Title: Blood and Whiskey
A Cowboy and Vampire Thriller
Author: Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Pages: 347
Buy Link: Amazon (Paperback)| Amazon (Kindle)
Blurb:
Wanted: Lizzie Vaughan, Dead or Alive. Relationships are always hard, but for a broke cowboy and a newly turned Vampire, true love may be lethal. After barely surviving an undead apocalypse in The Cowboy and the Vampire, Tucker and Lizzie hightail it back to quirky LonePine, Wyoming (population 438), to start a family.
But she's got a growing thirst for blood and he's realizing that mortality ain't all it's cracked up to be when your girlfriend may live forever. With a scheming Vampire nation hot on their boot heels and a price on her head, how far will Lizzie and Tucker go to protect their unlikely love?
Blending evolution, religion and an overly sensitive cow dog named Rex, Blood and Whiskey drags the Vampire myth into the modern west, delivering double-barreled action, heart-pounding passion and wicked humor.
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT
This book was slow for me until I was probably about 200-300 pages in, when the "astronomers convention" arrived in town. Finally, the story picked up and things got going. Before then, I think it was safe to say that I hardly wanted to read the book. For this review, I thought maybe another character breakdown would be appropriate. If you haven't read my review of the first book, see The Cowboy and the Vampire.
Tucker - he wasn't as idiotic in this book, but he was just as whine-y. He was the kind of character who had something in his mind but then voiced something else out. I felt bad for him throughout the book though. He'd seen more than he probably cared to see in his lifetime. Too many deaths and the revelation that his girlfriend was a Vampire who needed to feed on humans to survive.
T: "Feel better?"Lizzie - she was pregnant and as dead as the last book. However, in this book she was stronger and more resolved that she would take on the responsibility of being the new queen. Her strength and courage was admirable. Her humanity still stayed with her, which was probably something for Tucker to be grateful for.
L: "I do."
T: "You got a little bit of some poor bastard right there on the corner of your mouth."
L: "Do you ever, you know, take a look when I'm dead? Does it turn you on to have a naked corpse next to you?"
T: "Woman, don't be gross."
Elita - I loved her! Her cruelty was just purely entertaining. Becoming better than her kind definitely worked for her. I loved it when Tucker left her "presents" :) She was as feisty as ever.
Tucker: "You're all blood-suckers. What difference does it make what hrllish womb you popped out of?"
Elita: "Sorry, cowboy, I was hatched."
He scribbled a note on the back of a junk mail envelope and walked back to the bedroom, dropping it next to Elita's head: Sorry about them burns. Left you a present in the barn. Don't be gentle, they tried to kill you. Call when you're done. Lizzie is in trouble. Tucker.
Elite: "It's okay to scream. I enjoy the melody of terror when I feed. I have to say, it's been a long time since I've had a father and son. I'm practically orgasmic just thinking about your shared blood flowing into me."
Rex - this dang dog was just adorable. He was tougher than any, and very loyal. He was like a K9 soldier next to Tucker. I loved that the authors personified him in the books. For example, he would always sit in the driver's side of Tucker's truck as if he could drive.
Tucker's Dad - he was the comedic relief of this book. Every time he spoke, he was just comical. I was hopeful that he would go through with the hand that he was dealt, but I was disappointed that he chose another path in the end.
Lizzie and Lenny listened in on the one-sided conversation.
Tucker: "Yes, I know what time it is...Yep, I know how old you are, too. Seventy-five. Although sometimes you bitch like you are a hundred...Yes, good manners would have been to quit trying after ten rings, but in all fairness, I learned my manners from you...Yes, you would be smart to cut me out of your will...Are you done yet? No? Okay let me know."
Lenny - he was mad at Tucker for a while, but then finally succumbed and made up with his friend. Seriously, this guy was the most resourceful in all the books I've read. Cayenne peppers in the frying pan and a gallon of water = explosives? Truly amazing.
Lenny: "Jesus, Tucker, you okay?"
Tucker: "You damn near diverted me into a pancake."
Overall, I liked the first book more, but this book had more of the action and roller coaster emotions.
As with the first book, I've decided to give away my copy for someone else to enjoy :) Click here if you would like to enter to win the first book. This giveaway will end at the same time, on August 10, 2012.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Clark Hays grew up in Montana in the shadow of the Tobacco Root Mountains. In addition to his fiction work, he is a cowboy, a published poet and occasional food critic. Recently, he was nominated for Pushcart Prize for short fiction and not so recently for a Rhysling award for poetry. Clark brings a deep knowledge about the modern west, weaponry, country music and existentialism to his writing.
Kathleen McFall grew up in the heart of Washington, D.C. She worked as a petroleum geologist and, later, as a journalist, and has published hundreds of articles about scientific research, energy and natural resources. An interest in the overlap of science and mysticism are an essential aspect of her fiction writing. She received an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship for fiction writing.
Learn more at http://cowboyandvampire.com/ and www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Clark Hays grew up in Montana in the shadow of the Tobacco Root Mountains. In addition to his fiction work, he is a cowboy, a published poet and occasional food critic. Recently, he was nominated for Pushcart Prize for short fiction and not so recently for a Rhysling award for poetry. Clark brings a deep knowledge about the modern west, weaponry, country music and existentialism to his writing.
Kathleen McFall grew up in the heart of Washington, D.C. She worked as a petroleum geologist and, later, as a journalist, and has published hundreds of articles about scientific research, energy and natural resources. An interest in the overlap of science and mysticism are an essential aspect of her fiction writing. She received an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship for fiction writing.
Learn more at http://cowboyandvampire.com/ and www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire