What would you do for a job? 

Ciara Griffin has always lived for the con.  Now she's trying to get her life straight and get a job in sales and marketing.  A local radio station, WVMP, offers her a job, but there's a catch: the DJs are all vampires.  These aren't ordinary vampires, however.  Each DJ is stuck in the "Life Time" in which they died.  Now a huge corporation wants to buy out WVMP.  Will Ciara be able to play the con of her life in order to save WVMP?  And what about her growing attraction to vampire Shane McAllister?

Jeri Smith-Ready is simply a master at creating vibrant characters, full of life!  Ciara is a delight, with her old “con” nature tugging at her.  Her wicked side constantly wars with her desire to do the right thing, making her all too human and very likable.  Shane, too, has his darker side that he struggles against.  Jeri Smith-Ready excels at showing growth in her characters as they encounter conflicts, both internal and external, and this is evident in WICKED GAME.  Ciara and Shane will have to overcome their own inner struggles, as well as the threat of the corporate takeover, if they hope to succeed.

The tone of WICKED GAME is crucial to its success.  The story has its darker moments as vampires are not portrayed as simply glamorous and sexy beings.  No, Jeri Smith-Ready shows us their allure as well as their darker, blood driven side.  However, there are touches of humor interspersed to keep the tone from becoming too intense.  And who can resist a book that refers to humans as “sunnysides”?

WICKED GAME is a very clever twist on the vampire theme and one that left me hungering for a sequel.  Jeri Smith-Ready has created a world populated with characters that I want to see more of.  Regina, David, Jim… there are just so many avenues left to explore with all of these characters that I can only hope more books are on the way!  If you haven’t read a book by Jeri Smith-Ready, WICKED GAME is an excellent place to start as this is an author who consistently delivers quality stories.

Reviewed by Debbie

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Posted March 2008