I was sent a print copy of this book to review and get caught up before my tour stop for the second book in two weeks.
Title: The Cowboy and the Vampire
Series: Cowboy and Vampire #1
Authors: Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall
Pages: 392
Source: Received from the publisher
Buy Here: Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)
Blurb (from Amazon):
Tucker is a down-on-his-luck Wyoming cowboy with modest dreams -- winning a little extra cash at the upcoming Labor Day rodeo -- until he meets, Lizzie, a hotshot reporter from New York. She has her eye on a Pulitzer until she falls, literally, for Tucker and they both are blindsided by love.
Now that they've found each other, nothing can keep them apart, except maybe a horde of bloodthirsty Vampires. Lizzie has a tragic legacy running through her veins and evil forces, including her scheming father and his lovely consort Elita, will stop at nothing to posses it.
With nothing but their love and some very large handguns to protect them, Tucker and Lizzie's opposites attract relationship faces the worst of the undead in the heart of the new west.
As usual, let's start with the bad.
- First chapter was boring to me. It was a lot of details that were unnecessary to mention. It dragged the chapter longer than it should have.
- Long paragraphs - It felt a little like reading an essay. If it wasn't for the good story behind it, it would have been a miserable read.
- Dumb/naive cowboy and his language - more on this below.
- Unclear speakers - It would have been nice if the chapters had headings of who was the speaker if the chapter was in the first person. It was so confusing when I would start a chapter.
Despite the list of bad things above, I found many good things in this book. A character breakdown would be easier :)
Lizzie - she was a journalist from New York who happened to stopped by in Wyoming, in search of a story about cowboys. She found Tucker, fell in love, etc. Things were going well, until she met Julius and her world was turned upside down. Despite everything, I thought she was strong and carried herself well. I didn't see much of her personality besides the times when she would get angry, though.
Tucker - he was the cowboy of the story. Oh my. His language annoyed me to no end. By chapter 3, his cowboy language wanted me to pull out all my hair. Not only that, he was written off as the dumb cowboy who meant well, but really just got him and Lizzie in trouble. There were many close calls that they both could have died because of his idiocy. One thing I liked about him though was his heart. He truly did mean well and he was really brave.
Rex - he was Tucker's dog. He was absolutely adorable in the book! Tucker kept threatening that he would get a cat, but deep down, I knew he loved Rex. This dog was also very brave and resourceful!
Julius - he was the bad guy. I won't spoil the story, but let's just say he had no morals and had a disgusting character. He was one of those that twisted the words in the Bible.
Lazarus - he was Lizzie and Tucker's ally. For the life of me, I knew his name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember what part of the bible he was in. Oh well, not that important to me. In the book, though, he was very strong, and fat. Yep, he had a big gut. He was such a happy fellow. He loved chocolate milk and HoHos!
Elita - a very sensual vampire who was confused on what side she wanted to be on. With a little coaxing, she thankfully chose the right side in the end. It wasn't without causing any almost fatal damage to Tucker, though. He definitely didn't like her too much.
There were so many other characters, but this review would be painfully long to list them all. Overall, the book was good once you went over the first few chapters. After that, it was a breeze to read. It was definitely a different take on vampires, even including the Bible and Jesus.
Check out my favorite funny scenes :)
Tucker: "Lenny, call your dog off. It's me, Tucker."
Lenny: "How do I know it's really you?"
Tucker: "Fer Chrissakes, Lenny, who would impersonate me?"
Rex jumped up beside me, wagging his little stump and trembling. What I meant to say was thanks for distracting her, but instead I said, "What? I didn't do nothing." He curled up into a ball and kept one eye disdainfully upon me. "You're the one who let her sneak up on us." I eased the hammer back down and stuck the pistol back under my pillow "I didn't do nothing," I said again as I closed the door and retrieved the shotgun, double-checking that it was still loaded. "Don't be like this."
No answer.
"Fine," I said, pulling over the blanket still smelling of her, "but if any more of 'em get past you tonight, I'm gonna get me a cat."
Have you read this book? Or would you be interested in reading it? I've decided to give away my copy to one lucky U.S. resident. Just fill out the form below to enter. Ends August 10, 2012.
a Rafflecopter giveaway