Sadly disappointing.

As a huge fan of Molly Harper and of the Half Moon Hollow series I jumped on Rebound the first day it was released. If it weren't for Amanda Ronconi's standard-setting brilliant performance I wouldn't have made it through this one. While Harper's plots are usually wonderfully multi-layered with the main plot surrounded and supported by other well-crafted sub-stories, Rebound barely had anything at all. The 'Gigi + Nick' story felt flat and, as a love story... meh. Their pairing made absolutely no sense and the two of them together seriously lacked the chemistry of the couples in the previous books.

Other reviewers have mentioned the issues of character/personality continuity. Believe them. Incongruent actions and responses stopped me in my tracks every time. The biggest example of character inconsistency is Gigi herself. I didn't like this version of her one bit. She came off as a self-centered spoiled air-head - not the smart, snappy, and independent girl that I couldn't wait to read about. Keeping the characters true to themselves would have created opportunities for a much fuller and more satisfying story.

Throughout the book I couldn't shake the notion that I was reading about an older guy with no redeeming features (except his 'man-parts') preying on an impressionable, emotionally needy, and dim-witted young girl. Not the usual Molly Harper fare.

85 people found this helpful

Another WIN for Harper & Ronconi

The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire is the follow-up to the short I'm Dreaming of an Undead Christmas.

First Thought:

Seriously any author that can work in references to Daryl Dixon, Soft Kitty, My Little Pony (especially Rainbow Dash) and Dr Who into a paranormal romance it they not sounded forced is an author you should be reading!

Gigi aka the human, computer geek:

Gigi is the younger sister of Iris from The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires. Gigi was raised in part by Iris after their parents' death. Iris runs a business that works with vampires and now Iris is one herself. So Gigi is no stranger to a life with vampires. In fact being a human has put her in the minority of her little group of friends/family. But Iris doesn't want Gigi to be sucked (no pun intended) into the vampire world. She only wants her little sister to live a normal and safe human life.

But Gigi can't get one, Mr. Tall Blonde and Bitey, off her mind ever since that toe curly kiss they shared when she was home for Christmas break from college. And then there's little thing where she accepted an internship with the Vampire Council. Gigi is now neck-deep in the vampire world.

Nik aka The Rebound Vamp:

Nik is Mr. Tall Blonde and Bitey, he's also Russian and a long time friend of Gigi's bother-in-law, Cal. Oh, and he works for the Vampire Council. And he has a memory issue.

Nik is in town working for the council and doing Cal a flavor by watching over Gigi. But Cal doesn't know that Nick has taken a hands on approach to watching Gigi.

Narration:

I was in a listening slump and team of Molly Harper and Amanda Ronconi brought me out of it. (Like I knew they would.) Really the team of Harper and Ronconi is great for a fast and fun listen. Harper pens the quirky characters with a snarky humor and Ronconi's voice brings them to life no other could.

Last Thought:

I'm super excited that we are getting other book in the Half-Moon Hollow series, The Single Undead Moms Club, in October!

12 people found this helpful

Alright

I am fond of Molly harper's books but this one was just all right . If this is the first half moon hallow book you have read go back to the others because they are worth it

23 people found this helpful

WOW

Would you consider the audio edition of The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire to be better than the print version?

I love the audio books in this series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I am not sure who my favorite. I love them all. But GG, Iris, Miranda and Jane all crack me up.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Ophelia thought she had been cursed because she tried to have GG killed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Nick had to save GG from dying and changed her to a vampire. He helped her even though her blood contained poison.

Any additional comments?

this book as well as the entire series is just great. I laughed and laughed while listening. I had to look around to make sure my co workers were not looking at me funny. These books put me in a good mood when i am feeling down. If you have not read this book or any of this series you are missing out on great stories. All i can say is keep them coming.

8 people found this helpful

Fell flat

I was so excited for this book, preordered it, went back and listen to I'm Dreaming of a Dead Christmas to get ready for this book. Then it was like.....WHAT? What happen to the chemistry and the excitement? Some where between the last book and Gigi and Nick's actual love story all that I had been waiting on and all the excitement just left! I even rewind my player thinking I missed a crucial point between Gigi finding out who Nick was and the moment they jumped into the sack......what happened to build up, why so much trust even when he was trying to kill her. This story just did not play out right for my taste. Too many times I found myself wanting to slap one of the characters and found that the love was to instant!

17 people found this helpful

Love Molly Harper, but this wasn't her best work

Any additional comments?

I expected more of an interesting and believable story for GIgi. This fell short of the mark.

16 people found this helpful

explicit content

After reading her sweet and funny short story about Christmas, I couldn't wait to read the next book. TDDRV was funny, but much more explicit than I expected. The described sex just wasn't my cup of tea...or mug of blood, for that matter.

