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Accidentally Paranormal #2
Accidentally Dead
A vampire puts the bite on a dental assistant.
It's a lousy first day on the job for Nina Blackman when a patient, loopy from the anesthesia, bites her. At least he was cute. But for real drama she can't beat the next evening. Nina wakes up with a set of razor-sharp fangs, bionic vision, supersonic hearing, and a taste for blood. But there's a good explanation: It's her patient, Long Island vampire Greg Statleon. Actually they're perfect for each other—if Nina's willing to commit to one man for eternity.
It's a lousy first day on the job for Nina Blackman when a patient, loopy from the anesthesia, bites her. At least he was cute. But for real drama she can't beat the next evening. Nina wakes up with a set of razor-sharp fangs, bionic vision, supersonic hearing, and a taste for blood. But there's a good explanation: It's her patient, Long Island vampire Greg Statleon. Actually they're perfect for each other—if Nina's willing to commit to one man for eternity.
340 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
141 people are currently reading
2482 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Cassidy
167 books1,945 followersDakota Cassidy is a national bestselling author with over thirty books. She writes laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, grab-some-ice erotic romance, hot and sexy alpha males, paranormal shifters, contemporary kick-ass women, and more.
Invited by Bravo TV, Dakota was the Bravoholic for a week, wherein she snarked the hell out of all the Bravo shows. She received a starred review from Publisher Weekly for Talk Dirty to Me, won an RT Reviewers Choice Award for Kiss and Hell, along with many review site recommended reads and reviewer top pick awards.
Dakota lives in the gorgeous state of Oregon with her real life hero and her dogs, and she loves hearing from readers!
Connect with Dakota online: https://twitter.com/DakotaCassidy https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassid...
Join Dakota Cassidy’s Newsletter The Tiara Diaries! Join here: http://mad.ly/signups/100255/join
Invited by Bravo TV, Dakota was the Bravoholic for a week, wherein she snarked the hell out of all the Bravo shows. She received a starred review from Publisher Weekly for Talk Dirty to Me, won an RT Reviewers Choice Award for Kiss and Hell, along with many review site recommended reads and reviewer top pick awards.
Dakota lives in the gorgeous state of Oregon with her real life hero and her dogs, and she loves hearing from readers!
Connect with Dakota online: https://twitter.com/DakotaCassidy https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassid...
Join Dakota Cassidy’s Newsletter The Tiara Diaries! Join here: http://mad.ly/signups/100255/join
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 394 reviews
August 21, 2008
Well this is what I get for choosing a book by its cover. It sounded funny--dental hygenist bite by vampire while cleaning teeth--hyginks ensue. UGH it is a second in a series and the charater is just so flat. The author tries to add interest to her back story--but too little too late. I was just looking for a nice quick read chick lit book. And at chapter ten--too late to turn back--the book turned into full blown erotica to my horor. UGH I do not want to ever read the word "cock". YUCK I'll stick with my Janet Evanovich trash instead of this chick.
July 25, 2018
~3.25 Stars~
This book is way out of my comfort zone genre. I had picked this book up at the library (for free) and left it on my bookshelf for about 2 years. In the middle of a book slump, this was quite an interesting read.
Did I love it?
No, but it was easy, sweet and just a little bit smutty. I didn't go in with high expectations, and was surprised with well written humor.
This book is the 2nd book in a series (I haven't read the first one). Reading it, it felt like a chick flick. But it had the potential to be so much more. What was strange was that I felt like was trying too hard to be 'like a chick flick'. There was a whole lot of 90's slang. (For example, the word übercool was used so repeatedly. And cool. And fly. And numb3rs in txt messages.)
And really, are all men's muscles THAT reminiscent of oceans? Why are they always "rippling"?
Without all the "corniness" and explicit language, we could have had a genuine paranormal series. Not to say I didn't enjoy it though. I had quite a few belly laughs and was blushing on quite a few occasions. I am not going to base my rating on the quality content, but the amount of enjoyment I felt reading it.
Not bad Dakota Cassidy. Not bad at all.
This book is way out of my comfort zone genre. I had picked this book up at the library (for free) and left it on my bookshelf for about 2 years. In the middle of a book slump, this was quite an interesting read.
Did I love it?
No, but it was easy, sweet and just a little bit smutty. I didn't go in with high expectations, and was surprised with well written humor.
This book is the 2nd book in a series (I haven't read the first one). Reading it, it felt like a chick flick. But it had the potential to be so much more. What was strange was that I felt like was trying too hard to be 'like a chick flick'. There was a whole lot of 90's slang. (For example, the word übercool was used so repeatedly. And cool. And fly. And numb3rs in txt messages.)
And really, are all men's muscles THAT reminiscent of oceans? Why are they always "rippling"?
Without all the "corniness" and explicit language, we could have had a genuine paranormal series. Not to say I didn't enjoy it though. I had quite a few belly laughs and was blushing on quite a few occasions. I am not going to base my rating on the quality content, but the amount of enjoyment I felt reading it.
Not bad Dakota Cassidy. Not bad at all.
August 30, 2010
Where the first book in the series (The Accidental Werewolf) was quirky and cute with annoying but lovable characters, this book is annoying and boring with bitchy and unlikable characters. This is truly sad given that a lot of them are the same characters. And the love interested also comes off very bad and unlikable as well. The foul language is also something you'd expect to see from teens on a internet forum, not from a grown woman. I was hoping for at least mindless fluff, and I was sorely disappointed.
I think what annoys me even more is that they take a character who is supposed to be strong, and let her get verbally assaulted by everyone while thinking to herself that she deserves it. Seriously?
I'll still be reading this series, but mostly because I find it hard to fight the compulsion to finish a series I've started.
I think what annoys me even more is that they take a character who is supposed to be strong, and let her get verbally assaulted by everyone while thinking to herself that she deserves it. Seriously?
I'll still be reading this series, but mostly because I find it hard to fight the compulsion to finish a series I've started.
May 29, 2018
İlki ne kadar harika ise ikincisinde o kadar gıcık oldum Nina'ya ama tatlı vampirimiz Greg için okumaya değerdi.😍
İlk kitaptan sonra biraz hayal kırıklığı oldu.Zira Nina'nun huysuz, kaba tavırları 300 küsür sayfa boyunca devam edince bir süre sonra sıktı.300den sonra son 100 küsür sayfada güzelleşti kitap.Vampir Greg ise şahaneydi.Zaten kitaba 4 puan vermemin en büyük nedeni Greg ile Marty ve Wanda.Wanda nın hikayesini de merak ediyorum ama serinin sonlarındaymış onun kitabı. :/
İlk kitaptan sonra biraz hayal kırıklığı oldu.Zira Nina'nun huysuz, kaba tavırları 300 küsür sayfa boyunca devam edince bir süre sonra sıktı.300den sonra son 100 küsür sayfada güzelleşti kitap.Vampir Greg ise şahaneydi.Zaten kitaba 4 puan vermemin en büyük nedeni Greg ile Marty ve Wanda.Wanda nın hikayesini de merak ediyorum ama serinin sonlarındaymış onun kitabı. :/
July 26, 2014
While the concept itself is fine, but the story is stagnant, the characters are hollow, and the dialogue is oxymoronic. The characters constantly repeat themselves, and ask questions which they've answered in previous paragraphs. Even though they are part of the modern era, and have seen vampire movies, they appear have no knowledge of vampire lore, even while commenting on the specifics of vampire movies. This book is ridiculous and painfully void of anything remotely close to quality. It pains me to see things like this in print. The writing isn't bad, but it's like the author wasn't even paying attention to what was being written. It's a sequel for sequel's sake. Horrific, not in a good way...
I can't finish the book... It is an insult to bad vampire books... It should be called "Accidentally Published." The first book in this series was good, which just made this one a huge disappointment by comparison.
September 5, 2019
This was an okay read for me. It's basically the plot of the first book, but with vampires and the main character is a sassy sailor mouth. I found Nina to be a sort of lovable in her "rough around the edges" way. I am hoping that the next book in the series has a different plot... this plot was alright the first time, not so much twice in a row.
March 12, 2018
Okurken ciddi anlamda eğleniyorum keşke serinin diğer kitapları hemencecik çıksa. Bir kez daha tekrarlayayım duymayan kalmasın. Çik-lit okumayı hastalık derecesinde seviyorum. Bir de üstüne paranormal olursa daha çok seviyorum. 🙈😍
October 2, 2016
(Wanna watch this review, instead of read it? Yes? Clicky McClick the link. No? Keep reading, you cool human, you.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7p8w...
