Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair

Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in over 3 days

Pages - 246

Publisher - Amazon media

Source - author

Blurb from Goodreads

All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you’re a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward – especially when there’s a supernatural war brewing in London, a sexy new bloodsucker in town and your mysterious, homicidal and vampire hating ex-lover chooses this moment to reappear in your life…

Witty, sharp and entertaining, Dark Dates is a heady mix of vampires, witches and werewolves – with the occasional angel thrown in – and introduces Cassandra Bick, a likeable heroine destined to join the ranks of fantasy’s feistiest females.



My Review

Cassandra makes a living from her dating agency, a dating agency like no other. Hooking up humans and vampires. The agency has come to the notice of someone, someone who wants Cassandra to stop. With threats on her life, attacks on the office and vampires being killed Cassandra should give up and stay safe but she won't be warned off. Her "bootie call" Cain, ex boyfriend and destroyer of "Others" no just vampires but other beings drops in and out of her life and usually when trouble is afoot. There is more than meets the eye to Cain and Cassandra is about to find out just how special and different the people in her life really are.

This is the first in a series, we meet Cassandra who is a Sensitive with a capital S, her sense helps her read Others and help her in some tricky situations. There is a lot to her Sense and I think as the series goes on we will learn more about it. I had to email the author as I had a fair few questions about it, I think along with the character learning about it the reader is too. It is a fresh and interesting approach as vampire stories have been around for such a long time so it is hard to make it original. We have vampires, a sassy Sensitive with a mouth on her, a fabulous witch side kick, a mysterious old boyfriend who Cassandra can't seem to keep out of her bed and violence and deaths all round.

There is bad language, sex, mystery, homosexuality, a lot of humour especially from Cassandra she is quirky, feisty, strong, independent and I did laugh out loud in parts. If work hadn't gotten in the way I could have read this in one sitting. There was more than a few actions I found myself frustrated with, especially how Cassandra responded to certain situations however I think that brings realism into it. How often has someone acted or said something in a situation and you just wanted to slap them or shout no why didn't you say X,Y,Z! A very promising start to a series and I look forward to more from Sinclair and seeing what is in store for Cassandra and crew, 4/5 for me this time. Thanks to the author for introducing to a new series and sending me a review copy.

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DRC - The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Canongate books Ltd

Pages - 346

Source - NetGalley

Blurb from Goodreads

"Then she opened her mouth to scream--and recognised me. It was what I'd been waiting for. She froze. She looked into my eyes. She said, "It's you."
"
Meet Jake. A bit on the elderly side (he turns 201 in March), but you'd never suspect it. Nonstop sex and exercise will do that for you--and a diet with lots of animal protein. Jake is a werewolf, and after the unfortunate and violent death of his one contemporary, he is now the last of his species. Although he is physically healthy, Jake is deeply distraught and lonely.
Jake's depression has carried him to the point where he is actually contemplating suicide--even if it means terminating a legend thousands of years old. It would seem to be easy enough for him to end everything. But for very different reasons there are two dangerous groups pursuing him who will stop at nothing to keep him alive.
Here is a powerful, definitive new version of the werewolf legend--mesmerising and incredibly sexy. In Jake, Glen Duncan has given us a werewolf for the twenty-first century--a man whose deeds can only be described as monstrous but who is in some magical way deeply human.
One of the most original, audacious, and terrifying novels in years.


My Review

Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf alive however not for long. Desperately lonely, pursued by different groups who have their own agendas for him he is willing to die. When events come to pass that shake Jake back to caring about life he has some hard choices to make. All the while he is pursued by humans and other mythical beings, some want him dead, some want something much more important than his life.

I didn't know what to make of this tale, from the beginning you know what Jake is, we then get a lot of time spent on how unhappy he is and then a look back on how we got here. He is over 200 years old and is fed up, he moans a lot and even a shocking death doesn't seem to have any affect on him. Suddenly something does happen and Jake is forced into action, he wants to live and will do anything he needs to to stay that way and protect that which is his.

I can't go into too much detail without giving spoilers which I never do so forgive me for the vagueness in some of my review. There is a lot of bad, crude and often shocking language used, some of which I felt there was no requirement for as it was overdone. Sex is also strongly featured, in graphic detail which I felt detracted from the story. When there wasn't masses of swear words, including the C word, or non stop sex or sexual references which some people will find offensive, the story itself was readable. To read about the werewolves perspective and how they cope with things from turning, the deaths of their victims and what they experience during the time of change was interesting. I haven't read a lot of books about werewolves so found this take on it interesting, especially the reasons werewolves and the other type of creature listed don't get on. Had the author focused more on the story rather than the cruder aspects, I think this may have been a wider and well received story.

I found some of it predictable whilst at other parts I was confused and left with more questions, this is the first of a trilogy so maybe more answers will be forthcoming in the next book(s). I wouldn't be rushing out to get the next book however I would read it if I came across it, I have never read this author before and would try them again, at a later date. 2/5 for me this time, whilst I did like aspects of the story, the parts I disliked overshadowed those that I did. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Night Of The Living Dad, Confessions Of A Shabby Father by Sam Delaney

Night of the Living Dad: Confessions of a Shabby Father by Sam Delaney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read 5 days

Blurb From Amazon

A mop of black hair, wrinkled skin, a blueish-grey complexion and pretty, open eyes that dart around the room. You could call her scary and weird-looking I suppose but I quite like her.


Sam Delaney is happy: he is a new dad. He plans to be a caring, wise and reliable father.

Except he worries he might be none of those things. He worries that he might be an idiot. His nieces and nephews see him as a lovable buffoon. He is a clumsy oaf and sporadic binge-drinker who doesn’t have a proper job and cites ‘Teen Wolf’s dad’ as his biggest role model. Is he really fit for this new position of responsibility?


There’s only one way he’ll be able to find out. Follow Sam in his first year of fatherhood as he tries to figure out what a good dad should be, and, even more importantly, what sort of dad he should be.

My Review

This is quite an amusing wee book although that said some of it is a tad un-pc and if your easily offended (by boy humour and bad language) then I would avoid it. Sam takes us through the journey of just before (deciding on) and having a new baby and how his life changes.

The book has two main focus points, obviously Sam's life (work, relationship and everyday doings) and his baby and how he adjusts to being a dad. He has some great stories and has done quite a bit of work with some well known companies and famous people (until I read this book I hadn't heard of him). Sam makes some mistakes along the way and one of my favourite parts was him constantly getting caught and told off on the baby monitor. I have actually laughed out loud at one or two parts of it

It's easy to read, fairly light and you can just dip in and out of it. It has been written with quite a comical feel to it and had I had less things to do I would have read it in one day. Worth a read if you fancy something light and with cheeky fun, 3/5 for me.

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