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'Bite of Silence' by Mary Hughes - Book Review

"I'm not really a paranormal reader, but this was free and it sounded intriguing. And so far, the reviews are on both sides. So I decided what the heck. I'm glad I did..." - Joanne Stewart (Amazon Review)

By Kristen BarenthalerPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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"Bite of Silence" Book Cover

This short story (and I do mean short since it was only about 50 pages) was a bit strange, erotic, and at some points downright unpleasant, at least to me, to read. I thought it would be a vampire story, which it is, but I did not expect more than three-fourths of the novel to be sex scenes. Books should better prepare you for what is inside when you read the back cover blurb or research a book online. Obviously, I don’t want them giving away all the surprises, but when the back cover of the book says the novel is about a vampire and the love of his life saving the world on New Year’s Eve, I thought that would be it (because yes, I am one of those who jumped on the vampire story craze). Even the Amazon blurb for the novel simply says, “Times Square. New Year’s Eve. This year, it’s a Countdown to Death. Twyla Tafel has uncovered an insane plot to unleash vampires on the unsuspecting revelers. She’s armed only with her great admin skills, her useless art degree, and Nikos—a seriously hot vampire she’d love to paint as a Spartan king roaring his muscular challenge at the Persians.” Seems like a vampire fight story with some romance thrown in, right? Instead, the entire book, until the last 10 pages, is spent in the vampire’s bedroom, hence the eroticism of the novel. Only in the last few pages do the vampire and the woman go off and save the whole world from doom, so it was unexpected and thus unpleasant for me to read, but if you like those kinds of stories, then give this book a try.

From an unbiased position, the story was well-written and vivid. You won’t have any trouble understanding and imaging the scenes depicted by Hughes, but if you aren’t mature enough for sexual scenes, skip this novel until you feel more comfortable with them. The storyline flows well, and the characters stay true to their archetypes within the vampire romance genre. It is, as mentioned, more erotic than Twilight or any of its other popular vampire romance contemporaries, but Hughes still manages to portray her version of a vampiric love with grace and talent.

Many times, throughout reading the story, I debated putting it away and starting another book, but then I thought about what an interesting reflection I could write on it. It’s unlike the other books I’ve reviewed, and it certainly opened my eyes and my mind to another genre that I had previously never explored. And isn’t that ultimately what reading and reviewing are about? We want to learn about and from the stories we read while being entertained. Hughes certainly delivers.

Did I mention this book is part of a series? It’s part of the Biting Love Series by Hughes, which includes over 10 books as of 2017. Bite of Silence is number three in the series, but each novel is standalone, so you don’t need to read all of them to understand each of the others. Bite of Silence was released in January 2010 on Amazon, where you can buy the novels individually or as a set. If you’re following along and just want to try Bite of Silence, it’s $0.99 in Kindle format or the whole series set is $32.91. I personally haven’t read the rest of the series, so I can’t vouch for them, but if Bite of Silence is any indication, then you’re in for a wild ride with the rest of the series, should you choose to read it.

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About the Creator

Kristen Barenthaler

Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Archery fanatic. Amateur author. Librarian.

Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler

Facebook: @kbarenthaler

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15101108.Kristen_Barenthaler

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