Vamp by Rob Rosen

Vamp Reviews

• 
  Ulysses Dietz

  What caught me first is that Rob Rosen pays homage to Christopher Moore's wonderful (but totally straight) comic vampire trilogy (Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, Bite Me). As someone who appreciates how hard it is to write comedy, I applaud Rob Rosen's mostly successful effort to write a vampire romance that is also a comic adventure.
  
  "Vamp" is about a typical young gay San Francisco man who becomes the heir to a mysterious and very atypical San Francisco millionaire - creepy mansion on a cliff and coffin in the basement and everything. What follows is a fairly atypical adventure/romance/comedy that explores some very interesting new takes on the vampire ethos. (I tried it in my own gay vampire romances, but without the comedy).
  
  Mostly Rosen succeeds. He is not as good with humor as Christopher Moore (not a criticism, just a comment), but he is very good with the gay romance part (something about which Christopher Moore has no clue). But, aside from keeping the pace up and giving us some real surprises along the way, Rosen also manages to create moments of great emotion just when you think he's veered a little too far into the realm of questionable taste (as in a family of Polish hunchbacks).
  
  This book is stand alone, but one of the main characters, Steven, is the MC in a previous novel, "Queerwolf," which I guess I might have to buy now. In any case, I am so glad I stumbled across Rob Rosen, a kindred spirit in the gay lit world.
• 
  Christy

  'Vamp' by Rob Rosen reminded me of a Mel Brooks film within the first few pages, and since I'm a huge fan, there is no greater praise I can give. In point of fact, every time I read the name "Igor" in the story, I simply heard it in my head as "Eye-gor"! This book had all the quirky, laugh-out-loud moments, with a great story that was very well written and strong characters, both main and secondary.
  
  Jack has had a pretty weird week. First he gets a phone call from his as-yet-unheard-of cousin, Boris's, lawyer informing Jack that his cousin has died and left his entire, ginormous, estate to Jack as his only living relative. When Jack goes to his new mansion to meet the lawyer, he encounters Igor, his cousin's tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, so to speak. Igor is Jack's humpbacked man of all trades, butler, cook, chauffeur, housekeeper, lawyer, etc. Jack is drawn to the basement and to a coffin where Boris left him a letter explaining he was a vampire, and Jack will be too, as soon as he drinks of the vial Boris left him. Wow, talk about an inheritance!
  
  Please find my full review at
  Rainbow Book Reviews
  
• 
  Sammy Goode

  I honestly do not know where to begin talking about Rob Rosen’s latest novel, VAMP. While it is a sequel to Queerwolf it most certainly is also a fine stand-alone novel. But please, do yourself a real favor and read the first in the series, it is almost as hysterical as VAMP. And I really do mean, hysterical. One of Rob Rosen’s many gifts is his ability to do what I call the literary “double-take”. In a standard fair comedy, actors do a double turn of the head as if to say “what?” when something is so off kilter it is hilarious. Mr. Rosen’s main characters are so matter of fact that they are, well, a bit strange, and downright funny, to say the least. Hence, the “straight man” of the group leads us into one silly situation after another simply by being dumbfounded by the strange people he meets. So, let’s begin this review with a brief summary.
  
  Jack Jackowski learns that he has a long distant cousin, Boris, who was recently impaled by a spear and who has left him a mansion as well as a small fortune. Having arranged to meet his deceased cousin’s lawyer, Igor Bolinksi, who was also the manservant to Boris, at his cousin’s estate, Jack ventures forth unaware that his life is about to dramatically change. He arrives at the dusty old mausoleum of an estate and discovers things are just a little strange. Did I mention Igor has a hump? Odd, you say? Oh, don’t worry, it just gets better and better!!
  
  Inside a seemingly indestructible coffin Jack finds in the basement is a note for him from his cousin instructing him to find and drink the contents of a vial he has left him. Oddly drawn to said vial and the casket itself, Jack finds himself downing the contents before he realizes what he is doing which in turn sets off a generations’ old dormant genetic anomaly that turns him into a vampire. From there, he discovers that Boris was actually speared by a rival clan who are out to make sure that Jack becomes undead for real! However help is on its way! Enter the wolves from the previous novel this time led by Steven.
  
  You may recall that Steven was the alpha who challenged the Queerwolf and his unique little pack in a territorial dispute in the last story. Now in the midst of an uneasy truce, Jack’s plight calls forth two wolves from that same small group to help assist Steven. Mack (the cross dressing Barbara Streisand impersonator) and his boyfriend Ralph agree to help for a price. The catch? Jack must buy Mack a first rate set of…”tits”. Yes, you read that correctly. And, yes, we have just begun to scrape the surface of this incredibly humorous novel.
  
  Without giving too much more of this novel away, I can tell you that Jack will discover he has more family in Poland and will end up bringing them to America for safety. As this ragtag group fights against the vicious opposing vampire clan, Jack will also begin to fall head over heels in lust, er, love, er, lust with Stephen. However, unlike Jack, the wolves are not immortal and as the danger escalates, Jack must decide whether to save his boyfriend or go it alone with only his cousins to help.
  
  First, my synopsis does not do this novel justice. VAMP was not only hilarious, it was incredibly well written. It was packed with action, mystery, romance and some incredibly clever characters. The chemistry between Stephen and Jack is magical. Never heavy or sappy but laced with a healthy dose of lusty sex and tongue in cheek humor, you could not help but root for these two to survive and fall in love. Jack was really adorable. Often simply clueless, he allows Steven, Mack and Ralph to guide him along and come up with one solution after another to battle the opposing clan. Unfortunately the clan is amazingly resilient and here is where the cousins come into play. Between the matching humpbacks on Igor’s parents to the goiter on Cousin Gert, these strange characters were so well drawn that they seemed to spring off the page straight into your imagination. Add into this mix the stunningly attractive cousin Lothar who is used as man-bait on more than one occasion to draw the enemy out and you have a story that rockets along at a break neck speed that leaves you gasping with laughter.
  
  VAMP is a stunning little comedy that manages to sneak in a sweet romance, which grabs your heart and never lets go. Author Rob Rosen has come into his own with this novel, solidifying his status as an author to watch. With this story, his future work became an auto-buy for this reviewer. I highly recommend VAMP by Rob Rosen to you! It is a five star read!
  
• 
  Elisa Rolle

  I don’t think it was a chance this novel reminded me of Frankenstein Junior by Mel Brooks, Igor was too much a giveaway, but, considering that was one of my favorite movie when I was younger, it was with a sort of delight I read this book, and this is strange enough to say for a paranormal/horror story.
  
  The Vampire/Werewolf pair was probably the first one I read long ago when approaching the Gay Paranormal Romance genre, but the main big difference in this story is the humor that Rob Rosen is using, a common element in his stories, like, in a way, the drag queens; and one thing is not unrelated to the other, cause Rosen’s humor is as colorful and outrageous like the most beautiful drag queens, in your face, and without any regret. It’s sexy but funny, carelessness but clever.
  
  Jack is a young gay man living in a small Castro apartment; truth be told, he didn’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the lot, right from the first moment when, faced with the chance to become a vampire, instead of running away in the opposite direction, he is lured into it. All right, maybe the lure is exactly the reason why he wasn’t able to go away, but still, it seems events lead him more than him being the leader. And considering he is not only the last of his family, and so in a way, Alpha of his coven, he is also just “mated” with a hot and young werewolf, who happens to be the Alpha of his pack. But nevertheless, Jack is not the “hero”, and I’m pretty sure he would prefer a night out with the girls more than playing the last immortal with the boys. But in him being like this lies all the lightness of this novel and though the reason to enjoy it.
  
  
  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608208788/?...
• 
  SunShiney10

  DNF 40%
  
  
  Spoiler
  
  Horrible... no romance just the physical aspect and their together without having met before since page 2...
  
  And the humor... its just tooooo much. I love funny books!!! But if every sentence especially of the MC has to be a funny remark to something, to EVERYTHING!!! you get annoyed. VERY ANNOYED. Couldnt not read anymore because of those speech patterns.
  
  
  And the story? Aint worth it after the mentioned facts. Deleted.
• 
  Erin

  Fun and sweet and goofy (but having read Queerwolf I was really hoping it would be). I love these characters...past and present. The way Rob incorporated past characters into the story but left them mostly in the background was well done and appreciated. Thanks for the giggles, Rob.
• 
  Tim Brehme

  Rob Rosen had me chuckling from the first page to the last. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, just as i have enjoyed his other ones. Do your self a favor and put this on your to-read list!
  
• 
  Skye Blue ☆*~ﾟლ(´ڡ`ლ)~*☆

  Pleasantly surprised. This book is very unrated. 56 ratings
  Note at the beginning that the author was apying to homage to Christopher Moore's
  Bloodsucking Fiends series caught my attention.
  Yes, it does remind me of the a love story series. Not the story line, but the feel of the book.
  The humor kept up throughout the book, but didn't cross over to the point it where it took away from the story.
  I loved seeing Jack figure it out on the fly.
  The cast is great.
  I read this book due to a challenge. It's one of those books that I'm happy a challenge nudged me towards.
  If your looking for a fun read, give this one a try.
• 
  Amanda

  2.5 stars. I usually like Rosen's humor but this was just waayy too much to it become only cheesy jokes and not much else.
• 
  Becky Condit

  Please leave comments on Pattycake's 4 1/2 sweet pea review at
  http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....
  
  What do you get when you mix ancient feuds, campy fun, a drag queen werewolf Barbra Streisand look-a-like, vampires, wolf packs,and enough attitude to fill a hockey stadium? You end up with Vamp by Rob Rosen. The blurb is only the very tip of the iceberg. You really need to read this quirky tale yourself to appreciate the other 99 percent, so I won't add anything to spoil it.
  
  This story is definitely character driven with a cast of almost caricature-like characters that are anything but cliche. The plot runs smoothly from beginning to end, and pulls you in with its own unique brand of humor. The characters definitely change who-or should I say WHAT-they are by the end of the story, and the backstory lays a solid foundation for the fresh storyline. The sex is hot, the men are hotter, and gayness is everywhere.
  
  The author's written style is brash, quirky, clear, and concise, with enough snark to satisfy even the most flamboyant of personalities. The author takes the usual vampire/werewolf idea and blows it out of the water with its unique and highly original twists and turns. I absolutely adore how the author deftly combines vampires, werewolves, feuding clans, danger, drag queens, and even Igor into a snarky, saucy, sarcastic, and witty whole. I totally enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a breath of fresh and snarky humor.
• 
  The Book Breeze

  This review was provided by Alan Chin for his column in THE BOOK BREEZE.
  
  Jack’s life is finally about to improve. He gets a call from a lawyer informing him that his only living relative has died and left him a sizable fortune and lavish estate in San Francisco. Jack soon finds that his new mansion comes equipped with a humpbacked manservant, Igor, and a coffin in the basement. So far so good. The bad news? Jack learns that he comes from a long line of vampires, and now must become one himself, which he does. While testing out his new superhuman abilities, Jack stumbles upon Steven, a hot werewolf. Their sparks of attraction can be seen on Mars.
  
  But then the news turns bad again, when Jack discovers someone or something is trying to destroy him. With Steven’s aid, he elicits the help of a pack of werewolves led by Blake. Jack soon finds out that he is mixed up in an ancient feud. With the help of Steven and Blake’s pack, he must stay ‘alive’ long enough to figure out what to do to survive.
  
  Vamp is not a story of monsters reining terror on humans, but rather a very campy, sexy tale of the challenges of being a supernatural being.
  
  I’m not a fan of novels about supernatural beings, nor am I a big fan of comedies. I found this book, however, to be a fun, sexy romp. It is a character driven plot, and its quirky characters held my interest throughout. Rosen has a unique brand of humor that pulls the reader in and keeps him/her snickering. This is a highly original twist on the whole vampire/werewolf genre. Snarky, saucy, witty. It will keep you howling.
  
• 
  Daniel Kelly

  In Rob Rosen's follow-up to Queerwolf, we meet a guy who inherits a mansion--and the family "bloodline," complete with an Igor! He also falls for one of the werewolves from Queerwolf, who, along with a bunch of other vamps and werewolves, must find out who or what is tossing spears nonstop at the mansion--spears that can mean certain death to a vampire!
  
  Just like Queerwolf, Vamp isn't a novel of terror. It's a horror comedy that focuses on the challenge of being a monster, not on victims being hunted by the monsters. While the humor is in the same style as Queerwolf, Vamp has less of the sexy situations present in Queerwolf--noticeably less. I personally enjoyed the playfully erotic segments of Queerwolf and actually missed their presence here. Vamp will probably be enjoyed more by those readers who are put off by "unnecessary sex" (can't understand the concept of sex being unnecessary).
  
  It will be great if Rosen continues writing novels that take us along on more adventures with these characters.
• 
  The Novel Approach

  3.5 Stars
  
  Throughout the book there are some great adventures while Jack and Steven not only get to know one another, but also learn more about Jack’s new abilities and how they can work hand in hand with Steven’s. There is a love story in this book, but it doesn’t take center stage at all. I found that I was happily entertained with the interaction between the vampires and the werewolves.
  
  You can read the rest of Jackie's review at
  The Novel Approach
• 
  Christine Zandt

  Rob Rosen's books are addictive with their blend of humor and fast-paced storytelling. "Vamp" is no exception. With lines like, "And then, as if on cue, I felt my teeth quivering inside my mouth, as they took on a life of their own, as they sprouted downward and sharpened to razor-sharp points. Thump, thump. I suddenly heard his jugular throbbing beneath my lips, the sound pounding in my ears, drawing me ever closer, our opposing poles colliding death to life." Nicely written!
  
  I like how minor characters from "Queerwolf" play more prominent roles in "Vamp."
• 
  Kira

  3.5 stars
• 
  Sherry

  2.25 stars
  
  I tried this author again but-sadly-still not for me. Oh well :(
• 
  J.B. Sanders

  Enjoyed it but not as much fun as his earlier stuff.
  
  
  Notes score: 12