6 people found this helpful

Not up to her usual greatness.

I've enjoyed all her other books. Seemed like someone else read all her other books and threw this one together.

20 people found this helpful

Still So Much Fun!

Another Harper book that includes my favorite fictional character of all time - Dick Cheney. Not that Dick Cheney, but the 200 year old slightly shady but lovable con artist vampire with the most inappropriate collection of tee shirts in the world.

I always enjoy a new entry into this series, if only because I get to revisit so many old friends. Even though the newer books in the series aren't quite as hysterically funny as the original, they are still always good natured and full of eccentric characters that you are not sure you would ever like to meet in real life.

This book deals with Gigi, a character introduced in the previous book, the younger sister of Iris who owns a Vampire concierge service. Gigi falls for an ancient Russian vampire, who looks only slightly older than 20 year old Gigi and Amanda Ronconi as always does a great job with all of the accents. We also learn more about the scary Ophelia Lambert, the forever 16 year old head of the Council who may be the most frightening teenager who ever lived.

If you are looking for a humorous, quick read, I recommend this book by Molly Harper and read by Amanda Ronconi. If you haven't read any of the earlier books you should start there.

11 people found this helpful

More Twilight than Half Moon Hollow

Others have covered the plot holes and loss of continuity from the previous books, and while that's uncomfortable, what really soured this book for me was how dark this one was. Part of what made the previous books so much fun was how Molly Harper painted a world where vampires are still people. Being turned is just the start of a new set of problems in your daily life, problems best handled with snark, sarcasm, and good friends.

Amanda Ronconi rules, as always.

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Begin spoilers
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While the "friendly" vampires are still present, vampires in general are now shady, dangerous predators, to be treated with caution and respect. This perspective first showed up in The Care and Feeding, but there it was possible as a reader to treat Iris as a unreliable narrator in this respect; Gigi may share Iris's prejudices, but the self-help book quoted at the beginning of each chapter is replete with dire warnings about the importance of not provoking your vampire colleagues. Jane’s earlier commentary about how vampires tend to be the same mix of good and evil as un-undead humans is repudiated.

Gigi has taken a job working for the Council for the Equal Treatment of the Undead. Shortly after orientation, Ophelia calls a Stalinesque meeting of the entire staff to accuse an employee of theft. The theft, she announces is already proven, and the employee is tortured while the entire group is made to watch. Further, the point is explicitly made that although the character is a vampire, the particular torture technique employed is permanent, even on vampires. Not fun, and not even a little funny.

The vampire "hero" is about 400 years older than Gigi, who is already the youngest of Molly Harper’s heroines. Nick's first interaction with Gigi in this episode is to attack her. She barely escapes with her life. Her reaction, after getting away and telling her family about the attack -- is to date him? Against her family’s strong objections. What the heck? Even after she learns he's under a spell that causes him to forget his feelings for her and try to kill her, she continues to sneak around trying to find chances to be alone with him.

Nick attacks Gigi repeatedly throughout the book. Each time, she makes excuses for him instead of taking steps to protect herself. At one point, she consciously decides to allow him to kill her without resisting. When he comes to his senses and calls off their relationship as a result, she's butt hurt about his cowardice and lack of commitment. Every time they're alone together, my skin crawled as I wondered what he was going to do next, and the narrative would be sure to point out again, whatever he did wouldn't be his fault.

The sex: ick. The laugh out loud humor in the sex scenes in Harper's other books makes them worth listening to (sex scenes read aloud is usually more embarrassing than ), and I've always believed the chemistry between the characters. In this one, the sex was just porn. These two characters didn't seem to be ready to consummate their relationship, unless this is an homage to college hook-ups?

The most recent Naked Werewolf book has a character on the run from her abusive ex-husband. I can't understand why Harper would choose to glorify this abusive relationship, and allow the narrator to keep making excuses for him. He hurts you because he can't help it is a terrible message to embed in a romance novel.

There's always been violence in these books, but before it always felt like cartoon violence. Only the bad guys stay hurt, and the good guys fight, but it's clear from the beginning that no one is in any danger (like when Jane fights with her mortal sister, they smack each other around using with foam bolsters).

Finally, Ophelia. She's always been a pain in the butt, but there have been hints she's amused by the friends' antics, and in the end, she's always been exerting her influence for a fair outcome. She's been on the periphery of the group, and if anything, it was time to give her her own story and bring her into the circle, not turn her into the villain. (Here again, there's the 400 year age gap between her and her love interest, and despite trying to kill Gigi in an insane rage, Jamie continues the relationship with her? He's stern about it, but sternly expressing disapproval seems a tepid response to your significant trying to kill your best friend.)

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End spoilers
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33 people found this helpful