Reviewer: Sid Love

This trilogy by Chris Quinton consists of three books – Fool’s Errand, Fool’s Oath and Fool’s Rush – and is based in an alternate universe and a future timeline. The setting is Barcelona and the year is 2042. The whole series focuses on the lives of Xavi Escudero and Andreas Rousakis – their relationship and dangerous situations they get themselves into.

I decided it was better to write a review for each book individually and give you the idea of what you can expect when you buy this book. And I’d say, I recommend this to all those readers out there who love supernatural creatures like vampire or even if you only love ACTION this book is definitely for you.

Ratings for this whole series:

Warning: This review may contain spoilers

BOOK #1: FOOL’S ERRAND

 Summary: When Xavi becomes an accidental witness to the murder of a wealthy woman he knows exactly what to do – get the hell out of there, fast! Xavi lives on the edge of the law; he and the police don’t exactly mix. Unfortunately the cop who is sent after him turns out to have some rather unusual abilities, so it isn’t long before their paths cross – which is roughly when Xavi begins to realise that getting caught may be the very least of his troubles.

Review: Xavi Escudero is a gigolo by profession. He is highly attracted to older women, especially the ones with lots of gold and money and being a guy with great looks, he doesn’t find it hard to have his way with any of them – committed or not! Currently involved in such a relationship with a famous politician’s wife – Sofia Matas, Xavi suddenly finds himself being an eye-witness of her ruthless murder. The killer doesn’t see him but from where Xavi hides, he has seen the cruel man who had just killed the person he had liked a lot. Though when he realizes, he might have to deal with the cops, he makes a run from the crime scene.

Andreas Rousakis, a Warden of Renaissance community and temporarily liaising with the Barcelona P.D., is a vampire by nature and over a century old by age. He is mentioned to be a foreigner – an American – formerly working with the American security agencies. Partnered with detective Rico Aquilar, he is assigned the case to investigate the Matas murder.

Fighting with his own conscience, Xavi decides to give the PD a call and tell them what he had seen and the name – Raoul, as Sofia called him right before he put four bullets in her body. With his supernatural abilities, Andreas manages to track Xavi down and takes him under his safe custody. And things start to sizzle between the duo soon after …

Chris Quinton builds an entirely new universe for this trilogy and I must say, everything is well-thought of. Renaissance – where Andreas acts as a Warden keeping everything under lawful control – is a place where all the vampires are settled, quite away from the human population. They do not feed on human blood, nor are they much affected by the sun really (and please, they do NOT sparkle, either!). They survive on substitutes that are invented by a commited group of vampire scientists who work on it. Humans know of them ever since UN officially declared their existence, however are wary of them given the prejudices ingrained into their minds. According to this story, the vampires can be made by the traditional, some can even reproduce (rare possibility) but an intriguing concept used by Quinton here was that human can get infected by vampire blood and the transition can get triggered due to blood transfusion. A rather ugly process, as is seen, in my opinion but very smart thesis!

Quinton’s characters are adorable – yes I’d call the stiff, dominant Andreas adorable too. He is, in fact, the most favorite character of mine in this series. Although he remains so tough on the outside, you could see in his thoughts how tender on the inside he really is. Andreas is the one who believes strongly that Xavi is the man he has been looking for for so long! He is romantic and the times when he is jealous, I just felt like pinching his cheeks and saying ‘oh you silly lovesick man!’ or vampire, whatever…

Xavi is rather cocky and gave me quite a few laughs in between the scenes. But he disappointed me a lot with his immature actions. For one thing, he is a runner. When things got too much for him to handle, he would just take off rather facing it. The murder isn’t the only time he does that, by the way. But I must give the author kudos for keeping consistent with the character flaws. Also, Xavi might be a gigolo, but he cares for his ladies. He takes care of them but a simple question coming from Andreas more than once forces him to a thoughtful silence everytime …

“Who takes care of Xavier Peres Escudero?”

Okay that might be a very simple sentence, but everytime Andreas asks him that question, I went “awww”.

The murder mystery – very exciting and keeps your interest up throughout the book. I wouldn’t say it was a mystery really, but still the thrill is there. The action scene is amazing and of course, the sex is hot! But it is what I said it is – the sex. The feelings of the two men are tender but you can’t say they are in love.

It is written well but this one isn’t the best of the series. Weighing with the writing of the third book, this one seems a bit off. Quinton indulges in a lot of detailed descriptions at times, which had me skimming through a lot of parts. But I guess, since it was the first book in the series, it was unavoidable.

