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134 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the title and cover suggest, May 20, 2007
Honestly, when "Succubus Blues" arrived on my review stack, I was worried. It looked good, but it also raised a few warning flags; this could, I thought, be another lascivious sex romp disguised as urban fantasy/horror, proving little more than an excuse to have demons and other supernatural creatures get naked and sweaty with lustful mortals.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find relatively little graphic sex -- apart from a few torrid scenes here and there, and one opening encounter that will bring joy and hope to basement-dwelling ubergeeks everywhere. "Succubus Blues" is a very good novel, featuring (obviously) an "alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men." In exchange for their souls, of course, but Georginia Kincaid apparently makes that little trade quite worthwhile in her Seattle stomping grounds.
Georgina's life is troubled, because she can get all the sex she wants but love and romance are largely denied her. Carnal acts -- even really good kisses -- steal life force away, and while Georgina is immortal, it doesn't serve well to deplete and kill the men she loves. So she leads an emotionally vacant life, supplementing her nocturnal duties with a more mundane job as an assistant bookstore manager, hanging out when time allows with a couple of vampire pals, a demon or two and even the occasional angel. Technically, succubi are evil, but Georgina doesn't get too involved with the politics of her job.
But then someone starts killing the people around her, and Georgina finds bigger issues to deal with than romance. Is it an amateur vampire slayer, inspired by the exploits of a popular TV heroine, or is something more sinister at work? And what's a poor succubus to do when the doors of both Heaven and Hell close on her cries for assistance?
Figures that Georgina would suddenly find, not one, but two romantic possibilities in her life.
"Succubus Blues" is a damn fine first book, and Mead can be proud to make such a bold stride into the market. Her protagonist is sexy, appealing, smart and resourceful, but amped-up sensuality isn't much use against the thing stalking the streets of Seattle.
The book is hardly action-packed; Mead moves the story along slowly, spending more time on characters than plot, so adrenaline junkies may be bored. That's a shame, because the characters are extremely well-developed, and the action she provides is certainly worth the wait. Sexaholics may want to avoid this one, too; the sex in this book is mostly of the "tease and titillate" variety, not the graphic stuff you'd expect if Georgina's cleavage-baring dress on the cover was cut just a little lower. The denouement, while not too hard to spot well in advance, is still grist for one good read with plenty left over for a sequel.
by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I am eating my words and they taste SCRUMPTIOUS!, April 16, 2007
Even when people whose opinions I respected told me I'd like "Succubus Blues", I couldn't quite get past the title. Then, I had a few minutes to spare at my local bookstore while my husband perused the computer books and I picked the book up.
I was laughing in the first chapter and of course Georgina went home with me. Georgina Kinkaid, the protagonist, is a succubus and has been since ancient Greece. She's surprisingly decent for someone who drinks the life essence of her lovers to stay alive.
For starters, Georgina doesn't pick men who she considers nice. She buys her own flowers and chocolates and wishes sometimes for a child and someone to love.
Okay, and she works at a bookstore--not the first occupation I'd thought she'd have. When her favorite author shows up at the Emerald, the Seattle based bookstore she works at, she's elated. She's so elated, she tells a customer at the store's coffee shop been a fan forever and reads only 5 pps of his books per day--because they come out so frequently. Little does she know that customer is the author himself.
Next, she tries to beg off of a 'date' with her boss and gets involved with handsome Roman, a teacher of linguistics.
Two good men at once and she won't allow herself either because being with them could substantially shorten their lives.
Then, someone starts killing the immortals in the area. First a vampire who Georgina had problems with--then, an angel, who no one thought could be killed.
This isn't precisely what I'd term an action-filled thriller, but Ms. Mead keeps reader interest by bonding her readers to a sympathetic character and embedding some pretty good hooks at the end of chapters.
If you're looking for hard erotica, "Succubus Blues" is probably not for you. There are two sex scenes and the rest is titillation.
The writing is good. Ms. Mead really does know how to create characters who come alive on the page. Her characterization of Seth, the shy author, seems so endearing and spot on and Georgina, who no longer plays by the devil's rules, is someone you can like despite her occupation.
Ms. Mead's 'voice' is good. She's got a lot of humor in her writing and can really depict interactions like you were there.
The writing is also economical. For the most part, Ms. Mead knows when to show and when to just simply tell and get on with the story. This skill helps the reader keep moving without long narrative passages that make you lose interest.
The bad is very little. I wish I had seen more of Seattle in the writing. We read about the U District and Queen Anne, but we really don't see it--setting is a critical part of any novel. I was able to fill in the blanks with my own images because I lived in Portland, OR and visited Seattle, but other readers could not and really should have a glimpse at the Emerald City.
Also, when I read there were killings, I actually expected a bit more action in the book. Yes, there were two pretty strong action sequences near the end, but for the most part, Georgina is on the periphery. If Ms. Mead plans to create more of a thriller this next time, she may want to have Georgina discover the body(ies) at the first of the book and be more into the gore.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
well written but not engaging, December 30, 2010
The advantage to this book is that it reads well. Given what routinely receives high review ratings on amazon.com, this is saying something. The disadvantage, however, is that I could not care about the characters. The fundamental disconnect between the essence of the main character (as an entity that feeds off sexual energy) and the upstanding way her inner dialogue and choices are presented never gets resolved. The angel's comments and behavior give weight to her (evolving?) morality but were too oblique to reveal much and seemed like teasers for future development. Maybe this disconnect could have worked by going more deeply into the character, but instead the author keeps it light. While the breezy approach is superficially engaging and momentarily entertaining, it does not make the characters real, and it especially did not explain how the bargain struck at the story's climax authentically represented that internal struggle. Instead, the bargain seemed a stock device to enable the continuation of the story as a series. When such a major component of the plot seems more like an author's move than the main character's, the whole thing folds like a house of cards, at least for me. Ultimately, given the fine bones of this creation, I wanted much much more than the author delivered.
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