Review: One More Bite - Jennifer Rardin

It's Jaz Parks checking in, with the latest in dark supernatural double-dealing.

I've already smoked the guy who was the pain in the CIA's you-know-what for the past few years.  But now, in the power vacuum left by the death of Edward 'The Raptor' Samos, a struggle for supremacy has begun between his former allies.

The CIA feels the balance must be maintained.  So when a Valencian Were agent discovers a plot to assassinate the Coven of Inverness' leader, me and my vampire hottie (and boss), are drafted in.  Our mission - to take out the woman hired to do the deed, a killer who might be as wily and Gifted as ourselves.

So it's off to the Scottish Highlands for some twisted fun among murderers, demons and half-crazed relatives.  Sometimes being a top-secret CIA assassin isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Jaz Parks Series:
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Another One Bites the Dust
Biting the Bullet
Bitten to Death
One More Bite
Bite Marks
Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite (2011)

Visit Jennifer Rardin's website for more information

Review:
Since Jaz and Vayl's team managed to destroy the Raptor his allies have been fighting amongst themselves to see who is going to take his place.  The CIA are trying to maintain the balance so when they discover that someone has hired a hit woman to take out the coven leader of one of the main groups they decide to send Jaz and Vayl to stop the hit.  So the team is going on a trip to Scotland and they're going to have their work cut out if they want to stop the mercenary in time.

I was a little bit disappointed with the last book in this series (Bitten to Death) so I was pleased to find that things are getting back on track in One More Bite.  I still missed having Cassandra and Bergman in this installment, I really love it when the whole team is together so I'm hoping to see that happen in the next book.  I have to admit that this was more than made up for by the fact that Albert (Jaz's dad) was with them on the mission though.  He had me laughing out loud with his antics and I really enjoyed the bickering between him and Jaz.  I was glad we got to find out more about Jaz's family background, things have been alluded to in the previous books but we never had too much information about why she hates her mother so much so it was good to get some clarification on that.  I understand Jaz's reactions to certain things a lot better now.

I'm so relieved that things still seem to be going well between Jaz and Vayl, I was hoping for a little more relationship development but they are still slowly moving in the right direction.  I was worried when I realised that Cole was going to be playing a major part in this installment, he annoyed me just from the sidelines in the last book and I really wasn't looking forward to having to put up with more of him this time.  I was actually pleasantly surprised though and he didn't irritate me anywhere near as much.

The story line was well written, included a lot of humor, plenty of action and added some new supernatural elements to the series.  I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

Source: Library

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Review: Bitten to Death - Jennifer Rardin

Warped as we are, we kinda love it when our odds dip.  Because that's when the real fun begins.

My latest mission has taken me to the ancient Greek city of Patras; but instead of soaking up it's splendor, I'm here to infiltrate a vampire Trust.  Only two vamps have ever escaped one of these tightly bound communities and lived to tell the tale: Edward 'The Raptor' Samos, the most reviled criminal mastermind in recent history, and Vayl, the CIA's number one assassin who also happens to be my boss.

The Raptor is trying to take over Vayl's former Trust.  Unfortunately their new leader has her own plans.

This job will be the death of me.


Jaz Parks Series:
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Another One Bites the Dust
Biting the Bullet
Bitten to Death
One More Bite
Bite Marks
Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite (2011)

Visit Jennifer Rardin's website for more information

Review:
The Raptor is trying to take over Vayl's old vampire Trust, the leader has asked for Vayl's help and he and Jaz are determined to take down the enemy they have spent so long hunting.  As they arrive at the Trust they realise that not everything is as it seems, the former leader is missing and the person who has taken over has her sights set firmly on Vayl.  Can Jaz keep hold of her man or will he be led into temptation by an old acquaintance?  And, can they finally take down The Raptor?

Bitten to Death is the fourth book in the Jaz Parks series and I'll admit it was probably my least favourite book so far, having said that I still enjoyed it enough to want to continue reading the series so I'm looking forward to picking up One More Bite.  What I enjoyed most was getting to find out a bit more about Vayl's past but I still have a lot of unanswered questions about him and I hope we find out more in the next book.  I also loved the addition of shape shifters in the series, I don't think we've had any up until this point but I really loved Trayton and would like to see more of him and the pack.

It seems like Jaz and Vayl might finally be ready to start moving forward in their relationship too which has been a long time coming.  Jaz is so frightened of getting hurt again that she is scared to show her feelings, this is understandable but it is good to see her start to realise how much she already cares for Vayl.  Vayl on the other hand is happy to admit that he wants Jaz but he tends to push her away whenever he thinks there might be a chance to find his sons which I have to admit is starting to grate on my nerves.  There is definitely chemistry between them though so it will be interesting to see how things play out between them.

