Customer Reviews

Succubus Heat (Georgina Kincaid, Book 4)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the fourth in the Georgina Kincaid series. She is a succubus, prowling the streets of Seattle, sucking the life out of men with her intimacies with them. This story builds on the three prior novels, reintroducing characters like Roman (her relationship with him in an earlier work ended badly, to put it mildly).

The major plot twist here is that the boss (a demon, Jerome) in the Seattle region disappears. The power of immortals (vampires, imps, and succubae) also disappears. They are immortal, but do not have their powers. If Jerome can't be found, then a new boss will need to be selected. Part of the driving force of this book is the dynamics of those who want to take over; indeed, ambition has led to something of a coup d'état.

Georgina, in an improbable alliance with her former boyfriend, Seth Mortenson (the dilemma that they faced--they could not be intimate without her slowly draining him of his life force), sets out to find Jerome. Adding to the dynamics of the work is that after their breakup, Seth began dating one of Georgina's best friends, Maddie (you need a scorecard to keep the players straight if you haven't read earlier works in this series; one piece of advice--read some of the earlier volumes to understand context).

There are the poignant moments between Seth and Georgina; now, they can be intimate without damage to him as she has lost her powers. But--there is also the knowledge that this is only for the short term and that they are both betraying Maddie.

The book ends with some unresolved tensions that promise to animate future volumes in this series. All in all, another fine entry in the series by Richelle Mead.

In Georgina's fourth outing Mead continues the heartrending tone that initiated by it's predecessor, Succubus Dreams. Our heroine is deep in a funk and from page one it seems like the hits just keep coming for her. Don't take that as a negative though. This installment provides everything that readers have come to expect and love from Mead, and some. Heat doesn't lack for any of the love, passion, mystery and action that made the first three novels so gripping. But for each bit of those elements, the pain is ratcheted up about three times more.

With the brief reprieve from her soul-sucking abilities, Georgina is faced with the opportunity to partake of everything we've seen her long for - only it may be too little, too late. Bittersweet the novel may be, it's pervasive sadness only lends to make the story that much more beautiful.

The mystery part of the plot blends in well with the romance here too. It's evenly paced and well thought out. It also serves as mechanism to better illustrate the complexity of each player involved in the story. Major characters and bit players alike are all very nuanced and add to the impression that, despite this being a story about the preternatural, this is all very real. I know it sounds cliche but I laughed, I cried. I definitely cried.

Consequences seems to be the theme of this one. Almost every party involved is faced with a decision of their own to make, and for each one the outcome is felt by all. There are a few surprises in-store and, for those concerned, the issues of Georgina's contract and her prophetic dreams from Nyx are each addressed.

Fans, you won't be disappointed. Heartbroken sure, but in that respect you're no better off than Georgina.

I've now read two of the "Succubus" series, and I won't be reading any others. I found the first one tedious, despite the soft porn (a bit more than even I expected, despite knowing the subject is a succubus). I tried another one, however, as I found the angel character interesting -- kind of reminded me of Alan Rickman in "Dogma." But by the end of the second book I'd had it with everything else: the protagonist, the prose, the plot. I generally gravitate towards series and am happy when there are several in a set. But I won't be buying anything else by Richelle Mead.

This book reminds you, not so discretely, why it's not a Young Adult novel.

Georgina has her succubus superpowers of shapeshifting and life draining taken away when Jerome is summoned and captured, leaving all of Seattle's hellish to become "normal." Vampires in the sun, Imps wandering around, Succubi not stealing life energy... thoughts of what it could finally be like with Seth float around in her fantasy world.

But he's with Maggie.

Georgina's world is turned upside down. She is played by demons in different areas all vying for Seattle. She's a pawn. She has to get Jerome back or her world will be gone. Another will rule over her demonic posse. Or she may even be shipped off elsewhere.

What happens though to a succubi when she's human? Especially one who cheats behind her boyfriends back and craves more, more, more, more, more....

Some reviewers aren't so sure this book works in the series, but I think it opens up so many possibilities and is extremely clever. Once again, I couldn't put it down. The twists are perfect. Georgina's angst is brilliantly composed. Questions get answered in this book, but they aren't always what she wants. You'll be left wanting more too!

If you love Georgina, you'll love this next instalment.

