These Hellish Happenings (edition 2011)

Quite a good book. It came to mind while waiting in a government office for some paperwork and made me chuckle.

I have honestly not been so pleasantly surprised by a book in quite some time. I expected a funny vampire story and that's really about all. What I got was an intensely amusing, quirky story that I had a very difficult time putting down. This isn't your typical vampire story, not by a long shot.

Jack is an unlikely hero, and that somehow just makes me love him more. He has a delightfully dry sense of humor and the voice he brings to this story is wonderful. He's just a guy, trying to make his way through his un-life when the minions of Hell come to collect him after his deal with the Devil elapses.

If you're on the fence about this one, don't be. It's very different, and wildly entertaining. ( )

Rating: 4.5 stars – A helluva fun read!

Jack the Vampire makes a deal with devil to escape a vampire hunt. Three-hundred years later it is time to pay the piper. After a feeble and unsuccessful escape attempt he is whisked down to Hell to spend his eternity as an office worker in the Administrative level of Hell registering the newly dead. Jack finds Hell isn’t quite what he imagined. He will be punching a clock for the rest of eternity and is required to live in employee housing. There are company picnics and a healthy dose of politics and prejudice to rival that on Earth. He soon finds himself at the heart of a political movement of which he has no interest. He just wants to stay out of the employee housing and make his eternity in Hell as bearable as possible. But things don’t always work out as planned. Much to Jack’s chagrin, it looks like he is going to have to get (gasp!)… involved. And maybe in more ways than one.

Some random thoughts:

• Jack really wasn’t much of a vampire. He was several hundred years old and drank blood (out of a bottle) at the beginning of the story but other than that I didn’t get much of a vampire vibe from him. He has no super strength, no ability to glamour, there is no biting, and barely a fang to be seen. He is also definitely of the beta male variety. I would like to have seen more of his vampire nature. If there were not frequent references to him being a vampire in the story I would have forgotten that he was one. On the other hand he was British and funny. A very likable character even though he wasn’t a very vampire-ish character.

• When he first gets to Hell and is being oriented to his new eternity, the story plodded along a bit but it was an interesting plodding ( if that makes any sense), as he was introduced to his life in Hell. Things pick up later as the story and conflict develop. I really enjoyed the sense of humor in this book and it gave me quite a few chuckles.

• There is a m/m relationship in this story that may take some readers by surprise. The description hints at it but doesn’t really come out and say it, and some reviews hint around it but don’t really say it either. I mention it because some readers will likely take issue with it and will feel blindsided when it occurs (and if you don’t like this kind of relationship then you may be better off skipping this book). Personally, I loved it. I saw hints of it coming as the story unfolded and was squeeful when something finally happened. The relationship wasn’t portrayed in an explicit or graphic way and in fact it was actually kind of sweet. They make a delightful and humorous odd couple and I was happy for them… and that made me happy as a reader. I actually wished it was explored more but that’s the romance reader in me talking. I realize this isn’t a romance book so I’m content with what I got.

• Oh, there’s a scene with a talking cat that was another pleasant surprise for me and earns extra brownie points. :)

I thought this story was a well-written and smooth read that gave me much enjoyment. The characters were likable and the humor suited me. I was engaged in the story. I rooted for the good guys and booed the bad guys. After I finished it, I kept picking up my ereader with thoughts of sinking into the story again only to quickly realize that I had finished it already! Crap! Though there was no major cliffhanger at the end I did feel that there was an opening left for a continuing story. After checking around the interwebs, it does look like another book is in the works and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for it. I wish I knew what the word count is for this book but I can’t find it anywhere. The print version is 376 pages, but it sure didn’t feel that long. ( )

There are books about vampires. Then there are books about Hell. Combine these two and throw in some wonderful snarky and wry dialogues in a job-from-hell setting (literally), and you've got this book. Jennifer Rainey certainly presents one of the most unique views on vampires that I ever came across, though it's probably not the kind of vampire books that fans will crave, as this is more of a detail in the whole story and not its sole focus.
The narrative is dabbling along, living mostly of the wonderful dialogues, though there really aren't many ups and downs between start and finish. While I loved the authors writing style and character depictions, especially of the demon Alex, and how she spins the relationship between him and vampire Jack along, I must admit the book was a bit of a slow read for me, so the narrative flow could certainly use a bit of tuning.
In short: A different kind of vampire story for those who love quirky humor! ( )

The book is an exciting and fresh take on your typical vampire, hell, demon shtick. Rainey has assembled an impressive cast of characters and has set about dilligently creating an interesting world for them to live in.

Where others would go for romance and bodice ripping, this book takes a lighter approach. Much of the book is slightly reminiscent Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The hero fights through the spectacular world of hell only to find that it has all the mundane features of our own life--rigid corporate practices, grass-root politicking, and annoying co-workers.