I shouldn’t, I won’t, but lord I’m tempted.
Allow me the endeavor to warn you, gentle reader, of a few...things...this review will contain.
Thing 1. Lots of rage.
Thing 2. Lots of cursing.
Thing 3. Lots of “spoilers.”
If Thing 1 and Thing 2 are your kryptonite, no worries; I’ll catch ya next week. If Thing 3 makes you leery, it’s all good because I can’t reiterate this enough...THIS BOOK IS OUCH. As such fear not, for my itty-bitty detonated spoiler bombs won’t hurt a bit. This 8 dollar toilet paper won’t be any worse for the read if you still opt to dive in.
But before we bust out the whoo-ha and what’s-its, let’s get the nitty gritty outta the way first.
Accidentally Dead; a “paranormal” “romance” about a chick who got accidentally dead. Yeah, thrilling stuff, right? Well sadly I’m not even premise truncating for the sake of a punchline. Whoops-dead-chick is this entire story in one painful anus-spike phrase.
Our heroine Nina, the dental hygienist newbie, gets bit by Greg The Vampire Patient because, umm...reasons. The book never gives a good explanation for why that went down. It likes keeping things vaguely confusing.
Thus, lo and behold, Nina goes all vampiric, annnnnd that’s it; three hundred and thirty nine damn pages of this Dung Beetle’s paradise is just Nina. Bitching. About being a vamp. Spunky, spiky, and boring Shit-For-Brains Nina has got a tragic past so she’s...wait for it...SASSY!
It isn’t JUST that this chick wouldn’t know nuance or character depth if they walked up and bit her on the ass. Oh no. We also get to spend almost the ENTIRE novel stuck in this glitch’s butt-stupid point of view.
And so we have arrived upon this book’s biggest baddest bitch-worthy boo; dat writing style.
Our reader brain has to traipse through “unique” writing, one that’s chock full of obnoxious neologisms, forced quirky internal and external dialogue, and let’s not forget my favorite oldie but goodie; the, “let’s cram in long-ass walls of text as the character just internally thinks about shit while providing absolutely no environment establishing descriptive detail. AT ALL.”
Ooooooh yeah, baby! Just what I love seeing jammed into my face! Boring musings which offer nothing of value and fail ass-first at providing any sort of entertainment WHAT SO EVER!
Hmmmm, okay fair point, but still!
The thing is, Nina almost incessantly rocks a bitch-fest. I poop ya not, my friends; It. Gets. Tiresome QUICK! Though, admittedly, I’d be far less butt-hurt if the story had been written in first person. l’ll be buggered if I understand why it wasn’t because it’s all Nina Nina Nina.
Like, who the eff is Greg? I don’t know. Just the hero that went chompy-chomp on Nina, cause that’s literally almost all I know about the dude. Poor schmuck spends the whole kit and kaboodle of this shindig listening to Nina rant about him having turned her. And to answer your question, yes my empathy for his lot is weird. I’m aware.
After all, Vampire Greg did inadvertently steal our heroine’s mortality, so I should be side-eyeing him, but I can’t. Poor guy felt more like a cardboard cutout than a character, and you can’t get mad at cardboard.
Yes, guy did supposedly feel uber guilty about his going down to chow-town on Nina, and seeing that, or hell even seeing HIM was a rarity. Everything else in this world was a mystery wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco, so why not the hero, too? Even the entire vampire mythos in this universe made fudge-all sense.
Like, why do these vamps turn into dust bunnies on their 500th birthday if they’re not mated? Oh, you know, just cause.
Why do garlic and crosses and holy water make these creatures say ouch? Why do these guys even exist? Why can vampires fly?
WHY DOES A PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVEL CONSTANTLY HAVE ITS HEROINE MAKING FUN OF ROMANCE NOVELS? Oh, you know, just FREAKIN’ cause.
However, as much of a fart-cloud as the world building is, it don’t hold a mosquito's ass compared to the craptastic plot.
Nina gets her Creature of the Night lessons (and I am not shitting you here) from Vampires for Dummies and Wikipedia. (God I wish I was making that up.) What’s more, those reliable sources spoon-fed her the 411 that if Nina finds the vamp that made the vamp that turned her into a vamp, then WHAMO. She gets her old expiration date body back.
Nina wants to find this Lisanne chick, Greg don’t wanna help her search and we the reader are never, not-ever given the slightest clue he’s faking until...Whoops. It’s the 11th hour, we got balls-all zero conflict and we’re in desperate need of a climax. So, yeah, Greg was tooooootally searching for Miss Antagonist on the down low all along.
Now this may sound as though I'm picking gnat crap outta pepper until you realize my butt done sat through chapter after chapter AFTER CHAPTER of Nina bitching and Greg shrugging.
And all that suffering was for not because, and I quote...
No lie, guys. That right there, smack dab on page 262 is when my rage-face went to DEFCON 1.
We could have had a grand ole time seeing these two peeps go on a search-quest for Miss Bad Guy. We could have got an actual, oh gee what’s the word...oh right! PLOT! ROMANCE!
But a plot? A romance? In a romance novel? Why, that’s much too cliched. It’s far more fun just reading Nina bitch!
Fuuuudge you, book. Fudge. You.
I mean, even the action scenes we got, like all two of them, couldn’t offer me fun. Those things read like play by plays more than they did like actual fluid organic battle sequences.
I swear to french fries, guys, Accidentally Dead has a sin list so long, even Satan would eyeroll.
The writing style was PAINFULLY obnoxious, the female lead was the personification of chalkboard+nails, the writer put in ZERO plot crafting effort, there were walls and walls of aimless POV musing with no detail, copious fake-sounding dialogue was all over the place, the male lead lacked depth AND believability, the world building was pathetic, the universe rules either made no sense at all or were flat out absent of an explanation, the antagonist was a last minute joke, the romance was an aneurysm, AND OH MY GOD I COULD KEEP GOING.
But I won’t, cause I got a life to get back to.
The fact that I even finished this godforsaken brain-bleach thing means I deserve a cookie.
Sure I skimmed the last 50 pages, but whateves, I want my cookie.
------------------------------------------------
Outro:
(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you just really wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7p8w...
I shouldn’t, I won’t, but lord I’m tempted.
Allow me the endeavor to warn you, gentle reader, of a few...things...this review will contain.
Thing 1. Lots of rage.
Thing 2. Lots of cursing.
Thing 3. Lots of “spoilers.”
If Thing 1 and Thing 2 are your kryptonite, no worries; I’ll catch ya next week. If Thing 3 makes you leery, it’s all good because I can’t reiterate this enough...THIS BOOK IS OUCH. As such fear not, for my itty-bitty detonated spoiler bombs won’t hurt a bit. This 8 dollar toilet paper won’t be any worse for the read if you still opt to dive in.
But before we bust out the whoo-ha and what’s-its, let’s get the nitty gritty outta the way first.
Accidentally Dead; a “paranormal” “romance” about a chick who got accidentally dead. Yeah, thrilling stuff, right? Well sadly I’m not even premise truncating for the sake of a punchline. Whoops-dead-chick is this entire story in one painful anus-spike phrase.
Our heroine Nina, the dental hygienist newbie, gets bit by Greg The Vampire Patient because, umm...reasons. The book never gives a good explanation for why that went down. It likes keeping things vaguely confusing.
Thus, lo and behold, Nina goes all vampiric, annnnnd that’s it; three hundred and thirty nine damn pages of this Dung Beetle’s paradise is just Nina. Bitching. About being a vamp. Spunky, spiky, and boring Shit-For-Brains Nina has got a tragic past so she’s...wait for it...SASSY!
It isn’t JUST that this chick wouldn’t know nuance or character depth if they walked up and bit her on the ass. Oh no. We also get to spend almost the ENTIRE novel stuck in this glitch’s butt-stupid point of view.
And so we have arrived upon this book’s biggest baddest bitch-worthy boo; dat writing style.
Our reader brain has to traipse through “unique” writing, one that’s chock full of obnoxious neologisms, forced quirky internal and external dialogue, and let’s not forget my favorite oldie but goodie; the, “let’s cram in long-ass walls of text as the character just internally thinks about shit while providing absolutely no environment establishing descriptive detail. AT ALL.”
