Jennifer Rainey
Author of These Hellish Happenings
About the Author
Image credit: My photo
Series
Works by Jennifer Rainey
The Army of Angels 3 copies
Even the Wicked Fall in Love 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Short biography
- Jennifer Rainey was raised by wolves who later sold her to gypsies. She then joined the circus at the age of ten. There, she was the flower girl in the famed Bearded Bride of Beverly Hills show until the act was discontinued (it was discovered that the bearded lady was actually a man). From there, she wandered around the country selling novelty trucker hats with vaguely amusing sayings printed on front. Somehow, she made enough money to go to The Ohio State University for a major in English.
Members
Reviews
These Hellish Happenings by Jennifer Rainey
I really enjoyed this book! It was humorous and unexpected. The ending seems to leave the door open for a sequel..
Monster - (noun) an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening.
In Thoroughly Modern Monsters, most of the stories take place in the present time. Each story features a different monster. On first reading, they don't meet The New Oxford American Dictionary definition of monster. On a second or third reading you ask, "Who are the real monsters? The werewolves, ghosts, or sirens? Or the humans who created the Monster Relocation and Employment Act which exploits the monsters?"
My only complaint about Thoroughly Modern Monsters is the length. It's comprised of seven stories and I was not ready to let go of this alternate universe. The heart of the stories are the emotions. We can all identify with the desire for a fulfilling job, the wish to be left in peace, and the nervousness caused by a new path in life. If you're a fan of literary fiction then you'll probably like this one.… (more)
In Thoroughly Modern Monsters, most of the stories take place in the present time. Each story features a different monster. On first reading, they don't meet The New Oxford American Dictionary definition of monster. On a second or third reading you ask, "Who are the real monsters? The werewolves, ghosts, or sirens? Or the humans who created the Monster Relocation and Employment Act which exploits the monsters?"
My only complaint about Thoroughly Modern Monsters is the length. It's comprised of seven stories and I was not ready to let go of this alternate universe. The heart of the stories are the emotions. We can all identify with the desire for a fulfilling job, the wish to be left in peace, and the nervousness caused by a new path in life. If you're a fan of literary fiction then you'll probably like this one.… (more)
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.… (more)
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.… (more)
This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
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.… (more)
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.… (more)
Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Members
- 81
- Popularity
- #222,754
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 5
