Dirty Little Misery by Tracey Martin Publisher: Samhain Publishing on August 12, 2014
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 289
Format: eBook
Source: Review Request
Purchase: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
Rating:
Lust can be downright lethal.
Thanks to her freakish, satyr-like power, Jessica Moore was denied her dream to join the Gryphons, the magical law-enforcement officers protecting humanity from the pred races. But after the Gryphons tried to arrest her for murders she didn’t commit, Jess is no longer interested. Too bad—they are.
Now that they know what she can do, they want Jess on their side. If she doesn’t agree to help them solve a new case, they’ll charge her with every magical crime she’s ever committed.
Nine people are dead. The cause? Exhaustion. The activity? Never-ending sex. Someone sold them tainted F, an illegal aphrodisiac made by satyrs. No surprise, Jess’s satyr allies aren’t pleased with her investigation. Worse, it strains her tenuous relationship with Lucen, the one satyr she counts as a friend.
As Jess delves into the shady satyr business world, she unravels a scheme more sinister than dirty drugs—and her relationship with Lucen unravels right along with it. Only the truth will save their friendship. But not before it turns Jess into an ambitious killer’s next target.
Warning: Contains blackmail, betrayal, and sex that’s literally to die for. Plus plenty of bad stiff jokes to go with it. Remember, just say no to magical drugs.
At A Glance
Bored in the beginning, exciting at the end.
The Good
I really enjoyed Wicked Misery, the first book to this story, so I jumped at the chance to try out the second. Though it wasn’t was exciting, the overall story arc for the series is getting good.
Jessica is being forced to help the Gryphons, something she waned to do all her life but not anymore. The Gryphons are not as great as she once thought, but she helps them to stay out of jail. Her first case has people having sex until they drop dead because of a magical drug they are on. It’s obvious the murders can be traced back to the satyrs, which puts a strain on Lucen (a satyr) and Jess’s relationship.
Jess really was put between a rock and a hard place. Either way, she was disappointing someone, betraying someone. But I like how Jess tried to go with what was morally right. She may have freakish satyr abilities, but her thinking is all human. As Jess works on catching the murder, she also learns a lot more about why she is the way she is. It’s a doozy, people. You can’t help but feel bad for her, but she has Lucen’s arms to fall back in. *sigh* Lucen. Yummy.
Jess and Lucen’s relationship is super rocky. Him having to sleep with his addicts to survive irks Jess to no end. It feels like a betrayal, and I have to agree. But this preternatural world changes the dynamics of a lot of things, and not all relationships can be black and white.
I love how the story ended. It was full of action and intensity. And Jess finally makes a great decision about her future. A lot is going to change, and I hope for the better.
The Bad
I enjoyed Wicked Misery more. It had so much more intensity and grit. Dirty Little Misery was damn right gentle compared to the first book.
The first 70% was just average. Nothing too exciting happened and I put the book down a lot. It has taken me 3 weeks to finish this book.
The Snuggly
Jessica and Lucen are having some problems but I still love them together. We get a few sex scenes, nothing over the top but we get some yummy details. I’d say this is for a new adult audience and up.
Final Thoughts
The last quarter of the book was so good, it bumped up the rating for sure. I still love this series, I just hope the next book is more exciting. Recommended.
Excerpt
Scowling, I flung her hiring agreement farther away. “I concede the point, but you’re not exactly doing a good job of convincing me to come work for you.”
“That’s unfortunate, because my good will and willingness to give you a second chance are all that stand between you and a prison cell. Endangering humans is only the beginning of what I could charge you with if I chose.”
My heartbeat stuttered.
Was it? I always assumed I was keeping a toe on the line that separated the questionably ethical from the flat-out illegal. As a result, I’d gone in to this appointment figuring there were a dozen minor laws I could be accused of breaking, but any decent lawyer could get me a livable deal. Probably the sort that involved mandatory community service.
But endangering humans? That was a felony, and way more than a couple toes over the line. More like an entire foot.
Damn. Though I hated being a gracious loser, and hated even more that she’d gotten the upper hand on me so easily, Olivia Lee was right about two things. I wasn’t stupid. And I didn’t want to go to jail.
“Well, then, you should have said so,” I said, adopting my sweetest voice as I picked up the agreement. “That’s so much more persuasive.”
In the future, I was going to have to be way more careful about what I wished for.
kindlemom1
Glad this picked up by the end and that the overall story arc is getting better, that is saying something for sure. 😉
Hopefully the next book will have abit of it all. 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
I really hope the next book is better. I have it to read, so review coming soon.
anna (herding cats & burning soup)
I’ve not tried her before. That’s a long time to spend on one book. Glad the last quarter of the book made it worth it 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, I gave it more stars because the first book was so good and the overall series is still awesome. If I didn’t have the first book to compare it too, this one would have been considered great.
Red Iza
1 good quarter on 4 is not terrible, fortunately it was the last one. It must give you hope for the next book ? It happened to me once with a novel in a series, it was so bad I thought it had been written by someone else ! But the next instalment jumped right into the excellency category 😉
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, sometimes the last quarter is all it takes to bring a book back to life.
Braine Talk Supe
SEe that last part being good always throws me off. I sometimes get stuck thinking if the end justifies the means or enough to make up for the mediocre start and middle. Good job keeping it in perspective
Jennifer Bielman
Sometimes it makes up for it, sometimes it doesn’t. I might have exaggerated how bad the other 3/4’s was. I think I compared it too much to the first book.
Brandi Breathes Books
Glad to hear that it got better especially at the end
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, it saved it for me.
Christy
“Her first case has people having sex until they drop dead because of a magical drug they are on”
Sounds like a good time to me. 😀 This sounds like an interesting world for sure.
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, hell of a way to go, right?!!!!
Melliane
Sorry it was a little long to have something to really get you into the book. I haven’t read the series yet but it’s on my wish list and I confess I’m quite curious about book 1. soon.
Jennifer Bielman
Book 1 was bomb!!!!! So good.
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)
Aw it sucks that this one wasn’t really decent until the last 30%! I don’t think I’d ever be able to persevere till that far if it was boring 😐
Jennifer Bielman
It’s because I still love this series overall that I was okay with only the last 30% being the best. I give a little leeway with second books in a series.
Jaclyn Canada
Hopefully this one was less exciting so the next one can be a punch in the face with the information provided in it. Glad you enjoyed it overall, and here’s hoping the next one is even better 😀
Jennifer Bielman
I hope so too. 🙂
Olivia
Hmm this sounds like a rocky read. As if there were some good parts, especially the ending but as if the beginning and middle weren’t action packed enough with as high stakes as there were in the first book. I love the cover!
Jennifer Bielman
I still love the series, but I wanted so much more in this one.