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Blood Vice #1
Blood Vice
Detective Jenna Skye bombs her first week on the St. Louis County Police Department's Vice Squad when she's bitten by a vampire in a supernatural brothel. Her day only gets worse from there. She wakes up in the morgue and discovers that her partner is dead. Before the sun rises, she realizes she is too. Jenna vows to continue their investigation until justice is served, but a werewolf squatter, an unexpected visit from her estranged sister, and a nosy FBI agent stand in her way. Not to mention her fresh aversion to sunlight and a thirst for something a little stiffer than revenge.
291 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2017
About the author
Angela Roquet
56 books701 followersUSA Today bestselling fantasy author Angela Roquet is a great big weirdo. She lives in Missouri with her husband and son in a house stuffed with books, toys, skulls, owls, and glitter-speckled craft supplies. Angela a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, as well as the Four Horsemen of the Bookocalypse, her epic book critique group, where she's known as Death. When not swearing at the keyboard, she enjoys boating with her family at Lake of the Ozarks and reading books that raise eyebrows.
Find Angela on Facebook, Instagram, or her website: www.angelaroquet.com
GRAVEYARD SHIFT, the first novel in Angela's Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series, and BLOOD VICE, book one in the Blood Vice series, are now available for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, & Google.
Find Angela on Facebook, Instagram, or her website: www.angelaroquet.com
GRAVEYARD SHIFT, the first novel in Angela's Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series, and BLOOD VICE, book one in the Blood Vice series, are now available for FREE on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, & Google.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
January 21, 2019
At 29, 7 years in the force you shouldn't be a rookie. But that's the way heroine is written off, and how she describes herself. She's 29, going on 18, like her sidekick Mandy, the underage were. And this is the tone of the book, NAdultish. In her relationship with the sister, an other example of immature behaviour, and her high school boyfriend....
There's quite an heavy undertone to the plot, or there should be (human trafficking), but the real tone of the book is light. Bit jarring.
An ok book that doesn't stand off in the crowd.
There's quite an heavy undertone to the plot, or there should be (human trafficking), but the real tone of the book is light. Bit jarring.
An ok book that doesn't stand off in the crowd.
August 19, 2018
I was looking for something a bit different in urban fantasy and spotted this by a new to me author. It has lots going in as it started with the heroine Jenna waking up dead ! Yep this rookie cop quite literally winds up in the mortuary and no one can explain why she was pronounced dead but isn’t. Jenna does what anyone else would and gets up and goes home but when she gets there she’s acquired a squatter who is anything but ordinary but then again so is Jenna !
I didn’t really connect with Jenna and thought her attitude very unrealistic. Her partner has just been killed in front of her eyes and yet she seemed more bothered by her Werewolf squatter stealing her clothes. I did enjoy the overall idea though but frankly would have preferred a little more action. The addition of her extremely high maintenance twin sister was a good and slightly humorous twist . Unfortunately the males we meet didn’t excite me with a creepy almost ex ( it’s explained in the story) and a too cool agent who knows more than most about the shady world of vampires and their royalty.
I might have rated this higher but my copy on kindle had several blank pages near the beginning which obviously didn’t exactly help things to flow.
I didn’t really connect with Jenna and thought her attitude very unrealistic. Her partner has just been killed in front of her eyes and yet she seemed more bothered by her Werewolf squatter stealing her clothes. I did enjoy the overall idea though but frankly would have preferred a little more action. The addition of her extremely high maintenance twin sister was a good and slightly humorous twist . Unfortunately the males we meet didn’t excite me with a creepy almost ex ( it’s explained in the story) and a too cool agent who knows more than most about the shady world of vampires and their royalty.
I might have rated this higher but my copy on kindle had several blank pages near the beginning which obviously didn’t exactly help things to flow.
November 14, 2021
This is a 4.5 star read.
November 20, 2020
I read this as part of a three-volume boxed set. This first volume is all about the set up, which is excellent, but because there is so much page time on set up, it drags in places. Fortunately, because it was a box set, I keep going and the later volumes are solid 4-star reads.
May 31, 2017
Great for fans of Chloe Neill's Chicagoland vamps. Can't wait to spend more time with Jenna and Mandy!
May 28, 2017
Another hit by the great Angela Roquet. If you loved the Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series than you are going to love this one.
The world in which Jenna Skye has lived in for her first 29 years has now changed in one night, starting with some bad decisions on her part. Now she must find out how to live in her new world and ease her guilt.
I couldn't put it down, well I had to because my e-reader needed to charge but as soon as I could I picked it back up I finished it. I can't wait for the next adventure.
I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The world in which Jenna Skye has lived in for her first 29 years has now changed in one night, starting with some bad decisions on her part. Now she must find out how to live in her new world and ease her guilt.
I couldn't put it down, well I had to because my e-reader needed to charge but as soon as I could I picked it back up I finished it. I can't wait for the next adventure.
I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
June 21, 2022
The potential!!!
There were some parts of this I really really enjoyed but unfortunately it didn’t hit in a lot of other areas. The concept was fun enough, some characters had some great moments (I’m looking at you Mandy) and the humour hit just right sometimes. But then there’s the matter of our Main Character being tdtl, her sister being awful, everything that was going on with Vic and a few other things. At some points, I really was tempted to carry on with this series, see where it goes, but I’ve decided not to do that. Shame.
There were some parts of this I really really enjoyed but unfortunately it didn’t hit in a lot of other areas. The concept was fun enough, some characters had some great moments (I’m looking at you Mandy) and the humour hit just right sometimes. But then there’s the matter of our Main Character being tdtl, her sister being awful, everything that was going on with Vic and a few other things. At some points, I really was tempted to carry on with this series, see where it goes, but I’ve decided not to do that. Shame.
June 5, 2017
I love Angela Roquet's writing, and I'm thrilled she is starting a new series! My favorite character is Mandy (you'll see), but the main character, Jenna, is interesting and likable. I'm excited to see what kind of trouble she gets into in future books.
May 30, 2017
**I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
What I love about this author, Angela Roquet is that she has this amazing way of writing her characters that is so believable and relatable. All of Roquet's characters are flawed but in a great way. They feel human, even the ones that clearly aren't, anymore. For instance, in Blood Vice we learn that Detective Jenna Skye, in her first week on the job has run headlong and against orders otherwise, into the basement of a vampire brothel and gotten her partner killed, and herself turned into a vampire. Yah, that would totally be me if someone was foolish enough to give me a badge. As the story progresses we meet other characters that are all just like someone we have met before. Characters like that, that aren't caricatures are very hard to find in Urban Fantasy. Angela Roquet nails it on the head!
I think this book is a great addition to the vampire/werewolf urban fantasy world. I look forward to how these characters and the story itself continues to develop over the rest of the series.
What I love about this author, Angela Roquet is that she has this amazing way of writing her characters that is so believable and relatable. All of Roquet's characters are flawed but in a great way. They feel human, even the ones that clearly aren't, anymore. For instance, in Blood Vice we learn that Detective Jenna Skye, in her first week on the job has run headlong and against orders otherwise, into the basement of a vampire brothel and gotten her partner killed, and herself turned into a vampire. Yah, that would totally be me if someone was foolish enough to give me a badge. As the story progresses we meet other characters that are all just like someone we have met before. Characters like that, that aren't caricatures are very hard to find in Urban Fantasy. Angela Roquet nails it on the head!
I think this book is a great addition to the vampire/werewolf urban fantasy world. I look forward to how these characters and the story itself continues to develop over the rest of the series.
December 25, 2023
BLOOD VICE is the first book of the same series and one that I think is perfect for those who like vampire series that aren't particularly dark or traumatizing. Detective Jenna Skye is investigating some human traffickers of innocent women (who turn out to be weregirls) when she's turned into a vampire and we deal with her somewhat comical attempts to keep her job. We have her ex-daytime soap opera identical twin sister, her ex-boyfriend who is the coroner, and a handsome FBI agent who is actually an agent of the House of Lilith. It's all very fun and perfect light urban fantasy reading.
August 28, 2018
I haven't read urban fantasy for a long time, because my threshold for grisly violence and dark humor is easily breached. But, the description for this book made me think I might enjoy it, and I did. Not that there wasn't blood and violence, but I didn't find it offensive. And I found the story line interesting and the quality of the writing quite good. The storyline about sexual trafficking is all too real, even if in the real world there are not paranormals doing the trafficking. I found that bit of realism compelling, and I appreciated that the main characters were out to prevent it, not participate in it. Fortunately there were no real depictions of sexual activity, consensual or otherwise, though there was some foul language. I really liked the character of Mandy and the idea that she and Jenna (main character) will form a K9 team. I did find some things that didn't make sense, including Jenna's attraction to the ME. Another reviewer commented that it didn't make sense that Jenna was considered a rookie detective since she had been on the force for quite some time. I guess I've watched enough cop shows to know that they are two different kinds of police work, so it is logical that she be considered new. All that said, I'm not sure whether I will continue the series since it is not really my genre of choice. I have no doubt that others will continue to enjoy the series, and I am impressed by this author's writing.
March 18, 2018
Lassan befejeződnek kedvenc sorozataim, úgy, mint a Kate Daniels és a Chicagoland Vampires, ezért kutatásba kezdtem az amazonon. igaz, hogy Jenna nem Merit, viszont egy talpraesett, szókimondó rendőrnő, aki teljesen véletlenül lesz vámpír. Amikor felébred a boncasztalon és megpillantja régi nemezisét, azt hiszi valami tréfa áldozata lett. Fogalma sincs arról, hogy vámpírok és vérfarkasok léteznek. Aztán amikor felbukkan a lakásán a Mandy nevű vérfarkaslány, onnan lesz igazán bonyolult az élete. Ki akarja nyomozni a társa halálát, miközben az FBI az ajtaján kopogtat. Még jó, hogy megérkezik az ikertestvére, hogy a nappali órákban kisegítse.
Humoros, akciódús, szórakoztató történet, ami hamar beszippantott.
Humoros, akciódús, szórakoztató történet, ami hamar beszippantott.
November 20, 2018
Promising
A promising to the Blood Vice series. Jenna is a cop who is turned into a vampire on the job. Now shes trying to keep her job and not let anyone find her secret. I enjoyed this story. It has likable characters and storyline that I haven’t read before. I’m looking forward to more Jenna and Mandy adventures.
A promising to the Blood Vice series. Jenna is a cop who is turned into a vampire on the job. Now shes trying to keep her job and not let anyone find her secret. I enjoyed this story. It has likable characters and storyline that I haven’t read before. I’m looking forward to more Jenna and Mandy adventures.
January 6, 2019
It was a good first book of the year. I liked it. It has supernatural influence and police influence. It has vampires and werewolves and a hot detective. It is also funny and made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I really like Jenna, Mandy and Roman. I even like glitzy Laura. Will definitely find the other parts to read.
July 14, 2018
I was torn between 1 and 2 stars, but the bottom line is she is doesn't write well, so 1 star it is. College level fiction writing course level. I made it to about 30%. Many stupid decisions by the main character in order to move the story along and create tension. Sentences thrown in to describe the scene or mood that were obviously there because the author knew it was required but couldn't figure out how to make it part of the scene, so, you know - just put in a random sentence. And the sister and her dog got old really quickly. Nothing really had happened by the time I quit.
