Author: Deborah Riley-Magnus
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Publication Date: May 2012
Pages: 240
Format: E-Book - EPUB
Genre: Paranormal
Source: Review Copy from Author
Twice-baked vampire, Gabriel Strickland may appear to be coping well with the responsibilities his life after double-death has dealt him, but it's only show. The struggle to earn his ticket through the Pearly Gates takes a toll when he's assigned to perform a Monkey Jump - a program designed to teach newly assigned management the skills required to do their job. To soften the blow, he takes Dori as his assistant. What he wants is peace and serenity to think things through, what he gets is startling temptation, a Soul Eater and his sidekick, Master Witch Neave Brittania Cook. One has a revenge agenda and the other, designs on Gabriel's soul.
The Monkey Jump itinerary, scheduled for Phoenix and Seattle, takes a perilous detour to a north Alaskan community of the oldest, most evolved vampires on the planet. Secrets must be kept and Gabriel must protect Dori as well as his own path to paradise. Well hell, this can't be good. (Goodreads Synopsis)
Having enjoyed Cold in California, the first book in this series, I was interested to see where the story would take the characters next.
Initially I found this second book a little disappointing as, for the first half of the book, the story didn't grab me. By the halfway point, things picked up, though, and I really appreciated the big lead-up to the ending, which was action-packed and fun.
Gabriel's character had some development, but I felt Dori was left to the side a bit this time. Perhaps she will come to the fore again if there is a third book. However, I did think it was great that some of the minor characters from the first book had more 'screen time' in this one as some of them were good fun.
One thing I did find annoying in this book was the fact that 'cannot' was constantly written incorrectly as 'can not'. Being an editor, it was just something that grated every time I saw it, pulling me out of the story.
So, in conclusion, not a bad continuation of the story, but this book, for me, lacked some of the amusement and fun of the first instalment, and it did take a while for the storyline to establish itself. If you enjoyed Cold in California, I recommend reading on and, even though this one didn't grab me so much, it hasn't ruined my enthusiasm for the series and I would still be happy to read on.
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