Review of "Vampires, Inc." by Rick Taubold and Chris R. Hosey

This book was released some months ago, and one of the authors contacted me to see if I was interested in review the book, to gain a little more press. After reading the first chapter online, I was definitely on board. I'm so glad I got a chance to read and review this book.

Disclaimer: I received this book, and this book only, in exchange for a review. So money or anything else was given to me for a review, be it positive or negative.

Type: I'd say Urban Fantasy.. or maybe even Urban Fiction with Vampires.

From the back of the book: " 'Vampires, Inc.' is the first novel of a trilogy that follows the stories of the twenty-two-year-old vampire Adrian Shadowhawk and his mentor Eli Howard.
These are not your classic vampires. They don't have fangs (regrettably for some); they're not predators. They still require human blood (voluntary donations), but they also eat regular food. They have telephathic powers. And they are mortal.
Thousands of vampires exist in the world. At one time normal humans, now they are infected with a unique, transmissible-by-blood virus that has changed them into what they are. For centuries, most vampires have lived a peaceful existence in secret among humans.
A hundred and forty years ago, Eli Howard murdered his slaveholder's family during the temporary madness brought on by the infection. In 1905, he helped quell in a violent conflict starting in Europe against humans by dissident vampires. Since then, Eli has kept to himself, trying to erase the violence in his past. He teaches at a Detroit collect, to help humans better themselves. Adrian Shadowhawk, on the other hand, is less judicious in his behavior and flaunts what he is to his human friends.
Then Cyrus Hayes, the vampire behind the murder of Eli's first love, arrives in Detroit. On a quest to make vampires the mast race, Cyrus performs unconscionable experiments on humans. With the future of humans and vampires at stake, Eli can no longer stay in the background. "

You know, it's been so long since I read the back cover, I had forgotten it was part of a trilogy. Thank goodness! I don't think I could handle it if it didn't continue. I need to know what happens to everyone, now that certain things are set into motion. Let's delve right into it, shall we?

This book is very character driven. There is, of course, an overall plot, but this book always felt more like an introduction, rather than a full story. Which is perfectly fine if it is the first book in a series, like this one. I will warn, that there are plenty of characters you need to keep track of - but every character had a part to play, and they were all necessary and important, so after the initial "Oh, here's a new one!" moment, you can easily keep everyone straight. The characters are likeable (at least the ones you're supposed to like), but they're consistant, which is always a good thing. And it was great to see some characters grow throughout the story. Eli started to learn he can't just sit at home anymore, Adrian... well, Adrian still had his wild streak, but he stepped up to the plate when necessary. I can't wait to see how these two fair in the upcoming books.

And continuing with characters - I love their version of the vampire mythos. There are so many old legends with vampires, so many different takes on what makes a vampire, how they become vampires, whether they are immortal or not - I think the vamps of "Vampires, Inc." are a fascinating new breed, so to speak.

"Vampires, Inc." started somewhere so different, something interesting all in itself, and ended in a place even better. At the beginning of the story, vampire Eli Howard witnesses an attempted rape, and finally decides he has had enough of letting his city fall to ruins. He plays to enlist the help of a few friends to clean up the city, but in the process of doing so, he comes to find there are a lot worse things occuring than that. Cyrus Hayes, the big bad of the book, has come to town and has "revamp"ed the Vampires, Inc. organization. Hayes is creating drugs for the vampire population, as well as doing other biological experiments on not only vampires, but humans as well. And he has plans on top of plans, not to mention safety measures in place should something happen to his work. And that is what leads us into book two.

I really enjoyed "Vampires, Inc." and I'm so glad I got the chance to review this book. I hope to read the rest of the trilogy, as well as see more books popping up like this in the future. A fascinating plot, a host of loveable, genuine characters, vampires... It has everything I love in a book. Which is why I'm giving "Vampires, Inc." a FIVE out of FIVE!

I hope you all get to check out "Vampires, Inc." and I do hope we see more from these two talented authors - especially the rest of the series!