The book is a bit slow in some points and misses some opportunity to hit some comedic grandslams...but where it falters slightly Alex Ridner is there to pick it up. He is the life of this novel's party. For me the character of Alex Ridner made the book.

One of the things I'm hoping Jennifer will explain is how the main character could be alive for three hundreds years and have no other marketable skills than being able to work in retail.

But there will be a Book Two I'm guessing, and this will more than likely have more Alex Ridner. And that's good enough for me. ( )

Jack is not your typical vampire - he's not rich or incredibly handsome, and he definitely doesn't sparkle. He works in a record store and the only goal in his undead life is to save people from bad music. He buys his blood at a bar where he always goes during the day to avoid the human vampire wannabes. But 300 years ago, during a vampire hunt, he sold his soul to the devil, something he has managed to forget. Unfortunately, the devil hasn't and demon Alex Ridner has come to collect.

Hell, it turns out, is a lot like earth - boring, pointless jobs, annoying and/or perky coworkers, backstabbing managers, divisive politics, bigotry, bad housing, and mandatory company picnics. But Jack is determined to make the best of it and manages to finagle his way into Alex's apartment - something which leads to problems for both of them.

The characters in this book are well-drawn and three dimensional and most of them are very likable including Satan (or S as he is affectionately known by his colleagues). The dialogue is crisp and snappy and the humour is irreverent. Ms Rainey's depiction of hell is original and very funny. This is not great adventure but it is great fun and it definitely gets a big recommendation from me. ( )

This book started out a little bit slow, so it took me a while to really get into it. Once they all finally arrived in hell, it became a bit more interesting. The more I read however, the more impatient I became as the story seemed to be somewhat monotone. There didn't seem to be a real conflict or climax in the story to build up to or resolve, so I walked away feeling like it was more a "day in the life" of Jack in Hell. I did enjoy the author's writing style and her dialogue, the story just needed a little more work. ( )

Who would have thought a book about hell could be so enjoyable? This was a great story and the characters were really enyoyable and well written. Jack, a vampire who sold himself to the devil during a vampire hunt and his Demond friend/roomate Jack are very funny and entertaining. While Jack is a Vampire it is not overly dicussed and focused on making this anything but your usual vampire fare. I would definetly reccomend this and cant wait to read more fro the author. ( )

Before I even read this book I knew I was going to like it., and I was right. The cover is engaging and suits the tone of the novel perfectly, and the synopsis was tight and piqued my intrest right away. The novel was all I’d expected and then some. Concise, evocative writing made this novel read like a movie- I could picture it in my mind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t made into a movie at some point. The Hellish Happenings is a mostly one of Dark Humor, mixed with a little light paranormal, a smidgen of suspense with a dash of romance– and all of these are perfectly balanced into a stellar first novel.

Jack, a quirky vampire with an extensive music collection, made a deal with the devil exactly 300 years ago. Still, 300 years is a long time and Jack had almost forgotten about the agreement, that is, until the Devil’s second in command shows up to inform him that a desk job awaits him in Hell, and Jack will soon be escorted to the place where he will live and work for the rest of eternity. From there, Jack is ushered to his new life and given a crash course in the rules, expectations and even the fiery politics of Hell.

Rainey does a terrific job creating her own detailed, original version of Hell, complete with adminitrative offices, hierarchy and company picnics. And like the armed forces, Hell even has their own verson of Recrutiers. The cast of characters is rich and so well “humanized” that I felt as if I really knew each and every one of them. I read this novel quickly, devouring it . I do hope that the author turns this one book into a series, because I will gladly buy the next novel too! ( )

I'm glad this was not a long book. This will sound harsher than I mean it to, but it was more or less a glorified short story. This was in no way a negative, and like I said, I thought it was concise enough that it was not really a problem. For the most part, I enjoyed the book, the characters were interesting and while I've read books that take place in hell before, I'd never read one quite like this. My only real problem is it felt like everything just HAPPENED, there wasn't a lot of development of characters or plot. People who get frustrated by overflowery or detailed descriptions will particularly like this book.

I hope Jennifer Rainey keeps writing because I sensed a lot of potential here, but I was not really blown away. It took me about 5 hours to read the whole thing and in the end, I put it down with a feeling that I'd probably never pick it up again. The plot was fairly predictable, and I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but that was undoubtedly a personal thing and doesn't reflect the merit of the writing. It was a lighthearted snack, and sometimes that's all one needs. ( )

I LOVE this book. It juggles a lot of different things- workplace comedy, social commentary, supernatural creatures, off-beat romance- but the book manages to be totally cohesive. It's laugh out loud funny, really clever and witty; the characters are well-rounded and appealing. Big rec for this one. ( )