September 13, 2021
Dumber than shit! Seriously, this h is beyond TSTL, she deserves a hit out on her immediately. Which I find surprising, cause I don’t remember the faintest whiff of that with AR’s grave series. (EDIT: there are hints of dumb ass in the grave series, but not too terrible).
The h has mummy issues, so decided to become a cop just like her when she died... almost a decade and NOTHING in the house had changed... including the bedspread and the answering machine message. Fine, weird, but fine.
7 years on patrol, and she’s bumped to detective (with her mum’s old partner of course), and in the first week, she does the standard dumbshit move by ignoring her partner and rushing into an unknown situation without backup... and gets them BOTH killed. Yes both. She wakes the next night in the morgue after accidentally being turned into a vamp, and rushes home without wanting to tell anyone she’s still alive yet, cause you know, she’s sad she was a dumbshit and got her partner killed. Oh, and she hasn’t figured out she’s a vamp yet either.
Moving on, she finds herself with a side kick and a returned sister... who she’s fine with planning her future if her actress sister pretending to be her during daylight hours. Blink. Yes, let’s forget logistics of the twinning with people the sisters never met etc, and focus on the fact that the dumbass h is supposed to be a goddamn cop with the training and knowledge to back it up... and she’s fine with sis playing her part, cause it’s not like a cop would ever have to be a cop during daylight hours!
Then, she gets roped into helping the PRN cops... and sees their targets in trouble. So, this time round she listens to her partner right? NO. SHE THROWS HERSELF OFF A FUCKING BUILDING!!!!! Then gets herself the rest of the way beaten to shit by hanging onto a moving vehicle. At this point, the prn cop has to feed her or she’ll die... again... from being a dumbshit... again!
She’s learnt her lesson right!? No, she gets all stroppy, tanty when he tells her she’s dangerous and he wants her to stay in the car while he and backup go after the bad guys and ends up running after the bad guy when she catches sight. She finds the victims too... and at no fucking point does she try and get the attention of any of the other officers. She can be this hero with a broken gun herself!
Anyway, there’s a little more to the story, but them’s the TSTL highlights. The ONLY reason I finished this was cause I liked the grave books and figured the h had to get some brains at some point. She didn’t. Ever.
1119
The h has mummy issues, so decided to become a cop just like her when she died... almost a decade and NOTHING in the house had changed... including the bedspread and the answering machine message. Fine, weird, but fine.
7 years on patrol, and she’s bumped to detective (with her mum’s old partner of course), and in the first week, she does the standard dumbshit move by ignoring her partner and rushing into an unknown situation without backup... and gets them BOTH killed. Yes both. She wakes the next night in the morgue after accidentally being turned into a vamp, and rushes home without wanting to tell anyone she’s still alive yet, cause you know, she’s sad she was a dumbshit and got her partner killed. Oh, and she hasn’t figured out she’s a vamp yet either.
Moving on, she finds herself with a side kick and a returned sister... who she’s fine with planning her future if her actress sister pretending to be her during daylight hours. Blink. Yes, let’s forget logistics of the twinning with people the sisters never met etc, and focus on the fact that the dumbass h is supposed to be a goddamn cop with the training and knowledge to back it up... and she’s fine with sis playing her part, cause it’s not like a cop would ever have to be a cop during daylight hours!
Then, she gets roped into helping the PRN cops... and sees their targets in trouble. So, this time round she listens to her partner right? NO. SHE THROWS HERSELF OFF A FUCKING BUILDING!!!!! Then gets herself the rest of the way beaten to shit by hanging onto a moving vehicle. At this point, the prn cop has to feed her or she’ll die... again... from being a dumbshit... again!
She’s learnt her lesson right!? No, she gets all stroppy, tanty when he tells her she’s dangerous and he wants her to stay in the car while he and backup go after the bad guys and ends up running after the bad guy when she catches sight. She finds the victims too... and at no fucking point does she try and get the attention of any of the other officers. She can be this hero with a broken gun herself!
Anyway, there’s a little more to the story, but them’s the TSTL highlights. The ONLY reason I finished this was cause I liked the grave books and figured the h had to get some brains at some point. She didn’t. Ever.
1119
October 24, 2023
I am so torn about this series.
Despite my initial intention to not continue the series, I ended up reading the first 4 books.
So I have a lot more to say beyond my initial review of just the first book.
Here it is, review v2:
This is actually a decent execution of what is being promised in the blurb. There isn't any novelty to be found here in terms of plot or setting. It has all been written countless times before but at the end of the day, execution is much more important than originality and the execution is very interesting here.
There is something undeniably magical about this series, its characters are very different from most books of this type.
The characters are all so very flawed in a very believable way and I love it!
Most stories either suffer from shallow characters. Either they are more or less perfect or their flaws can be expressed in a single word or sentence.
In this story, the characters aren't simple. They are messy, contradictory, imperfect, and they make bad decisions constantly, and while the author is able to pull this off it is incredible and makes for very compelling characters.
I could connect to the emotional landscape of these characters on a deep level allowing me to not be annoyed as the outsider yelling at the characters to stop being so stupid.
The central characters are being pushed and jerked in various directions by their different desires, loyalties, and circumstances. They are emotionally torn within a complex net of motivations.
I had the feeling I could understand the complexities of the MC's personality.
I am honestly not sure how much of this perceived depth is projection on my part and how much of it is actually "real". But what matters is that there is this space in the way the story is told for my mind to perceive/invent this depth.
