Bite Me & Try Me by Parker Blue

I came across these two books from Amazon’s recommend feature. Here is the summary of Bite Me from Amazon:

“Life after high school is tough enough without having to go 15 rounds with your inner demon. Val Shapiro is just your ordinary, part-demon, teenaged vampire hunter with a Texas drawl. And a pet hellhound named Fang. Soon enough she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.”

I absolutely loved this series. It ranks up there with the Chicagoland Vampire Series for me. It is a YA book but for the older crowd. Val is 18 and is finding herself on her own. She is going through the same struggles that everyone else does when they strike it out on their own. I like that her character is so strong and independent while having a deep loyalty streak to her family even though they have severely mistreated her.

I loved reading about the different friends that she makes in the Underground Demon organization. Parker does an excellent job of coming up with imaginative demons and making the side characters interesting.

Try Me is an excellent sequel to Bite Me. Val grows so much in the first book and yet the second book doesn’t feel stretched at all. She continues to discover more about her demon side and her human identity. I think that everyone can related to Val’s character as throughout the series she is trying to understand who she is and how she can define herself.

Val’s relationships with male characters also matures a lot in the second book. She gets her first boyfriend and has to deal with the confusing parts of a new relationship. She also has to deal with how her demon defines her feelings and relationship. Because of this she has to try harder to make things work in her relationship.

I give this series a 5/5. I am eagerly awaiting news of the third book and can’t wait to get my hands on it!