Customer Reviews

Crimson City

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ever wish someone would write a romance where the heroine kicked ass and got her ass kicked as well every now and again? I don't know about you, but I am not impressed with characters who never feel pain. Fleur feels pain. She gets it in spades in this book. In the heart because of past decisions and present company. In the body when she learns that her training needs to be stepped up a bit after she almost loses her life to a mech.

In this first book of the Crimson City series, you are introduced to the idea of an alternative Los Angeles where demons, werewolves, and vampires exist along side of humans. There is ethnic prejudice galore. For me, Maverick makes a good case of how racial stereotyping makes us look.

If you enjoy this series, I highly recommend the 2176 series that Liz Maverick and Patti O'Shea both participated in. Well done futuristic romances that feature the kind of heroine I like.

I just finished Crimson City in once sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it as a fantasy/sci-fi adventure. But as a romance it was a bit weak.

Pros:
Liz Maverick has created an alternate reality where Vampires, Werewolves, Humans, and maybe even Demons exist together. (I hope to find out more about the Demons in Cyd's story.) There's a hint of a watered down cyber punk feel to the book and the world Maverick created is interesting enough that I can't wait to read what the other authors in the series do with it.

Cons:
As a Romance the hero and heroine were a bit thin for my taste. I liked what I knew about them, but they were not fleshed out and actions they took in the story line didn't have the consequences that we were primed to expect. (I'd be more specific but don't want to give away a plot point.) I know that because it is a romance, things need to end happily ever after, that's one of the main reasons I read romances, but Maverick could have altered the story line a bit to make the conclusion more believable. Honestly, I found myself more interested in Marius' story than I was in the hero, Dain's, story.

Conclusion
Maverick set up interesting characters for future books in the series that I hope to meet again and it is a great sci-fi/fantasy, but not necessarily a great romance with sci-fi/fantasy elements.

first of all I'd like to say I disagree with some of the reviews. I am a big fan of paranormal romance, i think it's a great genre. However, I think some of them focus to much at times on the hero's great ass or incredible pecs and get away from the human interaction. Dark-Hunter and Anita Blake novels can sometimes do this, and it's annoying because they hit the mark when they focus on the story.

I liked this book for a lot of different reasons. First, the characters weren't perfect, the heroine especially. It would have been pretty stupid if Fleur would have been this bad ass with all the answers. In the real world going through a bunch of drills doesn't give you the experience you need to lead. And politics is all about being cautious and learning to pick your fights.

Second, I think that the author did a good job with Dain. In a way, he was almost an innocent. His world was simple and concrete, and in the end he was only able to re-align himself when he switched one set of simple truths for another. It makes sense if he had no memory that he wouldn't have all of the complex issues tormented heroes normally have. He was not a complex person to the bone.

That said, I'll finish by saying that I read Sins of the Night(the latest Kenyon dark-hunter)the day before this one, and this book was better. The story wasn't propelled by two characters trying to figure out how to get in the sack, and the story didn't get weighed down by science fiction jargon or difficult story lines.

My only hope is that the other authors hold true to the series and don't mess things up. Also, I hope that the author tries to finish the Marius/Jill story. And what really happened to Cyd?

Try this book. The story is interesting and it has some great dialogue. This is a series to watch for.

In the city formerly known as Los Angeles, the vampires and werewolves finally brought their epic battle public, turning the streets red with the blood from humans, "fangs" and "dogs". Now there is a tentative treaty between the three factions: the vampires live in skyscrapers occupying the sky, the humans live on the ground where they have always been and the werewolves move in under the city. Suddenly LA is the CRIMSON CITY.

With the sudden and violent death of her half-brothers by a Mech - a creature that was created by the humans but shouldn't exist, Fleur Dumont swiftly becomes the head of her people: the primary vampires, or "fangs" as they are called by the humans. This is a duty she hasn't been trained for and therefore all she can do is prove she is worthy of leading the vampires; whether it is in continued peace or into war with the humans, rests on her shoulders.