This character complexity is also apparent in how fluid the cast was. In most modern books you just get to know the "crew" or the "family" through the first book and they are more or less fixed, always present and sticking together and even if some conflict arises you can just assume it will be resolved by one of a handful of typical clichées. This is probably one of the most formulaic aspects of most fiction. Not so in this book. The character development here feels dynamic and natural.
In most cases, it is a distinct choice by the character that feels meaningful and not expected.
The problem is that none of the first four books could maintain this immersion for me.
There repeatedly are these very jarring moments where the author intervenes and dictates the actions of the MC in particular to to steer the plot as she needs it to.
To me, it felt like every instance of plot steering by the author's hand was incredibly obvious and very crude.
This repeatedly and badly undermines the believability of the otherwise stellar characters.
The MC is constantly making terrible and obviously stupid decisions. The most frustrating part about this is that she repeatedly points out to the reader how and why whatever she should not do is foolish, but every time she then does it anyway. Even worse, this would be a completely different story if she could have resisted the pull'o'stupid even a single time.
This is particularly bad in the first book and shows up again later in the third and fourth books.
Furthermore, the world-building is spotty at best. This is not immediately obvious or even relevant in the first book. If you want to dive that deep into the emotional landscape of a character later on then the world around this character needs to make sense.
But the actual surroundings are a pile of clichéed run-of-the-mill urban fantasy elements haphazardly thrown together.
I am tempted to attribute a lot of the things I praise to lucky inexperience of the author.
This way of a story feeling dynamic and "real" is typically related to its unpredictable nature.
And if you don't know what you are supposed to do it's much easier to be surprising and unexpected.
So, do I recommend the series? I really don't know. I don't even know if I should rate this 2 or 4 stars.
I am so confused!
Despite my initial intention to not continue the series, I ended up reading the first 4 books.
So I have a lot more to say beyond my initial review of just the first book.
Here it is, review v2:
This is actually a decent execution of what is being promised in the blurb. There isn't any novelty to be found here in terms of plot or setting. It has all been written countless times before but at the end of the day, execution is much more important than originality and the execution is very interesting here.
There is something undeniably magical about this series, its characters are very different from most books of this type.
The characters are all so very flawed in a very believable way and I love it!
Most stories either suffer from shallow characters. Either they are more or less perfect or their flaws can be expressed in a single word or sentence.
In this story, the characters aren't simple. They are messy, contradictory, imperfect, and they make bad decisions constantly, and while the author is able to pull this off it is incredible and makes for very compelling characters.
I could connect to the emotional landscape of these characters on a deep level allowing me to not be annoyed as the outsider yelling at the characters to stop being so stupid.
The central characters are being pushed and jerked in various directions by their different desires, loyalties, and circumstances. They are emotionally torn within a complex net of motivations.
I had the feeling I could understand the complexities of the MC's personality.
I am honestly not sure how much of this perceived depth is projection on my part and how much of it is actually "real". But what matters is that there is this space in the way the story is told for my mind to perceive/invent this depth.
This character complexity is also apparent in how fluid the cast was. In most modern books you just get to know the "crew" or the "family" through the first book and they are more or less fixed, always present and sticking together and even if some conflict arises you can just assume it will be resolved by one of a handful of typical clichées. This is probably one of the most formulaic aspects of most fiction. Not so in this book. The character development here feels dynamic and natural.
In most cases, it is a distinct choice by the character that feels meaningful and not expected.
The problem is that none of the first four books could maintain this immersion for me.
There repeatedly are these very jarring moments where the author intervenes and dictates the actions of the MC in particular to to steer the plot as she needs it to.
To me, it felt like every instance of plot steering by the author's hand was incredibly obvious and very crude.
This repeatedly and badly undermines the believability of the otherwise stellar characters.
The MC is constantly making terrible and obviously stupid decisions. The most frustrating part about this is that she repeatedly points out to the reader how and why whatever she should not do is foolish, but every time she then does it anyway. Even worse, this would be a completely different story if she could have resisted the pull'o'stupid even a single time.
This is particularly bad in the first book and shows up again later in the third and fourth books.
Furthermore, the world-building is spotty at best. This is not immediately obvious or even relevant in the first book. If you want to dive that deep into the emotional landscape of a character later on then the world around this character needs to make sense.
But the actual surroundings are a pile of clichéed run-of-the-mill urban fantasy elements haphazardly thrown together.
I am tempted to attribute a lot of the things I praise to lucky inexperience of the author.
This way of a story feeling dynamic and "real" is typically related to its unpredictable nature.
And if you don't know what you are supposed to do it's much easier to be surprising and unexpected.
So, do I recommend the series? I really don't know. I don't even know if I should rate this 2 or 4 stars.
I am so confused!
October 5, 2019
I shelved this as "juvenile", which -- if this is a "New Adult" novel, and I think it's supposed to be -- must mean "juvenile" is where I put NA novels, because the tone of this felt very young-and-light to me, even when the subject matter really seems like it could have lent a lot of weight (in a good way) to the story, but didn't.
The author really seemed to want the reader to believe the protagonist had all the right feelings and inner conflicts about things that happened, with first-person inner monologue explaining to me how bad she felt about things, but actions speak louder than words sometimes. In this case, the actions were screaming TO HELL WITH THIS, LET'S GET TO THE FAST AND FUN ACTION-DRAMA! There's some excellent writing advice out there in the world instructing us all to "show, not tell", and while there are cases where that doesn't apply as readily I think following that advice very carefully would have helped overcome all this disconnect between supposed (and expected) state of the protagonist's heart and protagonist's actions. If the only way to convey that someone feels something is through describing the person's outward reactions, action will certainly reinforce the sense of those emotions for the reader, and make it more visceral and sympathetic. Almost none of that happened here.
