Gods with Fangs

by D.C. Armstrong

Book 1 of the Gods with Fangs Trilogy

“As you may or may not be aware, my name is Piper Deveraux. I am here to address the most important question of how will we be feeding now that everything has changed? The answer to this question is closely tied with the answer to the second most important what happened to all of your criminals?”

“Project ‘Olympus’ would insinuate that we are something far more dangerous. I am starting to wonder whether I fall into such a category so easily despite your best efforts to keep me under restraint.”

Cora McNeil’s world has been turned upside down. Vampires have effortlessly taken over the world after meticulously placing themselves in positions of power over a century’s time. They claim to have pure promising to lead mankind to a better way of life using their wealth, wisdom, and immunity to the selfish nature of humanity. However, many citizens are skeptical of their intentions, including Cora’s father. His defiance leads him down a dangerous path and Cora is left with no choice but to try to protect her father from himself. But for Cora, the trouble is only just beginning as her life intertwines with those of three incredibly powerful vampires whose machinations may determine the fate of us all.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2013

Reviews

[Jola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires take over the world! But not in the way you think; they want to bring peace everywhere so they come out of hiding and even have a candidate for a Prime Minister!
The main character, Cora, is right in the middle of the action. Her father is building a resistance against vampires, not believing that bringing peace is their true motive. After Cora meets the lovely Aries Deveraux, she's not certain whether her father's right...
The world created by D.C. Armstrong is simple, yet unique. Her vampires aren't stereotypical creatures of the night, as portrayed in many other books or movies. They adapt in our society which means that you don't know if your neighbour is not one of them. I liked the political aspect of the story, the manipulating citizens (the scene with the cow!). I also hope for more Piper in the next books!
I don't know about the romance plot line, it seems forced to me as of now. Aries is centuries old vampire, yet he behaves like a teenage boy around Cora and I find this behaviour silly. Maybe it will be better shown in the next installments.
I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to the next.

Thanks for D.C. Armstrong for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jojobean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. While I did have some problems with it, my overall opinion is that it was very interesting and great.

The basic plot of the story is that the world is now being "taken over" by vampires in an effort to have peace in the world and have vampires and humans coexist together. The vampires have come out of hiding and have decided that the humans are becoming too violent for their own good. The vampires have formed what they call dominions all over the worlds with the oldest vampires in charge of the dominions. The dominion that this book focuses on is called North West Dominion and is led by 3 vampire brothers: Dominic, Aries and Piper. Cora is a human whose father is against the vampires and is the leader of a resistance. Cora is left having to pick between trying to save her father from his destructive path or to side with the three vampire brothers that she comes to know is trying to do good for the world.

I'm not sure how I feel about Cora. At times I like her while other times I don't. I like how she is at times she can be a strong female character, she is loyal, a free thinker, some one who sticks to her convictions/beliefs and always tries to do what is right. However she can be extremely naive in what is going on with the vampires and extremely naive when it comes to her father. She buys the outright lies her father tells her and she is duped into spying for him. I couldn't believe that she didn't see right through her father with the things he says. I also didn't like how she treated her mother. She put her father on a high pedestal and resented things her mother said about him She continued to talk and try to reason with her er father who basically told her his plan to mass murder the vampires but when her mother sends Aries after her to lookout for her safety, she contemplates whether she will ever speak to her mother again. Really? Come on. I did like how in the beginning of the story, Cora was skeptical about the vampire take over as well, like her father, BUT she did her research about them and met Aries and THEN decided to side with them. She didn't blindly side with her father or her mother (who is pro-vampire) or the vampires. She took the time to think and learn all she could before she came to a thought out conclusion. I like how she tries to save her father at first and convince him that the vampires are really good but I did get tired of it after awhile.

My favorite vampire brother is Piper. He is such a loose cannon and its great. I love his humor, his sarcasm and his love for life. I also love his dark and violent side as well. He is crazy but also loyal and protective of those he cares about. He is also extremely intelligent which makes him extremely dangerous. We don't see much of him until the end and when we do...WOW. There is a lot of hinting around about Piper's past but not much is said on it. I hope he is features more in the second book. I also love his passion for animals and I love his pets!

