Antony J. Stanton: Once Bitten, Twice Live

In the first book, the apocalypse was introduced to the world and a couple of survivors had to come to terms with it - and with the fact that their beloveds may have turned into hungry zombies and they might actually need to kill them.
This book picks up where the first one left off, of course. So we see our survivors again, we see their attempts at making some kind of order in chaotic world and we also develop feelings for some because only times of trouble show who your friends are.
Aaaaaand the vampires! Finally! They were in the first book, too, but only a little bit for my taste. Here, however, they finally take up more space and start interacting and interfering. Within the clan two fractions appear and no one knows which stand to take. Oh, the decisions. Enslave the humanity and treat them like cattle or keep hidden in the shadows..
Except some of them haven't got the "we are not decided, do not act now" memo and showed their true nature to some survivors. So not only are the survivors scavenging for supplies and walking on tiptoes so that they don't wake up the zombies, now they have to face the fact that they're going crazy because surely vampires... that's too much for this crooked world, right?
This book is just as thrilling and adventurous as the first one. It develops the characters more and brings cruel plot twists so it's definitely a wild ride.

GENRE: postapocalyptic-thriller ride

FANGS OUT: vampires are finally out in the open
FANGS RETRACTING: not so many important things happened plot-wise (I mean, a lot of people died but you kinda get used to that)
TOTAL SCORE:

Robert Tomoguchi: The Scribbled Victims

I'm getting Anne Rice vibe here and I'm not mad. On the contrary. I haven't read a book about morality of vampire life in a while. Way to go Rice lovers, I wish there were more of you to pick up her tradition.
I got this book from the author to write a review and I'm always happy (because free books, duh!) as well as scared of this because the authors who send me their stuff are so enthusiastic that they can get their books out there in the world and have people talking about them but, honestly, I dread the day I get a shitty piece and have to write about it. For them, the books are like children. Try to tell them their beloved child they put so much effort in sucks. But fortunately today is not the day.
The story follows Yelena, a beautiful immortal, who is plagued by guilt and often starves herself. She kills in order to sustain her own life but she feels bad because she doesn't see people as cattle. And before you ask, no, there are no sparkly vampires in here so feeding off animal blood is a no go. One day, she meets a child cancer patient who can see evil in people through her scribbles. That cheers Yelena up a little now that she can kill criminals who do horrible things to others.
But many questions arise - how long till the girl dies? Can she even start contemplating turning a child and doom her to an eternal life in a small body? Can she replace the love of a lover gone with that for a child? Isn't she making the child a murderer when she takes the scribbles from her? And way more. I loved the philosophical aspect of the story. It was thought-provoking and refreshing.
It's true that the story is centred on Yelena but other vampires with different life views are introduced to contrast what she feels and to show the reader what the average vampire looks like.
All in all, it was great! If you like to think a little while reading, this is it - your next vampire read. ;-)=

GENRE: personal horror story

FANGS OUT: Rice's tradition is very prominent
FANGS RETRACTING: out the fangs go
TOTAL SCORE:

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Certain Dark Things

In an alternative world, where all kinds of vampires exist (basically all folklore myths apply here), many countries decided to get rid of them. That's how Mexico became a host for these creatures and how they got their hands on the drug trade. And when two drug lords fight for their turf, it's always messy.
The story follows a young vampire Atl who wasn't supposed to get into the mess. Her women-oriented family put effort into her older sister who was supposed to get the hang of things since she was the better and older warrior. Alt was ever the care-free party girl. But somehow Atl finds herself on the run and tries to hide in a vampire-free zone Mexico City where an old ally should reside. But that's where it gets worse. It is another drug territory so once she is spotted, she must be eliminated. With the help of a naive boy (of almost her age *eyeroll*) from the streets she tries to evade her not so pretty future.
I loved the variety in vampires- there were vampires from old European myths, there were the ones from Americas and so on. And each subspecies had qualities from the particular place of their origin. I personally find that "counting" trait very funny in vampires though this book is anything but funny. It's adventurous, it's dark and it's full of blood... and other body parts.
Oh, and one more thing - there were glimpses of Renfields' lives - those are the people who serve or are controlled by vampires. It was nice seeing what happens to the or how they feel. If it weren't for the general lack of je ne sais quoi, it would be a five-star read.

GENRE: drug-lord's noir future

FANGS OUT: the folklore mix
FANGS RETRACTING: not action-packed enough
TOTAL SCORE: