Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jan 12, 2013 Lauren rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, love-hate-relationship, kick-ass-heroines, vampires, snarky-heroine, audiobooks, serial-killers

Some Girls Bite
3 Stars

Listened to this following Magic Bites and it is difficult not to find it lacking in comparison to the first Kate Daniels book.

The narration is only so-so. Cynthia Holloway sounds wooden with no emotional inflection, and there is no real variation in the different voices - men and women, old and young, all sound alike.

The pacing is slow and there is very little plot development. Nothing much happens beyond Merit being changed into a vampire and being introduced to a host o Some Girls Bite
3 Stars

Listened to this following Magic Bites and it is difficult not to find it lacking in comparison to the first Kate Daniels book.

The narration is only so-so. Cynthia Holloway sounds wooden with no emotional inflection, and there is no real variation in the different voices - men and women, old and young, all sound alike.

The pacing is slow and there is very little plot development. Nothing much happens beyond Merit being changed into a vampire and being introduced to a host of new characters and concepts. Most of the world building involves numerous long winded explanations interspersed with a few scenes that progress the plot - it is all telling with no showing.

Much of the story is based on a series of unrealistic coincidences - (view spoiler), and there is no tension or suspense surrounding the vampire serial killer subplot. The ultimate explanation also lacks the necessary foundation and is anti-climactic.

The characterization is another weak point. Merit and Mallory behave like immature teenagers preoccupied with clothes and "boys". The men in their lives are adults (Ethan is 400 years old for heaven's sake), so why do they constantly call them "boys"?

Merit is neither as snarky nor as angsty as many of the other Urban Fantasy heroines I've encountered recently. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to admire her demands for equality and appreciate her uniqueness. Ethan is arrogant, overbearing and domineering, but he and Merit have an intense and sizzling chemistry that neither of them wants nor needs, basically Pride & Prejudice with vampires.

The secondary romance between Mallory and Catcher is completely incomprehensible. Their attraction is immediate and their relationship progresses at the speed of light from acquaintances to full couple complete with angst - where is the growth and development?

Overall, Some Girls Bite suffers from the trials and tribulations of being a first book, but the world building is intriguing and the story and characters have potential, so I will continue with the series for now. ...more

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