Ooooooh yeah, baby! Just what I love seeing jammed into my face! Boring musings which offer nothing of value and fail ass-first at providing any sort of entertainment WHAT SO EVER!
Hmmmm, okay fair point, but still!
The thing is, Nina almost incessantly rocks a bitch-fest. I poop ya not, my friends; It. Gets. Tiresome QUICK! Though, admittedly, I’d be far less butt-hurt if the story had been written in first person. l’ll be buggered if I understand why it wasn’t because it’s all Nina Nina Nina.
Like, who the eff is Greg? I don’t know. Just the hero that went chompy-chomp on Nina, cause that’s literally almost all I know about the dude. Poor schmuck spends the whole kit and kaboodle of this shindig listening to Nina rant about him having turned her. And to answer your question, yes my empathy for his lot is weird. I’m aware.
After all, Vampire Greg did inadvertently steal our heroine’s mortality, so I should be side-eyeing him, but I can’t. Poor guy felt more like a cardboard cutout than a character, and you can’t get mad at cardboard.
Yes, guy did supposedly feel uber guilty about his going down to chow-town on Nina, and seeing that, or hell even seeing HIM was a rarity. Everything else in this world was a mystery wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco, so why not the hero, too? Even the entire vampire mythos in this universe made fudge-all sense.
Like, why do these vamps turn into dust bunnies on their 500th birthday if they’re not mated? Oh, you know, just cause.
Why do garlic and crosses and holy water make these creatures say ouch? Why do these guys even exist? Why can vampires fly?
WHY DOES A PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVEL CONSTANTLY HAVE ITS HEROINE MAKING FUN OF ROMANCE NOVELS? Oh, you know, just FREAKIN’ cause.
However, as much of a fart-cloud as the world building is, it don’t hold a mosquito's ass compared to the craptastic plot.
Nina gets her Creature of the Night lessons (and I am not shitting you here) from Vampires for Dummies and Wikipedia. (God I wish I was making that up.) What’s more, those reliable sources spoon-fed her the 411 that if Nina finds the vamp that made the vamp that turned her into a vamp, then WHAMO. She gets her old expiration date body back.
Nina wants to find this Lisanne chick, Greg don’t wanna help her search and we the reader are never, not-ever given the slightest clue he’s faking until...Whoops. It’s the 11th hour, we got balls-all zero conflict and we’re in desperate need of a climax. So, yeah, Greg was tooooootally searching for Miss Antagonist on the down low all along.
Now this may sound as though I'm picking gnat crap outta pepper until you realize my butt done sat through chapter after chapter AFTER CHAPTER of Nina bitching and Greg shrugging.
And all that suffering was for not because, and I quote...
"I didn’t wanna get your hopes up.” - Greg
No lie, guys. That right there, smack dab on page 262 is when my rage-face went to DEFCON 1.
We could have had a grand ole time seeing these two peeps go on a search-quest for Miss Bad Guy. We could have got an actual, oh gee what’s the word...oh right! PLOT! ROMANCE!
But a plot? A romance? In a romance novel? Why, that’s much too cliched. It’s far more fun just reading Nina bitch!
Fuuuudge you, book. Fudge. You.
I mean, even the action scenes we got, like all two of them, couldn’t offer me fun. Those things read like play by plays more than they did like actual fluid organic battle sequences.
I swear to french fries, guys, Accidentally Dead has a sin list so long, even Satan would eyeroll.
The writing style was PAINFULLY obnoxious, the female lead was the personification of chalkboard+nails, the writer put in ZERO plot crafting effort, there were walls and walls of aimless POV musing with no detail, copious fake-sounding dialogue was all over the place, the male lead lacked depth AND believability, the world building was pathetic, the universe rules either made no sense at all or were flat out absent of an explanation, the antagonist was a last minute joke, the romance was an aneurysm, AND OH MY GOD I COULD KEEP GOING.
But I won’t, cause I got a life to get back to.
The fact that I even finished this godforsaken brain-bleach thing means I deserve a cookie.
Sure I skimmed the last 50 pages, but whateves, I want my cookie.
------------------------------------------------
Outro:
(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you just really wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO...
October 23, 2024
Snooze fest… i finished but it wasn’t good. I’d give it a 1.5 lol.
May 19, 2010
Accidentally Dead is the second installment in the Accidental Friends series by the hilarious Dakota Cassidy. I randomly picked up Accidental Werewolf(book 1) not to long ago, and boy was it good. This book is the same, if not better. It's face paced and the characters are written great and down right hilarious. Nina was introduced in Accidental Werewolf as Marty's pain in the butt new friend from Bobby Sue Cosmetics. And this time around, she only gets worse. But I say that lightly. She's a fun strong willed and determined character, but she may be a bit out spoken. There's speaking your mind, and then there's Nina. But we love her for it.
In Accidental Werewolf, three friends(Marty, Wanda and Nina) were introduced to the supernatural world, when Marty was bitten by a werewolf. Realizing there are more out there then they believed came as a shock to all of them. But on Nina's first day at her new dentist job, she finds out for sure that vampires due in fact exist as well, considering she just got fanged in her hand and wakes up dead. Literally.
Nina as a human = Cranky. Nina as a unwilling vampire = a whole other story. She vows to hunt down the blood sucker who did this to her and get changed back. But then she finds it's harder then she thought, and after meeting Gregori, the handsome vampire who turned her, she will do anything to change back.
This series is a must. It's light, and funny but filled with surprises and suspense. I laughed my butt off reading Nina and Gregori's toe to toe arguments. Each one is strong willed and doesn't take crap from nobody. I think Nina truly met her match. Handsome, rich, funny and stubborn. Oh, and did I say handsome? He's sexy alright. But no man will woe Nina, will they?
In Accidental Werewolf, three friends(Marty, Wanda and Nina) were introduced to the supernatural world, when Marty was bitten by a werewolf. Realizing there are more out there then they believed came as a shock to all of them. But on Nina's first day at her new dentist job, she finds out for sure that vampires due in fact exist as well, considering she just got fanged in her hand and wakes up dead. Literally.
Nina as a human = Cranky. Nina as a unwilling vampire = a whole other story. She vows to hunt down the blood sucker who did this to her and get changed back. But then she finds it's harder then she thought, and after meeting Gregori, the handsome vampire who turned her, she will do anything to change back.
This series is a must. It's light, and funny but filled with surprises and suspense. I laughed my butt off reading Nina and Gregori's toe to toe arguments. Each one is strong willed and doesn't take crap from nobody. I think Nina truly met her match. Handsome, rich, funny and stubborn. Oh, and did I say handsome? He's sexy alright. But no man will woe Nina, will they?
June 8, 2021
Sounded and looked like a chick lit with vampires in it and I was eager to sink my teeth into the audio book. The fact that I finished it, is shocking because I did not enjoy it. It was way to much for my try and wasn't for me fun or entertaining. I will not continue on with the series, if I don't suffer from a temporarily memory loss and pick another book in the series.
June 3, 2018
meh. I'm continuing with this series for two reasons - (1) I have several of them to read for audio review and (2) I've read newer series by this author that I REALLY enjoyed. Well and (3) it's not without potential.
The thing is, the humor feels so incredibly forced. Like, I know that the goal is to make me laugh at x point. I want to feel the humor, not the effort that brought me to the humor. But I've read books by Dakota Cassidy that just make me laugh, no effort felt. So knowing that these books are significantly older, I'm thinking that she just hadn't honed her craft as much yet in these earlier books and as the series progresses the humor will feel more authentic.
I like the characters a lot - I love stories that have a deep focus on friendship and this series definitely has that. The dynamic between the three friends is really enjoyable and I look forward to reading more of it. And the guys are pretty okay too. I hate the emphasis on swearing - either it's a big deal and you don't do it or it isn't and you do. But in these books they talk all the time about cussing, make up fake cuss words and it grinds on me (someone who has no problem with cussing at all).
This was the vampire book of the series - so far at least, there may be more - and I liked the twist CAssidy put on vampire lore. I don't love the ease with which someone becomes a vampire (it's even harder in Twilight and that's saying something) but besides that it was a fun twist.
