Dead Sexy [Hardcover]

Amanda Ashley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2007

suspense

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. (2007)
• ISBN-10: 0739479172
• ISBN-13: 978-0739479179
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,327,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Less Than Mediocre, February 10, 2007

By 

mayfayre "mayfayre" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dead Sexy (Mass Market Paperback)

For those of you who read romantic vampire fiction, you know that lately the books have been either very good or very bad. This is one of those in the very bad category. It tries to ride of the coattails of Laurell K. Hamilton's early Anita Blake series books by having the heroine (Regan) be an ex-vampire hunter who catches the fancy of the vampire Master of the City (Joaquin). The setting is the USA sometime in the future, a time when, we're told, colonies exist on other planets. Regan is now out of a job because vampires have been declared an endangered species and are restricted to specific urban enclaves. Humans are being brutally murdered in the park in the vampire enclave and the police are stumped.

Where to start, where to start...

This universe is supposed to be some future America, and given the rapid changes that have occurred in our own culture as a result of the space program to-date, it seems that this universe's sole nod to the future is that they use "credits" for money, TV is know as the "Satellite Screen", and Regan has a "robot coffee maker" (I kid you not) in her home. Otherwise, the setting could be - oh, I don't know - America 2007? The author couldn't even be bothered, it seems, create a coherent future universe (much less unique terminology) for her story setting. If you are going to set a story in a future universe, at least make it a believable one; other authors seem to have no difficulty doing that.

Now, we have the character of Regan herself. She's out of a job because of the change in the status of the vampires, but we're told that in the past she was an active vampire hunter and has killed them, using the usual extreme prejudice ways. We are given a facile reason why she became a vampire hunter (the usual avenging a dead friend) but not much more than that. She is also now a consultant on vampire crimes for the police (Oh, Anita!). However, whenever Regan sees blood, especially when she sees vampires drinking the synthetic blood they now survive on, she feels her "bile rising". She is called in to consult on a number of murders (I was already losing track of the number of them) that were killed exactly the same way - throat slashed, certain organs removed. As far as I could tell, there was absolutely no reason for her to be called in, because she provided no information, clues, what-have-you, whatsoever to the police. She came, she looked, she left. What was the point of any of that? I still don't know. The author couldn't seem to decide if she wanted Regan to be a kick-@ss or fragile. As a result, her character ping-ponged all over the emotional spectrum.

Then there is the push-pull of her relationship with Joaquin, the MOTC. Of course, she's strongly attracted to him, of course she's horrified by her attraction, of course he loves her immediately, of course there's a normal human guy who's also attracted to her but who's much further down on her Lust-O-Meter. But it's all superficial; there is no real wrestling with her conscience about the relationship - it's more of an "eek, what am I doing lusting over a vampire" kind of thing. When Regan worries, for example, if Joaquin (currently spending the day under the motel bed to avoid the sun) is going to use some "special vampire vision" to see her "through the bedspread" as she undresses for bed, you've got to wonder if the author has forgotten who her character is supposed to be and has confused her with a 12-year old girl. For a person who is supposed to be an expert on vampires, she shows very little intellectual curiosity about them, nor does her attitude evolve in any logical fashion.

As if there wasn't enough mishmash in this book, we also have vengeful werewolves, a Native American shaman, and, oh yes, the Lakota nation which has been granted full nation status and given the Badlands as their sovereign territory, not to mention a werewolf enclave in Romania. I'm still wondering why a storekeeper warned Regan and Joaquin to stay away from the Lakota lands, apparently completely ignoring the fact that Joaquin (an ancient Apache vampire (insert an eye-roll here)) was described as copper-skinned, dark-eyed, and with long black hair. Now to me, if I were the storekeeper, I would have found out first if Joaquin was, just perhaps, Native American himself first.

Now, you may say that I am too harsh in this review, that is is meant as just a light read, but I take exception to an author who seemingly just phones in a book, one that seems to have been assembled by tossing ideas into a hat and pulling out a handful of them. I take exception to a flaming romance between people who have no idea or understanding of who the other actually is. I take exception to paying good money for this book, and for the time I wasted reading it, hoping that something would redeem it.

If you absolutely must read this book, buy it used. Hopefully the author's other books are better than this, but this is one reader who won't be wasting her time with them. There are just way too many better books out there, by authors who respect the readers' intelligence in the same fashion we're supposed to respect theirs.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wasted, February 15, 2007

By 

Catherine Ch. "a book a day" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Sexy (Mass Market Paperback)

What is going on with the paranormal/vampire romance writers these days? Are they all dried up and time to move on? Another big big big disappointment yet again and right after the big one from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dream Hunter too. I had to force myself to finish Dead Sexy with a pot of coffee. I felt as if I was reading a text book. Why did I force myself to finish this? Because I don't want to have to pick it up again and finish it later. Like the previous reviewer, the chemistry was just so flat. Romance in the paranormal world is suppose to be earth shaking with fireworks and explosives. You see none of that in this. I don't mean I want to read page after pages of sex but I at least want to see some romance and how love was develope between the hero and heroine. As for the storyline, I felt as if I missed something. As if there was suppose to be a story before this that explain things. I even thought I skipped a book. I love Amanda Ashley's book, everyone of them before this one. I never felt so bored before with the others. Come on Mrs. Ashley, what happen?

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Poor Excuse for a Vampire Novel, February 14, 2007

By 

Traci King (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Sexy (Mass Market Paperback)

I completely agree with MayFayre, so I will try not to repeat. I will add that Regan is a virgin. There are virtually no sex scenes in this book and what little action there is is interrupted over and over again so you can predict the outcome of each attempt, until the end where the joining falls flat. The reason for the lack of heat is that Regan detests vampires for one and she is saving herself for her husband, so her virginity will be her gift to him. How touching. I am not condemning the "wait until you find the right one" attitude, but that is not why I read vampire romances. I would hope a worldly vampire would be attracted to a woman (not a girl) who will fire up his and the reader's blood (pardon the pun) and steam up the windows. Why else am I interested in these books. This one has certainly no excitement, no mystery or any other qualities that could make this worth reading, so why not redeem it with hot steamy sex. Guess the writer didn't want to bother to have to think too much about any of this story and it shows. I would not purchase this book, new, used or even borrowed from the library unless you want to waste your time. Life is short and each read should be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. Save your time and money and read Lindsay Sands, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Angela Knight, Robin Popp, etc., but stay away from Laurel Hamilton!