The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (#1)[January 23, 2025]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes starting on January 23, 2025.


Happy Reading!

[Nirkatze]

I STEAL FIRST SPOT!

Series schedule:
1. The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (Jan 23)
2. Undeath and Taxes (Feb 23) [link]
3. Bloody Acquisitions (Mar 23) [link]
4. The Fangs of Freelance (Apr 23) [link]
5. Deadly Assessments (May 23) [link]
6. Undeading Bells (Jun 23) [link]
7. Out of House and Home (Jul 23) [link]
8. Posthumous Education (Aug 23) [link]

Audio: all (almost all?) are on Audible Plus (not sure about 4&8?)--many also on Hoopla.
Eye: 4-8 are KU. Might be on Hoopla.

Just saving this post half done for now since I got the jump on Yanique in the middle of her thread-making rounds. EDIT: Done!

[Felina]

This sounds intriguing. I’m not sure I can fit it in but I did add it to my BR shelf on Libby just in case.

[Nirkatze]

These seem to be pretty available library/free-wise, so fingers crossed!

[RachelG.]

This has been recommended to me several times, so I am excited to join.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Drew Hayes is the best…

Book 1 here is more of an anthology of origin stories, rather than a novel…

[RachelG.]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Drew Hayes is the best…

Book 1 here is more of an anthology of origin stories, rather than a novel…"

Good to know. I was surprised that Sparrow Hill Road is more like short stories rather than a novel as well.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea… probably why I never tried books 2-3 there

[Nirkatze]

Sparrow Hill Road was also originally a collection of shorts that were later edited into a novel... It's good to have that knowledge before jumping in, so glad to know that's also true for Fred here.

[Crystal]

I don’t know anything about this series but it is an interesting title. My library has the audiobook book available so count me in.

[Diana Stormblessed]

I’m in it for the title. There’s a 2 week wait for me on Libby but I’m expecting it to come in sooner.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Do you guys not have Audible?… most are on Audible Plus… later books also on KU…

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Do you guys not have Audible?… most are on Audible Plus… later books also on KU…"

Audible is the last place I check, so I had no idea lol ( I also did not read Nirkatze's post, silly me 😅)

[Crystal]

I checked my library first when I got the title notification. Thank you for letting us know that the series is on Audible. :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Jumped in super early, at work today… it’s pretty much exactly as billed in my previous comments… the 2nd story/section reminded me of Conventional Boy, which I/we just read this past week…

[Ann-Marie]

Finished this just now and I enjoyed it. (view spoiler)[It was a collection of shorts more so than an actual novel but the relationship between Fred and the other characters definitely develops as the stories progress. I would have been so mad had Crystal died!!!!! Turns out she isn't exactly human, she is part devil or something? Of course Fred accepted it and they are staying together, definitely not a surprise there :) (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

I plan to start this tomorrow.

[RachelG.]

A Vampire at the Reunion finish: (view spoiler)[ I was not expecting Crystal and how she felt towards Fred after the werewolves were taken care of. I must say that I am really enjoying how Fred is still the same wimpy kind of guy he was before transitioning into a vampire. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

really defies expectations...

mild series spoilers (view spoiler)[Fred collects allies, and does heroic things over the course of the series, but he does it in very Fred ways, and collects allies through friendliness and professional/accounting... the undead really value accountants who know their secrets :D (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

A Zombie at the LARP: (view spoiler)[ I loved this part because it made so much sense that the LARP people wouldn't get what was going on for a long while. The "wand of brain shocking." was really funny. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

re: mild series spoiler (view spoiler)[ Seems like he just got his first ally by giving an assistant job to Albert. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Finished- I really liked it and am excited to continue the series. I think that Albert said it best that Fred is a good guy who happens to be a vampire.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yup... sounds right...

My only real complaint about the series, (view spoiler)[is how long Fred's sire lingers as a recurring villain... (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

That was fun. I'm glad I joined this buddy read,

[Felina]

Just finished. I was not super impressed. I will continue with the second book to see if I get more comfortable with it. (view spoiler)[I didn’t much like Crystal. She bugs me the same way Candy does in Orphan X. Yes, we get it. You’re hot. Stop talking about it. I did like the cozy found family vibe. Reminded me of legends and lattes. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Wasn't it mostly Fred commenting on Crystal's looks?... after the intro at the class reunion anyway, when they reminisced about how different they were from their high school physiques...

I could easily be wrong tho, and just forgotten / let that go in one ear and out the other...

[Felina]

Yeah, when I said stop talking about it, I meant the author should stop talking about it.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

All cool… just clarifying if it was vanity/narcissism or male gaze…

[Tonari no Emily]

Through 4/5 of the shorts ( was this originally written as shorts and collected later, or was this first book purposefully written as episodic?) Anyway, I'm super enjoying this! I love how he's (view spoiler)[ collecting allies in every short it seems :D
Albert is kind of adorable, and I love when authors have different takes on the mythos of magical creatures... Nothing too unique here, but it's always fun to see.
Reminds me a little of Dead Like Me (TV show from the early 2000's...) Just mythical creatures living their day to day life, with some extra spice lol (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm not sure how many of the books are episodic like this... 2nd book seems to be, as well... I know eventually the stories become more singular/connected...

[Crystal]

I finished this a few days ago. I thought it was delightfully quirky.

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I'm not sure how many of the books are episodic like this... 2nd book seems to be, as well... I know eventually the stories become more singular/connected..."

As long as the stories progress and Fred keeps adding good side characters to his crew I am good with it :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

My favorite book is Out of House and Home... (view spoiler)[somewhere along the way, Fred gains ownership of a Haunted Bed & Breakfast (legitimately haunted)... events play out, and that book creates a series of events that lets the ghost become the haunted landlady of Fred's apartment building... I love me some sentient friendly ghosts... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Otherwise, I think this book introduced the majority of the House of Fred, Fred's friend/clan group... he meets and makes new powerful allies as the series progresses, (view spoiler)[like the dragon kid here in book 1, but they're more allies than friends the way the mages and zombies and shifters we meet here are... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Read the first two stories and enjoyed them. I didn't realize it was essentially a collection of shorts--I should've stopped in and analyzed y'all's posts earlier. I'm thinking it must've been published serially originally--otherwise why bother with so much recapping at the beginning of each short?

A Vampire at the Reunion (view spoiler)[I rather enjoyed seeing Fred's reactions to his fellow graduates. Even though he's undead, he's better off then many... and then meeting Crystal was fun. I'm not 100% on board with the narrator's mood though. The overly emphasized meekness is a bit meh. Especially when it turns out it's kind of like... "I think the lady doth protest too much." (hide spoiler)]

A Zombie at the LARP (view spoiler)[Albert is my new favorite character. (hide spoiler)]

A Weresteed at the Slots (view spoiler)[Favorite short so far. I like how the author connected the traditional faerie bargain into an addiction to gambling in Las Vegas. And the weresteed pony is pretty cute. And the value estimation of a Vampire Accountant made me laugh--as did Fred's visualization methodology.

I also feel like this is the first short where Fred's self-effacing narration has hit a better medium--it didn't annoy me this time.

I totally thought that Bubba had a crush on Albert, not Fred, when Fred brought it up... but Fred thought he had a crush on Crystal and Crystal thought it was on Fred... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Re Weresteed (view spoiler)[ I do feel like the author found his stride with this one! And also agree about the crush being on Albert at first lol (hide spoiler)]

[Diana Stormblessed]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Do you guys not have Audible?… most are on Audible Plus… later books also on KU…"

I don’t pay for audible. Basically if I can’t get it at the library I’m not reading it.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Starting this one today. Will do the stories between Interesting Times so it might take a bit. Then will come back and open the spoiler tags.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I have a hard time remembering who has what... it seems like most people have an Audible subscription, even if they only pepper in the occasional audiobook, and don't do 99% audio the way I do...

[Diana Stormblessed]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I have a hard time remembering who has what... it seems like most people have an Audible subscription, even if they only pepper in the occasional audiobook, and don't do 99% audio the way I do..."

Oh I'm about 99% audiobook. I really don't know how people can read large numbers of books without doing audio. That must be some serious speed reading. I thought I read fast but def not fast enough to get all the books read that I want every year. I'm so very thankful for audiobooks and multitasking.

[Nirkatze]

I used to read about 100-150 books a year by eye reading. Audio definitely blew that up exponentially though.

[Ann-Marie]

I can read faster than I am comfortable listening but I have much more opportunity to listen than I do sit and read.

[Felina]

I listen way faster than eye read. I’m the slowest eye reader. It’s ridiculous.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Ann-Marie wrote: "I can read faster than I am comfortable listening but I have much more opportunity to listen than I do sit and read."

It’s the multitasking that wins with audiobooks for me. I listen at 2x and can read faster than I listen, but I lack the time to sit and hold a book for that long. Listening I can do while I’m doing other things and it’s a whole game changer for me.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Nirkatze wrote: "I used to read about 100-150 books a year by eye reading. Audio definitely blew that up exponentially though."

Wow. That’s where I am with audiobooks. Before audio when I used to only read I could do only 30-40 books a year.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Side note: I started this one and it’s like a cozy vampire book and I’m totally digging it.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Finished. While I'm totally into the whole cozy paranormal thing, I think I just need longer stories. I liked the first few stories in the book but kept zoning on the last one. I think I'm more of a full length fan. That way everything gets developed more.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Things definitely change to longer, eventually... just don't remember when... looking at the blurbs, let me see:

I think things settle into fully cohesive storytelling by book 3, which is about another vampire coven coming to town and trying to horn Fred out...