I got an ARC copy from the author in the hopes for a review.

I was rather busy with my demanding job to be able to write my review but this is Super Bowl Sunday and I always get this day off. Yaay!

The only novels from this author that I have read have been The Last Light series. I know that Alex's Urban Fantasy Sailor Ray series is his most popular work but I have never really delved into it (UF isn't exactly my preferred fantasy genre). In a way, I was entering this series with fully open expectations because I wasn't familiar with the full-fledged novels.

This short novella is basically a vampire hunting case where Sailor, her father and her boyfriend Blaze are in a rural college town to rescue a handful of kidnapped students before they are tortured and eventually converted into new vampires. The surroundings of the first scene are grim where the three heroes are inside of an abandoned warehouse where the father is torturing a captured vampire for information. Disgusted by the spectacle, Sailor quietly leaves the building and has a candid conversation with Blaze about the importance of avenging her mother's death.

However, they are not alone. Confronted by a horde of angered vampires without sufficient weapons, the risk of being converted themselves looms in every corner and they must prove their wits and teamwork if they are to save the victims before it's too late.

With a fast speed and nice character development, I liked this short story and I can see that Alex's writing skills are getting better with each subsequent book. I enjoyed the brief tidbits of character development that doesn't spoil everything and the nice flow to the conclusion of this story.

The book doesn't seem to have serious typos, but the proper usage between its and it's were mixed up. That is an easy fix. While I'm personally not that into UF novels, this novella has piqued my interest sufficiently to give the full series a try sometime.

Good job! ( )