A Book Obsession..: Another One Bites the Dust

Another One Bites the Dust

, by Kt Clapsadl

Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin

Jaz Parks #2

I'm Jaz Parks. CIA assassin. Black belt. Belly dancer at the Corpus Christi Winter Festival. The last is cover for my latest mission: retrieve a vital piece of biotechnology by killing the maniac who stole it. He's Chien-Lung, an obsessive vamp who's invulnerable while wearing his armor - which is constantly.

Then there are the reavers, ancient fiends who murder innocents and eat their souls. Only I can sense them. So it's not long before they'll want me dead, dead, dead.

Jaz is used to playing undercover roles for her assassination missions, and typically doesn't mind. However, when she finds out her latest cover is a belly dancer, she is less than thrilled. Like it or not, she has no choice as their target is a crazy vamp that has stolen a very important piece of technology, a suit that makes the wearer all but invincible. Add into the mix some soul stealing reavers and dreams that can kill. Literally. The good thing is that Jaz can sense and destroy them. The bad thing is that means she will quickly become their top target. What's an assassin to do?

The great dynamic and sexual tension continues in this book between Vayl and Jaz. However Cole, who we met in the last book has "wormed" his way into things and is causing some pretty major friction. I understand that he has a crush on her, which is fine, but I think Jaz needs to stop encouraging him as it is obvious she just doesn't have the right chemistry with Cole. The biggest problem is that Jaz is slightly oblivious to Vayl's feelings for her. Well, I guess oblivious might be the wrong word, it's more like she is in denial of it. If she doesn't acknowledge the feelings then they aren't actually there. I'm wondering if it is actually him that she is afraid of, or if it is herself. Because of what happened to her fiance, Matt, I think she believes that if she allows herself to care for Vayl, then something terrible will happen to him. She really has a long road ahead of her to overcome her "demons." Luckily Vayl seems to be a very patient man, and will be able to give her the time and understanding she needs.

The overall feel of the book changed from the last one. While Jaz and Vayl had help from some others, they were still a partnership with the others being outsiders. However, in this book we find the one who helped before are now full members of the team. As much as I enjoyed Vayl and Jaz's partnership, I think the team dynamic added so much more to the series. By having the multiple characters and the friction between them, it allowed for both comic relief and for the focus to not be too far stuck on Jaz and Vayl's issues.

I enjoyed this book even more than the previous one. I'm really interested to see Jaz's powers continue to progress, as well as the repercussions of some of the actions of this book. I'm especially enjoying the combination of magic and technology as that makes the story more relatable to the world we live in now. I am very eager to dive into the next book. Definitely a highly recommended urban fantasy that you won't want to miss!

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