Review: The Renfield Syndrome by J.A. Saare

The Renfield Syndrome
~J.A. Saare

Format: e-book 
Size: 430 KB 
Publisher: Mundania Press LLC 
Publish Date: August 21, 2011 
ASIN: B005IEIJY2


From the author's website:Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she's about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse...

Rhiannon Murphy is having a rough day.  In attempting to help her vampire lover, Disco, erase a debt with a demon, she is tricked and sent 101 years into the future.  Her part of the deal is that she's got to deliver a message to Disco, and even though she's in this strange, future New York, she is still beholden to the terms of the deal - she must find Disco and deliver the message.

Rhiannon starts off in search of Disco, and is suddenly involved in a fight between vampires and some sort of military-type group.  The army guys grab her and force her to come with them, against her protests.  She's taken back to their compound, and Carter, the man who grabbed her, tells her that in this future New York, vampires are in charge and humans are cultivated like cattle for food.  Rhiannon must get to Disco, but Carter won't let her leave; he's convinced she's a former vampire slave and is concerned for her safety.  Complicating things is that Carter and his men are werewolves, and Carter has decided he wants Rhiannon for his mate.

Eventually, Rhiannon is able to get to her former mentor, Goose, who is still working for the vampires.  Disco, however, is not there.  From there on in, the story shifts to Rhiannon's time with the vampires, her race to end her debt with the demon, and a desperate attempt to save Disco's life.

My thoughts:
At the end of the first book, Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between, I was not a happy camper - I ddin't like where Rhiannon ended up, 101 years in the future. I'm not really a fan of Dystopia and didn't want that situation for Rhiannon.  Strangely enough, that element ended up being one of my favorite parts about The Renfield Syndrome.

The plot was intense, I love the idea of the Renfield Syndrome but wish the author would have gone more into it.  Rhiannon's time with the werewolves showcased how kick-ass she is - there is a particular girl fight that had me wincing more than once.  I may get some flack for this, but I really liked Carter, the werewolf who "rescued" Rhiannon.  He  was very Alpha; strong, compassionate, territorial, and all around sexy; I wish she would have given him a chance.  Of course, it wouldn't have been the Rhiannon we know and love if she had just picked the easiest path and stayed.

What was also unusual for me was that I was more into plot than romance this time around:  I just couldn't see how Rhiannon was going to get out of this mess she ended up in!  There were several new characters that I hope the author can somehow work back into the story in the future.  As mentioned above, the worldbuilding was interesting and I wanted to know more.

I suppose this is where I admit I'm not a fan of Paine, so his part in the story was not my favorite and I was disappointed with some of the events involving Paine that took place.  I think Paine is supposed to be a tortured but sympathetic character, but to me he just seemed needy and moody.

I was very pleased with the ending; it felt full circle and brought us back to where we first met Rhiannon.

This is a fabulous series and I cannot wait until Book 3, The Ripple Effect. I would not recommend reading The Renfield Syndrome without reading Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between first; you'll miss a lot.

My Rating:

Book received from the author.