Customer Reviews

Once Bitten (Zebra Debut)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Once Bitten by Clare Willis
Paranormal Romance- Dec. 1st, 2009
5 stars

Fantastic Refreshing New Vampire Romance Mystery!!!

This book was fabulous from start to end. I truly was hooked from the first couple of pages.

I often tend to skim a few of the vampire books just because they often become to cliché as the story progresses. However, Once Bitten takes on an entirely different approach to the world of vampires. The story introduces the reader to an assortment of characters who are classified as wannabe vampires or the actual real thing. But the fun part is guessing who is what and how does any of this relate to the matter at hand. The writer does an excellent job in creating a mystery full of twists and excitement. The romance element added the extra topping to a wonderful fun read!!!

The characters were a pure delight. I loved Steve's character, he really added a great sense of humor to the storyline. Nicolai's character was also fascinating, he gave the really interesting historical and knowledge element to the novel.

I actually work in San Francisco near the Bay Bridge. I really thought the writer did a fantastic job with the scenery layout and description, it was very accurate. I can only hope this is only the beginning of a new series. I would love to read more about Angie and Eric in future upcoming books. There is a lot that could be discussed and elaborated into further details for a potential series. Do not miss this book!

Reviewed by Monica from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

A good read. Plot, characters that have substance and enough pages to be worth the money. Not the great American Novel, but a book that shows the writing talent of the author. Let's face it, vampire books are for entertainment only, and this book fills the requirment at a higher level of skill than most. I look forward to seeing even better efforts from this author.

Let me say that I was extremely interested in this book after reading the reviews. I love vampires and books that flirt with the supernatural. This book may be okay if you dont know anything about vampire lore and know nothing about business or common sense. The information about vampire culture was probably obtained from 5 minutes spent researching wikipedia. There is nothing new or interesting and certainly no depth or thought. The main character is painfully naive, boring and erratic. I dont know Clare Willis but Im truly stumped at how she managed to take an amazing subject and make it dull.

This book is a light, frolicking romp set in San Francisco. It is a perfect poolside read, or a good book to grab on a rainy day. The colorful characters roll through a fun plot. There are no big twists or surprises, but you can't help but be entertained. I hope Clare Willis continues writing. This is a promising debut.

The copyright on this book is a year after the four book Twilight series was completed, and reads like a rip off of that series.

1. a vampire who can read minds
2. a vampire who thinks his soul is damned
3. a vampire who decides to leave to protect his human woman
4. humans wearing TOPAZ contacts to try and have golden vampire eyes
5. a heroine who asks him to change her
6. a vampire who just bought a shiny new motorcycle
7. a vampire who only feeds on bad guys as a matter of principle
8. a vampire with beautiful copper colored hair
9. a hospital scene with the injured woman and her vampire by her side
10. a vampire whose scent is designed to lure you in.

The only thing left out was a ballet studio.

When Angie McCaffrey's boss goes missing, she's concerned, naturally, but she's also happy to take the lead on the advertising accounts she's worked so hard on. Angie's most unusual client is Macabre Factor, a business that carters to people living the "vampire lifestyle." If the account wasn't odd enough, her clients' friend, Eric Taylor, would tip the scales. Eric is the stuff straight out of fantasies: handsome and alluring. He also happens to have some strangely sharp teeth...

Then Angie's boss turns up dead and exsanguinated and Angie has to figure out if the man she's swiftly falling for is as perfect as he seems or if he's a murderer whose next victim may be Angie.

Clare Willis takes a bite out of vampire lore with Once Bitten. It's a fast-paced, entertaining tale with a very likeable heroine. Angie is a well-developed character whose kindness and integrity make her easy to become attached to. While I enjoyed reading her story, I was sad to find the romance a bit lacking. Eric seemed like a fascinating hero, but Ms. Willis doesn't give readers a chance to really know him. I saw no reason for he and Angie to fall in love with one another and their declarations of love seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, I found Ms. Willis's writing style to be charming and her obvious affection for the city of San Francisco matches my own. Once Bitten is Ms. Willis's debut book and I look forward to seeing what her imagination conjures up next.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

For those looking for something truly original in vampire stories one should try this story. Didn't have my usual ending that I like in vampire books but that might change if the writer continues the series like she would like to do. The story deals with a woman name Angie who doing unusual customer research for the mysterious client Eric Taylor and his press on fangs clients of a goth vampire club When her boss Lucy goes from merely missing to dead the book switches from your vampire love story to that of a true mystery novel. The read is bombarted with a series of suspects that leave one trying to race against time with the writer on who solves the murder first.

As a novice to vampire theme books, I opened the cover of "Once Bitten"
with trepidation. I rapidly discovered, however, that yes there is a possible
vampire, but that yes there is more. This is a fast paced romantic mystery as
well, featuring Angie McCaffrey, an inquisitive, down to earth heroine,
Eric, her hot love interest, and Steve, her appealing shoulder to lean on
friend. Then there are the mysteries surrounding the various dead and bloodless
bodies of people Angie knows, the questionable actions of big business and ad
agencies, the shocking acts in underground private nightclubs, and the
equally shocking underground trafficking of women into the sex trade. What the
heck is happening? I found myself racing to finish the story, to discover who
the perpetrator was and the reasons for these odd deaths. Is it all Eric's
fault?

As a San Francisco fan, I also enjoyed the fact that Clare Willis lets her
home town, her "Beloved San Francisco," shine. The reader views the city
through the plot's "tour" of the place, and at Clare's website in the "City
Scenes" section, one can learn more by following Angie's route from Downtown
to Fisherman's Wharf and beyond.

In San Francisco advertising executive Angie McCaffrey works the Macabre Factor account when her boss Lucy Weston vanishes. Macabre Factor is a start up cosmetics firm offering fangs to press onto teeth that allegedly make mortals look like vampires. When Lucy is found dead, the cops believe someone from one of the vampire clubs that frequent the city killed her.

At one of the vampire clubs that Angie has begun to visit to get a better handle on the customers' needs for the client, she meets Eric Taylor. They are attracted to one another, but she heard he was seeing Lucy just before she disappeared. As Angie falls in love she begins to believe her soul mate has no soul and is a for real blood sucker who if true may make her his next victim.

Once Bitten is a fine urban romantic fantasy in which the strong mysteries of Lucy's disappearance and what species Eric is propel the fun plot more so than the anemic romance. Angie is a strong lead protagonist who holds the subplots together as she walks the streets of San Francisco she must choose whether she can trust her life and soul to Eric or is he the one who will destroy both?

Harriet Klausner

Entertaining, but could have been a bit juicier. Time for adult vampire fun. After all, they are by far the sexiest monsters of all.
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