Manic Monday | Drive-By Reviews ~ Vamp Noir

Manic Monday | Drive-By Reviews is a weekly feature where we’ll share some mini-reviews Alice-style.




Bloodshot (Cheshire Red Reports #1) by Cherie Priest

VAMPIRE FOR HIRE

Raylene Pendle (AKA Cheshire Red), a vampire and world-renowned thief, doesn’t usually hang with her own kind. She’s too busy stealing priceless art and rare jewels. But when the infuriatingly charming Ian Stott asks for help, Raylene finds him impossible to resist—even though Ian doesn’t want precious artifacts. He wants her to retrieve missing government files—documents that deal with the secret biological experiments that left Ian blind. What Raylene doesn’t bargain for is a case that takes her from the wilds of Minneapolis to the mean streets of Atlanta. And with a psychotic, power-hungry scientist on her trail, a kick-ass drag queen on her side, and Men in Black popping up at the most inconvenient moments, the case proves to be one hell of a ride.




“Curiouser and curiouser!” ~ Alice

Opening Line: “You wouldn’t believe some of the weird shit people pay me to steal.” {Raylene}
Closing Line: “I couldn’t help but smile. Life was getting back to normal again … God help us all.” {Raylene}




“Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you’re at.” ~ Mad Hatter

I had the best time listening to this book! The narrator, Natalie Ross, sounded so familiar to me. Then, I realized she’s Mac from Moning’s Fever series.

Raylene is an absolute hoot! She’s a vamp for hire and, up until recently, has spent her time hunting for people’s odd missing items. She’s also a thief extraordinaire. She meets Ian, a blind vampire (she was surprised that was possible too), who wants her help retrieving a government document. Along the way, she meets a former Navy Seal turned drag queen. Together they hunt down the document, learn about some scary supe experiments and become friends.




Rating:




“What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?” ~ Alice

Cherie Priest was a new2me author.




“That’s just it. If you don’t think, then you shouldn’t talk.” ~ The Hare

There wasn’t a single thing about this book I didn’t enjoy. It is one of my 2011 favorites. The series can go anywhere – so many possibilities! I cannot wait to see what’s in store for Raylene next.




“Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.” ~ The Duchess

There were a TON of LOL lines throughout this book. Here are just a few of my favorites.
And, whenever a book references “The Princess Bride”, it gets extra points.




“I hadn’t heard him come inside, but that’s no surprise.
I wouldn’t have heard an air horn up my ass while I was feeding.” {Raylene}

“I wanted to pin him down and demand that he say, ‘My name is Inigo Montoya-you killed my father, prepare to die.’ But, I suspect that would’ve been deeply inappropriate in any number of ways….” {Raylene re: Adrian}

“Vampirism is like Photoshop for the flesh – it fills out, rounds off, smooths over, and brightens up everything.” {Raylene}




“We’re all mad here.” ~ The Cheshire Cat

This book receives the Cheshire Cat award for it’s superbness!

I am desperately awaiting book #2, Hellbent, which is due out August 30th.










Until Next Week ~ Happy Reading