Early Review - The Deadliest Bite (Jaz Parks, Book 8) by Jennifer Rardin (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Orbit 
Release Date: June 2, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0316043816
Stand Alone or Series: 8th (last) book in Jaz Parks series
Source: ARC from Netgalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the eighth and final book in the Jaz Parks series by Rardin. It was a wonderful way to end the series. Definitely one to read, especially if you are a fan of the series. You do need to read the previous books to fully understand what happens in this book since it is closely tied to previous plot elements.

This book starts out with Jaz and Vayl on vacation enjoying each others company. That is until someone shows up at the door and tries to assassinate Vayl, at the same time Jaz gets a frantic call from Cassandra telling Jaz not to kill the assassin because he is one of Vayl's sons reincarnated. So...now in addition to traveling to hell to finally get Brude out of Jaz's head and banished to Hell again, they have to hunt down Vayl's other son, rescue a ghost, and not get killed doing it. It will take the whole gang to succeed...and a trip to Romania.

This was an absolutely wonderful book. All of our favorite characters from previous books are back and play major roles. Astrid, the robo-kitty, is even more hilarious than normal. And we finally get to go to Hell!

This book had a lot of laughs, a lot of butt-kicking, and was just in general awesome. If you are a big fan of this series you will not be disappointed. I loved it and was sad when it was over.

Overall an excellent installment in this series, and excellent ending to this series. I am sad we won't be seeing anymore books from Rardin, but happy that she left us with such a wonderful conclusion to this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- E-book Reading Challenge

Review - Bitten in Two (Jaz Parks, Book 7) by Jennifer Rardin (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: November 8, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0316043786
Stand Alone or Series: 7th book in Jaz Parks series, 8 books planned.
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5 stars


This is the 7th book in the Jaz Parks series, you do need to read previous book to understand what is going on in this book.  There will be eight books total in this series with the 8th book, The Deadliest Bite, being released in June 2011.  This book starts out a bit rough, but ends up being a very good addition to this series and resolves a lot of plot lines that were left hanging in the last book.

Jaz and crew are in Morocco on a mission to retrieve the tablet that can free Jaz from her possession by Lucifer's Assassin, Brude.  Unfortunately something has happened to Vayl and he now believes that he is living in the year 1700 something; as a result he doesn't recognize any of his crew for who they really are and thinks they are actually people from his past.  While Jaz and crew try to figure out how to fix Vayl, Jaz's possessions symptoms are starting to affect her physically and are making her increasingly ill.

This book starts out pretty horrible.  It jumps right into the story and, as the reader, you are totally confused.  Vayl is calling everyone with different names and I couldn't figure out when/why he had lost his memory.  It was really confusing, boring, and incredibly hard to get through the first fifty pages or so.  But, trust me, get through that part and you will absolutely adore the rest of the book.

Once you get past that beginning part there are fight scenes galore, wonderful humor, and many resolutions to plot threads that were left dangling in the last book.  Once Vayl gets back to himself the book gets even better; but I will admit some of the parts where Vayl thinks he is still living in the past are pretty darn funny.  Seriously this book had me laughing so hard at points I was almost in tears.  Astrid, the robo-cat, plays a pretty large role in things and she is absolutely-fricking hilarious. 

There is a lot more tension between the characters than in previous books.  Vayl kind of assigns everyone characters of people in his past and some of those don't agree with Jaz's crew (for example Vayl think Bergman is a little girl named Helena).  Cole and the demon have some romantic tension going on.  Bergman has romantic tension going on with the lady who owns the house they are staying in.  Jaz is having her heart ripped out everyone time Vayl sees her but can't recognize her.

We also get a lot of info about Vayl's past (since he is kind of living in the past).  We get to see the type of guy he was and some of the things he went through, this helps fill him out even more as a character.

Overall, despite a rough start, this book ended up being a wonderful addition to the series.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are lots of awesome fight scenes, some romance, good character development, tons of humor, and many dangling plot points are resolved.  I am super excited to see how Rardin tied up this series and can't wait to read the last book in the series, The Deadliest Bite.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge Book List
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Sad News - Jennifer Rardin Passes Away

On one of the blogs I follow, My Overstuffed Bookshelf, I just read this tibit of news. 

