Legally Undead

I love writing about vampires. More specifically, vampire hunters. And one of my favorite scenes I have written involves a kickass heroine, a seedy bar, and some snide comments from her band of fellow hunters, a group of men who don't seem to have ever really grown up. I love this character, she has a special place in my heart and always will. So it was really cool to read a book starring a main character that reminded me so much of my own.

The dialogue in this book is so wonderfully written. Elle is just plain sassy. What else can you call a girl from New Orleans? She makes the story worth reading, and her first three vampire kills are almost eye-rollingly funny. I mean, I wanted to yell at her for doing what she did in both, but she's show more so effective that in the end all I could think was "Hey, it worked, can't fault her for that." And the snark from the rest of the characters throughout the story is entertaining as well.

I thought it was quite ingenious to make blood-sucking leaches kill blood-sucking leaches. Okay, so I really have nothing against lawyers, but I thought the concept was truly hilarious and just couldn't stop laughing every time it came to mind.

All I want to add is that Elle is lucky her fiancé was bitten, then changed, by a vampire, because at least after that she was able to see what a jerk he was. I mean, most people have to marry the person to find out their true personality. Or at least the undiluted version of their personality that they kept dimmed down until the rings were put on. Hey, at least I am finding the whole light in the dark with this whole fiancé eaten by vampire thing, right?

There was a sense of surprise when I found out the release date for this book, because I thought I had definitely seen it out before then. I mean, this book has all the makings of the beginning of a bestselling series that you see in bookstores and talked about on daytime or morning talk shows. It is reminiscent to me of Kim Harrison a little bit and just has that special something about it that made me at least instantly love it. It makes me want to read every single book that comes out after this one because it is just that good. show less

Legally Undead (Vampirarchy #1) By Margo Bond Collins and Narrator Laurel Schroeder is an audio book I requested and the review is voluntary. This is a fresh and exciting vampire hunter story. It is hard to find a different vampire story, it is so filled with the same stuff. This is different and exciting. A great book that keeps you wanting to read, heart pumping, great suspense, that damn Greg vamp popping up everywhere scaring the hell out of me, lots of great fight scenes, good plot, well developed characters, and a touch of humor, a bit bloody but we are talking vampires, duh! LOL I can't wait for the next book. I would give this book more that five stars, I really liked it for the suspense, freshness, and character profiles. The show more audio narration went with the novel perfectly! Couldn't have picked a better person for this story. Loved this story!!! show less

Legally Undead by Margo Bond Collins Legally Undead is the first book in the Vampirarchy series by Margo Bond Collins. As this was my first time reading this author's work I was not sure what to expect, however after thefirst couple of pages I realize I was in for a fangtastic and fangciting read. Legally Undead is filled with suspense, action, humour and vampires all the elements that I love.Legally Undead tells the story of Elle Dupree, a college student who is the proces of completing her Phd and planning her wedding to the man of her dreams Gregory Parham. Elle is a normal girl living a normal life but all this was to change the night she found her fiance being feasted on by a vampire. Elle immediately found herself thrust into a show more world filled with vampires.Elle proved to be a badass, kickass vampire slayer. She is strong, resourceful, a survivor and is not afraid to face her fears head on. She made new friends as a result of this major change. Friends who will help her to adjust to this new life.The story pulls you in and you can't help but root for Elle. It is easy to connect with her as she is a normal girl who is living a normal life who got caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.I found Legally Undead to be an exciting, entertaining and humorous read. It is fast paced and quite the page turner. I was eager to find out what was going to happen next. Margo Collins take on vampires is a bit different from what I have come to expect. They were not portrayed as dark and sexy heroes but more like slithering, shadowy and creepy creatures.Overall this was this was a good read and I can't wait to see what Ms. Collins has in store for this series. show less

I would rate this a 4.5
I had read Legally Undead as part of an ebook Fantasy book collection titled "Magic and Mayhem." What I especially liked about Legally Undead is that there were no Twilight kind of sparkly vampires.I was reluctant to read another vampire book for this reason, but I'm glad I did. This was a novel where the vampires are actually the bad guys and not just sexy bad boys.

Elle Dupree is just a regular girl, attending Graduate school,hanging out with friends, and leading a normal life, when she walks in to find her fiancé being bitten and drained of blood by a vampire. At that moment she inadvertently becomes a vampire hunter and she kills him with a wood letter opener. I like that she has no special magical powers or show more skills.She even goes so far as to squeak when vampires jump out at her. She's just a normal woman confronted with the undead, and she does what she must to survive.
I enjoyed Margo Collins character development throughout this novel and I enjoyed her first installment in the series. I'm certainly looking forward to the next.
Jack Murphy show less

*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Elle rushes the vampire with a wooden letter opener, after she sees it bite her fiance, Greg. Nick, who had come in when Elle was attacked, was sent to stop the attack or clean up. Nick works for the same law firm Greg did. So who was behind the attack and why? Who tipped Nick? Elle's life has changed and she's to move on. But the vampire ex-fiance Greg is now hunting her. Elle is strong and determined, she'll fight for her freedom. And she'll get answers to her questions.

With vampire-Greg looking for her, Elle starts to investigate vampires in general and why him. Nick can't show more tell her anything as it's against the law firms business orders, but he'll help train her to defend herself. Elle will have to learn why Greg was attacked on her own... In doing so, Elle seems to be a magnet for vampires and trouble.

First thing I noticed in listening to this story, I felt as if Elle was talking to me as she was describing how vampires are eliminated in the Prologue, and it carried on through the book.

The voice of Laurel as she narrated felt as though she was a friend, and I wanted to hear what she had to say. There are three short instances that I heard sentences repeated. But I really liked the sound of Laurel's voice. She felt and sounded like she was living as Elle from the first word spoken. The personality voiced felt to fit post on with the character written. Laurel narrates with a few clips with accents, a slight southern accent and one for the Bronx along with others. I really do enjoy the slight accents present in a few characters voices, as Laurel does them.

Quick start! We leap right in with Elle thrown into the world of vampires, in her own home! Great start! This attracted me to the book from the moment I clicked play. The beginning of the chapters set up what's to happen, like Elle is telling the story after it's all passed. Then we get into the events that transpire. I was entertained by the story from the beginning, then I found I was listening with full attention because I wanted to know the answer to the questions as well, and to see what other troubles Elle would get into.

Loooove the chop stick usage! Totally awesome. This is the perfect weapon I don't think many would think of when looking to carry one against vampires. lol. Then the blade that Elle has made for her. Neat!

We have a group of men that have been nothing but help for Elle. I enjoyed that there was no attraction present with them and Elle. They respect her and help her, along with clean up after any vampire deaths. They are a fun crew of vampire fighters. I found I grew attached to them all and want to visit with or work with them again in the future.

I found I relaxed when listening to this story. It was fun, witty and not over stressful. An enjoyable listen. I will TOTALLY be looking for future installments of this series to listen to. show less

Lots of plot info crammed into one fast-paced, ear-grabbing novel! The publisher's intro gives you a clue, and there will be no spoilers here, so this review will be too short to give away any details. Just know that it is an action-type, not a sparkly lilt about poor misunderstood bloodsuckers. I got the Audible edition, and was delighted to find such a talented reader who is able to give further depth to the characters, as well as convey a sense of urgency, sorrow, hope, or whatever is appropriate to the author's intent.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of FREE Audiobooks - Audible Giveaways!