Review by Sadonna
TITLE: How to Defy a Vampire
SERIES: Vampire Related Crimes
AUTHOR: Alice Winters
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 9 hours and 52 minutes
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2023
BLURB:
Finn
Stumbling into a crime scene is pretty typical for me. As a human, joining the VRC has done everything but keep me out of trouble. And now I seem to be playing a part that I’d really rather not play…if I want to keep my head, that is.
By my side is my partner Marcus, a vampire who has vowed to tear the world apart—and even a mattress—to keep me safe. I want to do everything I can to protect my newfound family, no matter what we’re forced to face.
Marcus
When ghosts from my past step right into my path, I want to look the other way. I’d rather enjoy my life with Finn, figure out a way to make my brother less obnoxiously gaudy, and find out how to never go roller skating ever again.
Finn is the bravest person I’ve ever met, but he’s also a human and we’re working against some of the strongest vampires in existence. I’m left doing what I can to shield those dearest to me while trying to keep the past from consuming the present.
I can’t let the same mistakes happen again.
How to Defy a Vampire contains peculiar festive wear, misguided attempts at welcoming a human, and Marcus terrifying everyone as usual.
REVIEW:
Note: This story contains spoilers for the previous books in this series and builds on earlier events. Reading the series in order provide maximum enjoyment of Book 5.
Finn and Marcus and Claude and Alexei are getting ready to celebrate Christmas. As you can imagine, Claude is ready to be quite festive 🙂 But before the holiday get together, there is of course mayhem. Finn comes across a murder scene – and it’s vampires who have been murdered. Whoever it is must be very strong and well-organized. The team gives chase and find a suspect. Turns out they have a connection to Marcus.
Marcus and company spend Christmas with Orin and Aria and of course they have to bring Hela and Artemis. This is a highly unusual holiday celebration – complete with games and a sleepover in one room. Alexei and Marcus are none to please with this forced frivolity 😉 But of course Finn gets his way.
The mystery of whoever is killing the vampires just gets more murky however. The VRC gang has no idea who they can trust. What is the council’s part in this? What does this have to do with Marcus’s past? Who is this mysterious new vampire who shows up and seems to be in the middle of all this? And why is everyone after Finn? Marcus is incredibly frustrated and spends a lot of time glowering and raging – as is his way 😉 Alexei and Claude and the rest of the team do their best to try to protect Finn but that is never an easy job. Thankfully Finn is pretty good at taking care of himself despite some pretty steep odds!
Well that was something 🙂 Honestly I cannot believe all the crap Finn has to deal with. Despite having a father who is one of the oldest and most powerful vampires and a boyfriend who is also an old and extremely strong vampire, he just cannot BUY a break. And now it seems that forces want him for other reasons? Apparently Watson was doing a lot more than trying to make Finn into his “doll” all those years. I absolutely loved Finn and Marcus and Claude and Alexei working together. They make a great team – along with support from Orin and Aria 🙂 This installment sets us up for a lot more because while the immediate threat is handled, nobody knows who they can trust and what the real answers are to the mystery that the team is trying to solve. The new villains are complex and their ties to Marcus’s past don’t exactly help clarify anything. Marcus continues to rage and he’s still willing to burn everything to the ground to protect Finn. I honestly can’t wait for the next book – there are so many unanswered questions here and I really need to know how all these threads tie together. No spoilers here so you’ll have to read/listen to this to find out what the heck is going on.
Michael Ferraiuolo. What can I say about Michael that I haven’t said before. The man is an absolute master. These books just really come to life with his narration. Finn and Marcus and Claude and Alexei and Orin and Brooks – and now Ender and the other newly introduced vampires are just so well done. I just can’t get over how these performances are just so consistently outstanding. There is no wondering which characters we are listening to. Whether it’s present day or revisiting Marcus’s past, I’m always intrigues, invested and on the edge of my seat with these books. The danger, the fear, the fierceness and the love between these characters are just perfectly executed. I honestly cannot get enough of these characters and this series. I look forward to each audio release because I enjoy them so much. Highly recommended for a high intensity, scary, exciting, rollicking good time.
RATING: 
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