It makes me very sad to hear that Jennifer Rardin passed away unexpectedly a couple days ago.  I wasn't able to find out what happened.  Those who have followed this blog for a while know that Jennifer Rardin was the author of the Jaz Parks series which I absolutely adored.  You can visit her website here to learn more about the books.  The Jaz Parks series took a James Bond approach to the paranormal world and was a ton of fun.

It always makes me so sad when an author that I admire, who does a wonderful job writing stories that make my life a more fun, passes away.  She will be greatly missed, as will her wonderfully fun Jaz Parks series.

Jennifer Rardin

April 28, 1965 - September 20, 2010

News - Edge Book 2 by Ilona Andrews, Cherie Priest's Clockwork Universe, Generation Dead Book 3, Jaz Parks Book 6, and Anita Blake Books 18 and 19

Okay so lots of book series news today. At least for me. Some of this might be old news to other.

Ilona Andrews posted on her website that the 2nd book in "The Edge" series now has a name: "Bayou Moon". You can read more about it here.

Cherie Priest announced (a while back) that there will be two more books in the Clockwork Universe. "Boneshaker" which I reviewed here is the first. It will be followed by two books set in the same universe but with different characters. "Clementine" will be the second book released in Spring of 2010 and "Dreadnought" will be the third book released in Fall of 2010.

The third book in the Generation Dead series by Daniel Waters will be called "Passing Strange" and will be released in May of 2010. I loved the first book in this series and am anxiously awaiting the second book from my library.

The seventh book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin will be titled "Bitten in Two" and will be released in 2010. There are 8 books currently planned for this series.

Lastly there are two Anita Blake books coming out next year. Book 18 will be titled "Flirt" and is due to be released in Jan. 2010 and book 19 will be called "Bullet" and that will be released in June 2010. So lots of fun for Anita Blake fans next year.

Bite Marks (Jaz Parks, Book 6) by Jennifer Rardin (4/5 stars)

This is the 6th book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. The 7th book "Bitten in Two" will be out in 2010. Last I read there are 8 books planned for this series. This was another great book; tons of action and humor.

Jaz and crew are assigned to a mission in which some gnomes are trying to take out the Australian based NASA complex. Not a straight-forward mission in and of itself. Things get even more complicated when Jaz discovers she's been possessed by King Brude, Lucifer's assassin. Then when they arrive in Australia they find out the demon Cassandra has been fleeing from has finally found her. To add to this mess Cole is set on petting a kangaroo and Bergman has created a new robo-kitty called Astral that is making life a little crazy.

Like all the previous books in this series this book was a great read. It is fast-paced, with awesome action scenes, great gadgets, and hilarious dialogue and plot points. Vayl and Jaz have great chemistry together and there are a number of nice steamy scenes that bring tension to the story, yet never get really graphic. The characters, as usual, are what make the story, coupled with all the great fight scenes.

The addition of Jack (Jaz's dog) and Astral (the robo-kitty) really made for some hilarious scenes. We got to spend more time with the celestial Raoul and met the demon that has been plaguing Cassandra for centuries.

Rardin does a good job at keeping Jaz's inner dialogue (with her possessor) easy to read and non-confusing. The plot is twisty-turny but never confusing. Some of the side items, like Cole's kangaroo petting adventures and Astral's quirks, really add some fun into the story.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it kept losing the main story line. So much of the first half of the book dealt with Cassandra's demon problems that I forgot what their original mission was. Then in the second half of the book a lot of time was spend dealing with Jaz's demon possession problems. The mission sounded really cool, but not much page space was actually spent on the mission itself. That being said everything was nicely tied together in the end. And new plot points were left opened up for the next book.

I would definitely recommend reading the previous books in the series before this one. Rardin does a great job of reminding you what happened in previous books, but I still think you need the backstory from previous books to understand what is going on in this one.

Overall a fun read. I enjoyed the book a lot and look forward to the next book in the series.

