"I remember a brick wall. I remember you in leather." -John Brittain
Grave New Day
Lina Gardiner
Jess Vandermire, book three
ebook, 184 pages
Published June 15th 2010 by Imajinn Books (first published June 2010)
ISBN 9781933417561
Vampire and New York City Police Black Ops Captain Jess Vandermire is faced with the hardest decision of her life-become human again and regain her soul or remain a vampire forever and fight an ancient evil that is a threat to every human on the planet.
Ensnared in a plan that might go terribly wrong, she has little choice. As a human she can't fight the ancient enemy. Then a mysterious stranger shows up and offers to help, and she's not sure if he's really on her side. She discovers her entire existence has been leading up to the challenge ahead. A challenge that has insurmountable odds, and if she doesn't win, every human on the planet loses.
Aliens. Angels. Shifters. Demons. And now, Vampires. I'm definitely making the rounds.
Grave New Day opens up not too long after the end of the last book with Jess put in the position of planning Britt's funeral arrangements. Regent, her brother and personal savior, is by her side, as always, aiding her in the coping with her grief and trying to dissuade her from retiring from the police force and taking up a vigilante role against vampires.
At the funeral, Jess is approached by a man who calls himself Zeke and claims Britt's alive and will return to her soon. Which he does--very soon.
Britt doesn't remember much. Maybe his name. And Regent's phone number. Go figure. He does not, however, remember Jess. He's awoken in what he assumes is a monastery and is quickly taken by Zeke to rescue Jess from a vampire fight. From there, don't expect some grand reunion where everything clicks into place. It doesn't. Britt has a vague inkling that these people are familiar but that's all. Meanwhile, Jess may not know who the Britt lookalike is, but she's quite insistent on who he is not.
This book is screwy. I loved having Britt with memory loss. It actually made him a much better character. Having to fall in love with Jess all over again was wonderful, and even better., he had to realize vampires existed all over again as well. Sadly, it came and went too fast. He remembers a little more every time he speaks and them bam!, at midpoint Zeke returns right on cue and everything goes... well, screwy. Not only does Britt get his memory back but Jess is the *only* one who knows what has occurred in the first twelve chapters of the book. That's right, we're practically starting completely over. And I was SO tempted to shut it down right then and there. I didn't want to start over. Plus, I was rather exhausted by the overwhelming feelings and very little fact that built the story.
The only real, constant drama revolves around James, Jess' old partner whom she turned years ago. He, like her, managed to hold onto his humanity. Married a human woman. And adopted a vampire baby. Here, due to a ridiculous scheme by Italian vamps, James is battling the completion of his transition to a vampire. He captures his wife and child, locking them away, and forcing his wife to feed their daughter with her blood to keep her alive. In doing so, the baby turns her.
I gagged and choked my way from there out. Forced myself to finish. And that's not necessarily something I'm proud of. The worst part? It's to be continued! Hell no. Not for this woman.
2 out of 5 stars.
Previously in this series:
