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The Mengliad #1
Mengliad
It’s just an average day for Jessica Mitchell, until it’s not. And it all starts with the strange flu bug she seems to have caught.
While on her way home from work, she passes out in Central Park, only to regain consciousness hours later under the gaze of a mysterious, compelling stranger. This man offers his assistance, subsequently introducing her to a world she knows nothing about.
She’s not his problem, but Craddock Daniels feels inexplicably drawn to the beautiful redhead from the park. After determining that she’s an Accidental Convert – a Human changed into one of his kind without knowledge or consent – he becomes intent on helping her, regardless of the personal costs.
Initially, Jessica is reluctant to believe what Craddock tells her, but after the unsettling reality sinks in, she accepts that she has no choice but to follow him and his friends. Changes are taking place, and she is now in danger because of them.
Mengliad, Book One of The Mengliad Series.
While on her way home from work, she passes out in Central Park, only to regain consciousness hours later under the gaze of a mysterious, compelling stranger. This man offers his assistance, subsequently introducing her to a world she knows nothing about.
She’s not his problem, but Craddock Daniels feels inexplicably drawn to the beautiful redhead from the park. After determining that she’s an Accidental Convert – a Human changed into one of his kind without knowledge or consent – he becomes intent on helping her, regardless of the personal costs.
Initially, Jessica is reluctant to believe what Craddock tells her, but after the unsettling reality sinks in, she accepts that she has no choice but to follow him and his friends. Changes are taking place, and she is now in danger because of them.
Mengliad, Book One of The Mengliad Series.
- GenresParanormalUrban Fantasy
298 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2009
105 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 2, 2016
This has an intriguing premise: imagine that half the people you see around you everyday are not, in fact, human. Imagine they look the same, but genetically they’re very different, so they avoid daylight, eat differently… No, no, come back! These are not vampires. I did get worried for a moment, I’ll confess - all that preferring the dark - but these are Mengliads, and they’re quite different from vampires. Instead of drinking blood, they eat — actually, I won’t spoil the surprise by revealing that, but it amused me hugely.
Jessica has a normal, if somewhat dull, life until something happens to revive her dormant Mengliad DNA and she becomes (more or less) a Mengliad herself. I liked that there’s no halfway, blended state, you can only be one or the other. And there are no superpowers in evidence, just a somewhat different physiology. And discovering how that differentness affects her is just part of Jessica’s problem.
Being only the tenth accidental conversion in Mengliad history, Jessica is a target for the scientists who want to research her situation. She’s also a target for the section of Mengliad society who want to keep themselves uncontaminated by mixed-blood individuals, and it’s not research they’re interested in. And both groups want to keep the whole thing under wraps so that regular humans never find out about Mengliads.
The end result is a fast and furious chase to keep Jessica safe and avoid the many bad guys. Now the plot is wafer-thin, there’s a huge amount of angsting and crying and clinging to the hot bloke for comfort, and every third word seems to be italicised for no obvious reason. And you know what? It didn’t matter. This is a lot of fun, there are plenty of twists, the sex is hot, the action is heart-pumping between bouts of angst, and I found myself reading faster and faster to find out how it ends. Be warned, though, the ending felt more like a respite before another outbreak of chasing around.
I’m torn between three and four stars, but the sheer entertainment value (and the hot sex) bumps it up to four. And the opening; isn’t this a great opening paragraph? How can you resist?
It’s survival of the species, and that’s all it knows. Needing a blood meal, the protein necessary to its offspring, it searches the streets of New York for a victim, unremorseful.
Spotting potential prey, it swoops in for the kill. Biting into warm flesh, it takes what it needs without regard to the owner, but danger presents itself, and it can’t obtain all it requires. Another source is vital.
From its vantage point, it doesn’t take long to find. Soft flesh, warm blood, it starts to feast, the task nearly complete.
Darkness.
“Stupid mosquito.” She slapped the insect hard, killing it, and then flicked it off her arm before continuing towards her destination.
Jessica has a normal, if somewhat dull, life until something happens to revive her dormant Mengliad DNA and she becomes (more or less) a Mengliad herself. I liked that there’s no halfway, blended state, you can only be one or the other. And there are no superpowers in evidence, just a somewhat different physiology. And discovering how that differentness affects her is just part of Jessica’s problem.
