Review: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Title:  Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Series: Jaz Parks (Book 1)

Author: Jennifer Rardin

Release: October 2007

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Buy: Barnes and Noble, Amazon

Book Synopsis:

I'm Jaz Parks. My boss is Vayl, born in Romania in 1744. Died there too, at the hand of his vampire wife, Liliana. But that's ancient history. For the moment Vayl works for the C.I.A. doing what he does best—assassination. And I help. You could say I'm an Assistant Assassin. But then I'd have to kick your ass.

Vayl and I have to take out a Miami plastic surgeon with ties to terrorism. But the assignment gets complicated when it turns out he's in cahoots with a supernatural nasty powerful enough to bring America to her knees.

My Review:

Jaz is a tough heroine with a smart mouth. Got to love those kick-ass chicks with attitude. She is a totally believable character with her family problems with her stubborn dad, little sister, and twin brother. And since this book is about a tough heroine that works for the C.I.A. that is partnered with a Vamp you know there will be action in the book.

There was a good mix of humor with action and I liked the side characters and hope they continue to show up in future books.

The relationship that Jaz and Vayl have starts out as a great working partnership and then by the end of the book it turns into something more. But there is not much romance in this opening book of the series which makes me wonder if we will get more in the following books. They have good chemistry and could really heat up in the future.

I enjoyed the plot and characters but felt like Rardin used too many pop culture references that I just didn't get. But with any book series there are growing pains and hopefully the writing will work itself out in the following installments.

I highly recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy books that feature a strong female lead.

My Rating: 3

Series Reading Order:

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Another One Bites the Dust

Biting the Bullet

Bitten to Death

One More Bite

Bite Marks

Bitten in Two

The Deadliest Bite (June 2011)

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Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost