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shelleyrae's review
3.0
Bite Harder caught my attention on Just A Guy Who Likes To Read, I left a comment and a few days later the author contacted me requesting a review and I decided to give it a shot based on the premise, and Josh's praise.
Dean Drayhart is a paraplegic amputee, having been severely injured when a hit and run driver ploughed into he and his family on a crosswalk. Drayhart's young daughter didn't survive, nor did his marriage, and with little left to lose, Drayhart, along with Sid, his helper monkey/assassin, and Cinda, a prostitute with a heart of gold, embarked on a vigilante spree across L.A., in [b:Hard Bite|16081065|Hard Bite|Anonymous-9|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349986041s/16081065.jpg|21879922] executing hit and run drivers who thought they had gotten away with their crimes. Bite Harder is the sequel, though it works well enough as a stand alone.
It opens with Dean arrested for the murder of his last target, Ambrose Malalinda, the youngest son of a local drug-dealing crime family who mowed down a father of four. The Malalinda family have already twice attempted to exact their own revenge on Dean by first attacking the police transport during his transfer, which resulted in the death of Ambrose's older brother Mateo, and then arranging Dean be stabbed to death in his cell. With both attempts thwarted the apoplectic Malalinda matriarch, Orella, takes matters into her own hands and arranges to hijack Dean during a manufactured medical emergency but things quickly go wrong and Dean, reunited with Cinda and looking for Sid, is on the run.
Fast paced and action packed with plenty of humour, bordering on the slapstick at times, Bite Harder is an entertaining read. The characterisation is good, Dean is a well developed protagonist, though the author is fairly reliant on stereotypes for most of the supporting cast. The writing is solid, using both a first and third point of view, but personally I would prefer character's don't address the reader directly, as Dean does on occasion.
A quick, aggressive and darkly funny read, I enjoyed Bite Harder, and I'm glad I gave it a shot.
briarsreviews's review against another edition
5.0
This book was an absolute riot! I loved every second of this novel from the first word to the last punctuation mark! Following Dean Drayhart on his rather strange adventure was worth the read! Now I want to read every other novel by Anonymous-9 due to her amazing view on comedy and how she speaks to the audience and readers through her characters.
The only problem I found with this book is I found the plot to be short and not very exciting. While how the author wrote about the plot was exciting, trying to escape and get a monkey did not seem to be an amazing plot (since the finale of the novel didn't have the conflict removed all that much. It just seemed to leave the novel on a cliffhanger).
I hope this small plot problem I have is due to the fact that there will be another novel in this series. If the series stops at this book, I would find it to be a very poor finale, but if there is another book that will help clear up the plot and conflict, then the novel makes sense.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I hope there will be more about Dean coming out soon!
Five out of five stars for good action, character development and comedy.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The only problem I found with this book is I found the plot to be short and not very exciting. While how the author wrote about the plot was exciting, trying to escape and get a monkey did not seem to be an amazing plot (since the finale of the novel didn't have the conflict removed all that much. It just seemed to leave the novel on a cliffhanger).
I hope this small plot problem I have is due to the fact that there will be another novel in this series. If the series stops at this book, I would find it to be a very poor finale, but if there is another book that will help clear up the plot and conflict, then the novel makes sense.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I hope there will be more about Dean coming out soon!
Five out of five stars for good action, character development and comedy.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
ctgt's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I was given an ARC by the author.(Thanks Anonymous-9)
If you have read any of my earlier reviews of her titles you know I've been a fan since I read [b:The 1st Short Story Collection|17402748|The 1st Short Story Collection|Anonymous-9|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361313679s/17402748.jpg|18160347] several years ago and A-9 would have had to drive this baby off a cliff for me not to enjoy the story.
Dean, Cinda and everybody's favorite helper monkey Sid are back, but not in the same way. Dean is in the slammer while Cinda and Sid are on the run. We also get a much closer look at the whacked out drug dealing Malalinda family.
I initially gave this 4 stars but after mulling for a day decided to move it to 5. The big problem with any ongoing series with recurring characters is the author falling back on a tried and true formula trying to milk that cow as long as possible. Instead of waving a magic wand to wipe away the consequences of the first book, the author buckled in and wrote a very enjoyable, and different, second book. I also thought the writing had a bit more flow to it which made the story move along at nice pace. Trying to write an animal POV can be dangerous but I enjoyed the moments behind the eyes of Sid and was pleased with the development of the relationship between Dean and Cinda. When I combined all these factors, I had to bump the rating up a notch.
All in all a great follow up and I can't wait for the next book.
I was given an ARC by the author.(Thanks Anonymous-9)
If you have read any of my earlier reviews of her titles you know I've been a fan since I read [b:The 1st Short Story Collection|17402748|The 1st Short Story Collection|Anonymous-9|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361313679s/17402748.jpg|18160347] several years ago and A-9 would have had to drive this baby off a cliff for me not to enjoy the story.
Dean, Cinda and everybody's favorite helper monkey Sid are back, but not in the same way. Dean is in the slammer while Cinda and Sid are on the run. We also get a much closer look at the whacked out drug dealing Malalinda family.
I initially gave this 4 stars but after mulling for a day decided to move it to 5. The big problem with any ongoing series with recurring characters is the author falling back on a tried and true formula trying to milk that cow as long as possible. Instead of waving a magic wand to wipe away the consequences of the first book, the author buckled in and wrote a very enjoyable, and different, second book. I also thought the writing had a bit more flow to it which made the story move along at nice pace. Trying to write an animal POV can be dangerous but I enjoyed the moments behind the eyes of Sid and was pleased with the development of the relationship between Dean and Cinda. When I combined all these factors, I had to bump the rating up a notch.
All in all a great follow up and I can't wait for the next book.
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