Bite Me by Parker Blue Book Review

Bite Me by Parker Blue
(Bell Bridge Books, Paperback)
Rating:

Having decided that half-demon Val is a bad influence on her little human sister, Val's parents kick her out of the house on her 18th birthday. Val's luck isn't all bad though. She befriends a telepathic hellhound and a cute vampire hunter. As a half-demon, Val is specially equipped to hunt vampires so she joins the special forces team and starts to make a life of her own. All that is threatened when the vampires target her little sister.

Bite Me is a captivating first novel. Val is a spunky heroine who is struggling to control her demon side. Tormented by the demon that lives inside her, Val distances herself from the people that she loves. Fantasy fans will enjoy Val's exploits as a vampire hunter and Twilight fans will appreciate Val's inner turmoil. There are, unfortunately, several references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including the tagline on the cover of the book, "Don't call her Buffy. Unless you're ready to meet her inner demon." It was the only bit of pop culture that was in the book and it seemed to detract from the writing. I say, let the audience draw Buffy comparisons on their own. Fang, the hellhound, was also a little over the top at times. His jokes and sarcasm were sometimes too corny for me to fully appreciate. I did like the idea of a faithful hellhound, though, and appreciated his heroic efforts. All in all, this was a fun book and I will definitely be checking out the sequel. I'd like to learn more about Val's special talents and see her begin to accept her heritage.

Bite Me has been nominated for the 2008 Cybils Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.