Dain Reston is an intelligence officer in B-Ops. He has no memory past waking up in the hospital, his arms burnt and finding out his beloved wife is dead at the hands of the "fangs". So he beats the streets every night with his equally emotionally unstable partner Cydney monitoring the tension levels between the three groups. For several days the city has been quiet until a curious blip appears on their police scanner heading for the Dumont Towers. Going in that direction, they arrive just in time to have a very angry vampire land on the hood of their vehicle.

With the peace treaty on the brink of disintegrating, Dain and Fleur work together in order to find out who ordered the Mech. With vampires getting killed, humans disappearing and the evidence inconclusive, time is running out because the humans have adopted the attack first attitude.

Starting another multi author series, Liz Maverick doesn't disappoint. CRIMSON CITY is full of action and intrigue. I really enjoyed her twist on the vampire, especially having them live high in the sky. There is enough politics introduced in the beginning to bog down the brain, however, everything is cleared up and clarified later. I also am confused by Dains past, but the discrepancies turn the story into a fantastic action romance.

Once fancying herself in love, Fleur broke one of the primary rules of the vampire: Never turn a human. It cost her the ability to get trained to rightfully lead her people instead of her half-brothers. So when she is suddenly dealing with Dain, the epitome of everything that could draw her to a man, she is out of her league on every level: dealing with the "dogs", her wardrobe, struggling with maintaining control of the vampires and now her desires to bite another human. It is fascinating to watch her grow from a pampered princess into a grown woman, er vampiress, in full control.

Dain: he is a mystery (even to himself). He is strong, fearless and very loyal, but he has no past and feels horrible guilt because he cannot remember is own wife who he evidentially loved more than anything else. But now he must deal with a vampire and he is finding that they are broken into factions themselves. His loyalties are now divided. Plus, his own boss has cut his top-level security and he no longer has access to the Mech facility.

CRIMSON CITY is an excellent book. I can hardly wait to see what the other authors have in store for this series!

This book is not so much romance as it is paranormal (vamps & weres) suspense. The romantic relationship between the leads was not particularly potent, except for a scene in which Dain asks Fleur to do something huge for him. The reader who saw Marius' potential relationship as more compelling is probably right.

Still as a vamp book and as suspense, it's great. This book kept my interest throughout, and I'm eager to read the next installment of the series. Don't expect a great romance; you won't get it here. But if you like vamp stories and suspense, this will maintain your interest.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I'm not a big romance reader, either. This is a fantasy based in the future. In this new world vampires and werewolves live among humans, but not very comfortably. The vampires mostly live in luxary in big sky rise buildings. The werewolves live in poverty in underground tunnels. The humas live somewhere in between. When a human special forces man and the new head of the vampires meet, there is instant attraction. But don't think this is a romance book. The romance takes a second burner to the action and mystery they have to solve.

I liked it alot. I even read it in one sitting and went out to buy the second in this series. Although, it is written by a different author (Liu).

I really enjoyed this book. The whole series is a great concept.
I only have one complaint about this book. I love the characters, there just was very little sex.
The plot is great, I don't read romances just for the steamy scenes, but this book could've used more of them.

This is a great intro to the series though. I liked the female lead, she went through alot of changes. I love a strong female character and she was definitely the focal point(in my opinion).

I've heard many compare this series to Underworld, and having not read any of the rest of the series (yet) I can't speak for it as a whole. As a stand alone book, however, this one can't be compared. The werewolves are barely mentioned in this book.

While I very much like the idea of Crimson City, a futuristic LA where the three races (vampires, humans & werewolves) must live in a delicate symbiosis, I feel it left something to be desired. For a novel set in a futuristic society/world this book greatly lacked in the descriptive scene setting a look for in a book. What few descriptions I got mostly concerned the clothing of Fleur, the heroine, and the same redundant descriptions of the state of her hair. I would have liked to know more about the physical state of the city, the weather, the true scene setting.

As far as the romance is concerned it was predictable, seriously lacking in the Romeo and Juliet-like qualities I was lead to believe would be in play. In the end it felt as if this was nothing more than a surface attempt at riding the coat-tails of some stronger grounded futuristic romances.

I will be reading the full series to give it a chance, it is not unenjoyable, just predictable and missing one of the elements of futurism I feel is needed to establish a good setting for a full series.

