Book Review: Blue Parker's Bite Me

I had the pleasure of finishing a book I picked up some time ago, Bite Me by Parker Blue.  This YA tale had a unique twist on vampires and slayers.  Bite Me is the first book in Blue’s Demon Underground series.



Valentine Shapiro (Val) is an 18 year old loner, human girl and 1/8th of a succubus demon.  A succubus demon is a female lust demon that thrives on her victim’s desire.  Val has spent her whole life suppressing her demon side who she calls “Lola”.  She learned early on how deadly Lola could be, nearly sucking the life out of the first boy she kissed. Val had to find a release for Lola or else.  And so she found the one thing that sated her demon need: vampire slaying.

The notion of this book was kind of cool, I have to say.  When the book starts out, we learn about Val’s family and how crappy they treat her. Man, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the chick.  Val’s mom is a pitiful excuse for a mother. Her step dad is pretty worthless too.  And her sister, Jennifer, in my opinion, is a pain in the ass.  Thanks to her meddlesome sister, Val gets kicked out of her house at 18. WOW, that was intense.

Anyway, Val went on to bigger and better; getting herself a new place to stay, a dog, some friends (finally)…oh and a job too. Apparently she’s built up some kind of a reputation for slaying vampires.  The SCU (a police paranormal unit) sees the need to hire someone with her skill set, especially since San Antonio is running ramped with vampires.  Her boss partners her with a yummy copy named Dan.  Things are finally looking up for Val at least it seems so until she brought back down to reality.  Vampires are on the loose and are killing innocent people.

As Dan and Val investigate the increased vamp activity, they meet a new wave of vampires – all a part of the nonviolent movement. A small set of vampires are desperately trying to integrate themselves within the human population. But let’s face it…Vampires are blood suckers, plain and simple. Right? Maybe…maybe not. Their movement is about using blood banks, recruiting high school volunteers and of course mind-control. Val’s annoying sister, Jennifer, gets wrangled in the whole mess, along with her step dad, Rick. Val’s doing her best to be the supporting daughter/sister, despite her family treating her poorly.

I really liked the notion of Val’s demon side. I also enjoyed how Blue used “Lola” (Val’s demon side) to test the boundaries of her relationship/crush with Dan. Despite all the talk about lust, the book is total age appropriate. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

On my KilloMeter scale, I give Parker Blue’s Bite Me a 3.5.

Until next time….Demon Underground, anyone?

Mina B.

A Paranormal Book Review: Lynsay Sands's Bite Me If You Can

Lynsay Sands’s next book (#6) in her Argeneau series is Bite Me If You Can. It’s all about Lucian Argeneau's story; the two thousand year old immortal who is not only head of the Argeneau family but head of the council that polices/investigates rogue vampires.

In Book 6, Lucian's on the hunt for rogues.  It appear's there’s a deadly bloodsucker on the loose, one from Lucian’s past who is wreaking havoc, creating vamps left and right. In Sands’s immortal realm, vampires are only able to create one vampire during their entire existence. Usually the immortals use this opportunity to turn a human if they find their life mate. This vital rule was designed to control the number of immortals. If these rules weren’t in place, then the vampires would increase exponentially and eventually deplete their only life source, human blood. Lucien is ruthless as head of the council and tolerates little when it comes to dealing with immortals that don’t follow the rules. And now, he’s in a pile of mess, discovering more and more fledgings (newbie vampires) and losing his patience in the process.

Everything changes, of course, once he meets Leigh; a sassy, intelligent young female who got caught in the crossfire of a rogue gone bad.

Leigh was minding her own business, literally, when she was attacked. And then she turned into an immortal being, forced into an eternal way of life, Lucian, who rarely coddles, finds himself oddly attracted to the female. Not that he admits it, at first. Once he realizes he can’t read Leigh and she’s his life mate, he’s the one forced to look at his immortal life in a new light. Lucian’s the oldest of his kin and as far as he’s concerned too damned old for romance, let alone the hot, young miss. Lucky for him, Leigh’s just as strong-minded as him to keep their relationship interesting.

This novel was a bit darker than the others but I liked it just the same. The vampire villain, Morgan, was a treat. At one point, you even felt bad for the rogue vampire. Lynsay matched Lucian perfectly with the bright, level-headed Leigh. Although there are other Argeneau tales that I enjoyed more, if you’re a die-hard fan, like me, than you’ll want to sink your teeth into every character’s story. And once you do, I promise, you won’t be disappointed.


On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter, Lynsay Sands’s Bite Me If You Can is a 3.5.


Until next time…read more from Lynsay Sands.


Mina B.

Remember my revealing interview with 

NY Times bestselling author - Lynsay Sands is set for August 16th 

Plus...my FREE Book Contest

to win Love Bites ends August 16th – eod.

A Paranormal Book Review: Lynsay Sands's A Quick Bite

The first Lynsay Sands's book I picked up to read was Book 1 in the Argeneau series, A Quick Bite. I’m so glad I did…because it was really good.

Lissianna is the youngest of the Argeneau family.  At 200+, she’s the baby of the family.  Can you imagine?  I was hooked from the beginning of the book.  Young psychologist, Dr. Greg Hewitt, is overworked, overtired and rarely plays.  He’s quite dull, really.  And just when he’s about to go on an extended holiday - one he’s in dire need of - he ends up being kidnapped by Lissianna’s mother, Marguerite.  Uh…sort of, anyway. 

When you’re an immortal vampire, in Lynsay’s world, you have the ability to control the minds of humans and sometimes read the minds of immortals.  And that’s technically how Greg found himself tied to Lissianna’s bed. 

What first drew me into this series was how the main immortal/vampire character was female as opposed to male.  I loved that aspect of this book. Lissianna is this sweet, young and innocent vampire with one really big problem.  When she sees blood, she faints.  Marguerite, the meddlesome mother and full-time matchmaker, planned for this young psychologist to not only treat her daughter’s phobia but also considered him lifemate material.  I loved Marguerite from the beginning.  She’s the ideal matriarch for any family.  And there’s not a thing she wouldn’t do to ensure her children’s happiness.

What makes a person lifemate material?  The two people can’t read each other’s thoughts. This is essential in the immortal world since how much of relationship could you have with someone if you could control their minds and any given turn?

There’s more to the story than a so-called kidnapping, an immortal romance and a blood phobia. Lissianna and Greg face some near death experiences, being submerged in sunlight is one way to kill an eternal relationship before it’s even begun. We meet Lucian too: Lissianna’s uncle and Marguerite’s brother-in-law (and frankly the patriarch of the Argeneau family). He comes in with his commanding presence, and tried to put the screws to Greg. He, like Marguerite, would do just about anything to protect his family too. But he lacks the grace and subtlety that Marguerite has. I so loved Lucian. And just you wait, he gets his story too in Bite Me If You Can.

In the end, do Greg and Lissianna have an eternal happily ever after? You’ll just have to read it yourself to find out. This is a cute storypost, wearing a big red bow. Marguerite put him there. He was to be a present for Lissianna…but not that kind of present. Trust me…it get’s funnier. ; one you won’t regret reading. If you love vampires, immortals, romance, and great characters, then you’ll enjoy this book. And quite possibly adore the series.

On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter, I give A Quick Bite 3.5.

Until next time…read something good, read the Argeneau series.

Mina B.