7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy but Unsure, September 10, 2008
This review is from: Necking: A Novel (Paperback)
Necking has a terrific premise--a sleek, young NYC book publicist who specializes in representing undead authors falls in love with the sexy vampire manager of her newest sensation. Lots of wit, tension, and sex ensue, and a side plot of tracking a deadly, sadistic vampire master should round out the story. But yet, Necking is often scattered and missing the depth of emotion that would connect its readers to its characters.
Gia is a very take charge type of human, and Jonathan is the very sexy vampire she finds herself magnetically attracted to. Lola, her werewolf best friend, warns her that she's getting in over her head, but Gia seems unable to help herself. Much of the novel shows the desperate lust these two feel for one another, and Gia's realization that being with Johnny means much more than simply having sex with him. While both seem to grapple with the situation, they do play wonderfully off one another with some great one liners that show the friendship they feel. It is when the story tries to stretch beyond their relationship and encompass a revenge story that the focus is lost and a ho-hum type of feeling comes over the novel.
I liked this book, but it's certainly not particularly riveting. I had big problems with Gia's decision and what she does to her family; surely something else could have happened. I also was very disappointed in the amount of typos I found in this final copy I bought off the shelves; it read too much like an uncorrected proof with lots of misplaced quotation marks, missing words, and sentences that didn't make a whole lot of sense. Whoever edited this one needs a job review because it was very, very distracting for me. So while I liked this one, I'm not sure I'd recommend it beyond my friends who love vampires. Outside of the vamps, it's just a so-so story that really needed a clearer focus.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What a Paranormal Romance Shouldn't Be..., May 11, 2010
My excitement level was pretty high regarding this novel. Grr...look at those nails! Because of my elevated excitement can you feel the disappointment radiating off of this review? The novel tried to be Carrie Bradshaw meets Betsy Vampire Queen, but in the end it just turned out to be dry and had about as much bite as a neutered Pekineses.
REVIEW: The tag line says it all, Dating a Vampire is going to be the death of her. Well you know she ends up dating him, and you know in the end she ends up dead, I guess the question is dead or undead?
Giovanna is a New York publicist who specializes in a unique type of clientele. Vampires, werewolves, even a few aliens. She think she has it all figured out until she finds herself ridiculously attracted to one of her clients managers, who happens to be of the undead variety.
Throughout the pages of the novel, Gia battles the attraction to Johnny, investigates her clients dark past for her and handles up more mundane publicist problems - like an assistant that calls in sick constantly. All in all it is a rather droll account of a woman's slow progression from lust to love (which 40% of it happened before the accounts of the book) and then the usual question any mortal has to ask themselves when dating a vampire - will undead look good on me?
While it did keep me entertained, it really was a nothing-new account of a mortal's dealings with the undead. I really thought the book would be unique, especially when I read the back cover about aliens and fun clients that she has to figure how to get through metal detectors and such...but those tid-bits were really one-liners and there was really no details. Even the drama that was supposed to happen - Gia's dealings with the undead bogey man of epic caliber (you know the vampire that hunts werewolves for sport) well that one ended rather quickly and left me unsatisfied.
Then moving on to the sexiness, this book cover screams sexy PNR, well there is some sex, but it is half described and hinted at. There is a lot of teasing back and forth...but there isn't much of the actual deed. On a sexy rating, this one also fell a bit flat.
Then there was Gia, the main character. She wasn't very believable, or likable. Gia is hot, has the perfect job, smart, has so many friends and acquaintances she knows everyone in New York. Everyone likes her, except of course Johnny's ex-girlfriend (cause she's jealous - but that's ok she is now an undead prostitute skank), she even wins over the mute super-old leader of the group who hasn't liked like anyone for like a 1,000 years. Just rather unbelievable and she came off as shallow and full of herself, but everyone liked her. Come on, everyone has some flaws and I really don't want to read about perfect people.
In essence, while I read it to the conclusion and felt it had potential, in essence I was left dissatisfied and disappointed. It had me thinking of that Lily Allen Song, Not Fair. All the building blocks were there... just didn't make me scream.
Oh wait and speaking of Epilogues! Ridiculous, there was no reason for that epilogue which went into minute details that really were unnecessary. I guess if I would have cared about Johnny and Gia it would have been fun and exciting to read. I guess.
RECOMMENDATIONS: For PNR lovers, but don't expect the usual nookieness. Fans of the Betsy Vampire Queen series, Katie MacAlister books might enjoy. Rated R, they do engage in sex, just not explicit.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute, Funny Vampire Fluff, July 30, 2010
Necking was a pretty enjoyable novel. The author had a different take on the vampire genre which was refreshing.
Gia is a Publicist for a NYC Publishing Company that represents Vampires, werewolves and the occasional alien. This is a cute and funny tale where this human girl falls in love with her client, Bella's vampire cousin/manager, Johnny. They flirt and send silly IMs with vampire jokes back and forth to each other but try to avoid the attraction they feel for one another for obvious reasons. That no longer works for them and eventually they end up together. Things happen and the only way she and johnny can be together is if she is changed. Gia also puts herself in danger by helping Bella find her maker, Daniel. Gia also gets into trouble with her best friend and werewolf, Lola.
All and all this was a fun and fluffy read. It was cute and funny and if you like vampire tales, it's worth a try.
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