Parker Blue's Try Me

Try Me by Parker Blue

Demon Underground series

Bell Bridge Books- February 19, 2010

www.parkerblue.net

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Rating: Loved it!

Recommendation: Fans of YA, vampire demons and other paranormal characters, vampire slayers and teenage angst

Val Shapiro is back and this time she is not just another a vampire slayer. She is a teenager is learning to control her inner demon-literally. She is an eighth of a succubus-a lust demon.  Though it will take time, she is hopeful that it means that she will be safe with her partner is appears to be slowly accepting Lola, her succubus. Well it looked that way until Val and Dan are no longer partners, Lola-her secret weapon and succubus side- is revealed to the other SCU officers, and Dan gets a new partner. Val is partnered with Shade,  a shadow demon, on her next case. They must find the Encyclopedia Magicka books before they end up in the wrong hands. On top of her partnership with Dan dissolving, the missing books, and her growing (and confusing) attraction to Shade –who’s supposed to help her learn to control Lola, the few good vampires in town are turning mad and going after innocents. That’s nothing compared to the deal that she makes with Alejandro and the revelation about her unusual strength and speed that Shade lays on her. But it’s all in the day and life of Val Shapiro. If anyone can handle this and save her town, it’s Val.

I really like this one because there is more depth to the characters. While  Bite Me  seemed mostly just a good sit down and read story,  Try Me seems where the characters really come to life. There is still action and mystery and angst. But I found it a lot easier to visualize the characters, the dialogue was easier to grasp definitely dripped with the characters’ inflection. This series has turned out to be one heck of a ride. I am glad that everything that Val thought she knew in the first book is being challenged in this one.  While I like Dan, I don’t like him for Val, so I am very glad that she has someone else to focus on.  I love the quips that go back and forth between Val and Fang, it’s hilarious!

Another thing that I really like about Try Me is that the demons are used creatively. Though the Demon Underground is for those that find that they aren’t really normal but want to live peacefully with the humans around them, they are still demons. Though they want to make nice with the humans, they have not lost their dark side. It’s more of a conscious choice for some more than others, but it another layer added on to the characters which creates potential. Potential in this series is a powerful in and of itself. I am excited to find out what happens next.

Sometimes it’s hard to find that balance of leaving readers hanging with a story that carries on into the next book, and tying up loose strings enough for the current book to have some closure. Parker Blue has found a nice way to find this balance. While, the immediate objectives (the safety of the supernatural and mundanely human population) are always met, the action that is secondary or happening in the periphery is left to be the focus of the next book.  Nicely done.

Always Shine,

Starr K.

I received this complimentary galley from Netgalley. The  review is not required to be a positive one, but I assure you it is my honest opinion of the book.