4.5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 332 pages. Published November 6th 2020 by Amazon Digital Services
Blurb:
River
When I meet Bentley DeGray, I’m at the lowest point in my life because no matter how much I fight, my past won’t let me escape. Bentley makes me laugh and care and love, but what does any of that mean when I’m living a lie?
Things get complicated when I find out he’s with the Vampire Related Crimes Unit, the organization looking for answers about the abductions of prominent vampires.
The same organization that stands in my way.
My time is ticking down while I’m wound up in this role I’ve been forced to play, but I know that I would be drowning without Bentley by my side.
Bentley
We’re facing something that runs so deep that we don’t know who we can trust besides each other, even within the VRC. River makes me feel like every day is worth living and enjoying—like I’m not so alone. I can’t imagine life without him. But I know that if I want to keep him by my side, I will need to do everything I can to help him so our love doesn’t get cut short before it can truly grow.
How to Save a Human contains a cat who shows her affection by not drawing (much) blood, art projects that are a little… sketchy, the most underwhelming “bull” ride ever, and vampires that may or may not be in the mob.
Likes:
- Bentley and River, together and separately.
- A new take on vampires.
- The way the story was woven into the previous two.
- Little hints of things that add to the previous two books.
- The non-romantic plot.
- Banshee.
- A good way to wrap up the series.
Dislikes:
- River and Bentley connected really fast and for no real reason.
- The time frame was a little strange.
- River’s emotional trauma wasn’t really dealt with.
DeGray didn’t leave much impact on me, so I wasn’t as excited for this book as I had been for Karsyn’s. DeGray was always just a side character. The one thing I was excited for was that he and Karsyn had a strange moment at the beginning of the previous book, and I wanted to know what that was about.
I was a little surprised at the note at the beginning of the book, which said that the events take place during the events of the previous two books. I was a little worried that the time frame would be strange, or we’d get a lot of rehashing. Luckily, the book flowed fairly well. There were a few time jumps, or weeks glossed over, but it worked with the story.
I think one of my favorite things about the book were the extra little tidbits we learned about previous events. There was one moment that made me gasp and go, “That’s how he knew!?” Since I’m reading the books so close together, it’s easy to fit the little details into place.
Aside from Bentley and River’s connection happening fast, I liked their relationship and dynamic. Bentley describes himself as the normal member of the VRC, which is true. He’s a nice guy, and very normal compared to the others. That could make him seem boring to some, but I thought it was a nice change. Plus, he was exactly what River needed.
River was both an interesting person and very sympathetic. Everything that he went through made him so strong and resilient. I was a little disappointed that with all the things he’d done or been through he didn’t get a chance to have professional help. It wasn’t a glaring oversight when reading the book, but looking back, the guy could probably use a professional to help him get his thoughts and emotions sorted.
The reason Bentley didn’t want to get involved with River was a unique one. I like that they tried to fight their attraction for a while. I also liked how hard Bentley fought for River. Bentley even made friends with the real start of the show, Banshee.
The non-romantic plot was probably my favorite one out of all the books. I love a good ‘there’s corruption on the inside and you don’t know who to trust’ type plot. The tension is everywhere. Add in that River’s life is chock full of secrets, and I stayed hooked the entire time.
There’s also more world building. The way vampires are in positions of power was really highlighted, as was the chain of command for the VRC. I also enjoyed learning how vampires are made, and what a newly turned vampire acts like, since that type of typical vampire lore has been missing from the series so far.
This book didn’t have as many laugh out loud moments as the others. I didn’t mind that. When every character is sassy, it loses its meaning. I liked River and Bentley fine as they were. Besides, there were enough scenes with Finn, Claude, Marcus, Alexei, and the other VRC members to inject some sass.
I think this was a nice way to wrap up the series. At least, I assume it’s the last book. It had a kind of finality to it that made me think so, even though I know there’s another short story.
Be sure to check out the reviews for the previous three books, How to Vex a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #1), How to Elude a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #2), How to Lure a Hunter (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes #3)
Love is Love Reviews 