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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Our Favorite Assassins are Back, October 25, 2009
Bite Marks, book 6 in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin, picks up with a bang where One More Bite left off. Jaz and Vayl's vacation is cut short when Pete sends them out to deal with a threat against a NASA space complex in Australia. Gnomes have concocted a plan to infiltrate the complex and cause problems to ensure the privacy of their god, Ufran, who lives on one of the rings of Saturn. While in Australia, Kyphas, the demon Cassandra made her deal with, has finally found her and come to collect on the debt. And as if killing gnomes, assassinating gnome larvae carriers, and battling demons weren't enough, Jaz is hearing voices in her head. Jaz, along with her team, begin to doubt her control and the security of the mission.
Bite Marks has the right combination of romance, action, comedy, and seriousness to make an intriguing tale. I have been following Jaz and Vayl's relationship since the first in the series, rooting them along. This installment shows how they are growing and coming to rely on each other as a couple, not just in their working relationship. Cole adds the comic relief; his quest to pet a kangaroo is one of my favorite parts. Add to that a singing mechanical cat named Astral and you have the ingredients of a great story.
Bite Marks left me looking forward to the next to see how unfinished business is resolved. An excerpt of Bitten in Two, the seventh in the series, is included in the extras of the book. The Jaz Parks series is also being re-released in mass market paperback form.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Jaz book!, November 2, 2009
This is the 6th book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. The 7th book "Bitten in Two" will be out in 2010. Last I read there are 8 books planned for this series. This was another great book; tons of action and humor.
Jaz and crew are assigned to a mission in which some gnomes are trying to take out the Australian based NASA complex. Not a straight-forward mission in and of itself. Things get even more complicated when Jaz discovers she's been possessed by King Brude, Lucifer's assassin. Then when they arrive in Australia they find out the demon Cassandra has been fleeing from has finally found her. To add to this mess Cole is set on petting a kangaroo and Bergman has created a new robo-kitty called Astral that is making life a little crazy.
Like all the previous books in this series this book was a great read. It is fast-paced, with awesome action scenes, great gadgets, and hilarious dialogue and plot points. Vayl and Jaz have great chemistry together and there are a number of nice steamy scenes that bring tension to the story, yet never get really graphic. The characters, as usual, are what make the story, coupled with all the great fight scenes.
The addition of Jack (Jaz's dog) and Astral (the robo-kitty) really made for some hilarious scenes. We got to spend more time with the celestial Raoul and met the demon that has been plaguing Cassandra for centuries.
Rardin does a good job at keeping Jaz's inner dialogue (with her possessor) easy to read and non-confusing. The plot is twisty-turny but never confusing. Some of the side items, like Cole's kangaroo petting adventures and Astral's quirks, really add some fun into the story.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it kept losing the main story line. So much of the first half of the book dealt with Cassandra's demon problems that I forgot what their original mission was. Then in the second half of the book a lot of time was spend dealing with Jaz's demon possession problems. The mission sounded really cool, but not much page space was actually spent on the mission itself. That being said everything was nicely tied together in the end. And new plot points were left opened up for the next book.
I would definitely recommend reading the previous books in the series before this one. Rardin does a great job of reminding you what happened in previous books, but I still think you need the back-story from previous books to understand what is going on in this one.
Overall a fun read. I enjoyed the book a lot and look forward to the next book in the series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gooo Bergman!, January 28, 2010
My thoughts...I am a series reader. Picking up a book from a series is like having lunch with an old friend or (wiggles eyebrows) an old flame. In true Jaz Parks style, Jennifer Rardin does not disappoint with the sixth installment in this action packed series.
Jaz and her team find themselves trying to save the Space Program. She also finds herself with some extra company who makes their mission even more difficult. All of my favorites are around to take part in the action including Cole, Cassandra, Raul, Vayl and Bergman. He was my favorite in this book, we really see him start to come out of his shell. I love the new side of him and I am continually impressed with his inventions. Big props to Rardin for her latest idea, I want one for myself. As in the other books, the team dynamic made the story interesting, funny, and even emotional at times.
Although the plot seemed slower than previous books, a lot happened. This book seemed to be a turning point in the series. There were plenty of fight scenes with high-tech weapons, magic from Cassandra and her Enkyklios, and wit from Cole. The end had a smooth finish, but definitely left the reader itching for more. For any new readers, I highly recommend going in order. The characters have developed so much at this point that you need to know their history.
The cons...I have two small issues with this book. I am a devout Jaz Parks fan but this one did not hold my attention as well as the others. I am not a huge fan of Science Fiction. I love the vamps, witches, and all the paranormal creatures but aliens and mutant larvae are close to the edge for me. That being said, little green men did not come down from Mars, I still enjoyed the story. Secondly, I kept forgetting what mission they were trying to preform. There were so many subplots that were much more interesting.
Overall, I am a huge fan of the Jaz Parks series and I do recommend this series to new readers, especially if you like urban dark fantasy. If you are already a Jaz fan, you need to read this book because the there are some huge events that I believe will shape the rest of the series.
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