Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin

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After waiting so long to read the sequel to Jennifer Rardin's Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Another One Bites the Dust has been well worth the wait.

We met and fell in love with Jaz Parks, the bad-assed, larger-than-life protagonist, and her sexy vampire boss, Vayl, in the first book of the Jaz Parks series. In the first book, they had to save the world from a deadly virus and the soul-feeding Tor-el-Degan. In the midst of their mission, sparks - both the romantic kind and the friction kind - flew between Jaz and sexy Vayl. Of course, they managed to complete their mission successfully, although not without some really terrifying scares. We also learn a little bit about our characters' dark pasts, in particular, Jaz's tragic history.

In Another One Bites the Dust, Jaz is back and badder than before, Vayl is his gorgeous, brooding self, and the other characters, the Seer Cassandra, brilliant Bergman, and rookie Cole, have much more prominent roles.

This time, Jaz and her team have to kill Chien-Lung, an insane and extremely dangerous Chinese vampire, who is made much more dangerous because of the dragon armor he stole that makes him almost invincible. He's not the only enemy Jaz and her team face though, there are more soul-feeders, this time in the form of reavers, who kill innocent victims and eat their souls.

Another One Bites the Dust is not as light-hearted as Once Bitten, Twice Shy. It's almost as if Rardin and her characters have agreed to get more serious and professional after the dangers they faced in the first book. Jaz is still the colorful, ass-kicking character from Once Bitten, Twice Shy, but slightly more serious and quieter than before. Perhaps it's due in part to her having to face her personal demons from her past, and having to make some painful choices to be able to move on with her life.

Rardin again brings her characters vividly to life with her exceptional writing skills. Another One Bites the Dust is just as entertaining, if not more, than Once Bitten, Twice Shy and well worth the read. The only thing I'm just slightly disappointed with is the lack of developing romance between Jaz and Vayl. It's not completely lacking, there's still chemistry, but I wish Rardin will take it to the next level already. I think I may be feeling more frustrated that nothing's happening yet than Vayl might be. But then again, he's a 300-year-old vampire, so I guess patience is probably one of his strong points.

I'm eager to read the third book, Biting the Bullet, after this. Hopefully, something will happen with Jaz and Vayl finally, and if not, well, I'll content myself with sitting on the edge of my seat rooting for Jaz and her team to kick all the bad guys' asses to hell and back. After all, there's still hope for romance in the fourth book, Bitten to Death, and the fifth book, One More Bite in the Jaz Parks series, which are due to be released this August and next January respectively.

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Grass by Sheri S. Tepper

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Sheri S. Tepper is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. When I read the reviews on Amazon.com about this book, I was intrigued. It's a science fiction novel set in the future, mostly on a planet called Grass.

Apparently, humanity have migrated and set up communities in many different planets, and somehow every single one of those planets have been infected with plague except Grass. Somehow Grass, which like its name implies, is a planet covered almost completely with grass, is immune to the plague.

So as the plot goes, the main characters need to find out what it is that makes Grass immune, and how to find the cure so that they can save the rest of humanity. Of course, stories are never that simple. There are obstacles to overcome, not least of all, the original inhabitants of Grass, the terrifying and malicious Hippae, who steal the minds of humans who come in close contact with them. Marjorie and Rigo have to find a way to save humanity from the plague, and themselves and their family from the malicious plans of the Hippae and the people who are controlled by them.

In one word: amazing.

Tepper is a master of plots, weaving stories within stories, putting everything together in a way that seems complicated but makes complete sense. This book reads like an epic historical account, although set in the future, and I was extremely disappointed that it had to end. I felt so engrossed and pulled into the story that I actually had withdrawal symptoms after I finished the book two days ago.

I spent these last two days thinking about the story, the amazing characters that I fell in love with, most notably Marjorie, and Sylvan, whom I loved the moment I met him, and all the intricacies within the story. I felt terribly afraid when the characters were in danger, I felt grieved when they grieved, I felt relieved when they escaped danger, I felt love when they loved, and I felt abandoned when the book ended.

Even now, I wish there was more to read about Marjorie, Sylvan, Rigo and all the other characters. I am only appeased by the fact that Tepper has written many other great books, and I am eager to let her bring me on more of her imaginative adventures.


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