Bloody Good

September, 1940. The plucky citizens of rural England have adapted to wartime life. Everyone uses blackout curtains, rides bicycles to save gasoline and takes in children from the cities or families whose homes have been damaged by bombings. Alice Doyle, the local doctor in the town of Brytewood, in Southeast England, administers what aid she can to the residents of her area. After having been up all night delivering twins, she comes across an injured man in Fletcher's Woods. She doesn't hesitate to bring him home with her, so she can care for him at her clinic.

Too bad the man she helps isn't a man at all, but one of four vampires employed by the Nazis and dropped into the English countryside to attack from the inside. When the show more ambulance that she has called finally arrives, the man has inexplicably disappeared. Alice's sweet Grandmother, who she lives with, invites the ambulance drivers in for a cup of tea. One of them is a nice young man named Peter Watson. Or he seems nice enough, but when Alice finds out that he is a Conscientious Objector she loses all respect for him. A healthy young man like him should be out there fighting, like her brothers are.

The disappearing man was the first odd occurrence, but there are soon more. Alice and her nurse, Gloria, have their hands full and desperately need some assistance. Their prayers are answered when a first aid assistant is assigned to them. It turns out to be none other than Peter Watson. Alice will have to find a way to work with the man, despite her personal feelings.

The vampires have their plans, and soon they are putting them in action. Fortunately for the citizens of Brytewood, there is some truth to the old folklore tales that everyone has been raised on. Magic still exists in England, though it has long since been dressed in a veil of normalcy. Take Alice's Gran, for instance. She is Pixie, a centuries old magical race and Alice is, too, though her rational mind refuses to believe it. And the old Sergeant in the village is a dragon. He rarely uses his dragon shape now, but he is still in command of his powers and is ready and willing to use them in defence of his beloved country.

If the Nazis think they have a monopoly on the supernatural, they are sadly mistaken. The vampires they have recruited are far from the only creatures in this war and they will find that their task is much harder than they had anticipated. The humans have far more help than they ever realized, but they will need every bit of it to defeat the greatest evil that the world has ever known.

This book is a wonderful combination of historical fiction, romance, fantasy and paranormal. I was immediately interested in the World War II setting and I loved the imaginative use of the folklore of England. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series, Bloody Awful and Bloody Right. The only complaint I have is that the book should have been proofread more carefully. I received a finished copy and found quite a few typos and context errors that would have been caught by a good proofreader. Otherwise a very entertaining, delightful book! show less

"This was not, he was convinced, some foppish, effete English vampire. This was one of his Aryan brothers. The brain rhythm was strong and reassuringly familiar. He'd sensed the same in his homeland in the Hartz Mountains. Only one other vampire hailed from that part of Germany. Could it truly be Gerhardt Eiche, or as he no doubt posed himself: Gabriel Oak?" (Page 18)

Georgia Evans' portrayal of Germany's invasion of surrounding European nations by the Nazi party as the backdrop for her novel set in the English countryside, Bloody Good, has a wide cast of characters, including vampires, witches, pixies, and dragons.

Alice Doyle is the village doctor and a pixie who has denied her heritage and her powers to rely upon science and medicine. show more Peter Watson is a conscientious objector to the war who underwent several years of veterinary training before the war began. Alice's grandmother embraces her pixie heritage and is keenly aware of the "others" living in the town.

In an effort to gain an advantage in the war effort, the Nazi's enlist vampires to blow up secret munitions plants across the English countryside. Evans does a great job of establishing a surreal world in which Nazi's and vampires work together for the same cause, at least until the vampires deem themselves able to take over. Dr. Doyle, her grandmother, and friends work together to uncover the secret Nazi mission and stop the vampires from succeeding in destroying the munitions plant.

"The talk on rabbit-keeping was boring enough to let Peter's mind wander onto more enthralling topics, notably Alice, Dr. Doyle, and the woman he was head over heels in love with. She beat out furry rodents, and even edible furry rodents, any day of the week." (Page 182)

Readers will enjoy the vampire tales, the pixie legends, and other surreal elements of this story, but the real treat is watching Dr. Doyle come into her own powers and accepting her heritage. However, some readers may be put off by the graphic sex scenes in this novel, though there are not too many of them. Some of the depictions in the book were a bit odd, particularly when Peter Watson compares Dr. Doyle to furry rodents. Overall, Bloody Good is a light read for the beach or camping in the woods.

This is the first in a series of novels by Georgia Evans, and readers who enjoy this one, should check out the next installment, Bloody Awful. I know I'm looking forward to the next one. show less

I got a recommendation for the three books by this author on one of my email lists and it's a good one. The cover style emulation of the Sookie Stackhouse books is duly warranted.

High concept on this is Nazi bad vampires in WW2 England being brought down by various supernatural entities. (Secret history - the supernatural isn't out in the open like it is in a lot of this sort of book.)

I'd recommend these to romance readers - it appears that they will be separate stories with on ongoing plot arc, with different protagonists/ H&H in each book. I ordered the next two about halfway in.

The author didn't hit any false notes with either the English stuff or the WW2 era stuff. Recommended.

Nice concept, poor execution. Checking up on the author, I see why. She is strictly an erotica writer. So even the fantasy parts and especially the historic elements aren't particularly convincing.

I've read a lot in the WW2 England milieu. This doesn't ring true at all. Her characters and attitudes are off.
Her fantasy tropes are flat as well.

Not interesting unless you like sex with practically a stranger and want to call it love.