Review: The Quick and the Undead by Kimberly Raye

The Quick and the Undead
(Tombstone, Texas #1)
Kimberly Raye
Release: November 26, 2014
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Welcome to Tombstone, Texas, where anything is possible, even your wildest fantasy. Once a haven to outlaws, Tombstone is now a tourist town that gives travelers a taste of the old West. What visitors don’t realize, however, is that the super-hot cowboys, gunslingers, and lawmen walking the streets aren’t actors—they’re originals. These ancient vampires claimed Tombstone two centuries ago.

So step right up, folks, and book your trip today! The outlaws of Tombstone will be waiting . . .

Travel blogger Riley Davenport loves her job, traveling to the most exotic places in the world. Even better, it keeps her one step ahead of her stalking ex. The last thing she wants in her life is a strong alpha male. But that’s exactly what she gets when she comes face-to-face with Sheriff Boone Jarrett, a hero right out of her most erotic fantasies.

Boone isn’t just the law in Tombstone, Texas. He’s also an ancient vampire and the target of a crazed killer. He certainly doesn’t have time for romance. But a temporary fling? Now that he can handle.

Unfortunately, their first night together ends in disaster when Riley witnesses a murder. And to protect her, Boone forces her into hiding. Only her “captivity” ends up becoming the realization of her wildest, most carnal fantasies. Still, Riley’s not going to fall for him, at least that’s what she tells herself.

But as she gets to know him—the man and the vampire—she starts to wonder if she can hold out . . .

Review by Rose Red:

When I requested a book about vampire cowboys from Netgalley, I was hoping for a fun and quirky read. The idea behind this book had SO much potential! A group of outlaw vampires that were sired by the same vampire in the Old West return as a group to reclaim the town of Tombstone, Texas. In order to make that possible, they've turned the town into an exclusive vacation destination that will bring back the Old West for travelers. The whole gang is involved in this venture with the exception of their maker who has disappeared. 

This story should have been interesting....but I was bored. I finished the story but I didn't enjoy any of it. I actually kept reading because I couldn't help but think that it had to get better because no one could possibly waste such a great premise. Unfortunately, the actual story did not deliver. I actually thought most of the book was ridiculous and the "villain" was laughably easy to identify. Believe me when I say that the best part of the whole book was the prologue. It nearly drove me crazy how many times things were repeated over and over and over again. You don’t need to tell me a half a dozen times that Riley had no childhood because of her father. I got it. Over and over again, I read about her ex-boyfriend and how horrible and controlling he was. Again, I get it. Why repeat Riley's past over and over again without making it have any real impact on the present story? And I read about Boone’s father issues so often that I wanted to slap and tell him he was a vampire outlaw and to get the hell over it. I nearly went bonkers when we had to be told that a character was a gunslinger/thief/etc every time that character was mentioned. Maybe we needed that in the beginning but not every single time that character was mentioned afterwards.

Part of the reason I think this story didn't work for me was that the book was just too short for what the author was trying to do. There was no room for any good plot or character development. I was 90% through the story and realized I did not care one bit about any of the characters let alone the "romance". In fact, the story spent more time focused on Riley's sexual longing than what was probably a very interesting group of vampires. Hello! You made a group of outlaw vampires boring. 

As for the romance, it was comprised largely of her hormones and his hunger. But not really much more. I wasn't really given a romance. When Boone thinks Riley might be in trouble from a rogue vampire does he keep her next to him to protect her at all times? Nope. He puts her in a cave by herself while he searches for the villain. She literally spends a large part of the story in a cave by herself. How can there be a romance when they're separated 75% of the time. There was no build up of any actual feelings other than lust. And that wasn't even done well and was mostly associated with Riley's sweet tooth and Boone's craving for her blood. I honestly didn't get the love connection between the two of them. Not to mention, the sex scenes were weird to read. It was almost like they were not meant for this book because they were so disconnected from the story.
 
I appreciated the author's attempt at writing a different vampire book. It was a fresh idea in a stale genre. I just wish it had been done better. I have no interest in continuing on with this series.

I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

  

  2 / 5 stars