After Dark Book Review: Suit and Fangs by Marian Tee
A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
WARNING! This novel is targeted at a mature audience due to sexual content.
I first noticed Suit and Fangs when a cover reveal was organized. I thought the cover was really pretty, and said so on whoever’s blog it was that revealed it. A few days later, Tee contacted me regarding a review of the novel. I accepted, because I thought it looked interesting.
To be honest, I didn’t know that Suit and Fangs was a sexy novel. I am not a reader of those kinds of novels by any means, and have never written a review for one, either. I mainly read young adult fiction, and scattered adult fiction books. But, to be fair, Suit and Fangs was pretty enjoyable. I do warn readers that there is sexual content in this book (in case you were like me, and didn’t know).
I did like the fact that Suit and Fangs wasn’t solely focused on the sexual content. Sure, it was there. And when it was, it was very steamy. And I mean VERY steamy, but there was also a plot.
The Caros are weird vampire things that aren’t ACTUALLY vampires, but need blood to stay alive. If one of them is spurned by the one they love, or their love isn’t reciprocated, they turn vampire. Aka, they turn into blood sucking evil beasts with no humanity whatsoever. So you can imagine Luka Georgiades’ problem when the girl he loves, Caylie Sonora, doesn’t love him back (or so he thinks).
I actually liked the political aspects of this novel. In fact, I would have enjoyed it quite a bit more if we had been provided with some more information on the ranks and levels of the Caro society. I thought it was interesting, and could have added some more depth to the story.
I did find it a little confronting that both Luka and Caylie were teenagers. When I think of sexy novels I do not automatically think of teenagers being the main characters. It was just a bit odd when Caylie talks about school one minute, and then explicit things the next. When I was eighteen, I didn’t know anyone quite so … out there with their sexuality. So, perhaps, it would have been a bit more appropriate if the characters had been older in age.
The characters themselves were pretty well fleshed out. You knew their motives, and their feelings, and I liked that. The flashbacks throughout the novel helped to enhance our understanding of the characters, and why they did what they did.
In general, the descriptions in the novel were lacking. People were described adequately enough, but I was left wondering what the places looked like. We weren’t given any description of Caylie’s school – which could have been really awesome, since it was specifically a Caro establishment – but I was left in the dark about the specifics of the school, and a lot of the other settings in the novel.
I found myself cheering on Caylie when it came to her relationship with Luka. Easy to say, I shipped them. As always, there was annoying misunderstandings that had me almost rolling my eyes at the density of the characters, but there is a happily ever after involved.
Overall, for something quite out of my usual genre, Suit and Fangs was a good sexy novel.
© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.
Your Turn: Have you ever read a surprise sexy novel? Do you think school-aged people are too young to be sexy novel protagonists?