Customer Reviews

Succubus Nights

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Seattle based seductress, Georgina Kincaid, is back and she's got more balls in the air than an immortal should be able to juggle.

Author and personal idol, Seth Mortensen and Georgina are falling in love. The problem is, they cannot consummate their relationship without Georgina consuming some of Seth's lifeforce and consequently shortening his life.

Her old friend, Bastien, is in Seattle with an assignment he cannot fail. He must seduce Dana Dailey, radio hostess and right-wing family values lobbyist--or else.

Her co-worker, Doug Sato, has a new drummer in his band and they're taking off like wildfire. Well, everything Doug is doing is taking off like wildfire except when he hits a low--unfortunately, Georgina suspects that someone immortal is causing the problem and she's concerned for her friend's life.

As I stated in the first review for "Succubus Blues," I honestly never thought this would be my type of book. Richelle Mead's got a magic pen and she can pin the 'hooker with the heart of gold' tag on a succubus and make it fit. Georgina is truly likable. She's got ethics for a girl in her profession. For the most part, she only messes with bad guys. The rest of her cast is lively and interesting. I'm fascinated that her boss, the demon Jerome, hangs out in Seattle with the angel, Carter. Quite an unlikely pair.

Ms. Mead juggles more than three separate conflicts with ease and she provides resolution for enough of them to make the book satisfying. This is not a series that has 'to be continued' stamped boldly at the back. Plus, you can read "Succubus on Top" before "Succubus Blues" if you wish. There's enough backstory to explain the characters without being infodump.

I would like to see more worldbuilding in future novels. As primarily a fantasy reader, I am less interested in the romantic aspects of the story than the mythical and fantastical. I do believe Ms. Mead can strike a balance that should make most genre readers happy.

Geogina Kincaid is a succubus with a bumbling girl-next-door charm. She and her crew of demonic allies live in Seattle where they corrupt innocents for their infernal bosses, and she works in a bookstore called Emerald Isle books.

This is the second book in the series, and I found it somewhat weaker than the first. Georgina is a fun character, but I find her personality at times a bit tiresome. Georgina lacks insight into the human condition and seems very inexperienced for someone who has lived as long as she. She gets surprised too often by the quirkiness of the humans, and seems to have no trouble destroying the health and happiness of good mortals to protect her love Seth who is about as interesting as oatmeal.

The subplot involving the evil talk show host didn't interest me. It felt heavy-handed and preachy too me. I also felt Georgina's outrage was a bit strange. Georgina has lived for centuries through eras where women were considered property and prejudice and religion ruled, and yet she seems very modern in her core values and beliefs and very outraged besides to see these values espoused by anyone. I would think someone born centuries past would not be surprised by viewpoints like Dana's. George seemed like a modern young woman confronted by a bigot, rather than a centuries old immortal who likely was a bigot herself at some point in her life (as many ancient people were). I think Georgina should be more worldly and a bit jaded by such things. It is hardly anything new to someone of her lifespan.

The second weakness of the story is the romance. Georgina rhapsodizes about Seth, but the fact of the matter, is Seth bores me to tears. He's not romantic, not hot, and Georgina's longing for him is unexplained and overdone. Seth just types, and acts helpless and seems so bland it is hard to imagine why George is so fascinated... I know I'm not.

The character I expected to like so much- Sebastian, was also a real disappointment. Incubuses should be sexy and Sebastian was arrogant and described as being unattractive. I didn't care about him or his quest to corrupt Dana. Perphaps if he'd been hotter, or had a better personality I might have liked him more. Unfortunately he was unlikeable for some reason and I didn't care about his story arc.

Overall, while I like the authors' style, and she has some amusing ideas ... I don't like Seth at all and since their romance is one of the major themes of the series, I'm probably going to not rush out and buy any more.

I found this book fairly boring and I really missed the interaction with her friends (they remained in the background for much of this book). I wasn't enamored of the male succubus character and am tired of the "we can't have sex" line with the author. I really enjoyed her first book, but this one was one I bought and then donated to the public library (I should have checked it out from there first!)

Plot Summary: After Georgina Kincaid's true nature was revealed to her idol, writer Seth Mortensen, they've begun a tentative relationship. Being a succubus demon kind of sucks, because that means Georgina cannot have sex with the one man who lights her fire, and instead, she must seduce a parade of losers on a continual basis. To say that this is a slight strain on the couple is a gross understatement. Georgina also juggles trying to help a human friend who becomes an addict, and a fellow demon who needs help bringing down a pompous radio talk show host.

