A Taste of Crimson

When you do a random library pick you often end up with complete rubbish - I picked "A Taste Of Crimson" from a shelf in the sci-fi category without expecting too much of it - the cover image had a wolf howling at the moon overlaid with a picture of a man in a big cloak running down a road. The blurb on the back seemed overblown and cheesy (as usual) so I expected another run-of-the-mill vampire-werewolf-romance-thriller-chiller story. "A Taste Of Crimson" surprised me. Yes, it is a story whose main characters are werewolves and vampires. Yes, it's a romance with all the usual trimmings. Yes, there are heroes and heroines and magical vampirey/werewolfy things going on. But there is a very strong theme running through this book that is definitely not run-of-the-mill - it's the theme of acceptance or ostracism of those different to you. In the Los Angeles of this book, the humans are aware of the vampires and werewolves but are afraid of them and are starting to discriminate against them; werewolves are the bottom of the pile as they aren't rich, well-dressed and sexy like the vampires, so our heroine Keeli Maddox, a werewolf, can barely hold down a waitressing job because of the suspicion with which she is faced. And it's not only the humans who dislike the werewolves, there is also huge mutual antagonism between the vampire and werewolf community. Thus when Keeli meets Michael, a vampire assassin (he kills vampires that have gone rogue and is therefore disliked by his own kind), they face huge difficulties from both her culture and his over their relationship. What is so good about this book is the way in which these problems are described. This may sound a bit trite but sometimes reading this made me think of Germany pre World War 2 when various minority groupings in society were demonised and discriminated against, and often those behaving the worst to these minorities were other minorities. The werewolves and the vampires can't get along but they have to learn to work together in order to deal with the expected future problems from the humans. Keeli and Michael find themselves working together to find the murderer of vampires - and the evidence suggests that a werewolf is carrying out these killings. The human police don't care about deaths within the supernatural community and so Keeli and Michael are battling against indifference from all but one of the human police and obstructiveness from the werewolves and vampires. Plus Keeli is finding herself becoming stronger and having to avoid challenges to the Alpha of her clan as well as having to do physical battle against those who want to punish her because of her relationship with a vampire. Michael has his own demons - his past as an assassin as well as some less-than-savoury events in his distant past. The way in which two flawed people work together to try and help their ungrateful kin is well written. ...SMALL SPOILER IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH... As in many books in the sci-fi genre

I was so impressed with Liu's debut book (Tiger Eyes), I snatched this up at the book store to see if she would be faithful in her writing ability. She definately did not leave me disappointed. A Taste of Crimson is actually the second novel in the Crimson City series. Apparently several different authors were hired to write for this series and each are putting out a different book. I normally do not care for this, because authors can be notorious for not getting their facts (worlds, characters, etc.) straight. Luckily, A Taste... does not revert back to characters that were developed by a different author. Also, the Los Angelos (Crimson City) stayed faithfully the same as in the first book. For those of you who are more into the romance part of the paranomal romance, you will be more pleased with Liu's version. She pulls more from that genre. Yet, she is still strong in action and mystery. The crimson world she creates, which centers mostly around the werewolves in this addition to the series, is rich and intriguing. I read it in one sitting and am looking forward to trying more from this series. Hopefully, the other authors will not diappoint.

Keeli Maddox is a werewolf. She is the granddaughter of the Grand Alpha Dame of the werewolfs. Her clan is the oldest and has to fight for control of the wolf within, they are the strongest and craftiest. Keeli fears her wolf self, but only she can control her rage. Michael is a vampire, he is the Vindex, the punisher, who enforces the decisions of the Vampire Assembly. He is hated and scorned by everyone, vampires and werewolfs alike. He is the liasion to the human police. While patroling at night he sees Keeli attack four humans who are trying to rape another human. Keeli saves the girl but is forced to obey human laws, which state she is not to attack any humans, even evil ones. Unable to understand his feelings, Michael interceeds for her and saves her from jail. Keeli feels she owes this Vampire for his help. That does not mean she does not still hate vampires. Seeking to fulfill her debt to Michael, she joins him in his hunt for the murderer of six vampires. Keeli knows she will be shunned by her own people for helping a Vampire. The hate and distrust between the two races is legend. She joins Michael Only to find she is led to love of her enemy, betrayal by her most trusted family, and finally to the salvation of all the races of Crimson City. Werewolfs are One of three kinds of races to inhabit Crimson City. Vampires, werewolfs, and humans all live in this place, and all hate and fear each other. Now the humans have reached a place where they fear the growth of the other races. Already an initiative against the Vampires has been discovered and defeated. This is an exciting fast paced adventure, the characters are real and the climax is stunning. I loved it. I hope all the rest of the Crimson City stories are as good. Don't miss this one.

Instead of angels residing in the city, humans, werewolves and vampires live in shaky peace together though both sides loathe the other. Still each species adheres to the truce by staying away from their adversary. No one dares cross the line to befriend the enemy as the friend of my foe is my enemy too even if they are our blood. Though "sufferers" of lycanthropy are banned by law to work in restaurants, Keeli Maddox the werewolf does anyway. She hates the grease, but is thankful to have employment as the fur bearers cannot obtain work even when vacancies exist. She also fears the growing violence between her people and the vampires that have placed the third race the humans in the crosshairs. Thus Keeli Maddox is hiding during a food fur inspection when she gets involved with an incident that leads to her about to rip a man's throat open until shockingly a vampire intercedes. Keeli and Michael are attracted to one another, but she is a wolf and he is a fang. Mindful of Romeo and Juliet starring in Angel, A TASTE OF CRIMSON makes the co-living of three distinct yet similar species (the colors of blood and money are the same) seem so genuine. The story line is action-packed, but clearly driven by the star-crossed protagonists who know they have found their soulmate, but to be with that person breaks society's biggest taboo. Neither Michael nor Keeli will find any supporters as they fall in love. Marjorie M. Liu writes a fabulous paranormal romantic thriller that will grip the audience from the moment the lead duo meet for the first time. Harriet Klausner

This is one of the times that I am truly happy to work at a bookstore. I got this book the day it came out and read it overnight and it was fabulous. Keeli is a werewolf and Michael is a vampire assasin and the book unfolds like a crazy Romeo and Juliet story. The love between the two of them is so well written and perfectly paced. Buy the first book before you get this one. There are some details and story set ups that you need in order to fully appreciate this book. Crimson City is fast becoming the best new paranormal series. I can't wait for book three!