Friday, 21 April 2023

Bad Date - Declan Finn - A Love at First Bite Story

Bad Date
A Love at First Bite Story
Declan Finn
ASIN B06XKG7JSQ
 

Wow! This is the second short story in the Love at First Bite Series I have read. It is an excellent short story! It was so good I read it twice back to back. This is the first of the stories I had held off on reading them because of the series name, that was a mistake, a huge mistake. I should have known better based on how much I have loved Finn’s other series. The 4 novels in this series were out of print, but as of April 2023 they are back in print and available electronically. 

Over the last 10 months I have read 36 stories by Declan. I have greatly enjoyed books in several other series. There are three short stories and 4 novels in the Love at First Bite series that I am aware of. And I believe this is a prequel set in 1943 in England. This series was originally published a few years ago, After reading the first two short stories I am glad that Finn is working at getting the series back in print. I have loved the Saint Tommy and the White Ops , and I cannot wait for the Pius trilogy of 5 books to be back in print. It has been a few years since a vampire book or even movie really caught my attention. But these stories have really grabbed my attention and I am looking forward to the other 5 pieces set in this world. I am currently working through Finn’s back catalogue. Short stories are a very different art form than the novel, even than the novella. To read a short story set in a world I had only visited twice and to have it completely capture my attention shows Finn’s masterful craftsmanship.

The description of this story is:

“A serial killer is on the loose, and there's one more victim.

Perhaps she's bitten off more than she can chew.”

This story is listed as only 12 pages. I have now both listened to it using adaptive technology and read it. This story sets up so many possibilities I have been thinking about it since I finished it. It has a bit of a feel of Blade or John Carpenter’s Vampires. The two stories so far are very different and terribly intriguing. Wonderfully written, masterfully executed.

The novels in this series are:

       Formerly Murphy's Law of Vampires

The Short Stories are:

02 Bad Date (During the main story arc)
03 Mad Dog Moon (An Epilogue Story)

Declan has created another incredibly interesting world. I am hooked and I have only read two short stories twice each. I am thankful the novels are back in print. I look forward to the other shorter offering in the series that I have already picked up. But be warned once you take a bite out of this story you will be hooked.  A story with real bite. So I encourage you to pick it up and give it a read before diving into the 4 novels in the series.   

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan

Books by Declan Finn:
Love At First Bite Series:
Short Stories:
Novels:
     (Murphy's Law of Vampires)

Honeymoon from Hell Series:
Wyverns Never Die
Cross Over
Fae'd to Black
...


Other books:
...

Anthologies contributed to:
Luna: Planetary Anhtology Series Book 2
Supernatural Streets
Starflight: Tales From The Starport Lounge
Mercury: Planetary Anthology Series Book 4
Venus: Planetary Anthology Series Book 5
Mars: Planetary Anthology Series Book 7
Places Beyond the Wild: A Z-Day Anthology
Shoot the Devil: Ten Tales of Humans Defeating the Demonic
Fantastic Schools, Volume 6









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