I think this series took a bit of a stumble with Succubus on Top. I found myself utterly frustrated with Georgina and Seth's relationship throughout this entire book. What worked the first time around, in Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1), already feels tedious and tired. The entire story is about two people forced to have a platonic relationship when they clearly want more. Okay, that said, Richelle Mead is an excellent story-teller, and even with my repeated frustrations, I still thought this was a good book. I'm just hoping that this same scenario isn't played out over and over in each installment in this series, or I won't last until the end.

I was also scratching my head at Georgina's strange morality. She'll walk over hot coals for some humans, but she'll literally screw others into damnation. I sort of wish she'd embrace the evil, or renounce it, but she straddles the line in ways that confuse me. I haven't bought into this concept that she's a succubus with a heart of gold... yet. The next book might change my mind.

All the other characters, Seth especially, redeemed the story for me. Ms. Mead keeps things interesting, even when I'm pulling on my hair, and I want to know where this ill-fated love story goes. The next book in the series is Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Book 3).

This book is a fun follow-up to the first in the series, _Succubus Blues_. Georgina Kincaid continues to be an engaging narrator, and this book continues the first's breezy mix of humor, sex and the supernatural.

That said, I did have some problems with this book, mainly related to Georgina not "connecting the dots". In the first book, Georgina told us that despite being something of a ditz with a messed-up personal life, she was actually quite smart, that nobody dumb survives several thousand years in style. Of course this could be self-delusion, but events in book one pretty much confirmed her self assessment.

In *this* book, she completely misses two facts that are evident to the the reader almost immediately. The situation involving the band is the more excusable, though she *really* should have made the connections, but the situation involving Dana bears directly on the job she's had for over a thousand years, and is supposedly quite good at. It beggars credulity that an experienced incubus like Bastien couldn't figure out what was going on and having them *both* fail to figure it out is just unbelievable. In addition, it took her an awfully long time to figure out an obvious loophole in her "intimacy" issues with Seth.

Another problem I had with the Dana storyline is that it ignores Georgina's back-story. Here is a woman from the early Christian era who automatically condemns attitudes she herself must have been raised with (and who indeed spent thousands of years living in societies with similar mores) with nary a word about how she came to change her mind. I also didn't care for the author trying to sugarcoat Georgina's betrayal by doling out an unnecessary bit of extenuation.

I can't believe that I am reviewing this book. I am an academic political scientist. But I find Richelle Mead's books in the Georgina Kincaid series irresistible. I read the first in the series because a couple Amazon Friends whose reviews I respect a great deal spoke well of that book. I read and enjoyed--and against all odds--reviewed that work. And when I discovered that a second book had been published, I found myself eager to read it. And, in some ways, I think that this is even better than the captivating introductory volume in this series. For those who might be interested, rest assured that one need not read the first work to enjoy this book. Now, I understand that the third in this series will be published later this year. I look forward to reading that, too. So, at the outset, anyone reading my review knows that I have come to enjoy the series and its characters a whole lot.

Characters? A demon, an angel, vampires, an imp, a god, a succubus (Georgina, the primary character), and an incubus--as well as assorted mortals. This book features two major plot lines. One, the rapid ascent of a band featuring some of Georgina's mortal friends, who are powering their way to the top with artificial means. Two, the assignment of an incubus (a male equivalent to a succubus--hey, I'm learning stuff here!), Bastien, to try to use his charms and ways to discredit Dana, a conservative, moralistic advocate. Bastien has known Georgina for centuries, so they renew their friendship (sometimes in odd ways) here.

A story line continuing from the first book is Georgina's relationship with a human, Seth. Now here is a challenge for a couple who feel warmth for one another. A succubus sucks life energy from partners when there are intimacies. So, how can Georgina and Seth develop a relationship that doesn't shorten his life? One of the charming aspects of this book is the set of workarounds that the two develop at the very end of the volume, as they try to share their developing love (seems pretty far out, given their obvious differences!).

The two plot lines--the band and Dana--are not really tied together, but who cares? Both are played out nicely, and it is intriguing to see Georgina try to "take on" a god. The plot twist with Dana? I'm stunned! For one of the few times in my life, I diagnosed a plot twist--why Bastien was not succeeding.

If you liked the first book in the series, you'll really enjoy this. If you simply enjoy this genre, I think that you will enjoy, too. The author has a nice way of creating characters and situations that seem almost believable (Weird, huh? Imps, vampires, gods, and believable??).