Being only the tenth accidental conversion in Mengliad history, Jessica is a target for the scientists who want to research her situation. She’s also a target for the section of Mengliad society who want to keep themselves uncontaminated by mixed-blood individuals, and it’s not research they’re interested in. And both groups want to keep the whole thing under wraps so that regular humans never find out about Mengliads.
The end result is a fast and furious chase to keep Jessica safe and avoid the many bad guys. Now the plot is wafer-thin, there’s a huge amount of angsting and crying and clinging to the hot bloke for comfort, and every third word seems to be italicised for no obvious reason. And you know what? It didn’t matter. This is a lot of fun, there are plenty of twists, the sex is hot, the action is heart-pumping between bouts of angst, and I found myself reading faster and faster to find out how it ends. Be warned, though, the ending felt more like a respite before another outbreak of chasing around.
I’m torn between three and four stars, but the sheer entertainment value (and the hot sex) bumps it up to four. And the opening; isn’t this a great opening paragraph? How can you resist?
It’s survival of the species, and that’s all it knows. Needing a blood meal, the protein necessary to its offspring, it searches the streets of New York for a victim, unremorseful.
Spotting potential prey, it swoops in for the kill. Biting into warm flesh, it takes what it needs without regard to the owner, but danger presents itself, and it can’t obtain all it requires. Another source is vital.
From its vantage point, it doesn’t take long to find. Soft flesh, warm blood, it starts to feast, the task nearly complete.
Darkness.
“Stupid mosquito.” She slapped the insect hard, killing it, and then flicked it off her arm before continuing towards her destination.
November 5, 2015
The idea behind this book was interesting, but between the insta-love, rolling my eyes countless times, and the main character bursting into tears every other page, the book quickly went downhill for me. The pacing was too quick, and everything happened too fast. I would have liked to experience Jessica's life as a human before everything changed. And I would have liked to watch Jessica and Craddock's relationship develop instead of it just happening immediately. I DID find the book entertaining to read, though the increased bursting into tears and sudden intimacy of the last half of the book made it harder to get through. I do plan on reading the next book because I'd like to know what happens next.
October 22, 2017
I neither liked this book or disliked this book. I don't think I will be picking up the second one. It was really difficult for me to get through. Something this short I can read within a few hours this took me two days of pushing myself to read it. I hope someone else loves it, but it's just not for me.
January 8, 2018
I read this book thinking it would just get better. I have no idea why this was on my list of things to read. But I felt like there was something missing with the love connection. It was totally gross about there eating habits, I had to skip over those parts. There really wasnt any huge suspense I needed more on the edge suspense.
May 12, 2021
Found the concept of an unknown human-like species intriguing. Enjoyed the character interaction, the evolution of Jessica as a character and her reactions to her circumstances. Found it difficult to image a secret of that scale being kept by and from any group.
Liked the writing style very much and the suspense kept the story interesting.
Liked the writing style very much and the suspense kept the story interesting.
July 4, 2017
The beginning was confusing at first. The mosquito part was so not what I was expecting. This book slowly got better and then I didn't want to put it down. I really liked it and I am so excited to see what's in store for Jessica, Craddock, Josiah and Bibi.
July 18, 2018
Couldn't get into it. Especially the eating bugs thing, I was eating at the time it was mentioned and nearly vomited.
August 2, 2023
Okay this series is great except I have been waiting for the 3rd book since 2016!
My life feels unfinished not knowing how this ends and I don't think at this point it will ever get finished.
My life feels unfinished not knowing how this ends and I don't think at this point it will ever get finished.
October 16, 2015
The first chapter started off well, but then it just slid down this long slope of confusion. I was so underwhelmed by the end of chapter 2 that I nearly put the book down never to be finished. Being the stubborn cuss that I am I picked it back up a day or so later and persevered. I've given this book 3 stars for its inventive story line and its 1 or 2 truly interesting characters.
The characters spend so much time agonizing over all the big changes in their lives that it feels like weeks have passed between one event and the next. I read another reviewers post saying she felt like this was a fast paced book. I don't see that at all. I hate characters that get so wrapped up in their whinniness (is that even a word?) that the plot almost becomes secondary to their issues. It is actually possible to convey angst, fear and trepidation without taking 6 pages. If some of the mental gymnastics and emotional baggage could be cut the book would be worth 4 or 5 stars.
