Deadworld - J.N. Duncan
2.7

Don't know why I kept reading this book when I clearly knew by page 30 that I didn't like it. Couldn't explain what pulled me to finish it but I can certainly tell you that it wasn't Jackie Rutledge. She's a very unsympathetic character and I have to admit that I was sort of hoping that she would get killed off.

I guess that doesn't happen when you're the lead female.

Jackie is a bitch. An agressive one at that. With a gun. She's scarred emotionally and how she ever made it past the final round of FBI psych evals is beyond me. I like my heroines to be a little angsty but I don't need full blown psychotic. Think Ashley Judd's character in "Twisted" combined with Sandra Bullock's character in "Murder by Numbers" with a healthy dose of fuck the world and there you go, you have Jackie. Minus the sympathy one would have for say, Sandra Bullock's character. Jackie is supposed to be tough but I think she's just self-destructive she drinks a lot, which in and of itself doesn't bother me but it's the constant one night stands she has which culminates into her almost killing a man after her partner does. She goes apeshit but she's flashbacking to her stepfather who may or may not have sexually abused her, but was abusive, and then pulls a gun on some dude who is domming her. Weird to say the least

If you want a tragic and scarred heroine who is a little more likeable try Red-Headed Stepchild or even better, try Mark of the Demon.

Plot wise there were a lot of holes why could the vampires feel the pull of the dead? why could they suck the dead into them? why doesn't Nick drink blood anymore? I know it was a vow, but why? why could the vampires feel when another vampire is feeding? does it have something to do with being blood linked? How did Reggie die? Where did Reggie go? Why is Shelby alive? Is she alive? Why was Drake after Nick in the first place?

There were also continuity issues when Laurel died Jackie saw the green elf on her calf, indicative of a tattoo, but when she saw Shelby's tat she thinks that Laurel might have liked to have gotten one even though she was scared of needles or some such nonsense and a few spelling mistakes that the content and copy editor should've picked up on.

Nick seemed like a good guy if not a bit of a sadist. He was also incredibly passive about the whole Drake thing. If Jackie and Laurel hadn't arrived on the scene then what would he have done? He was a weird hero. Nice, sweet but tortured and beat down. He's lost all interest in living and is only awaiting the inevitable but my question is, why didn't he just end it himself? Also, what he sees in Jackie is a mystery. She's quite a bitch to him. Shelby is no better but they have a history so it's easy to see that Shelby is the spur in his side.

The supporting characters, like the plot, weren't fleshed out that well and adding the unnecessary drama of Laurel being in love with Jackie at one point because we just found out she's gay gave me a weird feeling.

It was a mediocre book with bad characters and the only thing that would make me go back for me is reading more about Nick. That and the series seems to have gotten a bit better judging by Goodreads ratings.