The narration is enjoyable and I'm glad I have this series on audio - I think it's going to make a big difference in me getting through the rest of the books quickly :)
The thing is, the humor feels so incredibly forced. Like, I know that the goal is to make me laugh at x point. I want to feel the humor, not the effort that brought me to the humor. But I've read books by Dakota Cassidy that just make me laugh, no effort felt. So knowing that these books are significantly older, I'm thinking that she just hadn't honed her craft as much yet in these earlier books and as the series progresses the humor will feel more authentic.
I like the characters a lot - I love stories that have a deep focus on friendship and this series definitely has that. The dynamic between the three friends is really enjoyable and I look forward to reading more of it. And the guys are pretty okay too. I hate the emphasis on swearing - either it's a big deal and you don't do it or it isn't and you do. But in these books they talk all the time about cussing, make up fake cuss words and it grinds on me (someone who has no problem with cussing at all).
This was the vampire book of the series - so far at least, there may be more - and I liked the twist CAssidy put on vampire lore. I don't love the ease with which someone becomes a vampire (it's even harder in Twilight and that's saying something) but besides that it was a fun twist.
The narration is enjoyable and I'm glad I have this series on audio - I think it's going to make a big difference in me getting through the rest of the books quickly :)
January 23, 2020
Another laugh out loud story in this series! However, I felt it was a little more angsty/heartbreaking because of Nina and her background. But she was just perfect...potty mouth and all!
August 4, 2017
Well apparently I never added this before because I read it years ago so technically this is a re-read.
Unfortunately it's a re-read that I regret because I recall loving this book and today I can't say the same. Nina is a royal pain in my ass with little to no redeeming qualities. Greg is either a total doormat or a wimpy crybaby that stands up for himself like a toddler refusing to nap. Ugh so annoying, I had wanted to re-read other books in the series but now I'm afraid it'll just tarnish any fond memories I once had.
Oh well, can't win them all I suppose.
Unfortunately it's a re-read that I regret because I recall loving this book and today I can't say the same. Nina is a royal pain in my ass with little to no redeeming qualities. Greg is either a total doormat or a wimpy crybaby that stands up for himself like a toddler refusing to nap. Ugh so annoying, I had wanted to re-read other books in the series but now I'm afraid it'll just tarnish any fond memories I once had.
Oh well, can't win them all I suppose.
July 25, 2020
I must say that this series is not my typical read, but I am loving it! It's hilarious, full of sexual innuendo, and it gives vampires a whole other appeal for me, or at least vampire books.
Every time I go to my dental hygienist (and I mean every time), I think of a TV movie I woke up to one night many years ago and it was called The Dentist. Easy to remember. The dentist was literally torturing the person in the seat and pulling out his/her (forgot the gender) teeth with regular tools like pliers or something. Well, this is quite different but I kept thinking of my movie that I had to turn off! lol
Nina goes to her first day on a new job and one of the patients bites her...accidentally, of course. What happens next would mortify any one of us! She wakes up to fangs! Real vampire type.
All I want to say is that this one will definitely make you LOL as long as you can handle to sailor mouth!
Every time I go to my dental hygienist (and I mean every time), I think of a TV movie I woke up to one night many years ago and it was called The Dentist. Easy to remember. The dentist was literally torturing the person in the seat and pulling out his/her (forgot the gender) teeth with regular tools like pliers or something. Well, this is quite different but I kept thinking of my movie that I had to turn off! lol
Nina goes to her first day on a new job and one of the patients bites her...accidentally, of course. What happens next would mortify any one of us! She wakes up to fangs! Real vampire type.
All I want to say is that this one will definitely make you LOL as long as you can handle to sailor mouth!
January 6, 2016
I have this almost annoying need to finish a series after starting the first book. Because of this need I forced myself to finish Accidentally Dead and it was done by pure force of will. This book is a hard read. It's supposed to be one of those paranormal chick-lits of light mood and jokes every two paragraphs, but that's not exactly what you get.
The story is about Nina, a very rude, impulsive and independent thirty-three-year-old. On her first day at work as a dental hygienist, she has an accident when the patient has a bad reaction to the anesthesia. The patient is Greg, a five-hundred-year-old vampire who has an ear full when Nina figures what really happened to her.
The premise is good, but the reasoning I used to start reading it was I was curious to know how you can be accidentally turned into a vampire. In The Accidental Werewolf the best thing was the accident itself and so I thought perhaps it would also be something equally funny for this one. Not so much. MaryJanice Davidson did a much finer job with her version of accidental turning in Undead and Unwed. This was just too simple and 'ludicrous' if you take all vampire folklore into consideration. It has no logic at all.
Then there is the heroine. She made the reading of this book a real sacrifice. All characters complain she has a potty mouth, but that's not my problem with her. I cuss like a sailor, to be honest. The real problem is she is the most annoying creature ever written (maybe I can add a couple others to run for that prize, but it's a close run). She yells all the time, she has the IQ of an amoeba and clings to theories so ridiculous that it gave me a headache instead of making me laugh, as I figured was intended.
The whole story could have been told in fifty pages. The repetition of everything is maddening. At a point, Dakota Cassidy had the audacity of summarizing every event that had occurred in the story in one conversation. You could easily start reading it at halfway through chapter 15 and you wouldn't miss anything (have in mind that it's an 18-chapter-book).
What saved the book from being a complete waste of time and money? The last three chapters are actually nice. They are not fantastic enough to salvage everything, but after the hours of suffering through over 200 pages, they were a much needed respite.
As I said, I have this irritating need of reading series after I start them, but with this one I might wait a couple more years until my curiosity gets the better of me again.
The story is about Nina, a very rude, impulsive and independent thirty-three-year-old. On her first day at work as a dental hygienist, she has an accident when the patient has a bad reaction to the anesthesia. The patient is Greg, a five-hundred-year-old vampire who has an ear full when Nina figures what really happened to her.
The premise is good, but the reasoning I used to start reading it was I was curious to know how you can be accidentally turned into a vampire. In The Accidental Werewolf the best thing was the accident itself and so I thought perhaps it would also be something equally funny for this one. Not so much. MaryJanice Davidson did a much finer job with her version of accidental turning in Undead and Unwed. This was just too simple and 'ludicrous' if you take all vampire folklore into consideration. It has no logic at all.
Then there is the heroine. She made the reading of this book a real sacrifice. All characters complain she has a potty mouth, but that's not my problem with her. I cuss like a sailor, to be honest. The real problem is she is the most annoying creature ever written (maybe I can add a couple others to run for that prize, but it's a close run). She yells all the time, she has the IQ of an amoeba and clings to theories so ridiculous that it gave me a headache instead of making me laugh, as I figured was intended.
The whole story could have been told in fifty pages. The repetition of everything is maddening. At a point, Dakota Cassidy had the audacity of summarizing every event that had occurred in the story in one conversation. You could easily start reading it at halfway through chapter 15 and you wouldn't miss anything (have in mind that it's an 18-chapter-book).
What saved the book from being a complete waste of time and money? The last three chapters are actually nice. They are not fantastic enough to salvage everything, but after the hours of suffering through over 200 pages, they were a much needed respite.
As I said, I have this irritating need of reading series after I start them, but with this one I might wait a couple more years until my curiosity gets the better of me again.
August 12, 2012
I read The Accidental Werewolf and I enjoyed it. It was really shallow and yet still funny. I read this book, expecting the same thing, hoping that the hag Nina would actually improve. Ha! If anything she gets worse. I wanted to grab her shoulders and yell in her face, tell her to GROW THE HELL UP! She drove me insane, and I couldn't even finish Accidentally Demonic because of her. Stupid, immature thirty-three year old who gets lucky and finds a guy who can put up with her and her endless, mindless antics, bitchiness and whining included. Never reading again.
August 8, 2008
Got through about five pages of this before I had to return it to B&N, where I had bought it 25 minutes before.
Needless to say, Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore is the better accidental vampire novel.
Needless to say, Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore is the better accidental vampire novel.
Read
May 17, 2013Nine of ten women
Agreed that the word “vulva”
Does not get them hot.
Review Haiku for Those with Short Attention Spans
Agreed that the word “vulva”
Does not get them hot.
Review Haiku for Those with Short Attention Spans
August 3, 2020
Re-read like....11 years later from first read...
Do y'all remember when Dakota Cassidy wrote romance novels?
Like actual funny, entertaining, steammmmyy Gods-Honest romance novels?
Yeah....me too.
The Accidental Series was literaly my first foray into the world of paranormal romance. I've got roots that literally stem from this here book, seeing as it was my first public library book I had EVER checked out.
