Name: Try Me
ISBN: 9780984325665

Parker Blue

Try Me

Monicap

Eh...

Okay. So this was an improvement over the first one. Slightly, at least. 

Plot: 3/5
Hold up. I just said this was an improvement, but the plot rating for book 1 was 3.5/5, I know. 
THe reason is this: There was plot in this book. it wasn't really quite as, um, action-y, as book 1, though, this morer evolved around a whodunit sort of thing, as in, who stole those book and who is killing these vampires? Which isn't a problem. Whodunit's are totally okay with me.
but... the answer to this particular whodunit... was way more convoluted than it had any right to be. 

Characters: 3/5
Here's some improvement. book 1's score in this area was 2.5/5
Val: I still like her, about the same as i did in the first book, though this book was better because a) the big reveal was a noni-issue and b) they didn't mention Buffy at all in this book. (I am fine with someone MENTIONING Buffy in a book, in fact, it would ususally improve the score by association. but the way book 1 handled Buffy was blasphemy.)
Dan: I still hate him. There is nothing in this world that will ever make me stop hating him. I mean, let's be serious: the only reason he was tolerable in this book was because Gwen talked to him. Serious cop-out, man. 
Fang: Is still probably just about my favorite character.
Shade: He came in and I clung to him for dear life. At first, my thought was, "Anyone but Dan. Anyone but Dan. ANYONE BUT DAN." but I found myself really ADORING him. I hope that this relationship lasts, cuz he's so sweet and smart and he knows shit about demons, which is more thatn anyone else in this series can say.

Romance: 2.5/5
Like I said, I REALLY hate Dan, which is part of the reason the Romance section for bok 1 got a low score. but that wasn't the ENTIRE reason. the romance between Dan and Val was devloped badly in book 1.
The romance betwen Shade and Val... didn;t receive ANY development AT ALL until the second half of this book. 
Improvment? Eh... let's think.
Wold you prefer a story with a" 
Badly developed plot or an undevloped plot?
At least the badly developed has a plot.
I DO LIKE SHADE BETTER.
I hope that their romance will recieve in more development in the next book.

Which brings me to yes, I am reading the next book. I am still eating those knock-off potato chips. 

Overall grade: 8.5/15. D+.
See? Improvement. I said so, didn't I?
Miniscule improvement, but improvement.
The thing about the two books I've read by this author is that things sort of feel forced. And I instinctivly want to blame that on the writing, because there's something flawed in the fundamentals of these books, and permeateseverything iside. Ususally, the only thing in a book that can make everything else seem like shit (in my experiance) is the writing. But the writing isn't bad, which left me very cofused until I wrote this review and realized what was wrong.
This author has a problem with development. The plot is not well-developed; therefore it seems to me to convoluted or random or nonsensical. The Characters aren't well-devloped; therefore I feel very blah about them all (excpet for Dan; I hate him). And I don't really need to reiterate the fact that romances aren't well-developed.

This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark city streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire ex-fiancée. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons, and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel. The second book in Parker Blue's Demon Underground urban fantasy series plunges readers deeper into a heady world of passion, friendship, intrigue, and mystery.

Siobhán

Original Post: Try Me Review

Try Me is the second installement in the Demon Underground series. It picks up straight after Bite Me (Book1) and its another great novel in the series.

Try Me follows Val as she is trying to cope with Dan ignoring her. So as Dan is pushing her away. She ends up in the arms to Shade, a shadow demon who is trying to help Val control her lust demon and its pretty clear that there is a chemistry between them and an attraction that is sizzling. Meanwhile some of the vamps from the "New Blood Movement" are acting rather crazy and no one knows why so its up to Val and her faithful hellhound to figure how why they are acting crazy.

Try me is a good sequel to Bite Me. I really enjoyed it once I got into it. At first it didn't grab me straight away like the first one. I just thought it was slow for the first couple of chapters. However, I did get into and the loved. Val is mainly still the same as book one. Strong, loyal but deep down vulnerable she still just wants to be accepted as her. She is really hurt when Dan starts to give her the cold shoulder but she is distracted when Shade starts to help her control lust demon. Now I love Shade, he is perfect for Val they bought just fit together and its perfect. He clearly cares for Val and because he is part demon himself he accepts Val for what she is that makes her happy. And of course my favourite character is back with his attitude and cuteness. Yes, Fang is still the best character and still makes me laugh. I want a hellhound.

I really should speak a little about the vampires. I never mentioned them in the first review. The head Vampire Alejandro set up the "New Blood Movement" in the first book. This is where they have human "donate" blood so they aren't feeding and killing human. I really liked this idea. And of course there are vamps who are against. In Try Me, some of the vamps are going crazy after drinking the blood. I'm still undecided on if I like the vampires in this series or not. I do like how they are not killing human but I'm still unsure about them.

Overall, Try me a good sequel to Bite me. Its a must read for Demon Underground fans. It's full of passion, friendship and mystery.