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Lost Angeles #1

Lost Angeles

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So step into my world
where I'm the dreamer
and the dream...

A year ago, Lourdes Chase lost two months of her life to a kidnapping nightmare that she's only now piecing together. She arrives in California with every intention of tracking down those responsible, but when she wakes up in a strange motel room with no recollection of how she got there, it's a blue-eyed, fast-talking stranger who offers an assist. Then a chance audition at a downtown nightclub drops her in the proverbial lap of everyone's favorite immortal rocker...

Xaine is the poster boy of hedonistic infamy, from his supercar to his Palisades mansion to his record label, Apocalypse. But his life abruptly shifts gears from Grammy Awards and blood dolls to police statements and coroners' reports when dead blond girls start turning up on his property. Everyone is quick to accuse the resident vampire, and with a list of enemies that dates back four centuries, only his newest opening act can clear his name and help him figure out who's behind the murders.

Within days of meeting, Xaine and Lore are caught up in a web of intrigue, pursued by fallen angels, sin-eaters, reapers, and a coalition of vampires with a deadly agenda. Virtue and Vice, Light and Dark, they will have to battle their every demon to vanquish the ghosts that haunt them both. But fame and fortune come at the cost of anonymity, and when a powerful enemy can see Lore's every move projected across the television screen, it's Hollywood's biggest bad-boy who becomes her only hope.

447 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2015

131 people are currently reading
798 people want to read

About the author

Lisa Mantchev

32 books1,301 followers
Lisa Mantchev is a temporally-displaced Capricorn who casts her spells from an ancient tree in the Pacific Northwest. When not scribbling, she is by turns an earth elemental, English professor, actress, artist, and domestic goddess. She shares her abode with her husband, two children, and three hairy miscreant dogs.

She is best known as the author of the young adult fantasy trilogy, The Théâtre Illuminata. Published by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan,) the series includes the Andre Norton and Mythopoeic awards-nominated EYES LIKE STARS (2009), PERCHANCE TO DREAM (2010), and SO SILVER BRIGHT (2011.) Her Kindle #1 Bestselling young adult steampunk novel, TICKER, is available from Skyscape. Her near-future young adult collaboration with Glenn Dallas, SUGAR SKULLS, is forthcoming from Skyscape.

Her adult urban fantasy collaboration with A.L. Purol, LOST ANGELES, is now available on Kindle along with its sequel, LOOSE CANON.

Her first picture book, STRICTLY NO ELEPHANTS, is now available from Paula Wiseman/S&S, to be followed by SISTER DAY! and JINX AND THE DOOM FIGHT CRIME.

Stay updated with all the fun and glitter at her author website: www.lisamantchev.com

or get your Backstage Pass by becoming a Patron: www.patreon.com/LisaMantchev

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5 stars
61 (37%)
4 stars
64 (39%)
3 stars
27 (16%)
2 stars
4 (2%)
1 star
6 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews128 followers
Want to read
August 4, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/4/2019)! 🎁
Profile Image for Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~.
Author 20 books566 followers
nevermind
July 31, 2019
DNF @ 35%

I was into this in the beginning, but now I've lost interest. I haven't picked it up in weeks. Meh.
Profile Image for Elizabeth "Liza".
536 reviews97 followers
July 11, 2015
Reading With ABC http://readingwithabc.com http://readingwithabc.com/review-lost... a Lisa Mantchev fan, started with her Théâtre Illuminata series and finishing with her more recent Ticker, so when I saw Lost Angeles on social media I jumped right in. This is an adult book with a paranormal/urban fantasy vibe to it. I loved everything about this book for sure!

Not a single whisper from any of the hundreds of club-goers standing perfectly still in the darkness. I can’t see them anymore, because it’s just me and her and both our voices in perfect harmony. It hurts. It burns in a way I can’t describe except maybe like being stabbed in the gut and having my innards ripped out of me.

Bleeding out.

