Dhampir (The Noble Dead #1)

Magiere has earned a reputation as the most formidable vampire slayer in the land. Villagers far and wide welcome her with both awe and disdain — grateful to her for ridding their towns of the undead menace, but finding themselves made poorer for their salvation. Magiere knows she’s dealing with simple folk, who only wish to have their superstitions silenced, and sees nothing wrong with exploiting them for profit.

Now, tired of the game, Magiere and her partner, the half-elf Leesil, are ready to hang up their weapons and settle down in a place they can finally call home. But their newfound peace will not last — for Magiere has come to the attention of a trio of powerful and dangerous vampires who know her true identity — and fear the birthright that flows through her veins. And they will stop at nothing to keep Magiere from fulfilling her destiny.

*May Contain Spoilers*

I always enjoy an interesting fantasy novel with vampires so I'm not surprised my friend gave me Dhampir by Barb and JC Hendee after she had finished reading it. Though she warned me it started slow, it was almost too slow. Therefore, it became the book I read between other books so it took me quite a while to finish it. 

The main characters of this book are Magiere and Leesil. Both of them were interesting and well-developed characters with room for improvement and further discovery. Magiere is a dhampir, half-vampire, and half-human, that isn't aware of her mixed heritage at the beginning of the story. In the past, she's used a facade of being a vampire hunter to make money, but when real vampires (or Noble Deads) learn of her existence, they decide to put a stop to her 'hunting.' This is when she finds out she was actually born to hunt vampires. Magiere is the quiet sort who swindles but doesn't want to make a lifetime career of it. She wants to settle down and live a quiet life by the sea. I think readers will like her, but may not connect with her due to her serious nature. Though, I think many readers will like Leesil a bit more as he offers a balance to Magiere's formidable seriousness while also having a secret, shameful past that gives him a haunted air. 

Leesil has elven heritage and adds to the fantasy details right away. Not only is he Magiere's trustworthy sidekick, he also is quite caring and intelligent. Though it's a bit scary how intelligent he is in killing... due to his secret past. I enjoyed Leesil's character more than Magiere's, but I think for those who decide to continue reading the series, the revealing of Magiere's past will create a firmer connection with readers as they discover more about her at the same time she does. 

The plot of the novel was very enjoyable, though slow, like I previously mentioned. Magiere and Leesil decide to quit swindling townspeople with their little game after Magiere saves enough money to buy a tavern in a little seaside town. Though their ruse of being vampire hunters has already reached three Noble Dead who live in that same seaside town. Now they believe Magiere is after them and decide to kill her before she kills them. This gives the story a back and forth plot as the Hendees switch points of view to include the three Noble Dead: Rashed, Teesha, and Ratboy. Even though I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy, vampires, and a plot line that has just as many secrets as the characters, I don't think I'll be continuing the series.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (292)

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

This week my teaser is from the book I read when I'm in between books! Enjoy!

Dhampir (p.157) 

    - Barb and JC Hendee

"Shhhhh," she whispered. "It's not far to dawn. Come and find easier prey. You must think of our home. You must think of me."

When Darkness Falls (The First Vampire Redemption Story)

Lexie Miles, a strong-willed Southern woman with a raw vocabulary and a taste for sex, is living her dream life in Paris. She is devastated when her best friend Emma is brutally murdered by vampires. From that moment Lexie's "perfect world" begins to crumble. She discovers her entire life has been a sham and everyone she cares about has been lying to her. Angry doesn't begin to describe her reaction to the news.

Plunged into a two-thousand-year-old war between good and evil, she is propelled into a world of blood, lust and dark secrets. She must embrace her birthright to fight an ancient threat to humanity. Bequeathed with the dubious gift of being the "Chosen One," Lexie meets the enigmatic Etienne Benoit. She falls hard for him and when he betrays her, she vows to get revenge. After all, she is a vampire executioner and killing vampires is what she does.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Ellen Chauvet explores the world of good and evil in her novel, When Darkness Falls. After the death of Emma, Lexie is pulled into a world she thought of as fictitious and learning it's in her blood is a whole other betrayel. This book revolves around Lexie as she tries to come to terms with her heritage and her innate career of vampire hunting. 

Lexie Miles is nearly thirty and almost ready for a husband and a white picket fence. That is, until she learns that she was born in to a family of vampire hunters. This southern belle is forced (not really but kind of) into giving up her fluffy dreams of happily ever after and handed a stake to drive into any hearts she feels need breaking. There's no doubt that Lexie is a strong character. She deals with the death of her best friend and decides to really take on this 'calling' of being a vampire hunter with little to no idea what she is truly getting into. That strength of character goes a long way, as I wasn't really a fan of Lexie's personality or southern mannerisms. To me, Lexie is a bit naive in terms of romance, trust, and love. If I were her, I feel like I would have been overly cautious. And she definitely should not have jumped into bed with a vampire. No matter how cute or whatever he was. However, that wasn't even the worst thing. The thing that bothered me the most was Lexie's dialogue. Her character is from Atlanta and, as I actually know people from Atlanta, I don't think they use as many "southernisms" as Lexie did. On the other hand though, catching culture in dialogue is a tricky thing to do for any author and I do give Chauvet props for leavin' off the 'g's and spelling out Lexie's southern drawl. 

