I've not had much luck with the libraries in Bexley, which is the area I live in. I used to go to the library next door to where I work but it is closed for a year for refurbishments. Anyway, I wasn't able to find the next Horowitz or Nix books at the library and decided to check out Richelle Mead, author of the Vampire Academy series. All I could find, though, was Succubus Nights which is the second book in Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series.
I decided to give it a try but I didn’t really hold any hopes of it being any good. I have figured out that I’m not really into vampire stories (strange that, given that I have a blood phobia) and it did seem a bit… trashy.
Well, I am happy to say that I was definitely wrong. I had only read twenty pages in when I felt invested enough in the story and the characters to want to read the first book, Succubus Blues and so I ordered it through eBay.
Part of the reason that I enjoyed this series so much is that it is not a simple vampire story. In fact, while there are vampires in the story, their nature plays a very small part in the storylines of both books. The world of the Georgina Kincaid books is one where creatures of darkness, such as vampires, incubi, succubi, imps and other lessor immortals are all managed in a great bureaucracy by demons or greater immortals. Georgina’s particular ‘coven’ is joined by a sardonic, self-righteous angel although thankfully, they are not joined by any of the other creatures of good.
The books are funny and the characters are really well-written and totally likeable. These are not children’s books so keep that in mind; in fact, a succubus is a creature of the night that seduces men in order to steal their souls. There is a lot of sex in these books but I must say, I really enjoyed the scenes and thought they were well done.
Both books have a murder-mystery feel to them. Succubus Blues revolves around the murder of several lesser-immortals and Georgina has to figure out who is doing the killing and Succubus Nights has Georgina trying to figure out where her mortal friends suddenly got their superhuman abilities from.
One of my favourite parts of the books is that Georgina works in a bookstore and much of the story takes place in the store. A major character is Seth Mortensen, a famous writer and it is great to see Mead’s insight into the writing process and the life of a writer as she describes what Seth goes through to get a book finished. I imagine she is describing her own process and it is fascinating to read – in fact, it reminds me of what I was like when I used to write essays at university.
Richelle Mead has a website and a LiveJournal and she seems so down to earth and accessible. It is a huge contrast to how full of crap JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer are, that’s for sure. I’m probably going to finish this series of hers and then I’ll move on to her Vampire Academy and Dark Swan series.
I give both books four out of five stars. They are not high literature and definitely have a chick-lit, trashy feel to them but I really enjoyed them. These are also the first ‘urban fantasy’ books I have read and I might expand on the genre.
