A Long Time Ago, We Used to Be Friends

Published:  June 11th, 2013

Spies And Prejudice

By: Talia Vance

Egmont USA

ISBN-13:  9781606842607

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend.  She's busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she's sure all men commit.  And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eigth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant -- and gorgeous -- Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her "nothing amazing," it's no loss for Berry.  She'll forget about him in no time.  She's more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother's death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way?  Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat?  And why can't Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

Review

    Berry Fields has been working as a private investigator for her Dad for years now, because no one ever notices a teenager following them.  And she usually manages to catch all the liars and cheaters that are trying to scam other people.  Berry herself doesn't date and isn't really interested in it.  Then Tanner blows into town and declares that Berry is nothing special.  She can't help noticing how hot he is, even while she's determined to ignore and shun him for his arrogance.  All of this romantic confusion doesn't help either, when she sees her best friend's Dad handing off papers with her dead Mom's name on them.  Berry thought, along with everyone else, that her Mom committe suicide.  But now there is a very real possibility that her Mom might have been murdered to stop her from blowing the whistle on something illegal.  It's up to Berry to find out the truth, with help from her best friend Mary Chris Moss, her crush Ryan and of course Ryan's annoying brother, Tanner.  But will the truth be worth uncovering and will it hurt more than the lies ever did?

     I had some major fun with this one!  It was snarky, funny and I loved how much it had in common with one of my favorite shows ever, Veronica Mars.  It's a pretty loose adaptation of P&P, with mostly just the title and character types playing into the original frame of Austen's novel.  Every once in a while, there is a nod to the original novel - an enterprise named Pemberly, Drew who is the obvious Wickham parallel, etc.  It isn't overwhelming though.  I liked that Berry was a smart, independent girl who has a strong friendship with Mary Chris.  My least favorite thing about her would be her "damage" when it comes to romance.  It just felt a little too much like a convenient excuse for a strained romance dynamic between her and Tanner for my taste.  Berry's relationship with her Dad was mostly good and it did seem to have a pretty great depth to it.  But the way he treats her Mom's death and the investigation was a little too head-in-the-sand to appeal to me.  Berry acted more adult about it than he did.  

     The whole corporate espionage, FDA scandal thing was kind of bizarre but I did appreciate it for being different from most of what all else I've seen other authors do when it comes to "murder" mysteries in YA fiction.  The ending while resolved, was still a little bit open.  It makes me wonder if Vance is considering a sequel at all, but if not I am satisfied with the end.  Overall, it wasn't very good as a P&P retelling.  I feel like that component to this book was almost completely unnecessary and sometimes actually harmed my enjoyment of the plot and characters.  But it definitely succeeds as a slightly fluffy, slighty deep YA mystery with a sense of humor.  If you're into the teen P.I. thing, or a VMars fan I'd recommend it to you.  But if you're looking for a strong YA P&P retelling, look elsewhere.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received this book from Egmont USA, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on June 11th, 2013.*

Working Like a Dog

Published:  December 21st, 2012
Hard Day's Knight (The Black Knight Chronicles # 1)
By: John G. Hartness
Bell Bridge Books
ISBN-13:  9781611941678

Lots of Vampires. No Sparkles. Serious Snark.
Children are missing.
The police are stumped.
Halloween is coming, and an ancient evil is on the horizon.
The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to save a client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil. Soon, they've enlisted the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and a strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.

Review

 

     Jimmy Black doesn't know how he let himself get caught by some scrawny, geek teenager.  But he knows one thing - he sure as Hell isn't changing him into a vampire!  When the kid tells him about a witch cursing his entire family, Jimmy can't help but be curious enough to get involved, and drag his partner Greg into it right beside him.  Pretty soon the guys are using all their combined vampire detective skills and snark to help solve the case of a bunch of missing kids.  But things might even be too complicated and dangerous for a couple creatures of the night with a demon bent on starting the apocalypse as the Big Bad.  Maybe with the help of a confused and bitchy police detective, a fallen angel, a priest and a witch they can solve the case and stop the world from ending.  Who knows, maybe they'll get a little lovin' in the bargain too!

     I wasn't sure what to expect from two vampire private detectives, but I got more than I even subconsciously thought I would!  Jimmy and Greg are two snarky, nerdy vampires who still look exactly the same as they did before they were changed - in other words they're not sex gods like vamps are supposed to be.  Jimmy likes watching Buffy and Dexter and is the brawns of the operation.  Greg is the computer hacker/genius and is eternally unlucky in love.  I hadn't read the synopsis too closely and was surprised at the major role demons and fallen angels played in the story.  Reading this book was like watching an episode of Supernatural.  The priest (whom they call Dad) was a childhood friend and still thinks the boys are worth saving, still good guys (also Father Mike is a total bad-ass, which is awesome).  My favorite thing in this novel was the obvious strength of the relationships between Jimmy, Greg and Father Mike.  The dialogue is a bonus and kept me on my toes.  Jimmy was my favorite character, but I'm guessing that was mostly due to him being the primary narrator of the novel.  The surprise redemption of a not-so-good, but not-so-evil after all character at the end of the novel was a beautifully written scene that had me smiling.  The mystery of the missing children and the demon possessions was well executed, but the ending with Jimmy and the lady police detective felt more than a little clichéd and sort of forced to me as a reader.  All in all it was an interesting book and I will probably be reading the sequel.  I'd recommend it to fans of the T.V. shows Supernatural and Angel, along with a good shot of (and someone out there is gonna kill me for this comparison!) your favorite cozy mystery series.  It just has that slightly formulaic feel to it, but not in a bad way! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published December 21st, 2012.*