Sid’s Rating:

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BOOK #2: FOOL’S OATH

Summary: A rush of over-confidence on Xavi’s part and his friend dies bloodily. Xavi is forced to face the reality of his own nature and the depth of his relationship with Andreas. And then there’s the gold hidden in the walled-up crypt of the church …

Review: Let me tell you, Xavi is a fool… seriously! And never to believe a fool’s oath ever, Andreas should have known that before trusting his promise of staying out of trouble. When promises something like that, he is sure to break it. Being sent for by the American authorities, Andreas is required to go leaving Xavi alone at their home (oh yes, they have started living together now!)

Also, there’s another bomb-shell. At the end of the first book and during the action scene, both Xavi and Andreas are injured, but Andreas more. In trying to help him, Xavi gets infected and guess what? Well, you can guess …

Anyways, like the summary says he is getting used to his true nature now. Though the hard part only hits him later. While Andreas is away, Xavi is lured by his friend into helping him sell out a chunk of gold he has found hidden mysteriously beneath the grounds of a church. However, as they are taking it out, they are jumped by a few men and that ends up with his friend turned in a bloody corpse. The rush for blood is extreme and it takes a lot out of Xavi not to turn into those blood rogue of vampires. Because he knows well, Andreas would cull him!

I had a very difficult time getting through this book. The series would have been finished a lot earlier had it not been for this specific book. It was more than once that I kept this book away out of boredom, because to be honest, apart from the chapters where the gold, the friend and the above mentioned scene comes into picture, everything else is just plain. Of course, we come to know more about both the characters but this book basically was a bridge between what happens between the first and the third book. Also, there’s development in the two men’s relationship which is worth reading about. Without this one, third book won’t make much sense. So, like it or not, you would have to get through this one.

I mean, it isn’t that bad, but it is not that good either. The author, I believe, could have handled it in different, some interesting ways, but she didn’t and that is a disappointment.

Sid’s Rating:

 

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BOOK #3: FOOL’S RUSH

Yes, THIS is a damn good book! Right from the first word, I just knew I was going to LOVE this one. Unlike Book #2, Fool’s Rush was read by me in one go! I just couldn’t put it down, it was that enthralling kind that just makes you feel like if you even blink now, you are going to miss out on it! And oh boy! this book is NOT to be missed!

Summary: Father Esteve hires Xavi to trace the true owners of the gold found in the crypt of San Pedro-by-the-Wall, but it’s an old and tangled web. Someone has an undisclosed agenda, and a rising tide of anti-vampire reaction sweeps through Barcelona. It’s focused on Xavi and Andreas, which causes additional problems with the vampires of Renaissance. Then Xavi meets a handsome young man who isn’t all he seems, and that’s when things begin to get even more complicated…

Review: I wouldn’t summarise the story with this one, because I am sure my rant for specific book is going to be long enough. Also, the summary above is quite clear on the facts of this story.

Chris Quinton is a fantastic mystery writer! And she builds the plot of this book with her skill and most of all, her experience. When I read this book, I could see an image of a mature, professional novelist in every word that Quinton uses. She has smartly handled every element of this story and different layers to her admirable characters.

I feel the need to slap myself for even thinking of not continuing with this series after the second book, because after one reads Rush, he comes to know that reading the second book wasn’t really a waste of time. I dare not say that at all! I apologize for having doubted the author’s talents because she has a strategy here that plays well.

When I finished reading this book, I knew the real reasons why Book 2 had to be written. It makes sense to have that bridge and anyways, life can’t be always action-packed, even for the fictional characters – that brings a dimension of reality to them.

Xavi is a fool, I repeat that again, but a fool always learns his lessons at the right time. Xavi does too, and by the time the series comes to an end, he seems to have changed so much that I almost couldn’t tell he was the same selfish, desperate, greedy, arrogant bastard that I was introduced to in the first chapter. Of course, some things never change and thank God for that. I love Xavi for some of his flaws too.

Change isn’t only for Xavi, by the way. Circumstances change Andreas too. To state the facts, it is Xavi’s love that changes him and it is very beautiful when they finally engage in the act to be committed.

The secondary characters are worth-noting of course. Of them all, I simply loved Rico. He is a fun guy, who is also a great friend to Andreas. I missed him in Book #2, although he did make a short appearance there and just stole the show! Then there’s a new character in Book #3, pardon me for forgetting his name, but he is the new Warden of Renaissance as Andreas gives it up to solely concentrate on his Barcelona PD job. Oh God! He is just hawt! Well, at least Xavi thinks so, but well his looks and the way he behaves – even if it isn’t very pleasant – I can see why Xavi is turned on by him. I really wished to read more about him, but sadly he is not much on the forefront.

Simply put, this  entire series is a perfect blend of intelligent plot, skillful writing and lovable characters!

Buy Links: BOOK #1: Fool’s Errand   ||   BOOK #2: Fool’s Oath   ||   BOOK #3: Fool’s Rush