If you missed out on when Jaz met Vayl and when Vayl met Jaz, make sure you check those out as well!

The plot unfolds as the local vamps make power plays to come out on top, sucking Jaz and Vayl into some major supernatural doodoo. We also watch Jaz and Vayl’s relationship grow, with moments that are laugh-out-loud to simply depressing.

Have I mentioned how much I love Jaz? She is just the right about of tough but still goes googly eyed when Vayl’s shirt comes off. She is prone to sarcasm and foot-in-mouth syndrome, but manages to charm (or shoot) her way out of it. Perfection.

Unfortunately, we don’t see much of the gang–Cassandra, Bergman, and Cole are mostly out of the picture (except for some entertaining text messages). Bitten to Death centers around Jaz, Vayl, and Dave, who Jaz is desperately trying to keep from losing his job. With her personal life in turmoil and vampires she isn’t allowed to kill (yet), Jaz is not a happy camper. Throw in some weres (wolves AND bears, oh my!) and talking puddles of blood, Bitten to Death follows its predessors in can’t-put-down thrills and chills.

Read an excerpt from Jen’s site or check out a recent interview on Hagelrat’s blog Unbound!

I should also apologize for delayed posting. I’m currently working, dogsitting (2 dogs!), studying for the GMAT, and trying to find the time to read (and blog!). It’s going to be a crazy couple months, and in addition I’ll be out of the country for two weeks in November! To top it all off, my internet connection has been about as reliable as a feral cat in heat…do cats even go into heat? Uh..Anyway…

Happy reading!

• Jo Graham gives us an inside look at the Hand of Isis, coming out in March 2009
• If you’re confused by all the hoopla over Brent Weeks’ The Way of Shadows, read the first chapter from Orbit and decide for yourself
• For fans of the Jaz Parks novels, Jennifer Rardin posted a 2 part backstory on her blog–When Jaz Met Vayl and when Vayl met Jaz. She also gives us a worthwhile little peek into Jaz’s Top Secret file.

Argh!! After seeing all the fan sites on FB for the Twilight novels, I am come to the realization that some people will continuously live cliches!

As my bro Isaiah (not the one I’m allergic to) mentioned after reading the series (and I agree): “Eddie and Bella become more annoying as time goes on. They both need to be smacked for being one-dimensional, cliche and boring.”

It’s clearly targeting the angsty teenage crowd but as a woman of (some) wisdom, I can’t imagine ever condoning these books! Bella is a self centered, selfish, weak character!

If you haven’t read all three books you may be in for some spoilers..

Someone please explain how women especially can read this and love the two main characters as:
Bella enjoys her “harmless” flirtations and leading on the two men in her life; falls apart when Edward leaves her; can’t do anything without his say-so; and Edward is cocky, arrogant, (He doesn’t have many other facial expressions other than smirk) and leaves her without so much as an explanation..are these they types of people you admire and want to emulate?

The messages these books give its readers are downright disgusting:
1.) Looks are so very important. When you have several men trying to get in your pants, ignore the nice guy and go for the “hot” guy.
2.) It’s ok to have no goals and not want to pursue college because if you pick the right man he will take care of you
3.) It is super flattering when the guy you are with is obsessive, stalkerish, possessive, and sneaks into your bedroom to watch you sleep. So sweet!

A very intelligent comment/retort from Facebook that I have taken the liberty to paste here:

Daya, I respect your opinion about the series, but as a fan of the books I have to disagree with the “messages” you believe Twilight is sending young women (and men).

1.) The book does not glorify looks as the most important aspect of a relationship. Bella is clearly described as being simple or plain in appearance, and yet Edward who is very beautiful (for the purpose of attracting prey, which is emphasized more than once) see’s past Bella’s outward appearance. To him she is the most beautiful person in the world because of who she is as an individual and for the reason’s special to him. Also, Mike and esp. Jacob are described as being good looking as well, which Bella disregards because she has an emotional connection with Edward that the other two lack.
2.) Bella does not blow of college simply b/c Edward has enough money to take care of her. Each book emphasizes the fact that she studies often and keeps good grades. The only reason she isn’t going to college (right away at least) is b/c she will be physically unable when she changes AND b/c she refuses to let Edward pay her tuition for her. Jacob also offers to “take care of her” when vying for her attention yet she disregards him b/c money is not the reason she has chosen Edward.
3.) Let’s be honest about this one. Not only is the “stalkerish” factor a mere facet of Edward being a vampire and his ability, but metaphorically I think even the most independent women would agree that having a man you love want to spend “every waking moment” with you is desireable… not to mention a reacurring theme in most literature addressing love and relationships.

Like I said, I totally respect your opinion but I definitely disagree. Even Stephanie Meyers stated herself that she wrote the story in hopes of creating a science fiction novel that at it’s heart is an idyllic, encapsulating love story.
Of course it’s often not realistic, but then again how much truly good and timeless literature is?

…and my response

Olivia,

While I too respect your opinion, I still disagree. I’m actually fairly surprised at myself because I usually don’t feel very strongly over entertainment/reading material.

However, now that I got started I will continue:

1.) It does glorify looks. Bella describes herself as “simple or plain in appearance” but the reactions she gets from others implies otherwise. Even her name, Isabella Swan, practically shouts beauty and grace. I don’t think the “popular” crowd would have taken her under their wing so quickly while the male students jostle each other to get at her if she wasn’t attractive. She receives several requests to prom (again this is geared at a younger crowd and what teen doesn’t wish this was her?) and Edward often describes her as beautiful, sexy, etc.
Further, I couldn’t read more than two pages without an in depth, lengthy description of some part of Edward’s body (I get it, he’s hot)…too much purple prose for my taste.

2.) I will give you that one simply because I don’t remember what my reasons were yesterday.

3.) Just because Ed’s abilities allow him to creep about unnoticed and are a “mere facet” of his abilities, I still hold him to our mortal morals. Just because we have camera surveillance doesn’t mean they should be installed in areas like dressing rooms or bathrooms.
He is also possessive, gearing up at Jacob every chance he gets and going so far as to disable Bella’s car so she can’t leave her house and his surveillance?? Come on…

Finally, Bella whines. A lot. It annoys me. She does idiot things that I just can’t believe. She bloodies herself up just to get the car radio out that was given to her as a gift. To me it’s just contradictory. If she’s going to try to break typical feminine stereotypes (like the cooking, cleaning, and laundry she seems to do constantly) with her motorcycle, then learn to use a screwdriver!

The last straw is when Edward leaves her. The book literally skips a section of her life bc she is in such a deep depression. It has a page for NOVEMBER and then it’s blank, then it goes to JANUARY (or whatever the months were). I can’t abide a character so weak that her life is just so worthless we can just skip half a year because since Edward isn’t around, nothing important must have happened.

Finally (for real this time!), plot. There is none. It dutifully chugs along and about 3/4 of the way through it’s as if Steph realized,”Crap! In good books, isn’t there something called a climax”??

She throws in James and once again, Bella, our damsel in distress, almost gets killed if not for Edward saving the day.

I can keep going, but I think I have wasted enough time on this series. It rates a 2/10, if that. It’s a little more understandable when keeping the intended audience age in mind, but if I were a mother of an impressionable teen/preteen, I would rather have my heroine be..oh, I don’t know..heroic?

If you want a fun supernatural read, Jaz Parks and Danny Valentine novels lead the pack for female protagonists. They don’t whine.

They do kick ass.