What I loved:

The characters! There is a great casting of characters, especially of the male persuasion. Xaine has “brothers” (Cas and Trick) or other vampires turned by the same creator. There’s also Jackson and Asher, and I really want to know their stories too. So Xaine… he’s a hot mess, a rock star, a vampire and man of excess. He’s damaged and deep down a ruthless sweetie (yes, I did used these two words in the same sentence ;) )
Tamsyn, Jess and most specially Lourdes are different female characters with very different personalities, but one thing in common: they don’t take crap from anyone. Lorde had a really bad experience that she’s suppressed because it was so traumatic and she had no fault or inkling as to why.
Scary, creepy bad guys like Benicio and Tiberius. Seriously dangerous and extra creepy.
Vampires, angels, reapers, sin eaters… there is a host of things that go bump in the night and I
There’s music, singing and composing, and I love books about music.
The plot, the secrets, the non-stop action, the fact that vampires were “out-of-the-closet”, the mysteries. Even as they irked me some, I love them all.
The banter and dialogues were funny, snarky, interesting…I want more!
“Men are more easily governed by their vices than their virtues,” he tells me, “And no virtue in this world is going to make you a better man, Xaine. Understand that, if you understand anything at all.”

There is not much I didn’t like about Lost Angeles, except maybe that fact that Xaine tricks Lorde in Las Vegas, that there were so many unanswered questions (that’s just me being pick since I know it’s a series), and the kind-a-sort-of-cliffhanger ending.

I cannot wait for Loose Canon, Trick’s story since we didn’t see much of him in this book.

“On a scale of one to take-me-now, how turned on are you?”

The second the question processes, I laugh, right in the face of the world’s biggest rock star. “Wow, you are …so arrogant.”

That garners me the full smirk and a swift release from his grasp. “So I don’t even rank on the scale? That’s depressing. Or hey, maybe you play for the other team?”

Still grining, I tell him, “I’m not into girls. I’ve just been told that I shouldn’t take candy from strangers.”

“Trust me, Lore, I hadn’t even gotten to the candy part yet.”


This review was originally posted on Reading With ABC
Profile Image for Rhubarb Sky.
28 reviews
July 20, 2015
As a long time fan of vampire fiction, I've read some pretty terrible books. Lost Angeles was NOT one of them! I appreciated this fresh vampire world perspective and a fun read. I got fully sucked into this world. Lore is a formidable female protagonist that I genuinely liked. Xaine. . . well, shiver. Hot.
Ms. Mantchev and Ms. Purol have caught my attention! I can't wait to read the next two books!
Profile Image for Jenny Whetzel.
422 reviews27 followers
November 23, 2015
I have not read anything by this author before and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the book and had a difficult time putting it down. If you are looking for a good vampire book, it's right here. I plan to purchase the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Jess N.
186 reviews3 followers
January 30, 2019
I found this book really interesting. I was pulled right in and couldn't put it down.
It's frustrating, in a good way, because we are just as clueless as the MCs. The whole book is just mystery after mystery and they just keep piling up and you just want to know... everything.
But that's a sign of a good book right? Keeping you wanting more and trust me, I want more.
The characters are all great (except Jess, I'm not sure how I feel about that one yet) and I'm excited to learn more about everyone in the next books.
Profile Image for Amanda D. Demski.
93 reviews4 followers
February 13, 2019
Slow start with a big finish

I will start by saying this was a great read. BUT it was very hard to follow at the beginning. It was confusing and mashed together to the point that I almost put it down. It jumps straight into a storyline and you have no idea what's happening. I trudged on and about 1/4 of the way through the book, the plot started making sense and much easier to follow. If you can push through the confusing beginning, you'll be rewarded with a page turning, great story. Looking forward to reading book 2 in the series
Profile Image for Stace.
840 reviews
March 3, 2019
My first by Lisa Mantchev and I look forward to continuing with this well written series. This book is fast paced and never a dull moment. I liked that there are multiple characters and they speak to one another! Not just a bunch angst filled internal dialogue. Although I did find some of the verbal sparing to be a bit childish at times! There were also a few flow issues, storylines jumping forward without smooth transition left me wondering. And finally when you're doing song lyrics can you italicize them so that you know when they're breaking back and forth between song and conversation.
Profile Image for Missy G..
526 reviews8 followers
June 30, 2019
Finally finished this book. I had mixed emotions while reading this book. The beginning was confusing and while reading it I decided that I didn’t really care for this authors writing style. With that said, I was intrigued by aspects of the story and decided to continue reading. Honestly the middle part of the book picked up and it was getting really good. However the ending was terrible, abrupt, and left so many questions. I actually bought the series so I have the next two books, but I will not be reading them because I felt this book was such a disappointment.
Profile Image for Amy.
145 reviews9 followers
January 13, 2019
Confused

I read the book I’m still confused. There was too much going on too many characters too many storylines just too much. It was just too confusing. It needs to be streamlined and to maybe two storylines. I do not recommend I almost did not finish. But since I got on KU I really try to finish them.
Profile Image for Glittery.
98 reviews20 followers
July 31, 2018
Wonderful Story

Once I started I couldn't put it down, I finished half the book the day I started reading it. Great Characters, Awesome Story, And Kept Me wanting more. Tell me I'll find out more about Jax.. Please?!?
11 reviews
November 14, 2020
I love this series. I saw some other people say that it was confusing and hard to follow and that is true in some parts but it’s still really good!
Profile Image for Lanae.
578 reviews9 followers
July 9, 2015
So i really really wasn't sure how to rate this book. I'm a fan of Lisa Mantchev's Theatre series and Ticker, but those are YA books while this is most definitely not. I knew nothing of A.L. Purol. Basically I didn't know what to expect.

I ended up not liking this nearly as much as I liked the other books I'd read by the author but that doesn't mean I hated it or felt let down. For the genre, it's pretty good. Some parts did feel a little rough and I caught at least one super obvious typo (the word "back was instead "bacl"). But the overall story was the kind of thing one wants out of an urban fantasy story where paranormal beings like vampires mix with some good old fashioned good vs evil angels and reapers.

The story goes back and forth between Lourdes and Xaine's points of view. Lourdes is new to this crazy group of characters, maybe. She can't be sure as she's missing a huge chunk of her memory, the only clue she has led her to Los Angeles, so maybe she does belong among these crazy characters. Xaine, he's not so new to the world of the paranormal, being a vampire. Not just any vampire but also the biggest thing going in the music industry. When the two meet, instant fireworks are experienced. Complicating their situation are fame and Lourdes desire to find out just where her missing time went. And maybe the fact that someone is killing girls who look a lot like Lourdes. There might be a mysterious bad guy or two. And then there's Vegas...

There was enough good that I'll read more of the series.
Profile Image for Melysah Bunting.
215 reviews5 followers
August 25, 2015
Lost Angeles (Lost Angeles, #1) by Lisa Mantchev, A.L. Purol is the story of a girl who lives up to her name. War wages on… Good against evil. Lourdes Chase finds herself caught in the middle. Having nothing to go on but with a few sketchy memories and a variety of suspect sidekicks, Lore must find her truth (even if it involves banging a hot vampire rockstar, turning her roommate into a baby vamp, and having a guardian angel with a playmate who’s always on about pancakes).

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (probably from laughing so hard). This isn’t your typical crap romance novel. This is a fast-paced, quick-witted novel that has you Googling punny. If you do find yourself needing to look something up, use Urban Dictionary and not Google images. This is your warning.

But pancakes and figleafs aside, I really enjoyed the story. There is coitus, so age appropriate readers need apply. It’s refreshing, though, not the usual sex scenes with little plot. It’s more like the sex scenes enhance the plot… (That’s what she said.)

There are a lot of unique characters like vampires, sin-eaters, Virtues, and other paranormals with their own set of lewd jokes. A genuine funny that will make you snort various liquids out of your nose.

If you’re looking for a good laugh or needing to get hot and bothered by some vampire sex, I say go for it! I can’t wait to read book two, mostly because the ending will leave you screaming, “No!! Who’s that?!”
Profile Image for Penny Ramirez.
2,005 reviews30 followers
July 20, 2015
I really, really enjoyed this book, and wanted to savor it the second time through! (Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader's copy, but then I bought it, so....yeah, I liked it!)

