Bad to the Bone (WVMP #2)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Published: 2009
on Goodreads
My Rating: 
Turn on. Tune in. Drop dead.
WVMP, The Lifeblood of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the station to listen to for all of your music needs. From the blues to hard rock to reggae, listen to the music, stay for the vampires. Yes, that’s right. The DJs are vampires (for real) and each of them gives their life story to the job. Tune in when the sun goes down and get obsessed with these hot, forever young, DJS as they take you for a spin all the way ‘til morning.
Life is going well for Ciara Griffin. She has a good job at a radio station, keeping rating up and her DJs in the spotlight. The show’s ratings are through the rood thanks to her/ She’s well on her way to her business degree in college. Only a year or two to go. She has an amazing boyfriend, that works one of the shows at WVMP, and who is also a vampire. So what could possibly go wrong when everything’s finally going right in this ex-con artist’s life?
During a promotional Halloween party for WVMP, a cult takes over the radio station. It grows worse as establishments are vandalized and people that Ciara holds dear to her heart are hurt. She’ll go deep under cover, deeper than she’s ever been, to help and protect her friends. After dealing with a psychopath vampire out for revenge, this should be a piece of cake, right? Hoping to make it through Christmas and on to New Year’s, she’ll have up her game, and maybe do it with the help of a few friends.
Rock ‘n’ roll will never die. Just like vampires.
Wicked Game (WVMP #1) review here.
The storytelling is still on point! Fast, passionate, and on the edge! How descriptive the book was really sucked me in, and I couldn’t put the book down. Ciara isn’t used to settling into a life, so it’s fresh to see how unsettled and nervous she is that it’s happening for her. It’s so very relatable as well.
The way that Smith-Ready writes is both blunt and enchanting. I was really taken with how something horrifying could be flipped into one of the most moving moments. It was amazing. So much development between Ciara and Shane, though I have to say. MVV: Most Valuable Vampire, went to baby-vamp Travis. He’s grown the most in my opinion, which is funny since vampires get frozen in the timezone they were turned in.
This cult really reminded me of True Blood with its crazy Light of Day Institute, and they were just as nasty as those people too. It was disturbing. Cringe-worthy from what these creeps did. Just Ick.
There were new characters and the return of some old ones. Ned, a cultist from the previous book returns with a much bigger story, and I’d like to say he recovered and became a good guy, but he didn’t. Nope. And I wish I was surprised. What I was surprised at was the newest character additions. Most particularly, Dexter, the dog that Ciara rescues. Dexter isn’t your ordinary pupper either. He’s, uhhh, special. A vampire dog. Crazy right?! I know throughout the whole book I’m thinking about that fluff ball from Blade III and Dexter the serial killer all rolled into one, and that’s not even what the dog is like. This doggo is a lazy lover, not a fighter, unless Ciara is threatened. Then it gets ugly.
Plot twist time! And there were a few! I was rereading few parts because my eyes were ballooning out of my head and I was laughing hysterically. This book was a lot of fun. Smith-Ready was really breaking all of the boundaries and I LOVE IT! At some parts I was sad and others I was shocked.
This book was yet another fun read. Lots of blood, twists, and good music (the sex is good too). The story is non-stop crazy. Looking for good music and a steamy good time? Read this. Because sometimes, you just want to have fun.
Quotables:
“Dogs are a lot of things, but they’re not con artists.” (Ciara to David, p. 36)
“There’s nothing more basic to life than blood. Losing it, giving it—that’s a sacred act.” (Jeremy to Ciara, p. 138)
“I’ve stumbled into the Ku Klux Klan of vampirehood.” (Ciara, p. 179)
“They say there are no atheists in foxholes, that when desperate to save one’s own butt from death or dismemberment, each of us will call on a higher power to intervene. I tried, I really tried. But then, apparently, I fell asleep.” (Ciara, p. 299)
“Loyalty is such a quaint concept.” (Ciara’s Dad to Ciara, p. 371)
“I’ve always believed in now, and that’s always been good enough. But for the first time, tonight, I believe in what come after.” (Ciara, p. 402)
More to come soon…
-K.
P.S. Song today? American Idiot by Green Day.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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