I like both Dominic and Aries too. Dominic is the oldest vampire in the North West Dominion. We don't get to know a lot about Dominic either. He is known to be the vampire who deals with all the riots and rebellions. He is the one everyone associated with the coming out of the vampires. He is quiet and is always worried that something will go wrong with the vampires leading the world. He is very close to Piper, feeling responsible and protective of him. Aries is the charismatic brother who is running to become the prime minister of the North West Dominion. Aries is a very good person who wants to bring peace to the world. He is obsessed with doing good for others and always wants to help people. He is considered to be the voice of the vampires in his dominion. While he strives to do good things he does have a dark side that we very briefly see and that I want to know more about. It seems as if he has done things that he regrets and I wanna know what they are. Aries is very likable, friendly and a true gentleman. And for me, while I do love Piper the best, Aries is hottest :D.


Of course there is a bit of romance in the book between Cora at least two of the vampires. However, one thing that got to me is the insta love at least on Aries' side. It's completely ridiculous. He met Cora and spend a few hours with her and already he tells her he love her. What? I'm sorry but no. Cora has enough sense to tell him that he doesn't even know her and that she doesn't know him. He however admits to seeing her and falling instantly in love. I'm sorry but that is just not believable to me and it bothers me. There is also hints of a love triangle, which I am also not a fan of. I also so called it that Cora would be attracted to Piper and that he'd be another potential love interest. So its two brothers who want the same girl. Kind of reminiscent of the Ren, Kishan and Kelsey love triangle in Tiger's Curse and the Stefan, Damon and Elena triangle in The Vampire Diaries. However I get the feeling that Cora feels something for Piper and just has friendly feelings for Aries. I could be wrong but I am rooting for Piper and Cora to be together. Usually the girl picks the safe brother but I'd like to see the girl go for the wild brother this time and actually end up with him in the end. We'll see.

The book did have a lot of politics in it which is not something I follow in the real world but it worked in the book. I found myself interested in the inner workings of the vampire take over and how they planned on running things to benefit both humans and vampires alike.

One thing that I noticed was that, my copy at least, had some typos and were missing words. While I was able to know what the missing words were from the sentence context, it kind of threw me off while reading. Also the point of views change a lot in the book sometimes from paragraph to paragraph which made it difficult for me to know who was thinking and saying what. One thing I found quite funny and contradictory was the description of Piper's eyes. In chapter four, they are "pale blue" and in chapter 20 or 21, they are a "dazzling green". I would like to know which color his eyes really are since he is easily my favorite character.

The last chapter was the awesome, gory and I completely loved it. It sealed the deal in my decision to read the second book of the series. I would recommend this book for vampire lovers, especially ones looking for a break from the teenage vampire stories that are out there.

This review is also posted on The Book Owl Extraordinaire

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gods with Fangs (Gods with Fangs #1) by D.C. Armstrong
I received a complimentary copy from the author for an honest review.

This is not your typical Vampire novel. Cora McNeil’s returns home from school for a visit with her family only to realize, that her hometown is far from the same one that she remembers. The Vampires are taking over the world, and are seeking to do some good in the human world, at least for those humans that are living an upstanding life and not that of a criminal. The criminals are weeded out the community, to some this is welcomed, to others, namely, Cora’s father, Mark; this is another violation of human rights. Mark is against the Vampire take over and doesn’t see it as force of good and starts his own rebellion against them. This is the story of the Vampire’s influence on the nation, as they seek to take over politically.

Let me say this, if you are over the Twilight, hunky Vampire, then this is one Vampire Novel that will really work for you. These Vampires aren’t going to sparkle in the light, or be repelled by garlic. These are modern Vampires that can rely on human or animal blood and a synthetic form (think True Blood.) Most of the story focuses on the political aspects and struggles within the book which can be quite interesting. My trouble was that I was never quite sucked in or grabbed by the story. I found the love story to be rushed and really lacking to keep my attention. This is the first in the series, so maybe this was just a taste of what is to come in order to really suck a reader in, but for me it fell a bit short.

