Review - Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, #1) by Richelle Mead
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 496

Summary: When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

Thoughts: Before I started Succubus Blues I had thought the following had to be true:

• Books with a sex-demon lead would never turn out to be about love.
• A succubus could never be funny hysterical.
• I could never relate to a character that deals with sex casually.

Needless to say, Richelle Mead proved me wrong.  Succubus Blues is nothing like the book I thought it would be.  It's hysterical and heart-breaking, filled with a thousand shades of ethical grey, and stars one of the most complex heroines I've ever read.  Georgina is far from perfect - she can be superficial and self-serving.  But she has so much potential for growth.  Even after 400+ years on the planet, she still has a lot to learn.

Mead has also created one of my favourite love-interests ever in Seth.  He's your average best-selling novelist: introverted, smart, and extremely wity on paper.  I never expected to fall so quickly for this beta-hero, but everything about him had me clutching my heart.  The secondary characters in this book are stellar - complex characters who stride a blurred line between good and evil.  Every single one of them I wanted to read more about - especially the angel Carter and his demon!BFF Jerome.

Demon BFF? I told you, seriously blurred lines.

Alas, this book didn't get a higher rating from me because of one very unfortunate character *cough* Roman *cough* who I just couldn't like - no matter how suave.  And Georgina liking him made me want to shake her (and the book) in despair.

Bottom line?  Succubus Blues is brilliant.  Sitting firmly on the line between PNR and UF - it had me laughing, crying and occasionally disturbed by the paranormal evil.  Everything you could want in a book!