Bloodshot (Cheshire Red Reports, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 12, 2010 Shannon rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, hispanic-characters, color-blue, color-black, borrowed, color-red, 2011, novels

I really enjoyed this book. It was a darker action-packed urban fantasy, and I'm glad that I stumbled upon it. I had never read Cherie Priest before, but I found this at the library and decided to give it a chance.

At times I would describe the plot as being Vampire Mission: Impossible. I even said that Raylene reminded me of a morally ambiguous Kate Beckinsale from Underworld. These two things made for a fantastically different novel from what I've been forcing myself to read lately. It was such ...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Steph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: author-웃, audiobook-listened-to, series-i-love, series-book1, favorites-all-years, series-ended, year-read-2011, favorites-2011, series-completed

My review, Alice-style, can be viewed here . I cannot wait for #2, Hellbent coming in August 2011!

...more

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Jan 08, 2011 The Flooze rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, vanquished_2013, yearlong_promises

Bloodshot is a fast-paced, engaging tale that wends its way through secret government organizations, clandestine bioresearch groups, and the odd drag club or two.

It's told from the viewpoint of a vampire catburglar named Raylene. She's a likeable smartass who prefers a clean getaway to a physical confrontation - or so she says, despite the trail of bodies she's defensively leaving in her wake. She's a paranoid loner when we first meet her, so despite her undead status this isn't a tale focusing Bloodshot is a fast-paced, engaging tale that wends its way through secret government organizations, clandestine bioresearch groups, and the odd drag club or two.

It's told from the viewpoint of a vampire catburglar named Raylene. She's a likeable smartass who prefers a clean getaway to a physical confrontation - or so she says, despite the trail of bodies she's defensively leaving in her wake. She's a paranoid loner when we first meet her, so despite her undead status this isn't a tale focusing solely on vampire politics. Instead, it's much more of a pure mystery/suspense job than I normally come across in UF.

All the better, because it means we're ensconced in something a bit fresh, a bit new. So many vampires are engaged in assassin/bodyguard positions, after all. Why not put all that supernatural agility to a different use?

Raylene may not have vamp politics to discuss, but she sure has a lot of info to dole out. The author narrowly avoids ye auld info dump by fashioning her lead into a mental babbler. She goes off on frequent tangents about herself, her day-to-day life, her techniques for staying under the radar, and the worse case scenarios she mentally prepares for. Yet for all Raylene's preparations, I agree with one character's assessment of her as rather reckless - controlling smaller aspects and allowing larger plans to fall to improvisation. It means we never know how much trouble she'll fall into...and it's a hell of a lot more fun that way.

Trouble in Raylene's case means dodging bullets, jumping across rooftops, escaping burning buildings, evading capture, and digging up the occasional grave. There's little to no downtime, yet the story never feels too hectic. The leads she picks up are never too obvious. The answers she finds are chilling and satisfying, while still leaving much more to be discovered in the next installment.

Raylene's sidekicks are unique, though their personalities fall a bit flat. Granted, the plot doesn't leave much time for heart-to-heart convos, but I'm hoping for more depth in Hellbent, book two of the series.

Which I'm just on my way to pick up at the library, so overall Cherie Priest must have done her job well. ...more

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