That's probably my biggest gripe with this novel. It was an easy-breezy read, and I basically finished it in three sittings over two days, then still had time to start another novel on the second day. It kept things moving so that my interest (such as it was in the first place) didn't flag, it actually addressed a lot of difficulties of being a vampire that other books often overlook (though it really too-conveniently tied up the last, and perhaps biggest, hurdle with a bow in the last few pages of the book), and the characters were at least interesting in concept.
Descriptions didn't give me much to grab onto, and in many cases -- even for very central characters -- were almost entirely absent. That left me without much of a picture of them in my head, though a couple characters (including at least one who was there for only a single scene) got quite a bit more detail. The author got some bad information from somewhere about guns; a Glock 22 cannot just happily eat both 9mm and .40 S&W, because it's only chambered for .40 S&W (though a cop carrying a Glock 22 is at least pretty common; the Browning is less so). There's obviously a love triangle brewing by the end of the book, though it hasn't really arisen yet, and the one relationship that did "officially" start up (mostly off-page) seems weirdly innocent other than the blood-drinking scene.
Minor quibbles aside, it doesn't feel like a waste of time, in part because it took so little time to read. It was enjoyable enough to plow through it, but it doesn't impress me in any way whatsoever. As the two-star rating says on Goodreads, "it was ok" (though, technically, that should be either "OK" or "okay").
The author really seemed to want the reader to believe the protagonist had all the right feelings and inner conflicts about things that happened, with first-person inner monologue explaining to me how bad she felt about things, but actions speak louder than words sometimes. In this case, the actions were screaming TO HELL WITH THIS, LET'S GET TO THE FAST AND FUN ACTION-DRAMA! There's some excellent writing advice out there in the world instructing us all to "show, not tell", and while there are cases where that doesn't apply as readily I think following that advice very carefully would have helped overcome all this disconnect between supposed (and expected) state of the protagonist's heart and protagonist's actions. If the only way to convey that someone feels something is through describing the person's outward reactions, action will certainly reinforce the sense of those emotions for the reader, and make it more visceral and sympathetic. Almost none of that happened here.
That's probably my biggest gripe with this novel. It was an easy-breezy read, and I basically finished it in three sittings over two days, then still had time to start another novel on the second day. It kept things moving so that my interest (such as it was in the first place) didn't flag, it actually addressed a lot of difficulties of being a vampire that other books often overlook (though it really too-conveniently tied up the last, and perhaps biggest, hurdle with a bow in the last few pages of the book), and the characters were at least interesting in concept.
Descriptions didn't give me much to grab onto, and in many cases -- even for very central characters -- were almost entirely absent. That left me without much of a picture of them in my head, though a couple characters (including at least one who was there for only a single scene) got quite a bit more detail. The author got some bad information from somewhere about guns; a Glock 22 cannot just happily eat both 9mm and .40 S&W, because it's only chambered for .40 S&W (though a cop carrying a Glock 22 is at least pretty common; the Browning is less so). There's obviously a love triangle brewing by the end of the book, though it hasn't really arisen yet, and the one relationship that did "officially" start up (mostly off-page) seems weirdly innocent other than the blood-drinking scene.
Minor quibbles aside, it doesn't feel like a waste of time, in part because it took so little time to read. It was enjoyable enough to plow through it, but it doesn't impress me in any way whatsoever. As the two-star rating says on Goodreads, "it was ok" (though, technically, that should be either "OK" or "okay").
November 25, 2017
I will be honest, when I first read the description for "Blood Vice" I thought it would be a marginally good read. However, I wasn't prepared to be lured into the storyline hook, line and sinker. I will take pleasantly surprised any day.
Detective Jenna Skye was killed by a vampire her very first week in vice duty. Then she woke up in the morgue and discovered her partner was dead as well. She manages to get to her house where she discovers a young girl squatting and her twin sister in hysterics that she is still alive. Soon she discovers that the girl, Mandy is a werewolf and she is a vampire. As she attempts to deal with all of the changes in her new life she finds that a relentless FBI agent wants to question her for her role in the death of her partner.
Soon, Jenna is involved in trying to mend her fracture relationship with her sister, learn the ropes as a vamp and locate several hound girls who have been forced into the sex trade business by disgraced vamps. Oh, did I mention that the medical examiner was her former high school crush and wants to continue pursue a relationship with her. What's a girl to do?
I really enjoyed this little read and the drama between the characters. There is plenty of action, intrigue and moments of hilarity. The world building was great and in the end I definitely wanted to read more. I wasn't real crazy about the cover for this book. It's a little off and not very attractive but it's the storyline that counts. This is one you definitely want to put on your to read list.
Detective Jenna Skye was killed by a vampire her very first week in vice duty. Then she woke up in the morgue and discovered her partner was dead as well. She manages to get to her house where she discovers a young girl squatting and her twin sister in hysterics that she is still alive. Soon she discovers that the girl, Mandy is a werewolf and she is a vampire. As she attempts to deal with all of the changes in her new life she finds that a relentless FBI agent wants to question her for her role in the death of her partner.
Soon, Jenna is involved in trying to mend her fracture relationship with her sister, learn the ropes as a vamp and locate several hound girls who have been forced into the sex trade business by disgraced vamps. Oh, did I mention that the medical examiner was her former high school crush and wants to continue pursue a relationship with her. What's a girl to do?
