when I first began reading First Drop of Crimson I was very, very confused. Stuff happened off screen--such as meetings, deaths, parties, sexual tension--that felt like it had already been explored in depth. Silly me, you would think the series title would have clued me in that this is a companion series to Frost's urban fantasy 'Night Huntress' novels, but well I never won points for putting two and two together. I tried reading the Cat Chronicles, but I just could not get into the character at all. So much like Kelley Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld" series, I like the spin-off but not the main series.

At first I was a little bit unsure about Denise and Spade. Denise spent so much time vocally and silently proclaiming how much she hated the supernatural world, that the attraction felt for Spade seemed out of character--despite the fact this is about their romance! Her panic attack when he left her side made me a little wary as well, but Spade made up for the faults of Denise. Maybe because of his human upbringing (he was a Baron), or because he is just that kind of a guy, but he was more than patient with Denise's foibles. He cared when she would tense up, was careful to explain things to her and took notice when she became too uncomfortable.

His reassuring patience is what won me over for their cause. He didn't push from her a response that would horrify and break her and intentionally or otherwise he surrounded her (as much as possible at least) with supernaturals that were more welcoming. Denise wavered between being likable being annoying. She spent a lot of time being rude or uncooperative with Spade, even after proving that he had only her best interests at heart. I like Denise when she was teasing Spade, or being inquisitive or had a snappy comeback. Some of her frustration and anger is contextually explained, but I can't help but think she must have had a hair-trigger temper to begin with.

So...how's a vampire romance novel without there being a whole lot of the biting euphoria that is so popular? Still hot! Spade knew how to tease her, how to tempt her and how to draw a response from her she didn't expect. It helps that he had an English accent, at least in my particular case. Which is something else to comment on--Frost does a good job making me 'hear' the accents for the different characters. Ian and Spade both have different accents and the structure of the sentence suggested as much. I love that in books.

The demon, Raum, gave me chills, but he was also rather comical at times. He was...not over the top so much as just too much. I felt like he read out of the Villain's Book of Dastardly Threats sometimes. I don't doubt that he would do those things, but subtly is the finer point of being evil in my opinion. He screams like a little girl though when salt hits his skin, so that was amusing. The changes in Denise, because of her reluctant association with Raum, were more amusing. It gives new meaning to the phrase "steam coming out of her ears".

Overall I was pleased and enjoyed the book thoroughly. I think for fans of the Night Huntress novels proper this will be an nice addition, fleshing out minor characters or characters briefly seen/mentioned, and for anyone who has no working knowledge of the series it works well enough. Not quite as stand alone as it could be, but enjoyable none the less. ( )

this book sucks. re-read 3.12.13 ( )

I heard this spin-off duo should be read before This Side of the Grave, and I was more than ready to get a break from the main action and read Denise and Spade’s story. It took the series in surprising directions, and I liked how Denise ultimately found a way to deal with her guilt over Randy’s death. Her solution to her problem with the demon made me happy too. As well as the fact that she and Spade could get their HEA without Denise having to do something she didn’t want to do. I wonder if her weird blood is going to come up as a danger to her later, or if Spade and friends killed enough of Web’s people that no one knows about it.
I know this series has spin-offs with Ian and Vlad too, and I’m thinking, seeing how much I liked this one, that I’ll probably need to get to those too. I already liked Frost’s Night Huntress world, and getting POVs beyond Cat’s first person narration has made me like it more.
One last thing: that shower scene in Vegas...sexiest scene in the book (and no actual sex). Spade hit the highest setting on the hot-o-meter with his seduction technique.
On to Mencheres’s story, and then back to Cat and Bones!

P.S. Oh, but that cover! Weird and horrible. ( )

Trigger warning: sexual slavery, rape, miscarriage
After a night out with her cousin, Paul, turns into a deadly attack from an unknown, supernatural assailant who can turn from a dog into a man, Denise MacGregor wants to call Cat Crawfield in for reinforcements but finds she doesn’t have any current numbers for her best friend who recently traveled around the world running away from a pedophilic vampire (see my review of Destined for an Early Grave for more information). As a last result, Denise dials the number for Baron Charles DeMortimer, otherwise known as Spade, Cat’s husband Bones’s best friend and a man she hasn’t seen since he brutally murdered a man who threatened to rape her outside of a honky-tonk. Her disgust and fear of him are overwhelmed by her terror of whatever killed her cousin (and possibly is also responsible for the death of another cousin and her aunt), and she blurts out her suspicions over the phone.

Read more at https://theparanormalreview.blogspot.com/2021/09/first-drop-of-crimson-by-jeanie... ( )

Fun fluff. ( )