I've always enjoyed this series for it's action scenes and the different types of technology that they have access to via Bergman but this time I felt that the final battle was a little anti-climatic.  Things tied up just a little bit too easily and I would have liked to see a more grisly battle.  I missed the interaction with the other team members, this time around only Jaz, Vayl and Dave are on the assignment so we hardly see any of the others apart from through phone conversations.  The banter between them all is usually one of the highlights of the books so as much as I'm enjoying seeing more of Dave I hope they're all back together in the next book.  I'm also getting more than a little fed up of Cole constantly trying it on with Jaz, I like his character less and less as the series progresses and just want to see Jaz tell him to back off.

Although I don't think this is the strongest book in the series I still think fans will enjoy it and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Source: Library

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Review: Biting the Bullet - Jennifer Rardin

Jaz Parks here, though I can't say for how long.  This case is a tough one.  So tough, it could be my last.

The Wizard, a terrorist thorn in the military's side, has finally revealed a chink in his armour.  So my vampire boss, Vayl, and I have been asked to join my brother's special ops team to take him down.  But nothing on this mission is as it seems.

The Wizard has some vicious tricks up his sleeve, including the placement of a mole within the ops team.  Add to the mix a pack of reavers bent on revenge, a Seer who'll do anything to share Vayl's power, and a small army of parasitic monsters who prey on murderers and their victims.  You can see why I'm going to need all my wits and more than my share of luck if I plan to get through this with my job, not to mention my life, intact.

Jaz Parks Series:
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Another One Bites the Dust
Biting the Bullet
Bitten to Death
One More Bite
Bite Marks
Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite (2011)

Visit Jennifer Rardin's website for more information

Review:
Jaz and Vayl have a new mission, this time they are going to be working alongside Jaz's brother Dave's special ops team to bring down the Wizard, a terrorist who has been causing trouble for years.  Alongside their primary goal they also have to find out who is the mole in Dave's team, someone has been feeding information to the Wizard and they have to find a way to stop them.  It isn't going to be easy for Jaz to work alongside Dave given their history but can they put aside their differences long enough to track down the Wizard?

Biting the Bullet is the third book in the Jaz Parks series and I would recommend reading the series in order starting with Once Bitten, Twice Shy.  This is a great urban fantasy series that is action packed and has some great characters so I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.  This installment sees Jaz, Vayl, Cassandra, Cole & Bergman head to Iran to join with Dave's special ops team as they try to take down the Wizard and is a great addition to the series.

I really enjoyed getting to see more of Dave and his team.  Although he has made brief appearances in the earlier books this has mainly been in the form of flashbacks so it was nice to get to "meet" him properly.  If you've read the earlier books you'll fully understand how complicated the relationship between him and Jaz is and it was interesting to see them forced into working together.  I'm hoping that we'll get to see more of him in the future books because Jaz really needs his help if she is ever going to deal with her very messy past and be able to move forwards with her life.

I also love watching the developing relationship between Jaz and Vayl.  Although at times I'm almost screaming at them both to just get together already I actually really like the will they / won't they aspect of their relationship (although I'm definitely hoping that they'll get together sooner rather than later!).  Things get quite complicated between them this time around when Vayl's attention is caught by someone else but this helps Jaz finally start to realise just how much he means to her.  She has to face her past before she can be ready to move on but will she be able to do it before Vayl gets fed up of waiting for her?

As with the other books the action scenes are well written and make it easy to picture what is happening.  There was a great twist when it came to who the mole was but I have to admit I had my suspicions before they were revealed - I hadn't worked it out long before Jaz did though.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series and have already ordered my copy.

Source: Library

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Review: Another One Bites the Dust - Jennifer Rardin

I'm Jaz Parks.  CIA assassin.  Black Belt.  Belly dancer at the Corpus Christi Winter Festival.

The last is cover for my latest mission: retrieve a vital piece of biotechnology by killing the maniac who stole it.  The thief is not your run-of-the-mill nut job, either.  He's Chien-Lung, an obsessive vamp who's invulnerable while wearing his armour - which is constantly.

Then there are the reavers, ancient fiends who murder innocents and eat their souls.  Only I can sense them.  So it's not long before they want me dead, dead, dead.

And did I mention the nightmares?  They're not your garden variety sit-up-and-screamers.  These suckers may actually kill me before the reavers do.

Jaz Parks Series:
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Another One Bites the Dust
Biting the Bullet
Bitten to Death
One More Bite
Bite Marks
Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite (2011)

Visit Jennifer Rardin's website for more information

Review:
Jaz and her team are on another mission and this one is even more dangerous than the last.  Not only are they dealing with a Chinese vampire who has stolen some very sophisticated biotechnology but there are also the soul sucking reavers that only Jaz can sense.  To top it all off Jaz is suffering with some serious nightmares - ones that get her into some very dangerous situations.  She has her team along for back up but with them all living together in a small RV while they pose as entertainers at the Winter Festival there are sure to be some fireworks amongst them.  The question is can they put any personal issues to one side long enough to get the job done?

I really enjoyed Once Bitten, Twice Shy (the first book in the series) but in my opinion Another One Bites the Dust is even better.  This is a great urban fantasy series and one that I'm looking forward to continuing.  I love the fact that Jaz and her team are CIA agents and we get to see a bit of James Bond style technology!  If you were a fan of the first book I'd definitely recommend this installment but if you're new to the series I would suggest reading the books in order starting with Once Bitten, Twice Shy - trust me it will be worth it!

I really liked the fact that Jaz is still dealing with the issues raised towards the end of the last book.  I'm not going to go into detail in case you haven't read it but the things we discovered were bound to have a lasting effect on Jaz so it's good to see her starting to work things out in her head.  Jaz's inner dialogue regularly makes me snort with laughter, along with some of the crazy (or stupid) things she gets up to - her belly dancing was hilarious.  I love the sexual tension between her and Vayl - these two together have the potential to be smoking - but I'm glad that they aren't rushing into anything that neither of them is really ready for.  I'm enjoying the will they / won't they side to the story but this doesn't take over the whole book and we still get an action packed story line.

In this installment we get to see a lot more of Bergman, Cassandra and Cole.  I liked all of these characters but I have to say Bergman in particular (alongside Jaz) has the ability to make me laugh out loud with his actions.  It was good to get to know all of them a bit better and really start to see them pulling together as a team despite the many niggles they may have along the way.  Although Cole is still flirting with Jaz I was pleased that this doesn't seem to be turning into your typical love triangle that continues until the final book in a series, as much as Jaz enjoys flirting back she makes it clear that she isn't really interested in Cole although I did enjoy seeing Vayl getting jealous at times.

This is a fun, action-packed series that I would definitely recommend.  If you haven't already discovered it you should pick up the first book as soon as you can.

Source: Library

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Review: Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Jennifer Rardin

I'm Jaz Parks.  My boss is a guy called Vayl, born in Romania in 1744.  Died there, too, at the hand of his vampire wife, Liliana.  But that's ancient history.  For the moment Vayl works for the CIA, doing what he does best - assassination.  And I help.  You could say I'm an assistant assassin.

Yeah...you could say that.

But then I'd have to kick your ass.

Vayl is the CIA's top assassin.  A master of black ops, he has never failed.  He's also a 291-year-old vampire.  Assigned to protect Vayl, if such a formidable creature can be said to require protection, is Jasmine Parks - 'Jaz' to her friends.  A young lady with exceptional talents and secrets of her own.

In a world where the bad guys aren't always human and the CIA needs some very specialised help...

Jaz Parks Series:
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Another One Bites the Dust
Biting the Bullet
Bitten to Death
One More Bite
Bite Marks
Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite (2011)

Visit Jennifer Rardin's website for more information

Review:
Jaz has been working as an assassin for the CIA for 6 months when she is given a new assignment.  She has been partnered with Vayl - a 300 year old vampire who happens to be the CIA's top assassin - as his body guard.  Something about the partnership doesn't ring true to Jaz - after all how can such a powerful vampire need a human body guard? - but she doesn't have much choice but to go along with it unless she wants to lose her job.  Their latest assignment is to take out a plastic surgeon who has known links to a terrorist organisation, it sounds simple enough and they are expecting to get the job done quickly and be home in a couple of days. But that was before they overhear a conversation and uncover a terrorist plot that could have devastating consequences if they don't find a way to stop it in time.

This is one of those books that I randomly picked up when browsing in the library, the comment on the back cover by author Patricia Briggs stating "Bond meets Dracula" was enough for me to add it to my must read pile and I'm so glad I stumbled across the series.  I'm surprised I'd not already heard of Jennifer Rardin and am looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of the series.  Although not perfect Once Bitten, Twice Shy is a promising start to an urban fantasy series and one I'd recommend trying if you're like me and hadn't heard of it before.

Jaz is quite a flawed character, she has a snarky attitude and was quite funny at times but she often speaks without thinking which tends to get her into trouble.  She wants to be good at her job and is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Vayl but I think she probably has quite a lot of learning to do even though she is capable of standing up for herself.  She has had a tough time over the last couple of years and events from her past have had a massive effect on her present.  It's only as the story unfolds and we learn more details of these events that we get to see why she is the way she is and I started to understand her better.  I'm intrigued to find out more about who and what she is and am looking forward to seeing her work through her issues.

Vayl is an intriguing character but there is just something about him that really drew me in.  Most of his past is shrouded in mystery and we're never quite sure why he requested to have Jaz as his partner but you can tell he cares about her and there is definitely chemistry between them even though this hasn't been acted on yet.  I definitely have plenty of questions regarding the bond between them but I just want to spend more time with the pair and see how things develop.

The plot moves quickly and smoothly to the finish line and although they win the battle they certainly haven't won the war.  We have been introduced to some likable secondary characters who I hope we'll get to see more of in the future (I particularly liked tech geek Bergman and Jaz's Dad Albert) and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of situation Jaz & Vayl will get themselves into next.  I'd definitely recommend the series to urban fantasy fans.

Source: Library

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