One More Bite (Jaz Parks, Book 5) by Jennifer Rardin (4/5 stars)

This is the fifth book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. I thought it was a good edition to the series and I really enjoyed reading it.

In this book Jaz and Vayl are sent to a Ghost Convention to stop the assassination of one of the heads of a coven in the area. Jaz's dad ends up tagging along on the mission and Cole is also part of the party. Jaz gets dragged into some interesting situations with the local demons, ghosts, and witch coven. You learn a lot more about Jaz's history.

This was a great book. It is well-written and fast paced. It was nice to have Jaz and Vayl finally make some progress in their relationship. I do love that these books manage to have some sexy scenes but no explicit sex; it's nice to have the element there and it's even nicer that it doesn't take up all of the plot. Bergman and Cassandra were noticeable for their absence; although there were plenty of interesting characters at the Ghost Convention to keep the reader occupied. There weren't as many nifty gadgets as usual but the story didn't suffer from that either. I still think Vayl is my favorite character; he has the coolest vampire powers ever. Jaz is continuing to develop interesting strengths of her own with her use of fire.

I continue to really enjoy this series. It is in the top five for paranormal series that I really love. I love that these books continue more focused on action and adventure, than on romance. There os a bit of something for everyone in this series; action, adventure, guns, gadgets, ghosts, demons, vampires.

I look forward to the next book "Bite Marks" which is scheduled for an October 2009 release.

Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin (4/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. It was pretty much on par with the third book of the series as far as quality goes. I am still enjoying these books but I thought that this book was marginally less great than the other books.

In this book Jaz, Vayl and David return to Vayl's old Vampere Trust. They have an agreement with the leader of the Trust that they hope will lead to the assassination of Edward Samos, the Raptor. Unfortunately when they arrive they find that the Trust has changed leadership and is now in the hands of someone who has a deep connection with Vayl. The new leader has different plans for Vayl and the magic of the Trust seems to be pulling the characters apart from each other. Will Jaz, Vayl, and David survive their stay with the Trust? Will they finally eliminate Edward Samos?

This was a pretty good book. It was action packed and introduced a lot of new magical aspects to the series. Were-creatures join the plotline and we learn a lot more about Vayl's past. All in all it was fast-paced and engaging. Although so far I think it was my least favorite book of the series.

I will restate that this was a really good book but there were some things that bothered me about it. In someways the plot seemed to be rehashing the plot of the third book. Jaz runs around trying to save Vayl from himself again; and Jaz and Vayl's relationship seems to be treading water. I suppose this may be a transitional book, but I thought this book was a bit weak on character development. I am starting to get sick of Jaz's whining that she needs space, when the whole time she is acting the opposite way. I am really hoping that the major flaw in Vayl's character has worked itself out and we don't have to hear Vayl obsessing over his dead sons anymore after this. That was an interesting plot element for a couple books but it is wearing thin and getting old. I also missed that there weren't as many nifty gadgets in this book; there were a few, but Bergman was mostly absent. Also the careening from mission to mission is getting a bit tiresome even for me; does anyone else think maybe Jaz needs a vacation? I don't think the woman hardly ever sleeps. I am beginning to think it would be more exciting to hear about what Jaz does when she's not knee deep in scary terrorists.

This was a good book. I think the next book will probably decide whether or not I keep reading the series. The ending of this book left the next book open to some new plot lines and new ideas; hopefully it will follow through.

Biting the Bullet by Jennifer Rardin (4/5 stars)

This is the 3rd book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. So far there are 4 books in this series, with the 5th scheduled to come out Jan'09. Overall the latest I read is that there are 8 books planned for the series right now. This was another great book.

Team Jaz finds themselves shipped over to the middle east to help Jaz's twin brother, Dave, take out a terrorist called the Wizard. Dave has identified a mole in his Special Ops team and it is up to Jaz, Cassandra, Bergman, and Vayl to figure out who the mole is and assassinate the Wizard. There is lots of awesome fighting, lots of reavers, and some new badies. Jaz and Vayl go through a lot of character development both individually and as a pair. A very fast-paced book, the setting in the Middle East is timely and gives incite into the culture there (as if we don't already know a lot about the culture there).