This was my first venture into the paranormal romance genre. I actually picked up book 3 of this series without knowing that A)it was a series and B)it was a paranormal romance. Turns out I enjoy the genre, or at least, I enjoyed this particular book quite a bit. This is book 1 of the series, by the way.

Los Angeles is no longer what it used to be. The world has changed, and the races have separated, but we are not talking about blacks and whites, we are talking about humans, vampires and werewolves. Fleur Dumont is a vampire, and a member of one of the elite vampire families. Dain Reston is human, and one of the B-Ops (Battlefield Operations) officers, who try to maintain the peace between the races. When someone is unexpectedly killed, and rumors start flying that a race war is about to begin, things get interesting.

This novel is full of action and mystery, as well as its fair share of angst and romance. I think I actually enjoyed the action and mystery part more than anything else, but the "Romeo and Juliet" love affair was also fun to see develop and grow.

Well written, original and creative, Liz Maverick easily places the reader in this world where anything goes. I am intrigued to find out more about this world, and will be reading the rest of the series.

Courtesy of Love Romances

Crimson City by Liz Maverick kicks off what is sure to be a wonderful paranormal action adventure series.

Once in the not too distant past, the city of Los Angeles, now known as the Crimson City, was totally different. Like most cities the humans of the world ruled it. Now it is a battleground between vampires and werewolves, with humans being the unfortunates caught in the middle.

The vampires are in charge now and the extravagance of their way of life high above in the skyscrapers seems to reaffirm this. Until the day that a mech, part human and part mechanical robot, breaks into their lair and destroys the Dumont men, the leaders of the vampire community, while their sister, Fleur watches in horror. She is spared, presumably due to the fact she is the least likely candidate to take over leadership as a result of a bad decision she made years ago.

Dain Reston, human police officer in the Crimson City and his partner Cyd are the first on the scene, totally unprepared for what was to follow. In the lovely face of Fleur, he is confronted with the horrors of his past and the brutal death of his late wife. After the war between the species, an uneasy truce was developed between all three yet now it appears to have been broken. Dain and Fleur must now put their respective animosities for the other kinds aside so as to work together to discover who is behind this attack and those to follow. Neither expected that in the midst of such horrors a love would grow between them... a love that would challenge all they know and believe.

Crimson City is an innovative new series that will intrigue fans of paranormal romance, science fiction/fantasy and romantic suspense. The world building that begins with this, the first in the planned four-book series, is brilliantly done and easily believable. Readers will also pick up on some similarities between this book and the movie Underworld. There are some comparable ideas between the two, but this tale is still wonderfully original in its delivery.

The plot drives on powerfully, drawing readers in its wake as they sit on the edge of their seats waiting for what will come next. Some shocking plot twists are revealed that will make one eagerly anticipate future books. Yet there are enough mysteries still kept hidden, which are obviously meant to carry over into the remaining three books of the Crimson City series.

All of the characters found on these pages are complex individuals with their own faults and flaws. Dain is tortured by the death of the wife he can't quite remember on his own. Fleur still suffers the aftereffects of a heat-of-the-moment decision she made several years ago. Her kind looks down on her for those mistakes and she is forced to prove herself to be the strong independent woman she is. Fleur and Dain are drawn to each other from the moment they meet, in spite of their differences and their personal biases. How they overcome their past mistakes is touching to share and one will feel for them through it all.

Secondary characters add their own touches to the story in their diversity. Cyd is tormented by what she has seen and done in the past, causing her to seek respite in not necessarily the best of ways. The friendship she and Dain share adds to the plot and is expected to possibly be played out in future books. Though the werewolves play a lesser role in this book, it is evident they are a force to be reckoned with as well and readers will look forward to future books in the series from their perspective. There is a touch of mystery found through some of the other secondary characters that throw a wrench in to the works when some of their secrets are revealed.

In short, if one wants a refreshingly unique look at the worlds of vampires and werewolves with some paranormal beings thrown in to the mix, then Crimson City by Liz Maverick is sure to deliver.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2005. All rights reserved.