Another vampire romance novel... I love how this author ties all her books together without missing a beat. She ties characters together in a way that events and facts in one series doesn't give anything away in the other books. And yet each book feels like an extension of each other. The characters become more complex as you progress from book to book. I will definitely read more Jeaniene Frost installments. Okay, for reals... I love Jeaniene Frost. I am a 100% fan of just about anything she does. It's true though, that I read the first Night Huntress book and didn't love it. But I must have been mental at the time because everything I've read SINCE then has been amazing, including this one!First Drop of Crimson is Book 1 in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress World. Admittedly, I have no idea what's going on in the grand scheme of things as far as Ms. Frost's novels are going. Between a Night Huntress series, a Night Huntress Universe series and this Night Huntress World, I'm absolutely lost. But you know what? I don't care. Her books capture everything that I love about paranormal romance and vampires and just amps the sexiness up to 11. Denise is a decent heroine. At the start of the book, she's not super tough. She's been mourning the loss of her husband for the last year and she's still not back to 100%. Of course, does ANYONE ever go back to 100% after losing a loved one? Not really. But she's living her life and has sworn off all contact with the supernatural. But a demon comes calling and drags her smack dab in the middle of all things supernatural all over again. I liked and disliked how much Denise was resisting the supernatural world. I mean, I'm reading a paranormal romance so I WANT her in it but I loved her fortitude in trying to do what she thought was best for herself. I also LOVED her character arc in this book. She goes from being a little weak and unwilling to being super strong and ready to do whatever is necessary to keep the people she cares about safe.Spade is pretty great. He's a vampire so of course, he's really cool. He was born a couple hundred years ago so he's all proper and British and it's just too sexy. But he's ruthless and I think that's one of the things I liked most about him. It was really interesting to find out about his past and about his past heartbreak. I have to say that it was a bit of a relief to see how much he felt for Denise right away. I mean, not immediately, of course, but it really didn't take that long for him to see her as more than a portable blood bag! I loved how protective he became of her and it was hilarious that he didn't realize that he was doing it!Denise and Spade have great chemistry but I didn't feel like it was obvious and it didn't show itself right away. It was nice to watch them figure it out slowly. The other thing that I enjoyed about their relationship is how the began to realize how much they had in common. At least as far as past heartbreak was concerned. I love how Spade handled Denise's husband's demise later in the book. It was so sweet and romantic. Gah!I loved this book. I wasn't expecting to like it since I didn't love Halfway to the Grave when I first read it. So it was a pleasant surprise as I got more and more into the story and into these characters' lives. I would say it isn't REALLY necessary to have read anything else in any of this author's series but I definitely felt like I was missing a few details that might have helped me have a more rounded idea of what had happened in the past. So if you don't really care about the stuff that happened in the past, you'll have no issues with this book. If you DO like to know the past, you may want to just prepare yourself for a question or two as you're reading this. But for sure, not knowing the details did NOT affect enjoyment of this book at all. Anyway, there's plenty of action and a few laughs that will keep any fan of paranormal romance wanting more and more of this series!
What do You think about First Drop Of Crimson (2010)?
I didn't enjoy this as much as the Cat and Bones story, but it was nice to visit a familiar world
—Ccarter
3.5 stars. I didn't like this as much as Cat/Bones, but it was still enjoyable.
—patzer