The second adventure of Succubus Georgina Kincaid is even better than the first. Somehow, Richelle Mead has made Georgina likeable, & it is no easy feat to make a character who has sex with random strangers likeable. But Georgina has heart, & she yearns to understand love. The relationship she has with her boyfriend, Seth, is at the center of the book, & I am interested to see how it is resolved.

My one dissatisfaction with this series is that I would like to see the mythology developed a little more than it has been. Many readers of urban fantasy get involved in these series partly because of their interest the paranormal, so it could only be a positive thing to develop Georgina's world.

Succubus Georgina Kincaid is aware of the occupational hazards involved with being a creature who depends on others for her life force. First of all, it's difficult to get close to anyone, besides other immortals, because you never know if you might inadvertently wind up hurting them. Secondly, love is pretty much off limits. And finally, forever is a long time to live without friends, lovers, and a happily ever after. But Georgie manages to make it work, even managing to snag an Award of Achievement for Excellently Exceeding and Surpassing Requisite Succubus Quotas. And all the while maintaining her job as assistant manager of Emerald City books in Seattle, snagging life force from unsuspecting mortals to look good in front of the big boss, and trying to navigate a relationship with Seth Mortenson, Georgina's favorite author and one of the mortals whose life force she has to be careful not to steal.

Succubus on Top is the second book in Richelle Mead's succubus series, following Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1). The first book was focused on Georgina's attempts to navigate life as a succubus while dealing with her own reticence to be a good one. Eventually, in order to keep her relationship with Seth, Georgina agrees to put her best foot forward and be a good little succubus, just as long as she can keep the author in her life. In Succubus on Top, Georgina is living up to her promise--snagging life force at every opportunity, and even helping a visiting incubus with his goal of seducing a conservative radio talk show host. At the same time, Georgina is working on being in a relationship that can't have sexual manifestations, and finding out why her coworkers at Emerald City Books are acting strangely and hanging out with immortals whose signatures Georgie doesn't recognize.

Succubus on Top isn't as outright entertaining as Succubus Blues was, and the pacing is a little slower. I found myself becoming quickly immersed in the first book in this series, and it took a little bit longer for me to become as involved in Succubus on Top. But this book still has the great comedic timing, quick wit, and entertainment value that drew me to Succubus Blues, it just took a bit longer to get there. This book is more about learning Georgina's history, and her good friend Bastien the incubus provides a lot more insight into how Georgina evolved into the stellar succubus she is today. This book is also more focused on Seth and Georgina's romance, and how they manage to work around the restrictions placed on their relationship by her vocation. It's an excellent follow-up to a worthwhile debut, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Book 3).

I had a lot of fun reading this book. Life is never easy, even when you're a succubus!

Georgina's life gets really complicated in this book, what with managing the book store (her boss, and boss' boss are gone most of the time!), keeping up with co-worker and friend Doug's band, dating author Seth, and flirting and playing with newly arrived visiting friend, Bastien.

Bastien is trying to take down a talk-show hostess who is too holier-than-thou, and Georgina has pledged to help him. She gets herself into a lot of trouble by making some funny mistakes while trying to help!

The scenes with Seth are tender and sexy. If she even kisses Seth a little, it will shave years off his life. Seth rolls with the punches well, everybody needs someone like him, friend or significant other. Bastien makes Georgina think -- a lot -- maybe even more than she wants to, about what she's doing to Seth. But Seth and Georgina come up with a very sexy alternative to their problem!!

I enjoyed this book because it was light, sexy, funny, and twisted. I love Richelle's wicked sense of humor and irony. The flashbacks are not too heavy-handed (when the characters are 1,000 years old, sometimes flashback scenes can really drag the story down. This time, they help to make the character more three-dimensional and explain some of her foibles.).

Also I would like to say that if you have not read Richelle's other book, Vampire AcademyVampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1), do so. Even though it is a young adult book, and I am no young adult, I really enjoyed it. It was well written and interesting.


Richelle, I can't wait for book 3, due on October 7th, 2008 (Succubus Dreams). Keep up the good work, I really enjoyed book 2!!!!

The next edition in the Georgina saga is one hell of a ride. It offers much more intrigue and if it's possible, is even sexier than the first. In Succubus on Top, Georgina struggles with her no-sex relationship with author Seth Mortensen, but soon gets distracted when an old friend, Bastien, comes to town. She takes her mind off her woes by aiding the incubus in corrupting a high profile conservative. Though it seems that Bastien has things under control, Georgina soon discovers that things aren't quite what they seem. Definitely a page turner and one you won't want to miss!