I am actually 95% of the way through the book. The fact that it has taken me nearly 45 minutes to read about the character's 45 minute wait at the airport is making it really difficult to wade through. I'll have to be really desperate for something to read before picking up the sequels.
The characters spend so much time agonizing over all the big changes in their lives that it feels like weeks have passed between one event and the next. I read another reviewers post saying she felt like this was a fast paced book. I don't see that at all. I hate characters that get so wrapped up in their whinniness (is that even a word?) that the plot almost becomes secondary to their issues. It is actually possible to convey angst, fear and trepidation without taking 6 pages. If some of the mental gymnastics and emotional baggage could be cut the book would be worth 4 or 5 stars.
I am actually 95% of the way through the book. The fact that it has taken me nearly 45 minutes to read about the character's 45 minute wait at the airport is making it really difficult to wade through. I'll have to be really desperate for something to read before picking up the sequels.
July 11, 2016
While the premise was interesting, this book just fell short. Everything happened too fast- even though the story seemed to drag- with a major case of insta-love and the events were completely unrealistic. There was a lot that was repetitive and even more that should have been left out entirely ().
Jessica really annoyed me- she literally burst into tears every other page and was constantly turning to Caddock for comfort- she spent half the frigging book in his arms, with her head on his chest and him kissing her hair!!! Weak heroine who did nothing more than whine, complain, became irrationally pissed off and then do a complete 180.
I haven't decided if I am going to read the next book(s) in the series... while this one was entertaining enough, I found myself rushing to the ending. I will probably give book 2 a chance; I see promise for this series, but I don't want to be dragged around to get there
Jessica really annoyed me- she literally burst into tears every other page and was constantly turning to Caddock for comfort- she spent half the frigging book in his arms, with her head on his chest and him kissing her hair!!! Weak heroine who did nothing more than whine, complain, became irrationally pissed off and then do a complete 180.
I haven't decided if I am going to read the next book(s) in the series... while this one was entertaining enough, I found myself rushing to the ending. I will probably give book 2 a chance; I see promise for this series, but I don't want to be dragged around to get there
October 22, 2016
Unfortunately, it's just bad. I'm rereading it and it's so empty. There's really no other word.
The italics for emphasis seem to be every other word, the love story (and I absolutely love a good insta love story) is... weird, and the idea of the book is so strange with not much backstory that it's confusing.
Bursting out into tears every other page and a strange connection dominate the book and the actual action is watered down, weird and not explained well. 30% into the book everyone wants to kill Jessica. Why? I'm not sure. It wasn't explained well.
If you have the option to read this book and you want to laugh, go ahead. Other than that, I couldn't finish the scone one.
Her parents die, forgotten after a few pages. She has to eat bugs? Ok no problemo. People want to kill her? Yeah sure fine. Her brother has drama? Ok completely normal.
Solution: cuddle up with "craddock"
The italics for emphasis seem to be every other word, the love story (and I absolutely love a good insta love story) is... weird, and the idea of the book is so strange with not much backstory that it's confusing.
Bursting out into tears every other page and a strange connection dominate the book and the actual action is watered down, weird and not explained well. 30% into the book everyone wants to kill Jessica. Why? I'm not sure. It wasn't explained well.
If you have the option to read this book and you want to laugh, go ahead. Other than that, I couldn't finish the scone one.
Her parents die, forgotten after a few pages. She has to eat bugs? Ok no problemo. People want to kill her? Yeah sure fine. Her brother has drama? Ok completely normal.
Solution: cuddle up with "craddock"
August 6, 2023
The story grabs you from the beginning. It is a nice twist on all of the vampire stories and very original. I am so looking forward to seeing where it goes. The ending left you wanting to know more.
Just reread this because I found the sequel. I forgot how good this story was. It reads like a mystery spy novel but it also has parts that relate to what is going on now with all of the conspiracy theories. The Purists are total cultists who think that only those born and have the blood ceremony 7 days after birth have a right to be Mengliad. They will actually kill those who might convert later in life. The story moves quickly with Jessica, Craddock, Bibi and Josiah being the main focus of the story.
