Blood Wager

By: Connie Suttle

Narrated by: Traci Odom

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

"I agree to pay Sergio Velenci one million pounds if the female takes less than nine days to fully turn."

Lissa's life as a vampire begins on the day her husband is removed from life support. Turned by rogues who wager her life, Lissa is running from her maker who is determined to kill her, hunted by the Council who has branded her a rogue and blackmailed by werewolves, who utilize her newly developed talents for their own gain.

©2011 Connie Suttle (P)2014 Connie Suttle

A nice Surprise

I saw this on sale and thought I would give it a chance. I found myself rapped up in the heroin's story... now I'm hooked. I hope they release the rest of the Blood Destiny series on audible.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Great read!!!

What did you love best about Blood Wager?

It read like real people and I liked the sort of feeling like you were reading a journal.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lissa. Main character because she was likable even tho she is in not perfect. She is real and trying to figure out her way in this world.

What about Traci Odom’s performance did you like?

Real voices. Not snotty better than everyone voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Loved it. I was sad to see that this is currently the only one at audible. I want to listen to more of her books.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Not really

If you're looking for a new female, vampire, action hero, this is NOT the book for you. While it begins well enough, there are elements of the story (what little story there is) that are hazy and some that are just pointless. Why does the big, bad male vampire force her to shower in front of him? Was this supposed to be sexy? It wasn't. Why does she start to report to the big, bad male vampire when she actually has seniority? Why does she run errands for her male co-workers on her day off?

You are probably beginning to get the picture. The author does some lip-service in attempt to establish the heroine as a strong, independent woman but she then turns herself into a den mother for her male co-workers.

I didn't even finish the book. It was too lame to bother with.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

Love the Series.Please do the rest!! Good Narrator

Would you listen to Blood Wager again? Why?

I already read the series over and over again. If they keep the same narrator, I'll purchase them all. I'll purchase them anyway.

What did you like best about this story?

The heroine, and the storyline. Connie Suttle has the history for her characters down pat.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Lissa was helping Weldon, the Grand Master, when he was being attacked.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Blood Destiny, which is the name of the series

Any additional comments?

Please Audible do the whole series?
P.S. and the connecting series': Legend of the Ir'Indicti, High Demon, The God Wars,and Saa Thalarr.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

A compelling read!

This was a great read/listen. Lissa Beth Workman is a dumpy, sobbing drunk in a local bar when two vampire walk in and take an interest. They make a wager and proceed to turn her just so they can time the turn. Then they planned to make her dead dead.

What happens next makes for one action packed adventure that takes place all over the supernatural world.

Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

Don't miss this one. Can't wait for more.

22 of 26 people found this review helpful

Not bad...

Not a bad vampire story, though it wasn't super original. I enjoyed most of the 9 odd hours it took to listen. The character is strong and likeable, almost to the point of being a Mary Sue.

The writing is alright, though the author has a tendency to really repeat herself, lots of redundant explaining, unnecessary reiterating, and the jokes/sarcasm aren't nearly as funny as she (the main character, or author) thinks they are. She can really beat a one liner to death, let me tell you.

The narrator is ok. A good female voice for the main character, though honestly her voices for the other characters are pretty atrocious at times.

I would continue the series maybe if the rest went on sale, like this was in the "hidden gem" sale, but I probably wouldn't spend a credit on it.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Need more

Any additional comments?

I wish the whole series was on audio, too bad there is just the one.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Loved it!! Wish the whole series was on audio

Loved that it was action packed and never dull. You can totally feel her pain and relate to her.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

meh.

I was not impressed. This could have been a lot better with vigorous editing. I'd read the reviews before so I expected some filler, but not to this extent. There are repeated and detailed descriptions of her shopping trips, her clothes, her cooking (what she cooks, that she likes to use half-and-half, how much everyone loves her food – all of this would be filler if it was said once, but then I would have just forgotten all about it five minutes later. But it's repeated time and time again. Also the 'joke' with her telling the grand master that he has to tell his grandchildren that he was saved by a cookie baking vampire - why do we have to listen to this story 5 times in one book? Same with the thank you notes she sends around; we don't need to read them).