Remember when libraries had actual physical books in them?
Gah...what a sad world....
Anyways!
I was feeling nostalgic yesterday and while dusting my bookshelves, I had to stop and look fondly on the first several PR books I had ever owned. (Accidental books 1,2,3,4,5 - and her other book Kiss & Hell)
If you haven't been on the DC journey, it's been an interesting one. Long story short though, as of late (well...like the past few years more like) her accidental series has moved away from the focus of a couple, and their relationship, and instead focuses on a formula of girlfriends/MakeupPuns/ColorWheels/No actual swear words/and the supposed romantic couple sitting in the back of the van while the drivers are purely Marty, Wanda, and Nina.
While I'm all for seeing characters from the past, and seeing a character struggle with their paranormal come-uppins, as of late these books can no longer be called romance. Which was a SUPER heaping disappointment to me.
Which is why I found myself here. Staring longingly at a time when the main female and her man were still the focus of the story. And while the Ra-Ra Sisterhood vibes were still hefty and flowin', it didn't detract from the relationship of the H and h.
I remember being heavily invested in this series. Considering it had the first explicit sex scenes my dainty eyes had ever looked upon, it was certainly a revelation.
I liked Nina for a really long time. I like how abrasive she is, how she's quick to fire up, and doesn't give a good-giddly GahDaym who you are or what horse you rode in on. I also thoroughly enjoyed that fact that she wasn't about to just accept the Vampireness bestowed upon her, and remember how frustrated I got for her when everyone else was on this bandwagon train yet no one ever stopped to say "hey Nine, it's going to be alright. Let out your anger. It's okay to be pissed." All her 'friends' just jumped right on the hot Vampire bandwagon.
I also liked Gregori. But forgot how smirky he was (bleh). And also when the freakin' A did this dude actually apologize to Nina?? He says he did, but after thorough investigation the closest I saw to an actually apology was, I accept full responsibility for that. I'll do whatever I have to in order to help you adjust." UNACCEPTABLE. And where's the clear freaking out here man? You literally had a vow to never change anyone, but your like 'it's cool whatever' when you find you accidentally turned someone?? Oh boy. But at least he cared (in his own way) and gave as good as Nina did, and was a clear perfect fit for her. I still think homie should have at least groveled some..
But seeing as Greg was a love interest here, if you haven't read other books in the series, he becomes the equivalent of an afterthought in following books (minus Wanda's, but from then on all the men are conveniently thrown into the same room in the Epilogue just to show how solid every couple apparently still is.)
You ready for a huge blow here? There is no "I love you's" in this book from the main couple. Cause what in the fluc is insta-love right? A romance with no Love's you say??
Pshh, to be honest it made it feel more real to me. Considering the short amount of time that they knew eachother, the 'loveloves' would have been forced, and totally neither Greg or Nina's style.
But anyways, I've reached my official limit for ranting about a series that was the open doorway for paranormal lovin' for myself. I only wish the romance would have remained the focus, but with publisher changes/religious reasons/writers calling's/yadayadaDooDooDoo, I get that everybody has their journey. It's just a bummer that the series moved away from it's funny, Cuss ridin, romance building, steammy, and fun roots.
I would certainly recommend the first several books in the series to others (along with Kiss&Hell). And hey maybe you'll like later books; but considering that I wouldn't call them romance, I'm just not too interested.
3.88 Nostalgic-A$$ stars🎇
Do y'all remember when Dakota Cassidy wrote romance novels?
Like actual funny, entertaining, steammmmyy Gods-Honest romance novels?
Yeah....me too.
The Accidental Series was literaly my first foray into the world of paranormal romance. I've got roots that literally stem from this here book, seeing as it was my first public library book I had EVER checked out.
Remember when libraries had actual physical books in them?
Gah...what a sad world....
Anyways!
I was feeling nostalgic yesterday and while dusting my bookshelves, I had to stop and look fondly on the first several PR books I had ever owned. (Accidental books 1,2,3,4,5 - and her other book Kiss & Hell)
If you haven't been on the DC journey, it's been an interesting one. Long story short though, as of late (well...like the past few years more like) her accidental series has moved away from the focus of a couple, and their relationship, and instead focuses on a formula of girlfriends/MakeupPuns/ColorWheels/No actual swear words/and the supposed romantic couple sitting in the back of the van while the drivers are purely Marty, Wanda, and Nina.
While I'm all for seeing characters from the past, and seeing a character struggle with their paranormal come-uppins, as of late these books can no longer be called romance. Which was a SUPER heaping disappointment to me.
Which is why I found myself here. Staring longingly at a time when the main female and her man were still the focus of the story. And while the Ra-Ra Sisterhood vibes were still hefty and flowin', it didn't detract from the relationship of the H and h.
I remember being heavily invested in this series. Considering it had the first explicit sex scenes my dainty eyes had ever looked upon, it was certainly a revelation.
I liked Nina for a really long time. I like how abrasive she is, how she's quick to fire up, and doesn't give a good-giddly GahDaym who you are or what horse you rode in on. I also thoroughly enjoyed that fact that she wasn't about to just accept the Vampireness bestowed upon her, and remember how frustrated I got for her when everyone else was on this bandwagon train yet no one ever stopped to say "hey Nine, it's going to be alright. Let out your anger. It's okay to be pissed." All her 'friends' just jumped right on the hot Vampire bandwagon.
I also liked Gregori. But forgot how smirky he was (bleh). And also when the freakin' A did this dude actually apologize to Nina?? He says he did, but after thorough investigation the closest I saw to an actually apology was, I accept full responsibility for that. I'll do whatever I have to in order to help you adjust." UNACCEPTABLE. And where's the clear freaking out here man? You literally had a vow to never change anyone, but your like 'it's cool whatever' when you find you accidentally turned someone?? Oh boy. But at least he cared (in his own way) and gave as good as Nina did, and was a clear perfect fit for her. I still think homie should have at least groveled some..
But seeing as Greg was a love interest here, if you haven't read other books in the series, he becomes the equivalent of an afterthought in following books (minus Wanda's, but from then on all the men are conveniently thrown into the same room in the Epilogue just to show how solid every couple apparently still is.)
You ready for a huge blow here? There is no "I love you's" in this book from the main couple. Cause what in the fluc is insta-love right? A romance with no Love's you say??
Pshh, to be honest it made it feel more real to me. Considering the short amount of time that they knew eachother, the 'loveloves' would have been forced, and totally neither Greg or Nina's style.
But anyways, I've reached my official limit for ranting about a series that was the open doorway for paranormal lovin' for myself. I only wish the romance would have remained the focus, but with publisher changes/religious reasons/writers calling's/yadayadaDooDooDoo, I get that everybody has their journey. It's just a bummer that the series moved away from it's funny, Cuss ridin, romance building, steammy, and fun roots.
I would certainly recommend the first several books in the series to others (along with Kiss&Hell). And hey maybe you'll like later books; but considering that I wouldn't call them romance, I'm just not too interested.
3.88 Nostalgic-A$$ stars🎇
August 16, 2018
I feel bad giving it 2 stars since it's just my opinion and not the fault of the author, so I went with 3. I found the MC really annoying. So her mother was a drug addict and her father was a fool in love anyway and she grew up with her grandmother, doesn't mean you need to be an ass. All. The. Time. Regardless of the situation, she would jump to conclusions or create an opinion and stick to it. Even when presented with reason and the truth. Because of that, I couldn't find the romance believable.
I will continue the series, only because each book is a different couple, but this one was a fail for me.
I will continue the series, only because each book is a different couple, but this one was a fail for me.
April 25, 2018
Well I really wanted to like this book. I liked the first one and now I feel like I need to know what happens to the third friend so I will probably listen to the next audiobook. But the main character in this one drove me nuts! The only way I got through it was that I listened to the audiobook while I was driving on a long trip with no place to pull off the road. I swear, I would’ve staked Nina! It could’ve been fine if it were 100 pages shorter maybe because it was so repetitive. The redeeming factor was how the author got the info right about different blood types and producing antibodies. But even though Nina was a pain in the neck, no pun intended lol, I would’ve given this a 4 Star maybe if it hadn’t been for all the use of Jesus Christ, GD, and even references to Mary in a crude way. It was more than I could stand.
January 16, 2019
Second verse same as the first with this series so far. It's book one all over again but with vampires instead of werewolves.
February 21, 2019
Not a fan of the vampire mechanics. I don't listen to the sex scenes really. Not sure if that has to do with them or where I'm at currently. Otherwise fun book!
November 21, 2019
3.75 Nina is kinda annoying. Nah...very annoying indeed. No "kinda" to it. I loved the ending. And of course I'm on to the next book.
January 9, 2023
After fifty pages of whining and arguing, I gave up. What a horrible waste of paper.
February 6, 2015
I am not sure there is a word in the English language to describe how much I hated this "heroine." Nina Blackman. Gosh, I don't even like her name. A vampire called "blackman" conjures up visions of Dracula in his black tux and cape. Yep. Don't even want to hear the name Nina ever again. What a whiny, cranky, bitchy heroin. Okay. That was cathartic. Let me continue.
Why, you ask, did I subject myself to listening to the whole book. Simple. I am cheap. I bought it on Audible (after listening to a snippet and reading a couple of reviews) and dang it, I was going to listen to it. But yet there was another more salient reason: as a reminder never to fall prey to the Audible Buy Three for Two Credits "sale." Yep. Cheap gets me every time. But when I see the sale next time, I am just going to say "Blackman" in the same tone with the same expression Jerry Seinfeld says "Newman." Then I will know just to turn away, don't look for that elusive third book.
So here is the thing. The story was okay. Nothing original, really. Dental hygienist gets a quasi bite from a vampire. Dental hygienist becomes a vampire. It should have been fun, enjoyable even. But it wasn't.
Nina Blackman has had a hard life. Nobody is saying she hasn't. Her mother was a serial abandoner, until she just never came home again. her father was on over-the-road trucker who often had to leave, of course, and then he died. So she was raised by her grandmother, a seemingly loving woman who wants nothing but the best for her granddaughter.
Nina has two really good friends, whether she will acknowledge this to anyone, including herself, or not. These two friends stick by her through thick and thin, unfanged and fanged. In fact, one of the friends accidentally became a werewolf in the first book of this series. But I digress.
Nina Blackman is one of those people who wallows. She wallows in how poor she is. She wallows in her history. She wallows in her absolute misery with herself and who and what she is. And this is before she was turned into a vampire. She knows she is a miserable creature. She knows she is absolutely miserable. She knows she visits this same misery upon everybody who comes into contact with her. How do I know this? Because she goes on and on and on about it interminably.
But for some reason, she is rewarded for this wallowing. She has two great friends who prove time and time again they are there for her. The vampire that turns her accidentally? Well, he is a hunk and a half, rich, has developed the great skills of flying and wishing things into existence. If that won't make you fall in love, nothing will.
Well, after a lot of really stupid machinations and manipulations, Nina the Execrable Being and the Vampire Hunk marry. Now, give our girl the credit, she married him to save his life. He marries her because her lurves her, apparently. But here is the problem. They are going to live forever (barring even more stupid machinations and manipulations.) This is an impediment to their mating/marriage. Vampire Hung drags his feet (and believe me, I would, too, but for different reasons) about marrying our girl Nina. But he is afraid that she will be bored with him century after century. He wants her to be sure. Well, she is sure.
But let me tell you the part that really got me about this story. There is NO character growth on Nina's part. There is no maturity attained. There is nothing. Not only that, she doesn't plan on maturing, on allowing for growth. At the very end of the book, right before they marry, Nina recounts all of her character flaws, both in her head and out loud to Vampire Hunk. Every.last.one.of.them. And Vampire Hunk rejoices in her difficult personality. Seriously, dude. This may be charming now because as Vampire Hunk you are used to people bowing and scraping and kissing up to you. How charming that she doesn't. But let me tell you, that will get old fast. You can't even say hello to this woman without her getting upset. You can't give her a gift without her doubting its sincerity.
So bottom line: she plans on carrying on for all eternity just like she has for this book that seemed to last for an eternity. No, a complete personality transplant would not be realistic. But hey, it is a VAMPIRE book. Nothing realistic needed. No, I didn't want/expect to see Lucrezia Borgia turn into Anne of Green Gables. What I wanted to see was something, anything to show that she wasn't going to continue the loathsome personality of her past.
Yeah. So I listened to the Audible version. The narrator was Meredith Mitchell. I will not got out of my way to listen to Meredith Mitchell again. I don't know if it was the character or the voice characteristics of the narrator, but it was not a pleasant listen. Ms. Mitchell's voice seemed harsh and may have made Nina even less likeable.
Why, you ask, did I subject myself to listening to the whole book. Simple. I am cheap. I bought it on Audible (after listening to a snippet and reading a couple of reviews) and dang it, I was going to listen to it. But yet there was another more salient reason: as a reminder never to fall prey to the Audible Buy Three for Two Credits "sale." Yep. Cheap gets me every time. But when I see the sale next time, I am just going to say "Blackman" in the same tone with the same expression Jerry Seinfeld says "Newman." Then I will know just to turn away, don't look for that elusive third book.
So here is the thing. The story was okay. Nothing original, really. Dental hygienist gets a quasi bite from a vampire. Dental hygienist becomes a vampire. It should have been fun, enjoyable even. But it wasn't.
Nina Blackman has had a hard life. Nobody is saying she hasn't. Her mother was a serial abandoner, until she just never came home again. her father was on over-the-road trucker who often had to leave, of course, and then he died. So she was raised by her grandmother, a seemingly loving woman who wants nothing but the best for her granddaughter.
Nina has two really good friends, whether she will acknowledge this to anyone, including herself, or not. These two friends stick by her through thick and thin, unfanged and fanged. In fact, one of the friends accidentally became a werewolf in the first book of this series. But I digress.
Nina Blackman is one of those people who wallows. She wallows in how poor she is. She wallows in her history. She wallows in her absolute misery with herself and who and what she is. And this is before she was turned into a vampire. She knows she is a miserable creature. She knows she is absolutely miserable. She knows she visits this same misery upon everybody who comes into contact with her. How do I know this? Because she goes on and on and on about it interminably.
But for some reason, she is rewarded for this wallowing. She has two great friends who prove time and time again they are there for her. The vampire that turns her accidentally? Well, he is a hunk and a half, rich, has developed the great skills of flying and wishing things into existence. If that won't make you fall in love, nothing will.
Well, after a lot of really stupid machinations and manipulations, Nina the Execrable Being and the Vampire Hunk marry. Now, give our girl the credit, she married him to save his life. He marries her because her lurves her, apparently. But here is the problem. They are going to live forever (barring even more stupid machinations and manipulations.) This is an impediment to their mating/marriage. Vampire Hung drags his feet (and believe me, I would, too, but for different reasons) about marrying our girl Nina. But he is afraid that she will be bored with him century after century. He wants her to be sure. Well, she is sure.
But let me tell you the part that really got me about this story. There is NO character growth on Nina's part. There is no maturity attained. There is nothing. Not only that, she doesn't plan on maturing, on allowing for growth. At the very end of the book, right before they marry, Nina recounts all of her character flaws, both in her head and out loud to Vampire Hunk. Every.last.one.of.them. And Vampire Hunk rejoices in her difficult personality. Seriously, dude. This may be charming now because as Vampire Hunk you are used to people bowing and scraping and kissing up to you. How charming that she doesn't. But let me tell you, that will get old fast. You can't even say hello to this woman without her getting upset. You can't give her a gift without her doubting its sincerity.
So bottom line: she plans on carrying on for all eternity just like she has for this book that seemed to last for an eternity. No, a complete personality transplant would not be realistic. But hey, it is a VAMPIRE book. Nothing realistic needed. No, I didn't want/expect to see Lucrezia Borgia turn into Anne of Green Gables. What I wanted to see was something, anything to show that she wasn't going to continue the loathsome personality of her past.
Yeah. So I listened to the Audible version. The narrator was Meredith Mitchell. I will not got out of my way to listen to Meredith Mitchell again. I don't know if it was the character or the voice characteristics of the narrator, but it was not a pleasant listen. Ms. Mitchell's voice seemed harsh and may have made Nina even less likeable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2011
Dakota Cassidy's Accidentally Dead is my first legitimate attempt at reading romance novels, so I decided it was best to judge this on literary merit, personal enjoyment, and publishing standards for romantic novels.
To those who care, the cover is appealing and as someone who shies away from covers with Fabio-look alikes and half nude women, this was completely nonthreatening. I realize the author has no control over her book cover design, but I do give it an A+.