A different twist on girl meets vampire - darker, sexier, more mysterious, more thrilling, with a twist that keeps you hooked. Told from alternating main characters' POV, which means you really get inside Xaine's and Lore's heads (which can be a scary place to be). Lore shows up in LA looking for the missing pieces of her life. After having been abducted last year, the only clear memories she has are of the woman who was on the table next to hers, and she's in LA. She happens to be managing talent at the club owned by the sexiest vampire alive, Xaine. The rest is ... well ... explosive doesn't begin to describe their relationship!

Snarky dialogue. Music. Mysterious creatures & happenings. Steamy, sexy romance between a strong female protag and an undeniably hot male vamp. And pancakes. ....what's not to like about this book? I will never again be able to hear wind chimes without a chill running down my spine.

Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Profile Image for K. Lincoln.
Author 18 books93 followers
August 11, 2015
Full-throttle urban paranormal sexy romance/thriller with a manly, alpha-male ensemble cast of vampires, angels, soul-stealers, and paramilitary men.

This first book in the series mainly switches between Xaine (vampire rock star) and Lore (not-quite-human blonde bombshell currently the focus of assassination attempts). Clearly, though, Xaine's older "brother", the paramilitary guy who runs their security, and other various characters are being set up as alpha male heroes of their own stories. I mean, goodness (fans herself) there's more testosterone, sweat, gel and clothes-horsing then a barrel of gorillas.

And snark. Oodles and oodles of yummy snarkiness (both male and female characters).

If you own multiple e-reader devices and buy this book, DO NOT forget to erase it from your children/young adult's carousel, it is explicit in sexual imagery, crude language, violence, the whole shebang. (Xaine's POV is like non stop sexual imagery.)

Guilty pleasure reading at its best. If you like Nalini Singh, Sherrilyn Kenyon, or Kresley Cole, you should jump on this series. It promises to be a sexy hoot and a half.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
324 reviews4 followers
June 8, 2016
* Disclaimer, I received a free copy of this book through a contest not related to Goodreads.

LOVED THIS BOOK!! I read most of this book during the late night and early morning feedings with my newborn son.

I kinda get the feeling that Lisa Mantchev and A.L. Purol got bored one day and said "Let's write an awesome vampire romance book." BAM here it is. The sarcasm is high in this book so if you're not a fan of intelligent jokes and cultural references, you probably should look for something else. "What about you, Count Chocula?" and "So...Katniss, Edward...we ready to do this?" are two of my favorites!

Lore and Xaine are two fun and flawed characters who I'd love to hang out with. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Profile Image for Lenna  Wright.
3,411 reviews35 followers
Read
January 16, 2018
Journey of Biblical proportion

Hated it to be ending after over 400 pages in a cliff hanger. That's the Honolulu crappy part. Other then that it's worth the read that will keep you guessing at every turn. There are ex Angels, demons, readers, ventures, vampires-good and bad, and much more. A building romance for a girl that has seen pain and torture in her pass and a vampire rock and roll star that spent do love but falls fast.
Profile Image for Jessie.
1 review1 follower
April 12, 2016
It has been a long time since I have been so drawn in by a book that I finished the entire book in one sitting. It is full of gloriously sarcastic wit! I laughed out loud and gasped in horror as the story evolved. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a sexy romp through an alternate world where vampires walk among us. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series!
327 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2016
3.5 stars. I'm trying to think of a proper review for this book but all that goes through my mind is "WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THE ENDING?" I am so flabbergasted I can't think of anything else. Though I do know that I liked the book a lot and would read a sequel even if there was no crazy cliffhanger.
Profile Image for Kristanna.
14 reviews
July 18, 2016
So good! Loved all of the characters and this world that was created. Lisa is an amazing writer.
Profile Image for Tolk.
291 reviews
July 24, 2016
Wow! One of those highly enjoyable and intense stories. I absolutely loved it.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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