Also, this is not a strong independent female lead. It seems so at the beginning, but then she starts reporting to her male coworker even though he's not her boss, she starts cooking for her boss and all her coworkers, cleaning up the kitchen afterwards (and yes, this is also always described). If she just acted like that with her bosses sister, that might be okay, since she used to be a 47 year old wife without children and it could be explained as her treating Whitney as a surrogate child, but the way it is, it's just submissive and passive.
To be honest, she is a Mary Sue. Not a teenager's Mary Sue, mind you, but a middle-aged house wife's version of it. She starts out middle-aged and plain and sad and weak and overweight, but then gets vamped and poof! She is suddenly young, thin, beautiful and alluring and she is not only one of only 16 female vamps on the planet, she also has 3 extremely rare powers, 2 of which have never been together in one vamp before (and she did not have to train at all to master them). To top that off, she is like a super detective when she is trying to find her boss or help the others, but completely daft when not (she never even wonders why her boss and his minions aren't in the least surprised that she is a vamp and that there *are vamps in this world*. Not once does this make her think that maybe, just maybe, they are some kind of supernatural creature themselves).
And I hate the way the male "hotties" that are interested in her treat her. Her boss, for example, hugs and kisses her constantly even though she makes it clear she isn't interested. That's called sexual harassment. Not sexy. And the main love interest forcing her to shower in front of him (twice!) - not sexy either. He tries to make himself out as a good guy when he promises never to use compulsion on her again (after she tells him that she is afraid of him doing that), even though her new sire told her that no vampire younger than him can put compulsion on her after he has put his on. Main love interest is significantly younger. So yeah. He's a douche, she's daft and this is a plot hole - one of several. Also: If the guy needs to promise never to force the gal again, I'm already hoping they will not get together.
For me, there was no chemistry at all.

The narration is okay, but the voices and accents are pretty bad. I would have preferred her sticking to her normal accent. Some of the male voices are a lot higher than the female ones and they're nasal and generally not very appealing. I do like her natural voice, though.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great book,

This was a great book but the narrator is horrible. Something that audible.com tends to do that on purpose but it does happen is released one book if then it might take a year or two for the next one to come out. And I know it has nothing to do with Audible but with the author deciding to make an audio version of the book. Because some books don't do well in audio form depending on the narrator's. In my opinion this would have been one of those series. I truly enjoyed this first book and decided to physically read the next books in the series and they were really good. But when the audio version came out it's kind of crappy. I would say you are better off actually reading the book and still listening to it because the voices of the narrator does is really bad butt the story is really good so it kind of evens itself out I'm still picking up the new audio books because one just came out but I've read everything available in this series and it is definitely worth it even was a crappy narrator. Hope everything is spelled correctly because I'm speaking this review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Brilliant Story

Would you listen to Blood Wager again? Why?

I will be listening to this book again - when subsequent books come out and just for a good listen.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Lissa's anger and fear when captured and her distress when she finds out who betrayed her

Any additional comments?

The writing is clumsy at time but if you can see past that the story is original and well worth a listen

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Well, I made it to the end...

Not a bad story, and unlike a number of the vampire story tellers around I made it to the end quite easily But she's one of those authors who states the obvious all the time, and has ponderous attempts at "humour". The thing about someone "being saved from a tree by a cookie-baking vampire" was really done to death. The reader isn't bad, but I suspect it would have been slightly less plodding prose without the double whammy of author and reader.

Unlike some reviews, I rather the liked the idea of a dumpy middle aged woman getting a fresh lease of power and vitality. But I found it disturbing that she allows herself to he pushed around, patronised and treated like a chattel by almost every male character, and not just the ones she objects to.

In two minds about whether to try book 2. If the author gets more into her groove it might just be worth it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

What a find!!

I loved this book and can't wait to get the next one started!

Yes it's a vampire book but different than others I have read. Thoroughly enjoyed the characters and storyline. Very well read by Traci Odom who does a great British accent.

Best I have read in a while

Fantastic was captured from the first chapter well written andThe narrator is very good also

Great book

I have read this book three time and now I have enjoyed it in audio while driving to work. It made a enjoyable change to the radio. Just about to download Blood Passage.