The story follows Nina, a dental assistant who is accidentally bitten by a patient on her first day at the job and subsequently transforms into a vampire the following evening. Nina's main conflict is the pursuit of some type of reversal as she refuses to accept the fate that has been bestowed upon her.
With the support of friends, she learns the ins and outs of being a vampire and of course, the vampire who bit her is handsome. However, he (Greg) is put off by Nina's aggressive behavior, which is another subplot.
The negative aspects about this novel include Nina's friends Marty and Wanda. They are at times too cutesy and it seems forced at times. Towards the end of the novel the two women seem to fall into their own, but they have aggravating unrealistic personality traits, that could almost make the reader sympathize with Nina.
Nina's aggressive behavior is appropriate considering her life was taken away and she was converted into a supernatural being, but Cassidy's focus tends to stray from the hardship and true losses that Nina's conversion has cost her. They are briefly touched upon, but I think so much more could have been done with that storyline. However, because Cassidy has Nina focus on stupider agendas, Nina's anger is trivialized.
Considering this is written in a modern setting and Marty herself is a werewolf, these women having no clue about vampire mythology is absurd. (Dracula and Underworld, anyone?) I find that hard to believe. One of Wanda's main methods for gaining vampiric information dumbs down the character, which is sad. You get the impression that Wanda is suppose to be the reasonable, intelligent friend in the group. On the other hand, I acknowledge that references to romantic novels are actually a very witty subtle statement from the author, Cassidy. I do get the impression that she was attempting to address the slights that many people have towards romance readers and writers in general.
My last grievance is that when Cassidy wrote from Greg's point of view it didn't seem like him at times. I could hear Nina's voice overpowering what I believe Greg would have said or done.
Now the positive things about this book include Cassidy's ability to construct a well thought out plot. She is able to insert some twists and though we all know the story has to end happily, Cassidy's approach to the ending was not entirely predictable. Not a lot of people can write a story with a good plot line, so I do have to give her due credit.
This book is wonderful if you are in need of escapist fiction. I actually read this in Houston, when we had no power last week and it did take my mind off of the Hurricane Ike situation. That in itself, tells you that this book is not meant to be read as a literary masterpiece. It's a fun book with sex scenes, three in all actually, which I thought was fine since we got to focus more on the story then the sex. If I wanted to read 200 pages of sex, I would read certain fanfiction.
The best thing about this novel, however is Cassidy's accessibility to her fans. Considering how certain authors make it difficult to even contact them, Cassidy enjoys direct contact with her readers. I find that to be pretty decent of her, because an author who is crude to her fans doesn't have many of them in the end. She knows this and treats her fans well.
There's a third sequel in the works, with Marty's story being the first one, this novel being the sequel, and one would assume that Wanda would be the focus of the third novel.
Again, this isn't Shakespeare, but if you want a fun light read this should do the trick. Just try to ignore the cute crap from Marty and Wanda. It does get better.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5. It's a really fun book, but the cute color wheel crap became too much at times.
To those who care, the cover is appealing and as someone who shies away from covers with Fabio-look alikes and half nude women, this was completely nonthreatening. I realize the author has no control over her book cover design, but I do give it an A+.
The story follows Nina, a dental assistant who is accidentally bitten by a patient on her first day at the job and subsequently transforms into a vampire the following evening. Nina's main conflict is the pursuit of some type of reversal as she refuses to accept the fate that has been bestowed upon her.
With the support of friends, she learns the ins and outs of being a vampire and of course, the vampire who bit her is handsome. However, he (Greg) is put off by Nina's aggressive behavior, which is another subplot.
The negative aspects about this novel include Nina's friends Marty and Wanda. They are at times too cutesy and it seems forced at times. Towards the end of the novel the two women seem to fall into their own, but they have aggravating unrealistic personality traits, that could almost make the reader sympathize with Nina.
Nina's aggressive behavior is appropriate considering her life was taken away and she was converted into a supernatural being, but Cassidy's focus tends to stray from the hardship and true losses that Nina's conversion has cost her. They are briefly touched upon, but I think so much more could have been done with that storyline. However, because Cassidy has Nina focus on stupider agendas, Nina's anger is trivialized.
Considering this is written in a modern setting and Marty herself is a werewolf, these women having no clue about vampire mythology is absurd. (Dracula and Underworld, anyone?) I find that hard to believe. One of Wanda's main methods for gaining vampiric information dumbs down the character, which is sad. You get the impression that Wanda is suppose to be the reasonable, intelligent friend in the group. On the other hand, I acknowledge that references to romantic novels are actually a very witty subtle statement from the author, Cassidy. I do get the impression that she was attempting to address the slights that many people have towards romance readers and writers in general.
My last grievance is that when Cassidy wrote from Greg's point of view it didn't seem like him at times. I could hear Nina's voice overpowering what I believe Greg would have said or done.
Now the positive things about this book include Cassidy's ability to construct a well thought out plot. She is able to insert some twists and though we all know the story has to end happily, Cassidy's approach to the ending was not entirely predictable. Not a lot of people can write a story with a good plot line, so I do have to give her due credit.
This book is wonderful if you are in need of escapist fiction. I actually read this in Houston, when we had no power last week and it did take my mind off of the Hurricane Ike situation. That in itself, tells you that this book is not meant to be read as a literary masterpiece. It's a fun book with sex scenes, three in all actually, which I thought was fine since we got to focus more on the story then the sex. If I wanted to read 200 pages of sex, I would read certain fanfiction.
The best thing about this novel, however is Cassidy's accessibility to her fans. Considering how certain authors make it difficult to even contact them, Cassidy enjoys direct contact with her readers. I find that to be pretty decent of her, because an author who is crude to her fans doesn't have many of them in the end. She knows this and treats her fans well.
There's a third sequel in the works, with Marty's story being the first one, this novel being the sequel, and one would assume that Wanda would be the focus of the third novel.
Again, this isn't Shakespeare, but if you want a fun light read this should do the trick. Just try to ignore the cute crap from Marty and Wanda. It does get better.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5. It's a really fun book, but the cute color wheel crap became too much at times.
May 24, 2015
After struggling to sell make up, Nina Blackman has returned to school to become a dental hygienist. On her very first day, Nina is bitten by a vampire. Greg who has a bad reaction to anesthesia, which causes his to bite Nina, which causes him to break his 500 year old rule about turning a human into a vampire. Greg is now stuck with the very angry Nina, who is determined to avoid the cult she believes he is running and to find a cure for her vampirism.
Accidentally Dead is the second in the Accidentals series and I really had to talk myself into picking it up because of who the protagonist is. I decided to give it a try in the belief that Cassidy would finally allow Nina to grow beyond the angry, short tempered, pain in the ass she was in the first novel. Cassidy tried to explain some of Nina's point of view my making her dead mother (yes, another dead mother in this genre) a drug addict who died of an overdose, after leaving her on several occasions. Nina's father (yes, also dead) was a long distance truck driver, who never found the strength to choose his daughter over his addict wife. Nina however was raised and loved by her grandmother Lou. Because of her relationship with her parents, Nina never learned how to trust and that is why she pushes people away.
Marty, who is a werewolf, and Wendy, a human, are her two closest friends. They prove repeatedly that they won't turn tail and run and still yet, Nina treats them like shit. On several occasions, Nina notices that something is not quite right with Wendy - who has lost weight and looks pale but of course, Nina's problems take front and center. Clearly this was a set up for the next novel in the Accidental series but it certainly didn't endear me to Nina in the slightest. Then there is the constant and I do mean constant bickering with Marty. Cassidy clearly meant to use the idea of a vampire arguing with a werewolf about who is the strongest supernatural as a comedic schtick but it got old quickly and had my eyes glazing over.
The antagonist of Accidentally Dead is Svetlanna, who unfortunately has the worst motivations. Svetlanna killed Greg's uncle because he rejected her in favour of another woman and turned Greg into a vampire because of a family resemblance. According to vampire rules, a vampire must mate for eternity by their 500th birthday and it must be someone blood related. Since Svetlanna created Greg, she has decided that he will mate with her though he is insistent that he would rather be dead. In fact, the men who are in line to marry Svetlanna all go to extreme measures not to marry her. Was it really necessary to have a female antagonist who's malice is based in jealousy over a man? The whole thing read like tripe to me.
