Alan's "Whatever" Blog

Ok, where to start. This series doesn't really do anything that hasn't been done before, a human who falls in love with a vampire, and all the adventures that come with it. Where these books excelled is the characters, they are written in a way that when you finish a book it feels like your saying goodbye to good friends. As the protagonist falls in love, so do you as the reader. The characters are fleshed out in a way that makes you care about what happens to them.



Synopsis

The follows the story of a young man named Chris Gordon, who was born and raised in Upstate New York, but has just become a cop in New York City. While on the outside he is your normal 23 year old, he has a gift, or curse depending on how look at it, that will forever set him apart from the human race. He hunts demons, and banishes them back to hell. Until one night he's at a club with his co-workers after work, and see's a demon following one of the beautiful dancers toward the back room. He follows to intervene, and while he does save her from the demon, his life is forever changed. The dancer happens to be a vampire princess who has been in a catatonic state for 15 years. In saving her, Chris breaks her out of her stupor, and instantly becomes linked to her in more ways then he knows.



Characters

These are the people that drive this series, they are the ones that will have you coming back to the series over and over again.

Christian Gordan

Chris is the main protagonist, and the book is written from his perspective in a first person narrative. Chris is a young man who was raised by his grandfather from the time he was eight years old, after his family was murdered in a horrific home invasion. He has the ability to banish demons back to hell, and because of this he is unable to get close to anyone besides his grandfather. If he does the demons, somehow, instantly know who it is and will threaten them. Chris moves from Upstate New York to New York City because of its higher concentration of demon activity, he becomes a cop because it's the only way he can legally carry a gun in the city.

Chris was very easy for me to relate to, as we are both from upstate New York, and raised in a rural areas. The author does a good job creating Chris' personality to feel like a young man raised in Upstate New York. He doesn't like to draw attention to himself, he's very down to earth, and has good common sense in most situations. Although due to his lack of relationships he tends to be somewhat slow when it comes to women.

Tatiana Demidova

Tatiana or Tanya to her friends, is the female lead, and love interest to Chris. She is the only vampire to have been born, not made, and because of this she is revered as something of a prodigy, especially among the younger vampires. Unfortunately she had a traumatic experience when she was younger which made her slip into a semi-catatonic state, not talking to anyone for fifteen years. Until one day she is saved, by Chris, from a demon, and is awoken. Her and Chris are the same age, born on the same day, at the exact same time. As their relationship grows they share a bond, and it was watching this bond grow as the books progressed.

I enjoyed watching Tanya's character grow through the series, in the beginning she is portrayed as somewhat fragile to almost helpless. By the 5th book she had done a complete turn around, she is in charge, she's completely confident in herself, and what in she does, as well as having a very shrewd business mind. And because she is a "pure blood" her vampire powers are equivalent to that of a seven or eight hundred year old vampire. That dynamic was fun, while she is this really powerful vampire, she is also just a twenty three year old girl, and I think that works well in her relationship with Chris.

Lydia

Lydia started out as something of a caretaker for Tanya during her 15 years of silence. Now that Tanya has awoken she is more of a sister and close friend, as well as being her trusted confidant.

I liked watching Lydia's relationship with Chris grow through the series, it was similar to how an older sister would treat a younger brother, always picking on each other, while at the same time they were really good friends.

Nika

Nika is a minor character in the first book and her character isn't explored much until the fourth and fifth books. She is another one of Tanya's "sisters", and also has the power to read minds. From the little bit of Nika that we do see in the later books her character shows promise and intrigue. I look forward to an expanded role for her in future books.

Alex "Gramps" Gordon

Gramps, as he is most commonly refer to, is Chris' grandfather, and the man that raised him after the death of his parents. While it is evident that he loves his grandson, he comes off as somewhat of a gruff "tough love" sort of guy. He has instilled a sense of honor in his grandson, and also taught him that respect is is earned not given. Chris also gets his levelheadedness, and good common sense that he uses to attack a problem, from his grandfather.



My Quick Thoughts

I won't give too much away, but I will say that this book defiantly has a "manly" feel about it. (For the record I am not complaining :P ) All the women are very strong willed and very beautiful, especially Tanya. The action scenes are extreme, in depth, and very well written, also the authors knowledge of firearms was extensive which helped to give a authentic feel to the battle scenes. The first book even has a fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty" sort of theme to it, with the dashing New York City police officer saving the sleeping princess.

While the story line and setting is really nothing new, it's that characters that drive this series, and make you want to keep reading. I really enjoyed reading this series and eagerly await the next installment which will hopefully be coming out sometime next summer.