[Louise White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this refreshingly different vampire story. The pacing was perfect and I was hooked from the first page. The world is being taken over piece by political piece, and Cora McNeil finds herself caught between the attention of charismatic leader Aries, and her militant father who is in direct opposition to him.
Vampires are no more than a "scientific anomaly", and function like everyone else- apart from their need for blood!
It certainly seems that the world might be a better place with the vampires protecting the population. An unexpected benefit comes in that the worst criminals are made useful by feeding the vampires. There is a wonderfully executed scene where the public are wooed to the notion that sweet harmless cows are worth more than the law breakers.
Not all of the humans are easily brainwashed- though the majority are, and not all vampires agree with the peace loving Aries. And then there's his amoral brother Piper, who is delightfully unpredictable- Would love to see more of him in the next book! There's action, adventure, horror, and also a little romance in this novel. Just exactly how I like my Fantasy. Would definitely recommend.

[Jason Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of Gods with Fangs by D.C. Armstrong

Gods with Fangs is a paranormal fantasy story with elements of romance. I was given a free copy of this novel for a review. As always, the review is honest and reflects my true opinions of the work.
I give this book a 3/5. Here is my breakdown:

Characters: 5/5. This is the strongest point of this novel, and shows the author’s ability to create realistic people. Each character’s motivations were strong, believable, and their reactions to the situations they found themselves in were plausible and interesting. Being able to create real people is the most important part of a story, in my opinion, so, with characters like Cora, Mark, Aries and Piper, Armstrong is ahead of the curve here!

Plot/Storyline: 4/5. The plot was interesting – vampires have come out of hiding and are in the process of taking over the world for “humanity’s own good.” The struggle between security and freedoms take center-stage in Gods with Fangs, and Armstrong does a good job of making the world believable and helping us care about the events within it. There were a few instances where I felt like the world was reacting unrealistically, but, for the most part, well done.

Flow: 2/5. This is a weakness in this novel. The author overuses ellipses and the dialogue sometimes slips into strange constructions that sound contrived. There are also a few Point-Of-View errors, in which, while we are in one character’s “head,” we receive information from the writing about the motivation of the other characters in the scene, rather than through sensory input.

Spelling/Grammar: 3/5. I noticed a few spelling mistakes and punctuation errors. They increased in frequency toward the end of the work, and came often enough that I noticed their presence and was jolted out of my happy story place. Look for conjunctions and missing commas.

Summary: 3/5. This is a work with an awful lot of potential. Armstrong has created a world that is interesting and enjoyable, and the novel touches on issues that are dear to humanity’s collective heart – freedom and choice. Another round of proofreads and the removal of some ellipses would go a long way to elevating this novel from “pretty good” to “outstanding!”

Jason P. Crawford
Author of Chains of Prophecy and The Drifter

[Lorna Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page to the last the atmosphere that is created in this book is fantastic, with the story unfolding nicely. Cora returned home from her studies to her parents and sibling only to find that the home dinamics were greatly altered. Her parents marriage was over and her father greatly changed, so much so that her Mother had to turn to the Vampires for fear for her daughter at her father's hand. The vampire race have dramatically made their presence known declaring plans to run for prime minister and rid the land of violent criminals. The plan is that criminals who have commited crimes against persons especially children will be kept alive whilst turning their blood into capsules to be taken by the vampire population. The resistance is headed by Cora's father and her love interest is the vampire running for Prime Minister. Cora finds friendship with said vampire when she comes to the aid of another of his kind tortured at the hands of her father and the resistance. Cora then has a makeover prior to a night out that she will never forget.... The ending is very dramatic leaving the reader keen to start the next instalment. Would recommend to all Fantasy lovers.