Born with dark magic in his veins that is slowly killing him… Trick enjoys a reckless lifestyle.He rides his motorcycle too fast, plays rock music while fighting vampires, and has a talent for making girls mad, especially Dani Foster. The girl-next-door has caught all of his most embarrassing moments. She wants nothing to do with him. So he watches out for her from a distance, protects her … distance, protects her from monsters she doesn’t know exist.
Two strangers offer a solution to his impending-death problem. He can beat fate by becoming what he hates most: a vampire. Trick is sure he’d rather die. Then Dani begins to look at him in a way that makes his heart race. She brings hope into his life.
Can he do it? Can he become the thing he fears for the promise of love?
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The action starts on page one and grabs into a fast-paced, hunter versus vampire adventure.
Trick is a hunter. A good one. But he’s not yet eighteen and has some pretty heavy baggage from the past to sort out. When he learns his father wasn’t only a hunter but has passed down a very powerful magic to him, Trick’s world turns upside down. Especially when he discovers that this magic will kill him, and it appears the only way to survive is to become that which he hates the most—a monster.
A fast-paced tempo seeps from every page along with friendship and even a bit of romance too. Trick is a lovable hero with a hard shell. He’s supposed to be a hard fighter (too bad there aren’t more of these awesome fight scenes in the beginning) and definitely carries a mouth, but his roughness is rounded with a warm relationship to his brother and the hurt he carries from being abandoned by his father. His determination and loyalty to his friends makes him easy to cheer for all the way through.
The side characters have personalities all of their own and add a lovely sense of spice. Trick’s brother is geeky, sweet and hides an air of strength too. Trick’s partner, Scarlet, has issues all of her own but it’s her sass and wildness which make her a treat. The vampires are dangerous and alluring with layers of their own, which make the hard to hate or like. And the bad guys are evil with hidden agendas and plans. It’s clear that there is tons more on this front, since each one is hiding more than appears, which ensures tons of adventure and all sorts of surprises to still come in the rest of the series.
The romance is a growing one and not crystal clear. The heroine is hard to grasp. On one hand, she’s the quiet, perfect, untouchable type, but her snark and cutting attitude hit hard in the dialogue between her and Trick. On the other hand, she’s vulnerable and naive. It’s an odd mixture with tons of chemistry, and yet, at times, feels a bit off. The ending on this one hit with a very light, sour taste (no, this statement doesn’t predict the plot, so no worries) which I’m thinking will be enlightened in book two.
There are layers in this book with tons of players from many camps. The further the pages go, the more complicated the situation becomes. Some of it is clear, other things are a bit hazed. This isn’t a book so much about fight scenes, but more about Trick’s struggle to figure things out and work through the secrets and lies . . and himself. Still, the pacing holds quick the whole way through.
This doesn’t end with a cliff-hanger ending, but rather whispers promises of much more to come. And there should be tons more to come, by the looks of things. My only ‘complaint’ was in the last chapters. They flow differently than the rest of the book, and I’m not sure what I thought of it. The main battle plays out several chapters before the end, leaving some events before that moment to hit as flashbacks later. As a reader, I felt a little ‘left out’ of the original loop. It didn’t ruin the story by any means, and it’s not enough to make this book lose a star, but I wasn’t the hugest fan of the last chapters. And the very end. . .well, that was off but definitely offers a wonderful possible twist for the rest of the series.
I received a complimentary copy from the author and enjoyed this so much that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.