Cassidy also left a few gaping plot holes. As part of Greg's rebellion of being in a clan with Svetlanna, he created his own clan with the primary rule being not to turn humans and to live alongside humans with as little influence as possible. Nina is in fact the only human Greg has turned in over five hundred years and he is determined to feed only from bagged blood. Of course this brings up the issue of what Greg did before bagged blood? Apparently, he must have killed the people he fed from in order not to turn them. How is taking a life more moral than creating a vampire?
There is also the issue of bloodlust. Every time Nina has not fed and she is around an animal, we get this in-depth conversation about how she is drawn to the smell of the blood. I get it, a hungry vampire will always be attracted to the smell of blood. This however doesn't seem to apply whenever Nina is around her human friend Wendy or her werewolf friend Marty. It is never explained why their blood above all else is somehow not tempting.
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Accidentally Dead is the second in the Accidentals series and I really had to talk myself into picking it up because of who the protagonist is. I decided to give it a try in the belief that Cassidy would finally allow Nina to grow beyond the angry, short tempered, pain in the ass she was in the first novel. Cassidy tried to explain some of Nina's point of view my making her dead mother (yes, another dead mother in this genre) a drug addict who died of an overdose, after leaving her on several occasions. Nina's father (yes, also dead) was a long distance truck driver, who never found the strength to choose his daughter over his addict wife. Nina however was raised and loved by her grandmother Lou. Because of her relationship with her parents, Nina never learned how to trust and that is why she pushes people away.
Marty, who is a werewolf, and Wendy, a human, are her two closest friends. They prove repeatedly that they won't turn tail and run and still yet, Nina treats them like shit. On several occasions, Nina notices that something is not quite right with Wendy - who has lost weight and looks pale but of course, Nina's problems take front and center. Clearly this was a set up for the next novel in the Accidental series but it certainly didn't endear me to Nina in the slightest. Then there is the constant and I do mean constant bickering with Marty. Cassidy clearly meant to use the idea of a vampire arguing with a werewolf about who is the strongest supernatural as a comedic schtick but it got old quickly and had my eyes glazing over.
The antagonist of Accidentally Dead is Svetlanna, who unfortunately has the worst motivations. Svetlanna killed Greg's uncle because he rejected her in favour of another woman and turned Greg into a vampire because of a family resemblance. According to vampire rules, a vampire must mate for eternity by their 500th birthday and it must be someone blood related. Since Svetlanna created Greg, she has decided that he will mate with her though he is insistent that he would rather be dead. In fact, the men who are in line to marry Svetlanna all go to extreme measures not to marry her. Was it really necessary to have a female antagonist who's malice is based in jealousy over a man? The whole thing read like tripe to me.
Cassidy also left a few gaping plot holes. As part of Greg's rebellion of being in a clan with Svetlanna, he created his own clan with the primary rule being not to turn humans and to live alongside humans with as little influence as possible. Nina is in fact the only human Greg has turned in over five hundred years and he is determined to feed only from bagged blood. Of course this brings up the issue of what Greg did before bagged blood? Apparently, he must have killed the people he fed from in order not to turn them. How is taking a life more moral than creating a vampire?
There is also the issue of bloodlust. Every time Nina has not fed and she is around an animal, we get this in-depth conversation about how she is drawn to the smell of the blood. I get it, a hungry vampire will always be attracted to the smell of blood. This however doesn't seem to apply whenever Nina is around her human friend Wendy or her werewolf friend Marty. It is never explained why their blood above all else is somehow not tempting.
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August 20, 2011
Accidentally Dead was very lucky it didn’t find a home on the DNF pile it started so bad.
Nina was accidentally bitten by a vampire when he went to the dentist to get his tooth fixed. After rejecting any sort of notion that she will never be human again and trying to find a way to turn back she not only has to find a possibly evil vampire who could help her, but she also needs to content with her growing feelings for her maker.
Accidentally Dead was basically a replica of The Accidental Werewolf only with vampires. Girl gets bitten by something supernatural in under far-fetched circumstances, girl rejects what she has been turned into, girl falls for supernatural that turned her and accepts her new life.
Now it’s probably lucky that I can barely remember what happened in The Accidental Werewolf apart from the general gist of the story because I was pretty sure I liked Nina in that story. Now? Not so much. Nina was a vile potty-mouthed idiot who developed a crazy notion that Greg was evil and didn’t want to give her humanity back so he could control her for his evil plan to take over the world.
But it wasn’t really Nina or any of the other characters I had a problem with. It was the whole premise of this book and the way it was written.
I don’t really want to know what Cassidy’s word document looked like but it must have looked like an ode to Christmas with all of the red and green lighting up the page. Words like “hawt” “dayum” and “gawd” marred every page. Swear words were as frequent as the word “the” and yet halfway through everyone decided to change their vocabularies (especially Nina) to incorporate words like “Flip-off” and “B-word”. If you’re going to swear, at least be consistent with it.
The whole premise of Accidentally Dead though goes against not only normal vampire lore, but the books actual lore. Greg’s tooth was hurting, but no one ever finds out why he can’t heal himself or why there are no late night dentists closer than an hour away from his home. Then we also go back to stupid Twilight vampire logic that one bite makes a vampire, which is wrong on so many levels, because how would normal not blood baggie drinking evil vampires feed without turning everyone they feed from? I’m pretty sure we didn’t have packaged blood from willing donors five hundred years ago.
Then we have the stupidity of the 500 year old dusting which states that if you don’t mate with another vampire before you turn five hundred you die – this rule by the way has been around since before the beginning of time according to vampires. So of course Greg who has never turned another vampire must either mate with an evil chick no one likes or Nina who he turned a few weeks ago and barely knows, or die. I really want to see this relationship 100 years down the track.
Like I said, it’s not so much the characters themselves I have a problem with (they can’t help how they’re written) but the plot driving the story is pathetic. I don’t mind swearing, I do mind the butchering of the English language and I am surprised I finished this book, although it may come down to a mild case of OCD, but I will definitely not be continuing on with this series.
Find this review at storywings.com
Nina was accidentally bitten by a vampire when he went to the dentist to get his tooth fixed. After rejecting any sort of notion that she will never be human again and trying to find a way to turn back she not only has to find a possibly evil vampire who could help her, but she also needs to content with her growing feelings for her maker.
Accidentally Dead was basically a replica of The Accidental Werewolf only with vampires. Girl gets bitten by something supernatural in under far-fetched circumstances, girl rejects what she has been turned into, girl falls for supernatural that turned her and accepts her new life.
Now it’s probably lucky that I can barely remember what happened in The Accidental Werewolf apart from the general gist of the story because I was pretty sure I liked Nina in that story. Now? Not so much. Nina was a vile potty-mouthed idiot who developed a crazy notion that Greg was evil and didn’t want to give her humanity back so he could control her for his evil plan to take over the world.
But it wasn’t really Nina or any of the other characters I had a problem with. It was the whole premise of this book and the way it was written.
I don’t really want to know what Cassidy’s word document looked like but it must have looked like an ode to Christmas with all of the red and green lighting up the page. Words like “hawt” “dayum” and “gawd” marred every page. Swear words were as frequent as the word “the” and yet halfway through everyone decided to change their vocabularies (especially Nina) to incorporate words like “Flip-off” and “B-word”. If you’re going to swear, at least be consistent with it.
The whole premise of Accidentally Dead though goes against not only normal vampire lore, but the books actual lore. Greg’s tooth was hurting, but no one ever finds out why he can’t heal himself or why there are no late night dentists closer than an hour away from his home. Then we also go back to stupid Twilight vampire logic that one bite makes a vampire, which is wrong on so many levels, because how would normal not blood baggie drinking evil vampires feed without turning everyone they feed from? I’m pretty sure we didn’t have packaged blood from willing donors five hundred years ago.
Then we have the stupidity of the 500 year old dusting which states that if you don’t mate with another vampire before you turn five hundred you die – this rule by the way has been around since before the beginning of time according to vampires. So of course Greg who has never turned another vampire must either mate with an evil chick no one likes or Nina who he turned a few weeks ago and barely knows, or die. I really want to see this relationship 100 years down the track.
Like I said, it’s not so much the characters themselves I have a problem with (they can’t help how they’re written) but the plot driving the story is pathetic. I don’t mind swearing, I do mind the butchering of the English language and I am surprised I finished this book, although it may come down to a mild case of OCD, but I will definitely not be continuing on with this series.
Find this review at storywings.com
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