Review: Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair

Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair (Cassandra Bick Chronicles #1)

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Synopsis from Goodreads
All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you’re a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward – especially when there’s a supernatural war brewing in London, a sexy new bloodsucker in town and your mysterious, homicidal and vampire hating ex-lover chooses this moment to reappear in your life…

Witty, sharp and entertaining, Dark Dates is a heady mix of vampires, witches and werewolves – with the occasional angel thrown in – and introduces Cassandra Bick, a likeable heroine destined to join the ranks of fantasy’s feistiest females.

  Amazon kindle US/UK(2.05)

8/10

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 I would say that any fan of earlier Anita Blake or Darynda Jones is going to love it. This pure joyful digging at ridiculous cliches of vampire culture... Anne Rice, LKH, mentions of Supernatural ad Buffy,  - it was so much fun!



Cassandra, the main character, is more Sookie than Anita. She is a Londoner through and through, who helps newbie vampires find dates. She even organises speed-dating between them and their meals.

Her secretary and best friend, Medea, is a witch and her lover strongly reminds me of Edward (not Cullen, for God's sake! I'm talking about Ted Forrester here). Cain is a sociopatic hunter of monsters who doesn't approve of Cassandra's business but who keeps popping in her life for infrequent bouts of sex.

Cain was insane. Not, ‘hey, let’s drink tequila and get tattoos’ insane, but with the clear eyed insanity of a man who would plough a steamroller through a field of kittens if he was in a hurry and thought it would cut five minutes off his drive time.

Then there is Laclos... Pale, dark long hair, gorgeous body, leather trousers. He is like Jean-Claude but with a healthy sense of humour. He is pompous and narcissistic, but at the same time doesn't forget that this is all for show, that he plays on cliches.

The vampire put a finger under my chin and tilted my face towards his, his hand slightly warm from the blood he’d clearly just consumed, his lips as full and flushed as if I had kissed them. Did I just think that? Speechless, I cast a panicked glance at the figures on the bed, but they were definitely alive: whatever had just taken place here, it hadn’t been murder. He watched my gaze and flashed me a lascivious smirk.
“Does that disgust or excite you?”
I shrugged, feigning a confidence I didn’t feel. “Oh, the debauched bisexual bloodsucker routine is always a classic,” I said, and nodded to the surroundings. “And you’ve got the decor for it.”

"Ah. My apologies. I am Laclos.”
“Of course you are. Louis and Lestat being taken."

The plot is very straightforward, with a villain who is killing all the young modern vamps in London using magic and demons, while Cass and her friends are trying to stop him. On the other hand, Cass's love life is a right mess and so is her business, but she is funny and downright normal in her reactions like a young overworked slobby professional woman who lives on takeaways and has a cat, and I do not question her integrity. As a character she is familiar to all of us. There are no Mary Sues in this novel.

Male characters are a bit messier. Cain is pragmatic. That's why he doesn't want normal relationship with Cass. With his occupation and other differences including differences of opinion, he leaves her a chance to find someone normal. However, I don't think it's healthy for the woman herself.

Laclos is awkward as in I can't quite grasp his character yet, so I'll have to wait for another book to decide if he is developed properly or not. 

Medea and her girlfriend are charming sidekicks, especially because Medea's girl is an NHS nurse with a huge grudge against the bankers and cuts NHS has to suffer because of the recession.

Overall this is a steady book plot-wise, but it definitely wins you over with plenty of charm and humour. I would love to read book #2 when it comes out!

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Смешная книжка, подкалывающая раннюю Аниту Блэйк, вампиров Анн Райс и вообще дурацкие вампирские клише.

Я поржала, повыделяла  цитаты, напомнившие мне Жан-Клода и Эдварда ака Тэда Форрестера из Аниты. (см. выше)

Кассандра - это какой-то срез между Суки и Чарли Дэвидсон Даринды Джоунс, шикарное чувство юмора, не боец, а типичная заезженная работой, молодая одинокая женщина  а Лондоне, живущая на купленных в ресторанах блюдах, но не забывающая кормить своего кота.

Сюжет очень прост, но честно говоря книгу читаешь не из-за него, а из диалогов между Касс, Каином, Лаклосом, Медеей и её партнёршей. Хорошо подходит под пляжную погоду. Рекомендую.