I really enjoyed this little read and the drama between the characters. There is plenty of action, intrigue and moments of hilarity. The world building was great and in the end I definitely wanted to read more. I wasn't real crazy about the cover for this book. It's a little off and not very attractive but it's the storyline that counts. This is one you definitely want to put on your to read list.
October 18, 2022
A different take on the vampire story
Jenna is a police detective working vice, her first week in the job she's investigating an underground brothel that turns kidnapped teenagers into prostitutes. Jenna and her partner are attacked and.both end up.dead.But for.Jenna it's not the.end, She comes to in the morgue the next night disoriented not knowing what is going.on or how she got there. The pathologist who was about to begin her autopsy is understandably terrified but calms down enough to help her, not understanding how such a mistake could have happened. Long story short the man who killed Jenna was a vampire and now she is too, with no one.to teach her the ropes she spends the next few days winging it, learning as she goes and drinking cows blood. With the help of a runaway teenage girl who just so happens to be a werewolf she starts searching for answers. Agent Knight is an F.B.I. Agent assigned to work the case Jenna and her partner were working when they were killed, he is intimidating and keeps dropping hints.that he knows.she's no longer human. Jenna is in trouble and.not sure how long she can last before her secret gets out, but before that happens she's going.to.do everything she can to find those missing girls. Even work with Agent Knight..................
Jenna is a police detective working vice, her first week in the job she's investigating an underground brothel that turns kidnapped teenagers into prostitutes. Jenna and her partner are attacked and.both end up.dead.But for.Jenna it's not the.end, She comes to in the morgue the next night disoriented not knowing what is going.on or how she got there. The pathologist who was about to begin her autopsy is understandably terrified but calms down enough to help her, not understanding how such a mistake could have happened. Long story short the man who killed Jenna was a vampire and now she is too, with no one.to teach her the ropes she spends the next few days winging it, learning as she goes and drinking cows blood. With the help of a runaway teenage girl who just so happens to be a werewolf she starts searching for answers. Agent Knight is an F.B.I. Agent assigned to work the case Jenna and her partner were working when they were killed, he is intimidating and keeps dropping hints.that he knows.she's no longer human. Jenna is in trouble and.not sure how long she can last before her secret gets out, but before that happens she's going.to.do everything she can to find those missing girls. Even work with Agent Knight..................
December 8, 2021
Jenna Skye has been stuck in a rut since the death of her mother several years ago - the flat they shared is still exactly the same, even the answering message has her mother's voice. Jenna followed in her footsteps and, after seven years as a beat cop, is finally working on the Vice Squad and paired up with her mother's partner, Will Banks.
There is nothing more likely to get you out of your rut than waking up 14 hours later in the morgue just as forensic pathologist Vin Hart (there's a back story there) is about to start Jenna's autopsy.
"Blood Vice", first in a series, sees Jenna coming to terms with being one of the undead, albeit one very much on her own, as well as tackling a vampire-driven sex-trafficking operation.
Along with her twin sister, Laura (handy during those pesky daylight hours), werewolf Mandy Starsgard (one of the trafficked girls) and the enigmatic FBI Special Agent Roman Knight (who knows more than his prayers about vampires), Jenna sets off to find the missing girls.
It's very much a prequel, many different paths are opened up but only the case of the missing girls is solved, leaving the way open for Jenna to continue her story. There's very little new, but it is well told, has a couple of comic moments, and the action is fairly constant.
3 Stars.
There is nothing more likely to get you out of your rut than waking up 14 hours later in the morgue just as forensic pathologist Vin Hart (there's a back story there) is about to start Jenna's autopsy.
"Blood Vice", first in a series, sees Jenna coming to terms with being one of the undead, albeit one very much on her own, as well as tackling a vampire-driven sex-trafficking operation.
Along with her twin sister, Laura (handy during those pesky daylight hours), werewolf Mandy Starsgard (one of the trafficked girls) and the enigmatic FBI Special Agent Roman Knight (who knows more than his prayers about vampires), Jenna sets off to find the missing girls.
It's very much a prequel, many different paths are opened up but only the case of the missing girls is solved, leaving the way open for Jenna to continue her story. There's very little new, but it is well told, has a couple of comic moments, and the action is fairly constant.
3 Stars.
December 11, 2023
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring by more than 0.50 of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
3.75*
First time read the author's work?: Yes (I could have sworn I posted a review at the time! -- I'm also pretty sure I read this one, then the 1st of her Reaper books.)
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
3.75*
First time read the author's work?: Yes (I could have sworn I posted a review at the time! -- I'm also pretty sure I read this one, then the 1st of her Reaper books.)
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
August 15, 2024
It's not often that a book starts off with the main character's death but this one does!
Jenna is a rookie police officer who, with her partner, unknowingly raids a vampire lair! In fact, they were there to find kidnapped young girls. However, things take a turn for the worse and end up with both Jenna and her partner killed.
The real plot begins when Jenna wakes up in the morgue! Leaving the morgue, Jenna arrives at her apartment to find that she has a squatter...a young woman named Mandy. Mandy also has a secret but she does help Jenna with information about being a vampire although Mandy is a werewolf. Soon after having been notified of Jenna's death her sister, Laura, enters the picture.
The book was interesting and entertaining. Reading about someone who is a fledgling vampire with no idea of what she has become, is a journey and a treat for the reader. It was quite funny. :)
The characters all have their own personality traits that emerge in the early chapters and define the characters rather well. As with most first books in a series, the plot suffers a bit due to the character's need to be defined. So, while the plot is somewhat thin, it is explained well enough to give the reader a well-rounded and interesting read.
Jenna is a rookie police officer who, with her partner, unknowingly raids a vampire lair! In fact, they were there to find kidnapped young girls. However, things take a turn for the worse and end up with both Jenna and her partner killed.
The real plot begins when Jenna wakes up in the morgue! Leaving the morgue, Jenna arrives at her apartment to find that she has a squatter...a young woman named Mandy. Mandy also has a secret but she does help Jenna with information about being a vampire although Mandy is a werewolf. Soon after having been notified of Jenna's death her sister, Laura, enters the picture.
The book was interesting and entertaining. Reading about someone who is a fledgling vampire with no idea of what she has become, is a journey and a treat for the reader. It was quite funny. :)
The characters all have their own personality traits that emerge in the early chapters and define the characters rather well. As with most first books in a series, the plot suffers a bit due to the character's need to be defined. So, while the plot is somewhat thin, it is explained well enough to give the reader a well-rounded and interesting read.
November 4, 2017
The premise of this story is not exactly unique, normal woman wakes up in morgue and has sudden thirst for blood, voila we have a vampire story! However it sounded interesting enough to give a go and I'm glad that I did. The characters are well done and the world is consistent and well thought out.
Jenna is a cop, one with issues over the death of her mother who died on active duty. She 'dies' on a stake out whilst looking for an illegal brothel, and so her hunt once she turns vampire turns to the same case, as it turns out to be a supernatural one, under the supervision of 'special' Agent Knight from the FBI. Along for the ride is Mandy, a young teenage werewolf, who happens to be a witness to Jenna's murder and slightly unreliable guide to the supernatural world. I thought Jenna and Mandy had a fun chemistry and a lot of Jenna's exploits into the supernatural were amusing, although I did find the reluctance of Roman Knight to tell her anything annoying and obviously a way to facilitate Jenna knowing nothing about her new world.
All in all good fun to pass the time and I will pick up the next book.
Jenna is a cop, one with issues over the death of her mother who died on active duty. She 'dies' on a stake out whilst looking for an illegal brothel, and so her hunt once she turns vampire turns to the same case, as it turns out to be a supernatural one, under the supervision of 'special' Agent Knight from the FBI. Along for the ride is Mandy, a young teenage werewolf, who happens to be a witness to Jenna's murder and slightly unreliable guide to the supernatural world. I thought Jenna and Mandy had a fun chemistry and a lot of Jenna's exploits into the supernatural were amusing, although I did find the reluctance of Roman Knight to tell her anything annoying and obviously a way to facilitate Jenna knowing nothing about her new world.
All in all good fun to pass the time and I will pick up the next book.
October 20, 2022
Jenna Skye just made detective, and in her first week, an investigation into a secret prostitution ring has her working at night staking out the suspected lair. And like any person who is stubborn, she sees movement and does not want to wait for backup. So, she moves in, dragging her partner along, who does want to wait for backup, and she does walk into a lair, just not a lair of ordinary humans. She wakes up in the morgue, totally naked, faced with her high school crush, and this is just the beginning of her problems.
I liked the embarrassing situation, the fallout from it, and the other problems that Detective Skye faced along the way. It was an interesting read, but your departure from vampire cannon was disappointing while necessary for the story to work. But then, we have shiny vamps and ring wearing day walking vampires, so staying with the lore is not that big an offense to the purest out there. BTW, in the original cannon, vampires were not allergic to the sun.
I enjoyed this read overall, and any vampire lover should like this variation by Angela Roquest. I give this read four stars out of five stars.
I liked the embarrassing situation, the fallout from it, and the other problems that Detective Skye faced along the way. It was an interesting read, but your departure from vampire cannon was disappointing while necessary for the story to work. But then, we have shiny vamps and ring wearing day walking vampires, so staying with the lore is not that big an offense to the purest out there. BTW, in the original cannon, vampires were not allergic to the sun.
I enjoyed this read overall, and any vampire lover should like this variation by Angela Roquest. I give this read four stars out of five stars.
July 28, 2018
Blood Vice, Book #1
by Angela Roquet
I've read Roquet's Reaper series. I was very sad when she decided to end that series. For quite a while I've avoided starting this series because I was afraid it couldn't live up to the other series. I was right. Jenna Skye is an interesting character, as are the people that populate her world. But she can't hold a candle to Lana Harvey and her crew of semi-religion based beings. With the Reaper series, I was hooked by the time I was a quarter of the way through the first book. This one? I would pick up another in the series if it showed up on my free or 99 cent lists, but otherwise, I probably won't.
It's not that the story isn't well written, well-plotted and paced, with plenty of action and relatable characters. It's not because the writing is full of humor, it is. But for me, it just couldn't live up to the expectations created by the former series.
For those of you reading this review, it might be different. But for me, this may be not only the first of the Blood Vice books I've read, but also the last.
by Angela Roquet
I've read Roquet's Reaper series. I was very sad when she decided to end that series. For quite a while I've avoided starting this series because I was afraid it couldn't live up to the other series. I was right. Jenna Skye is an interesting character, as are the people that populate her world. But she can't hold a candle to Lana Harvey and her crew of semi-religion based beings. With the Reaper series, I was hooked by the time I was a quarter of the way through the first book. This one? I would pick up another in the series if it showed up on my free or 99 cent lists, but otherwise, I probably won't.
It's not that the story isn't well written, well-plotted and paced, with plenty of action and relatable characters. It's not because the writing is full of humor, it is. But for me, it just couldn't live up to the expectations created by the former series.
For those of you reading this review, it might be different. But for me, this may be not only the first of the Blood Vice books I've read, but also the last.
