Thursday, March 21, 2013

Succubus On Top by Richelle Mead


Love hurts, and no one knows it better than Georgina Kincaid. If she so much as kisses Seth Mortensen, the shy, sexy, incredibly gifted Seattle writer she's been dating, she'll drain his life force. Georgina is a succubus - a demon who draws her power from other men's pleasure. Admittedly, the shapeshifting and immortality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can't get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is.

It's not just her personal life that's in chaos. Doug, Georgina's co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behaviour, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work. She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistibly charming incubus and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk radio star - and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes. Georgina is going to have to work solo on this one - and fast because soon, Doug's life won't be the only one on the line.


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Slower than Succubus Blues was, this book was still quite enjoyable. Whereas the first book tossed you back and forth and turned you round and round with all of its plot twists and emotional rollercoaster until you weren't sure what to believe, this one kind of coasts along at a steady pace and lacks some of the drama we saw in the first book. That's not to say there isn't drama here, for there certainly is a lot of it, but the biggest dramas are of a more personal and emotional nature than they are about external threats or plots.



Some amount of time has passed since the end of the first book when this one opens. Georgina has been busy in the interim fulfilling her end of the bargain she struck with Jerome at the end of the first book, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. She hasn't only been busy with her succubus duties, however, for she has also been carrying on a relationship with Seth, a relationship that is still tentative and somewhat fragile however involved their emotions are with one another. Given all of the issues they face, however, they seem to be doing pretty well. When one of Georgina's oldest friends, an incubus named Bastien, comes to visit, it adds some additional wrinkles to hers and Seth's relationship, as well as giving us a few more insights into Georgina's past.

Overall this installment in the series seems to be more about building the various relationships, as well as building the characters some more, for the bulk of the focus is on these things and not so much on the plot. While there definitely is a plot here, a couple actually, and they do contribute to some of the conflicts within the book, by the end they seem of lesser importance because both are resolved fairly easily when it comes down to it. At least one of these plots introduces some new facets to the world building of the series as well though, so in that respect I think it will prove important in the long run, whether or not the exact events of this book have repercussions down the line.

If you haven't read the first book, then I'd definitely recommend you read it first, for this one assumes you already understand who most of the main characters here are, and what their relationships to one another are. For those that have read the first book and liked it, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well, so long as you bear in mind that this one is more about building than about things happening. Every extended series has some books in it that are given over more to laying foundations and developing characters after all, and this one seems to be that book of this series. I've given this one 4 stars, for the exploration and handling of some very powerful and raw emotions is done quite well, and the characters continue to be vivid and quite entertaining, and now and again will surprise you by doing things you wouldn't have expected of them. Definitely worth the read, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Georgina and her friends.

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