rider is the one that likes to run off his mouth and complain. I found myself not caring about any of them- not even Momma Marlene!
3. From what I hear, the cardinal rule for every writer is : SHOW, DON'T TELL. There was so much telling going on in this book in the way of boring dialog (telling in quotations) that I found myself skimming those sections just to move on.

There are other reasons I could list, but I feel like this is plenty. If you've read this far I guess I might as well give you a few positives *SPOILER ALERT*:
1. The love tension between Carlos and Damali. I have to say, I am a complete sucker for romance in my books. She does an admiral job of building the sexual/romantic tension between these two characters. It was the only thing that kept me reading!
2. I liked her emphasis on not only the dark spiritual aspect of her world, but the fact that they were battling it with positive spiritual weapons (like prayer, worship, keeping their bodies pure, etc.). In this genre, you rarely find an author who can pass these other aspects of the spiritual realm off without sounding campy. L.A. Banks does that well and I have to sit back and appreciate it.

If this review was helpful to you, visit my blog where you can find my other honest opinions on books I've read: www.amusingreviewer.blogspot.com (less)

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Oct 14, 2009 Mocha Girl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-sci-fi

Minion: A Vampire Huntress Legend is the first of a new vampire trilogy from L. A. Banks - it is a wonderfully imagined beginning to a new, hip group of vampire slayers. By day, they are lead by twenty-year-old Damali Richards, who along with her guardians are Spoken Word artists that travel the country performing their craft. By night, each uses their specialized senses (sight, smell, mental telepathy, etc.) as they collectively hunt vampires and demons using their specialized weaponry.
The nove...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Kristina rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: 2009, ebook, paranormal, series, vampires, wereanimals

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 24, 2011 Tiffiane rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect because the beginning was somewhat strange for me, but I've always enjoyed books that start from a past experience/vision of what came before years ago, before you jump to present day.

Damali is a major ball-buster, rebellious, and totally kick-butt female. Just exactly what you'd expect of a Neteru, vampire huntress. She is so young, but so ready to come into her own powers and restore the balance of power between light and dark. I also love...more This book was fantastic. I wasn't sure what to expect because the beginning was somewhat strange for me, but I've always enjoyed books that start from a past experience/vision of what came before years ago, before you jump to present day.

Damali is a major ball-buster, rebellious, and totally kick-butt female. Just exactly what you'd expect of a Neteru, vampire huntress. She is so young, but so ready to come into her own powers and restore the balance of power between light and dark. I also love the fact that she is african american, as opposed to caucasian. Sort of reminds me of a female "Blade", very cool!

I really like Marlene, but although she is a great mother-seer, I feel she on is the brink of major breakdown. She has had a very hard cross to bear for the last 20 years, but that was mostly through her own huge mistake and errors in judgment. She seems to be doing the best she can for her group of Guardians and for Damali too, but I can't help but think that the big lesson mentioned in the stars alignment will involve her (and maybe even Shabazz) in a very big way.

Carlos, at first, seemed like a man on the brink of a very important decision. Whether to choose the dark path or the road of light. The fact that he is Damali's soul mate (or atleast this is what was hinted at by the dark lords) and that she feels so strongly about him, but that fate has intervened on numerous occasions to stop them from sleeping together - well, there's definitely a reason, and a very good one, to keep them apart. Then as the story continues, you really learn that he is already on the dark path, but was trying to be good while he had Damali's influence in his life. She almost had him convinced to give up his no-good ways, but money and power are seductive, too seductive for many. Once she gave up and left, there was no reason for him to attempt to be good, or keep up the pretense. So, without even really understanding what it is he was agreeing to, and because he had rage and vengeance in his heart over his inner circle's slaughter, he chose dark fully, and ended up dead, becoming one of the hybrid vampiri, and being propositioned in a very BIG way by the vampire high council.

Now that Damali's 21st birthday is coming in 3 days and marks the day of her full maturity as a Neteru...

Woah is all I can say, and book 2 should be FANTASTIC. I look forward to reading it!(less)

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Jul 31, 2010 Kelly Flanagan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 28, 2011 Queen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was good but had some slow bits in the beginning and middle. It would have earned a 4-star rating if it had not been so unbalanced - which I'm a stickler for.

It began with a little back history before fast forwarding to present day. That's always appreciated. However, the middle bits jumped between character development & action scenes. Just as momentum picked up, new characters were included. Not one or two, more like 7!

The ending was good - but it only set up the next book. The...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Stef rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of paranormal romance; fans of horror; fans of african-american authors and characters

Shelves: african-american, audiobook, fantasy, feminist, fiction, horror, paranormal, romance, sf-and-f

A lot of reviewers on Goodreads objected to the hip-hop language in this book. As a white suburbanite I have no idea how authentic it is, but I liked it just fine, along with the fact that the book features many characters of color.

This series has a more classic kind of vampire than the kind that's most popular now. The vampires are evil (in the Christian sense) and intelligent, kind of like the original Dracula.

What bothered me most about this book was the fact that there was no wrap-up at th...more

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Minion (Vampire Huntress Legend #1)

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