When Blood Calls by JK Beck

I love Julie Kenner's books. The next one can never come out fast enough for me. (Seriously, HOW long do we have to wait for another Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Book?)

But she's not actually working on those right now, I guess. Julie is a bit consumed with her alter ego, J.K. Beck, author of The Shadow Keepers. I was a little skeptical about this series. I mean, I've always liked everything she wrote, so it has to be good, but...it's vampires.

And really, I'm so very tired of vampires.

But she was giving away a mega-ton of ARCs (advance reader copies), so thought "what the hey" and signed up. And got one! Which was kind of genius, because I probably wouldn't have bought it. You know, because of the vampires. My hope was that I'd read the first book, love it, and then have to buy the other two. I'm sure her hope was something like that, too.

The condition for receiving the ARC was, if I liked the book, I'd help spread the word via social media promotion. If I didn't like it, she asked that I pass it on. (That's full disclosure, FCC. :) )

So, since I'm blogging about this book, I guess you can tell I liked it. :) I admit it did stumble over a few of my personal bugaboos, but they're completely personal. The book is incredibly well written, with a fully realized world we get immersed in from page one, without the stumbling around that a reader sometimes has to do before getting acclimated.

The characters are excellent. I like ambiguity in my romance and in my characterization, and she provides just enough to keep it interesting, without making us feel lost. We also get multiple points of view, a lot more than just the main couple, which makes for a more complex experience.

When Blood Calls, the first book in the trilogy, is out next Tuesday, August 31. You can preorder now, of course, and that link takes you to her page with links to all the most popular retailers. When Pleasure Rules and When Wicked Craves are coming out in October and November, so yay! We don't have to wait this time! :)

Enjoy!