This was a great book. For the most part I think it was executed excellently. I love the characters, I love how they all have histories and interesting personalities. There were a couple of minor irritation in this book. One was Vayl's obsessiveness with the search for his boys, the second is the number of things that are happening at once and how they prevent the story from flowing as well as it could have. These are minor quibbles and overall it was an excellent read.

I am excited to read the next book, but reluctant to read it because then it means I have to wait until the next book is published for more Jaz. I am trying to decide if I should put off reading the next Jaz Parks book so that I can prolong my Jaz-fix :-)

Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin (4/5 stars)

This is the 2nd book in the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. This series currently has 4 books with a 5th book due out in Jan '09. Don't let the cheesy title and the saucy cover fool you. These aren't chic lit novels and they aren't romance; these are hardcore supernatural spy novels with great action, lots of violence, and oodles of gore.

In this book Jaz and Vayl get an assignment to deal with a Chinese vampire who thinks his current state is just temporary and he is destined to become a dragon. This vampire is a close-associate of Edward Samos (the Raptor). They aren't sure what Lung is planning but they know they need to get information from him about Samos and bring him down. This time there's a full team on the case with Cassandra and Bergman providing magical and technical backup respectively.

So far I am loving these books. They are fun and witty, fast-paced, filled with neat gadgets. The characters have a lot of depth and I am really enjoying the character development so far. Jaz and Vayl are both developing fascinating powers and learning how to use them. There's a lot of sarcasm in these books and funny comebacks. Some of the analogies that Rardin puts into Jaz's mouth have me roaring with laughter. I think it drives my husband nuts that I sit in bed reading this book and am constantly laughing out loud. That't not to say these are light books; there is a lot of dark humor and a lot of life/world threatening situations.

So, I really loved this book. My only problem with it was that I didn't think it was quite as good as the first one. I think maybe it was the setting at the festival that hurt the plot some for me...or maybe it was the lack of cool fast cars. Either way, overall I am really enjoying these books. I am so excited to read the next one.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin (5/5 stars)

This is the first book of the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. So far there are 8 books planned for this series. The fifth one comes out Jan '09 and is called "One More Bite". This was a great book.

Describing this book as James Bond meets the supernatural community is definitely accurate. Jaz Parks works for the CIA. 6 months after she starts reporting to her new boss; the group's top assassin, Vayl, requests that Jaz join him as an assistant. What Jaz and Vayl thinks is a typical, kidnap and question the terrorist, kind of gig gets complicated when they find out that the terrorist in question belongs to an underground organization that is aligning itself with the underbelly of the supernatural community in order to unleash a virus deadly to vampire-kind.

Jaz is an amazing character. She is tough, by uses common sense and recognizes her bounds. She accepts the changes in her life and tends not to whine and agonize over them. She is a get-it-done kind of girl, who loves her gadgets, and her hot cars. There is a lot Jaz has to discover about herself; as a Sensitive she doesn't quite know the bounds of her power. She is working on it though and makes leaps and bounds in discovering what she can do in this book.

Vayl is also awesome. He is tough and has some crazy cool vampiric abilities (he is a wraith for goodness sack!); yet he does make mistakes, and he does have that vulnerable side that a good male character needs. We find out some of Vayl's past in this book, but there is a lot more there to uncover.

The writing is very solid. I like the writing style a lot. It is fast-paced, full of awesome action scenes, and cool ideas. The gadgets that Jaz gets to work with are really neat, her gun Grief, is lots of deadly fun, and I just couldn't put this book down.

I bought books 2-4 used before I had read book 1. Now I am glad that I did. I am excited to read the next couple books. So far I think this is going to be an incredible series. I wanted to give it more like 4.5 stars because I think the second book will tell if this is an outstanding series or just another good series in the long line of good paranormal series that are out there.

In summary, I love Jaz, I love Vayl, I love the writing and I am so excited to read more of it! There wasn't a single thing about this book that I didn't love.