The plot of this novel was pretty interesting and I think it's what kept driving me toward the end even though I didn't connect with the main character. Emma, Lexie's friend who is murdered, is a scientist who developed some sort of antiserum to protect the human race from being turned into vampires. Francois and Marielle are two very old vampires who have been building an army for about five hundred years. Needless to say, they want this antiserum, the formula, and something called 88p, which from what I could gather would make them basically unstoppable. Before her death, Emma hid the information and left a trail of clues for Lexie, Tom, and Etienne (members of the Society). Time is running out, and they must finish this treasure hunt before Francois and Marielle attack. Très divertissant! Oh, did I forget to mention that there is French sprinkled throughout the book? That was my favorite aspect of the novel. However, one other thing I need to mention about this book is that there are quite a few erotic sections. I thought these sections detracted from the storyline because it's written with such a 'time is of the essence' sense. So, I do want to recommend this book for the storyline because it really is interesting. However, the erotic sections make it inappropriate for some readers.  

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Christmas Giveaway 2012

This year, The Coffee Pot is helping you get everything you want for Christmas! There will be 6! winners for this giveaway and anyone can enter (as long as I can mail you the autographed book swag). Just enter below! The contest opens on December 20th and runs until December 31st. Winners will be announced and contacted on January 1st-2nd by e-mail.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prizes Explained:

1 Person will win a paperback copy of Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter (which quotes The Coffee Pot review!) along with an autographed doorhanger.

2 People will win e-copies of both Entangled and Duplicity paired with an autographed Entangled bookmark.

3 People will win an autographed doorhanger.

This is the biggest giveaway that The Coffee Pot has done yet, so enter for more chances to win these AWESOME prizes. =)

Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter

If there is one thing eighteen-year-old Aurora Sky wants, it’s to get off the iceberg she calls home. Being kissed before she graduates wouldn’t hurt either.

Then a near-fatal car wreck changes everything. Government agents step in and save Aurora’s life in exchange for her services as a vampire hunter. In Alaska. Basically she’s a glorified chew toy. All thanks to her rare blood type, which sends a vampire into temporary paralysis right before she has to finish the job… by hand.

Now Aurora’s only friends are groupies of the undead and the only boy she can think about may very well be a vampire. And if he’s a vampire, she’ll have to kill him.

(For ages 18+)

*May Contain Spoilers*

Nikki Jefford has amazed me. Again. In her newest novel, Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Jefford turns vampirism into a real disease. The explanation that people with the blood type AB can become vampires by extracting a deadly disease (and surviving it) is pure creative genius. I admire that Jefford gave vampirism a new back story, making it a possible realistic occurrence. 

Aurora Sky, the main character of the novel which is told in her point of view, is a simple teenage girl who dies in a car accident. After learning of her rare blood type, the government steps in, replacing a few organs, infecting her with an array of deadly diseases, and then giving her an antidote so she won't turn into a vampire... but instead become their worst enemy. 

After the transfusion, Aurora is trained as a vampire hunter which is a lot like being thrown to the wolves.  And then, of course, is on the job training with her mentor Dante. All of this happening while Aurora is trying to finish high school, falling in love, and making new friends. Talk about a heavy burden! 

But Aurora can definitely handle herself. After the government made her superhuman, her personality shifts into your typical badass. She's not afraid of anything and is learning to stick up for herself (and others). Though, it does tend to get her into trouble. Readers will connect with Aurora based on her new found teenage angst to live her own life, her desire to be a normal girl even if it's impossible now, and her dreams for the future. 

However, even though this book seems like a YA novel, it definitely is not. There's cursing, sexual innuendos, and some gory descriptions. Highly recommended for readers who are 18+! Absolutely cannot wait until the second volume is released! Better get writing Jefford... =) 

Rating: 5/5 Cups

Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter

WWW Wednesday (30)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

01. Currently Reading:
The Rules of Life by Richard Templar. Just started this book but am hoping to finish it before the weekend! So far it has some very uplifting motivational writing.

02. Recently Finished:
Bone Blind by Abigail Padgett. Horror story set around authors. It was a wonderful read with well crafted twists, but it lacked on the side of character connection.

03. Reading Next:
Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter by Nikki Jefford. Just received this one yesterday and am dying to start it! I love Jefford's writing and am very excited about this new novel.