Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Catholic Reads reviews Love At First Bite

So, over at Catholic Reads, they reviewed the entire Live at First Bite series.

Honor at Stake

Declan Finn is proving himself to be the go-to guy for the campy fun adventure book that is just smart enough to completely subvert your expectations in ways that never fail to delight....
One of the strongest features of the novel and one of the most Catholic is how it establishes a sense of reality by a great balance of sincerity and dramatic irony. Finn has a way of making things look one way, and then revealing things to be exactly the opposite.... It reminds me of Jesus saying he came to turn the world upside-down, and in a way, Finn seeks to do just that for Brooklyn via the lenses of vampire romance action horror (with light sci-fi and espionage elements). I loved its masterful use of dramatic irony and it’s a great portrayal of a young masculine perspective....

On a more technical level, the novel’s action scenes are well-thought out and epically described. The dialogue is sharp and witty, almost Whedon-esque. And throughout the novel, Finn takes any chance he can get to make fun of anything and everything about vampires, old books, and the strange, otherworldly, nearly undead world that is the culture of Brooklyn.
This is the first review that has ever, even slightly, ever compared me to Jesus.

Obviously, you can read the entire review here.

You can buy Honor at Stake right here.

Demons are Forever

Formerly known as Murphy's Law of Vampires
It’s a new day for horror....

.... if you haven’t read the [first] book yet, go do that; you’re missing a genuinely good time.

....All in all, Mr. Finn provides his readers with another fun ride through a world in which vampires, good and bad walk, among us while developing character relationships from the previous book and build even more on the distinctly Catholic mythology of his creation.

....Now, get yourself to Amazon, pick up Murphy’s Law of Vampires and set aside a weekend to sink your teeth into a genuine, page-turner.

The rest of the review

Purchase link for Demons.


Live and Let Bite

For those who read (Warning! Spoilers ahead) the previous books in Declan Finn’s Love at First Bite series, you know there has been no small amount of romantic tension... 
Someone is a master of understatement.

[The introduction of minions] results in things like a massive gun battle in the middle of San Francisco, a battle that introduces them to Nuala.... a very old vampire, powerful enough to handle direct sunlight for short periods and has an evil enough reputation that they are actively worried about her manifesting soul fire, which is pretty much the peak of a vampire’s destructive abilities. During the battle, she almost single-handedly takes out the whole crew in hand-to-hand combat, something no one has come even close to doing.

Barely surviving this initial encounter, Marco has to use everything and everyone at his disposal to develop a plan capable of taking down Nuala. Merle and his gang are included, along with the Vatican’s own team of vampire hunters, referred to my Marco and Amanda as the “Vatican Ninjas”. I won’t spoil the details but the intricacy of the plan further cemented my impression of Marco as basically this world’s Batman. He may not have any powers, but he is the last person that you want mad at you....

In the end, Finn gives readers another fun, vampire-slaying romp through the underworld that expands the lore, makes better use of some secondary characters, and trims some of the fat that the previous book suffered slightly from. With one more book left in the series, the question you should be asking is, “What could be sent after Marco that would be worse?”

The Rest of the Review

Purchase Link
Good to the Last Drop


In Good to the Last Drop, Declan Finn brings the story of Love at First Bite to its epic, if not unexpected, conclusion.....
Things really get kicked off with a werewolf attack on Marco, an attack that leaves him infected with the werewolf virus..... [which] increases the host’s personality traits. Given Marco’s own intense and often violent personality, one can see how this might be a problem.
I do like the reviewer's use of understatement.
The story comes to its conclusion .... with a massive battle between Misha’s army of vampires and the Vatican Ninja’s along with the rest of Marco’s allies. It comes down to a one-on-one battle between a fully revealed Misha and Amanda who at last is manifesting her true potential.

....Whatever the author’s future plans, I look forward to them and seeing my favorite Catholic vampire hunters at work again.
The Rest of the Review

Purchase Link

I look forward to their review of Hell Spawn

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