Blood Drive (Anna Strong, Vampire) [Mass Market Paperback]

Blood Drive continues from where The Becoming (Book 1) left off. We join Anna Strong at Culebra's hideout as she is about to return to the normal world. She's determined to fit being a vampire in with her previous life. But things are about to get more complicated when Trisha, a girl who may be her long-dead brother's child, goes missing.

I found myself really enjoying this one, much more than book 1 of the series. The dialogue is witty and the friction between Anna and some of the other characters makes for a story that you want to keep reading.

"Ah you're talking to me. Good. I thought you'd called me here to impress me with your digs. Or the speed at which you shuffle papers. And, I must say, both are impressive."

The thing I like about Anna is that she is flawed and makes mistakes. She still relies too much on her gut to get her out of situations - but that is who she is. It's interesting that she had this bad instinct thing going before she became a vampire - it's how she ended up as one in the first place. By the end of the book she realizes though her vampire instincts are good, in some situations she must over-ride them. This makes for one of the most powerful scenes in the story when she finally understands what being a vampire means. All the way through she's been told she has to make a choice, but it's only at that moment that she gets it.

I love the relationship between Anna and Frey. He won't let her get away with anything, unlike the other men in her life who she has a tendency to walk over. In a way this book is Anna coming to terms with what she'll have to let go of, if she's going to survive. She can't maintain her human relationships indefinitely, her family and friends are going to age and die. And it's through the search for Trish that she finally comes to understand this. I think as we move away from Anna the bounty hunter and come to know Anna the vampire that the strength in storytelling evident here, will shine through. It's almost as if the restraint of being human was holding the character back.

If I had any niggles it would be I'm not sure I understand the point of Max as a character, he seems pretty superfluous to the plot. On p35 Anna notes "I'd actually forgotten for a moment that he's in the room." which kind of sums up their relationship. The way she treats Max is appalling, though he doesn't seem to care, in fact his emotional investment in their relationship seems to increase in direct proportion to the amount hers decreases. I hope we find out soon why he hasn't been written out of the story yet.

The Watcher (Book 3) is released Dec. 2007

Anna Strong is a bounty hunter. Both her personality and her abilities (somewhat special abilities) rather suit the job. Anna is assertive, inquisitive, and quick to uncover or smell out the smallest of details.

Two months before the action takes place, Anna's life had changed dramatically. She became a vampire. Most of her loved ones haven't yet realized that she has no reflection in mirrors and that is on a high protein diet. She's still trying to figure out the myths versus realities of her situation herself.

Now, yet another dramatic situation rears it's ugly head when Anna's deceased brother's ex shows up at the door. This woman claims that the niece that Anna never knew existed is in dire trouble. The young girl has not only run away but she may even be involved in the murder of one of her school mates. The truth of the situation is even worse, much worse.

Blood Drive is the sequel to The Becoming. Although I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the first book, I had absolutely no trouble understanding what was happen, differentiating between characters, or catching the various complexities and relationship nuances. However, reading this second book did make me curious about what had happened in the first book.

Marginally better the the first book. This series is really mediocre. There is just nothing about the series or its characters that makes it stand out from any other vamp/werewolf series. The characters are flat. The only thing that's really keeping me reading is that I'm curious about who the guys voice she keeps hearing belongs to. The one she calls Casper. That's about it. And I still hate the fact that it's written in present tense. So annoying! "I get up", "I walk to the door", "I get the book and throw it out the window" Gah!