Finished this so long ago not sure when I actually did finish it. I know it couldn't have taken me too long because they're not incredibly long. I won this book as part of the Early Reviewers and so I read the first book and enjoyed it enough to look forward to receiving this book. And I liked it...but I was so mad that it ENDED SO ABRUPTLY. And of course it ended on a cliff-hanger. Because why not. Everything seems to be just okay. Action happens, the plot moves along, and I get all the characters and their motivations, especially Amber, but it just ends up being an okay book. I'll read the next one but it's not the most fantastic story I've ever gotten my hands on. ( )

I really enjoyed my time with the first book in this series, but not as much this time around. I can't put my finger on just what it was that didn't grab me like book one, but I sort of just meh'd my way through it. And I love Amber Fang! She has morals, she only feeds from criminals who feel no remorse. This book didn't feel as much about her as it was about what she was searching for and those who got in the way. I won't give up on the series though. ( )

This is the second book in the Amber Fang series of vampire novels. Amber is a different sort of vampire: first she is a woman, next, she is sort of a heroine, and finally, she has a strong moral code (for a vampire!). Amber is pursuing a degree in library science at the same time she is searchin for her mother, who disappeared three years ago. Also at the same time, she is fending off attempts by several different organizations to capture and/or kill her. The tale is well told, with a good degree of violence and gore, mixed in with humor and snark. Amber is well-read, well-trained, and sure of her own skills and goals, as befits any vampire librarian. Recommended ( )

This was ... yikes. The protagonist had such a strange mix of slang and her characterization seemed oddly inconsistent. It was like the author was trying to force her to seem cool and aloof and Strong Female Protagonist, but it just didn't work for me. Hello, fellow kids.

Also, the racism. We Canadians sure do like to deny that we have a racism problem, but this book contained some fine examples:

"The flight to Canada took us to Winnipeg, and then we got on another plane that spat us out in a city with the mysterious name of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Where the Canadians come up with these names was anyone's guess. Maybe all their naming decisions happened after a hockey concussion."

Canadian place names that seem strange, like US place names, come from Indigenous languages. This is really gross, and illustrates just how badly racist Canadians are towards our Indigenous hosts. But wait, there's more, in the very next paragraph:

"We loaded into a six-seater twin-prop plane and began o our way to a northern hunting lodge. By *we* I mean there were four of us. Dermot was there, of course, and he moved slowly because he'd stashed his exoskeleton in a large suitcase. He did look a bit better though. He had to use a cane, and I found myself taking his arm several times. My remaining two companions were both Chinese people, one male, one female. They had appeared on the tarmac of the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. As far as I could tell, they were mute. At least, they only nodded when we were introduced.

[...]

"So where did you find our two friends?"

"Ask them," Dermot said. "They speak English."

"Oh," I said. Ugh, I really should have been more careful. "So what part of China are you from?"

"I'm from Philly," the woman said gruffly.

"And I'm from Paris," said the man. "Paris, Texas, of course."

I nearly slapped myself in the head. Why would I made such an idiotic assumption? I was a librarian. I'd lived in North America all y life and knew firsthand about the variety of ethnic backgrounds. On top of that, I'd consumed people of all shapes and sizes and ethnicity. I should have known better!

"Um, what are your names?" I asked, realizing Dermot hadn't told me their names when we first met.

"I'm Derek," the man said.

"I'm Steph," the woman said.

And that was the end of the conversation. I totally got why they wouldn't want to talk to me any longer."

Nothing says "I'm not racist!" like putting in an explicitly racist statement and then pointing out how racist it is and gosh, people should know better. Heavy-handed and very poorly done. I hated it and will not be picking up the sequel, or the first book in the series, or any other books by this author. I don't care if he's won a Governor General's Award; those are racist, too. ( )

This was a really fun read. I have not read anything else in this series, but I found the background was explained well enough when necessary that I didn't feel lost at all. The characters and pop culture references and fun and witty. Originally from Saskatchewan, I was also quite tickled to realize I was reading Local author, and enjoyed the references. Very fast paced, and full of action-- the cliffhanger ending was frustrating but very much suites the pace and style of the book. ( )