Just reread this because I found the sequel. I forgot how good this story was. It reads like a mystery spy novel but it also has parts that relate to what is going on now with all of the conspiracy theories. The Purists are total cultists who think that only those born and have the blood ceremony 7 days after birth have a right to be Mengliad. They will actually kill those who might convert later in life. The story moves quickly with Jessica, Craddock, Bibi and Josiah being the main focus of the story.
June 7, 2010
The Mengliad is about two species living on our planet - human and Mengliad. Humans don't know about the Mengliad species which makes it very hard for Jessica to understand what is happening to her when she begins to transform. The book covers Jessica's transformation with the help of some friendly people, her run from The Purists and her finding her soul mate.
I really enjoyed the story and the author writes very well so the book was a pleasure to read. However, that being said, I do believe the story lacked a satisfying conclusion, even for one with a sequel forthcoming.
I really enjoyed the story and the author writes very well so the book was a pleasure to read. However, that being said, I do believe the story lacked a satisfying conclusion, even for one with a sequel forthcoming.
June 16, 2010
I enjoyed this book right from the beginning. It was well written and full of action. I found myself mesmerized by the story; completely drawn into it. Jana's way of keeping the action going is refreshing. Every time I thought the story was about to wrap up, she threw another twist in there, keeping the story alive and exciting. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit romance, and a little bit action. All rolled into one, it's a good read for any genre.
December 29, 2015
I tried so hard to love this book, it's just all over the place. The concept of the story is pretty cool, but I feel like I didn't get enough history on the Mengliad race/people, the love story (and consequence sensuality) between the main characters was so rushed and like I said, the story was just all over the place. Sadly, I couldn't even finish it. Maybe I'll try again later, but for now, this book was a fail.
July 22, 2016
Disappointing book
I read the first five chapters, and that was enough for me. This book just simply did not hold my attention. I just feel like there was a lot of potential for this book to be good but to me it was poorly written and very sloppy. I was very disappointed in this book it all just seemed kind of corny. I love reading supernatural and paranormal books and was looking forward to this new series but unfortunately it did not peek my interest.
I read the first five chapters, and that was enough for me. This book just simply did not hold my attention. I just feel like there was a lot of potential for this book to be good but to me it was poorly written and very sloppy. I was very disappointed in this book it all just seemed kind of corny. I love reading supernatural and paranormal books and was looking forward to this new series but unfortunately it did not peek my interest.
January 26, 2017
It was ok. Jessica was very weepy and whiny and it was really hard for me to get past that...because it was constant. Yes, I get that her life just changed drastically, but she just cried and cried and cried about it.
OH, and mengliad intimacy is soooooo much better is heard throughout the book. But we never see any of it other than dry humping in the car. I'm not saying it had to be R rated, but come on, don't talk incessantly about how good it is and then just dry hump. So sad.
OH, and mengliad intimacy is soooooo much better is heard throughout the book. But we never see any of it other than dry humping in the car. I'm not saying it had to be R rated, but come on, don't talk incessantly about how good it is and then just dry hump. So sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2015
I went into this thinking it was a vampire book. It's definitely not vampires but does have something other than humans. Two things that detract from the story are the super insta- love and Jessica's constant crying. Otherwise, I like the characters, the food source is clever and humorous, and there's plenty of action. Curious to see where this goes, so will continue to the next book.
November 8, 2015
I really wanted to love this book. The story was original, however, I didn't learn much about the mythology or the world of Mengliads.
The other strange thing was the perspective, I often had a hard time telling who was speaking. Overall, it was just an okay read.
The other strange thing was the perspective, I often had a hard time telling who was speaking. Overall, it was just an okay read.
November 1, 2015
Don't read this book.
After browsing the reviews of the 1 and 2 stars I totally agree that this book was painful to read.
After browsing the reviews of the 1 and 2 stars I totally agree that this book was painful to read.
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December 8, 2015I could not finish the book.. to much crying and all the characters are so lame and weak. and the bug thing such a turn off.. don't recommend this book.
January 7, 2016
I couldn't finish this book because the constant crying from the main character. I had such high hope for this book but it was a let down.
February 18, 2016
this story was intensely engaging. I couldn't stop reading because i just had to know what happened to the four characters that we meet as the main focus of the book.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews