After dispatching “Mister Day” in Demons Are Forever, Marco Catalano and Amanda Colt go their separate ways in September. Marco has to stay and make sure that San Francisco’s vampire populace takes the hint to behave, a job he is eminently suited for, and Amanda does not feel she can keep him safe if she remains on the West Coast. So she goes back to New York City to hunt down leads on who – or what – Day was working with or toward. That way she is not close to Marco and will not be able to hurt him.
Escaping death by demon, however, means that Marco has a decision to make. After weighing the pros and cons alongside some personal revelations, he decides that he should no longer hide his true feelings. He loves Amanda, and it is time to tell her that. So he writes her an email and hits “send.”
...No response is forthcoming for almost four months. Is Amanda ignoring him? If so, why? If not, is she in trouble? Since she is not answering his emails, Marco can’t tell one way or the other. Without answers, all he can really do is expend his frustration on the obliging San Francisco vampire population.
Unfortunately, the local vamps are going to be the least of his problems. Someone wants Marco dead, and they are willing to hire the world’s longest-lived assassin to ensure that he can’t rise again. The vampiress who killed the villain of Honor at Stake is back in town and she has her sights set on Marco Catalano.
This is going to be a hot December.
The Story
While Marco and Amanda are busy with their respective ends of the business, Merle Kraft is in Afghanistan. He is leading a SpecOps team that specializes in killing both ISIS terrorists and vampires. Dropping in on one such band of monsters turns up interesting connections to the United Nations and nearly ends with Merle being ripped to shreds by a familiar vampiress. This would be the redheaded Irish she-demon known only as Nuala. She was under contract to keep Mikhail the Bear quiet in Honor at Stake, and after flipping through the papers in the vampiric ISIS cave, Merle knows who her next target will be. He needs to get back to New York City. Now!
Already in New York, Amanda visits a vampire bar known as “Suckers.” Filled largely with petty criminal vampires, she arrives looking for information on who wants Marco dead. Her own investigations have told her that someone wants him axed but not who nor why. The local toughs have been saying that they want a shot at Marco due to how he took apart several of their favorite haunts (and no few of their friends) during Honor at Stake, but most of them are all talk, no bite. And all of them have suddenly gone quiet lately.
Still in San Francisco, Marco hasn’t had time to put together that he is a special target. He has been too busy making sure that the locals can stake the dead and live to tell the tale while keeping a lid on his temper. But when his latest “message” to the local vampires is posted on YouTube, the sheer viciousness with which he puts the vampire down has his colleagues worried. Just how far will he go? Will he keep it to vampires, or will he start hurting normal people?
By the time Amanda arrives in San Francisco to protect him, Marco is well and truly furious due to her ignoring his multiple emails, as he has sent her more than one since September. Can they work together to keep him breathing? Or will Nuala fulfill her contract once again?
The Characters
Marco is back and angrier than before, with justification — no one likes to have their confession of love ignored, in person or by letter. Having it done by email just makes it worse. Despite being professional and taking most of his anger out on the vampires, some of his rage is bleeding into his interactions with his team, specifically the lesbian Wicca member. Yana Rosenberg is a sweet girl and an addict who is not emotionally cut out for the “kill it with fire” scene that Marco prefers. The fact that she wants to help because she can tell he misses the woman whom he loves isn’t making their working relationship any smoother.
Amanda is much calmer than Marco. She is, in fact, almost too calm. She is not ready to admit that she loves a man a quarter of her undead age. After all, she’s a vampire; even if they could make it work, Marco is human. He will age while she will not, and she is technically dead on top of that. It would never work! Would it?
Poor Merle is once again stuck in the middle. Running on spite, magic, and sheer determination, he faces an extra complication when his ex-wife arrives asking questions. Between teenagers fighting vampires, government agencies yelling in his ear, and Marco’s spiral, the last thing that Merle wants to deal with is the ex whom he still loves. Some days, it really doesn’t pay to be the only adult in the room!
The World
The world takes on a sharp, deep twist as it goes from the mountains of Afghanistan and the tactics of fighting terrorist vampires to the underworld where vampiric assassins are for hire. Finn explores how vampires collect and use their wealth, what makes a vampire wealthy, and how far local Vampire Associations can actually stretch their power. He also shows readers how the Mafia works these days, with a side view of where vampires can find their minions, as well as how minions and Renfields work here. Building off the world already shown in Honor at Stake and Demons Are Forever, Finn adds nuance to the ground he has sewn for all to enjoy in this third installment in his Love at First Bite series.
Politics
If you like the U.N., you will not like this book.
If you support Planned Parenthood, you will not be happy with this story.
If you think the French Revolution was great, you won’t want to read this novel.
If none of the above is something you like or support, then you will enjoy watching Finn take it all apart as he discusses the villains behind the villains in this installment. You will also laugh at the jokes made about various political figures and positions which present themselves so easily.
Content Warning
Amanda and Marco make out, Merle and his ex-wife make out, Yana is a drug addict, and her girlfriend is shown in her underwear when Amanda visits the two. Yana also feels up Amanda at one point. There is violence, decapitation, staking, torture, mind-control, impalement, beheadings, ad hoc medical treatment, and lots of pretty explosions. There is also a brief description of how abortion works and the fact that Planned Parenthood sold the body parts of murdered infants for pure profit.
None of it is dwelt on or described in detail, but some might feel it fits on the upper part of the PG-13 curve.
Who is it for?
Fans of Declan Finn will enjoy this thrill ride as much as they have his other works. Romance aficionados will love watching Amanda and Marco’s romantic relationship make progress as well as the mishaps in between, cheering on Merle and his ex’s complicated relationship in the bargain.
Vampire readers will like the twists on the tropes as well as the thoughtful worldbuilding while urban fantasy fans will be fascinated by the pyrotechnics and creative use of common weapons.
Thriller fans will want this roller coaster ride to continue and be eager for the next book in the series.
Catholic and Christian readers will appreciate the versatility of Finn’s religious solutions to the question of “how to kill vampires” as well as his Christian view of history. The throwing Stars of David add a nice touch for Jewish readers while historians will value the many references that ground the novel’s worldbuilding.
Anyone looking for a fun story to sink their teeth into and that will make them think will like this book as well. If you are a fan of 24 and wish that Supernatural paid attention to the actual lore or that Anne Rice had done a better job with her romance, this is the book for you!
Why buy it?
It is a book about good versus evil where good wins – definitively, explosively, and in unexpected ways. The novel is pure candy to anyone who wants heroes who are unapologetically heroic. Why not buy it along with the rest of the series today and have fun?