November 22, 2018
3.8 state
Not a bad story but I just finished reading 2 really awesome 5* books so comparing them to this one almost isn't fair because this isn't bad. If I had read this one first I think I may have liked It more but increasing as exciting and as fast paced and the writing was as polished? This story is a good concept but for some reason I was uncomfortable with the plot, don't somewhat I have no idea .... This is the story of a Young cop who is almost killed and accidentally turned into a vampire. She befriends a Young werewolf and hijinks ensue. It has some really good adventurous parts but could have been more exciting. I think maybe there was too much explaining of stuff and I get why but it just time could have been done shorter and still have the same effect then have more things happening later. If that even makes sense. I dont want to give anything away so eh....I think most people will like it though if you like vamp and werewolf stories. I haven't decided if I will read the next book yet though.
Not a bad story but I just finished reading 2 really awesome 5* books so comparing them to this one almost isn't fair because this isn't bad. If I had read this one first I think I may have liked It more but increasing as exciting and as fast paced and the writing was as polished? This story is a good concept but for some reason I was uncomfortable with the plot, don't somewhat I have no idea .... This is the story of a Young cop who is almost killed and accidentally turned into a vampire. She befriends a Young werewolf and hijinks ensue. It has some really good adventurous parts but could have been more exciting. I think maybe there was too much explaining of stuff and I get why but it just time could have been done shorter and still have the same effect then have more things happening later. If that even makes sense. I dont want to give anything away so eh....I think most people will like it though if you like vamp and werewolf stories. I haven't decided if I will read the next book yet though.
June 24, 2019
I read this because it was free through my Kindle and because I really enjoyed the Psychopomp series that was by the same author. I enjoyed it enough to finish, but I have always felt that books this short leave too many unanswered questions and that the book ends just as the story starts. I am unwilling to spend more than $.99 when they are this short. I end up feeling cheated.
The story in this case is the same. Vague background of an identical twin who lost her mother and ended her relationship with her sister 10 years before she was overconfident in her own abilities as a newly minted Vice cop and ends up getting her partner killed and turned into a vampire. Then... just as she starts to get answers to her questions about being a vampire and make a move on with the rest of her life the story jumps a few weeks! HUH?!
It is fine as a quick and easy read, but I will stubbornly hold out for $.99 specials or free. But if quick, cute and easy are what you are after and you don't mind paying the price, then 3 stars it is.
The story in this case is the same. Vague background of an identical twin who lost her mother and ended her relationship with her sister 10 years before she was overconfident in her own abilities as a newly minted Vice cop and ends up getting her partner killed and turned into a vampire. Then... just as she starts to get answers to her questions about being a vampire and make a move on with the rest of her life the story jumps a few weeks! HUH?!
It is fine as a quick and easy read, but I will stubbornly hold out for $.99 specials or free. But if quick, cute and easy are what you are after and you don't mind paying the price, then 3 stars it is.
January 2, 2019
Amazing.
Jenna, a cop on her first week of duty, decides to rush into a situation with no backup. Desperate to save girls that are being trafficked, she runs head first into a vampire nest. Her partner is slaughtered. Jenna is sucked dry and passes to he other side.
The other side of undeath! Shockingly, Jenna wakes up on the morgue table to find that she is very much alive and breathing. Thinking she had been knocked out and resuscitated, she doesn't understand the shock of those around her as she attempts to move back to regular duty.
What follows after is a hilarious series of events that makes her aware of her new state as a vampire. A vampire whose sire has died. That seems to throw a huge wrench in the plan as she now has to deal with unspoken laws of the vampire underground society, her life as a nightwalker, and the way it affects her job as a cop. Not to mention the werewolf girl sitting in her bedroom.
Jenna, a cop on her first week of duty, decides to rush into a situation with no backup. Desperate to save girls that are being trafficked, she runs head first into a vampire nest. Her partner is slaughtered. Jenna is sucked dry and passes to he other side.
The other side of undeath! Shockingly, Jenna wakes up on the morgue table to find that she is very much alive and breathing. Thinking she had been knocked out and resuscitated, she doesn't understand the shock of those around her as she attempts to move back to regular duty.
What follows after is a hilarious series of events that makes her aware of her new state as a vampire. A vampire whose sire has died. That seems to throw a huge wrench in the plan as she now has to deal with unspoken laws of the vampire underground society, her life as a nightwalker, and the way it affects her job as a cop. Not to mention the werewolf girl sitting in her bedroom.
July 26, 2017
Angela Roquet has taken on a new adventure with Blood Vice, yet keeps the heroine of the novel in the same spirit as her old favorite.
Ms. Roquet, as always, build her main character in a way that you do not realize until the end how tenacious and endearing that character is. That person could be anyone with the self-doubt and introspection of their situation. The reader sees first- hand the struggles she deals with to make even the smallest decision as the impact can be so great.
Blood Vice moves along at a good pace, with interesting characters who I hope to see more developed in the future books. I also hope that the story slows down, as I find before I know it I am at the end of the book, of course wanting more, but also wishing I had more information.
I love, love, love all of Ms. Roquet’s works, and am certainly not disappointed with her new endeavor.
Ms. Roquet, as always, build her main character in a way that you do not realize until the end how tenacious and endearing that character is. That person could be anyone with the self-doubt and introspection of their situation. The reader sees first- hand the struggles she deals with to make even the smallest decision as the impact can be so great.
Blood Vice moves along at a good pace, with interesting characters who I hope to see more developed in the future books. I also hope that the story slows down, as I find before I know it I am at the end of the book, of course wanting more, but also wishing I had more information.
I love, love, love all of Ms. Roquet’s works, and am certainly not disappointed with her new endeavor.
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