A copy of this book was provided digitally to me by Net Galley
Evolution: Genesis was a first for me in a lot of ways.
It was my first male on male, romance driven, vampire, phoenix book with the main character part of a band that was just starting to become famous. So much was pounded into this book from the beginning that it had to at least be exciting to read. Well, while it had a lot to work with, Evolution sadly didn't make use of its tools to the fullest extent. Did I mention there are a host of other demons out there too? Succubus included. Doesn't really matter though.
The reason this book was a first for me in so many different ways is because I was warned about all of these cliches early on in life. Avoid books with romance because of the oncoming love triangle. Look out for vampire books where it's nothing but angst and loneliness even though their lives are usually pretty awesome. If I were to sum up most vampires for you hailing from today's fiction who wouldn't choose to be one? And for God's sake, why is there always a clear-cut dominant one paired up with a too naive main character? The latter, Genesis, even has hair that changes color throughout the novel while I can't even picture the vampire with anything but a black coat draped over a black shirt with darker than night pants shielding boxers the color of the void itself.
So why did I give it two stars and not just put up a DNF for this review while I move on to books I know I'll like? Honestly, it's because Genesis tries,even when I think the book ultimately came up short in the end.
I came into this book without reading the previous entry, but even then I saw hints about the kind of person Genesis--the character--used to be and who he was becoming as the book went on. Unlike other characters who are more than likely to be passed around among lovers of questionable content, he has to fight in order to save who he cares about the most. This mostly came to a head in the second part of the novel in that he's not only the guy trying the hardest, but the only one trying to do anything at all. The rest don't care and when faced with a life not in their favor just give up. The main character didn't and that was sort of great to see. He basically saw problems and tried to solve them. He was an active antagonist for most of the book and I was happier for it.
This book could've easily been over three hundred pages. Genesis can't fill an entire book with nothing but the ability to endure. The music, interviews, world, demons and such could've been expanded upon greatly, but are only really talked about instead of shown. When they say they had an interview and an event took place because of it, we were told about it. I would've loved to read the reactions of some of these characters, filling out the story as a whole because of it.
The world itself is just like ours with some changes here and there. Supernatural creatures can get registered, vampires are known to be real and the world is almost a bit too normal for it. I almost forgot there was a stereotypical religious hate group in there. The fact that the main character is Buddhist is a welcome change and something I again think could've been greater with a little more thought put into it. Still, points for trying something different.
This last point might just be me, but the cover for the first book is way better than this one. The single feather of the former has ten times the detail of the phoenix on this one.
Not the best book, but okay if you want something fast and light. Look at the page count for this book! That's practically nothing.
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