Book 4 in the Succubus series was similar to how Book 2-Succubus on Top flowed. I love Richelle Mead's succubus books but this one turned out to be in a similar style to Succubus on Top. The book spends most of your time getting to a climax that just doesn't deliver. I actually got bored with the book. So there is territory disputes between an Archdemon in Vancouver and Jerome in Washington. Also some geeky satanic cult that is used to divert Georgina's time. Then Jerome disappears and all the minions of hell that are under his authority lose their abilities and become close to human. Come to find out that Jerome has been bound by magick and out pops Jerome's nephilim son to help save the day. Blah, Blah, Blah! I found it to be boring jawing.

Well.

I liked the fourth installment in the Georgina Kincaid series as well as the other ones, though not for the same reasons. I liked the mystery of Jerome's summoning, and although not brilliant, that part was interesting, but while I enjoyed the developing and the conclusion of Seth and Georgina's relationship in the first three books, their "fling" - as G calls it - in this one was incredibly painful and annoying for me to read.

I don't like infidelity, and you would think that a one-thousand-something-year old succubus who cheated on her husband (which lead to her selling her soul to hell and living centuries with the guilt and the sorrow) would know that making her ex-boyfriend (who's still in love with her) cheat on her girlfriend (who's her best friend) by sleeping with him is not a good idea.
And that she would at least remember the simple effect of sin on human soul - as in, cheating on your girlfriend is a bad, bad thing to do that will send you straight to hell, especially if your name is Seth Mortensen.

Anyway, I think Richelle Mead tends to slack off after the first half of a series. It happened with Vampire Academy - which I loved until the fourth book, and then, not so much - and I've noticed that in Georgina's series too. I really hope the last books will be a little more satisfying.

Okay so I love Rochelle Mead's Vamp Academy books and decided to try this series. I never did get into it. :( I really wanted to read more by her but this wasn't for me. If you like the really hot steamy books that are embarrassing to READ then you will love this book. I'm not saying its wrong to like that type of book...its just not for me. And I still think Rochelle Mead is a Fabulous writer! SO if you like explicit books and good writing...you'll love this!

In this book Georgina finds herself investigating mysterious disappearance of her archdemon boss Jerome. While Jerome is away, all his subordinates temporarily lose their supernatural abilities which includes Georgina's life-sucking "curse." Obviously, it opens new opportunities for Seth/Georgina relationship, or does it change anything at all?

"Succubus Heat" is an extremely engaging book, although very dark and sad. I found it very hard to put down and finished it within hours. The only negative about this series is an excruciatingly painful relationship between Georgina and Seth. I just hate seeing them hurt each other over and over again in the name of their undying soul-mate-kind-of- love. Why can't they just be selfish and enjoy each other while they can, disregarding everyone around them? But I guess this torturous love affair is exactly what makes this series so addictive(for me). I'll be anxiously awaiting next installment coming out in March of 2010, but looking back I probably wouldn't have started reading this series until all books were out because ultimately all installments end with a cliffhanger and I hate it.

P.S. I did not think Seth did enough in this book to redeem himself in my eyes. Still disappointed in him

----SPOILERS----Like another reviewer stated, every book I read in the series quickly becomes my favorite, not only in this series but in the VA series as well. Mead has quickly climbed the ranks as one of my favorite authors, she mixes paranormal, romance, and real life together seamlessly. A must read. Some reviewers fail to realize a few key facts, which may be some reasons that they didn't enjoy the series. 1) When Seth slept with Maddie, he and Georgina had just broken up, so therefore it's not cheating. 2) Love is crazy, those who say it's not, must have never been in love. 3) Girls stick with each other. At least most do, if I were in Georgina's place, and my best friend was Maddie, I would want her to be happy even if it meant giving up the man I love (who realistically I can't be with anyways). 4) Carter was the one that Georgina thought was protecting her, not Seth. To me Roman was not sprung onto the reader, I realized he would show up from the moment the matchbook materialized. I personally I don't think he's a sociopath. He just a man (well kinda) that wants to live, and will fight for all means to get there. All in all this was a very satisfying read, it had all my favorite elements, and when I was finished reading I was content, not like with Succubus Dreams, I was in total emotional turmoil during my wait for Succubus Heat. Go Richelle!!! ----- on a side note, don't review books unless you know the facts-----

Georgina has some growing to do. Despite her age, her flaws and her wranglings with her unique situation make it hard for her to figure out how to relate to the human world - and when she does, she's just as likely to mess up as anything else.

I love this about her. It makes her more believable, and gives her character somewhere to go. Mead handles her growth skillfully, giving her room to develop as a character while she goes through her whacky mishaps. I love that things don't always come easily for Georgie, and that she still has some personal demons to sort out - as well as her employers.

Besides - a demon whose hobby is messing with Wikipedia? C'mon. Too fun.