Bookish Britt

Review of "Succubus Blues," by Richelle Mead:


Georgia Kincaid is yet another character we are endeared to because she works at a bookstore. And like so many of us book worms, she finds spending an evening with a glass of wine and a good book more enjoyable than many social outings. However, she does happen to also work for a demon as an implement to corrupt men's souls.

While are never given her actual age, there are sporadic flash-backs to her past as a human that imply she dates back to Roman times. So after thousands of years she's understandably weary of the game of seduction and corruption. She's kind of a vegetarian Succubus: she only feeds off of the jerks that were cheating on their spouses and the like.

There is a lot of biblical mythology in this book, because Georgia's boss is a demon (i.e. fallen angel) that hangs out with an angel. And the main conflicts involves offspring of angels and human women. But it's not as melodramatic as you would think. The main plot line of the novel is Georgia's dilemma that she can't date or be intimate with men she cares about because it would sap years off of their life. So when her favorite author moves into her area and the two start and on again and off again flirtation she's between a rock and hard place.

I really liked this intro to this series. I'll admit that when I read Mead's Vampire academy series I was kind of bored with it. But this is a compelling but upbeat read. I finished it quickly . Which is one of my indicators of how good a novel is for me. Although Georgia has an interesting habit in the book about reading books that she is really looking forward to: she only reads 5 pages a night, comparing it to eating a pint of hagen-daas in one sitting. It's a nice idea for books like the Sookie Stackhouse and House of Night books that only come out once a year and are over too fast. Realistically? I'll probably still have those books done in record time when they come out every year. But for those of you with more self-control might have luck with it.

Book two: Succubus On Top I'm still trying to acquire. But once I do, I'll do a follow-up for this review.