I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Suck It Up Buttercup
by
Kristen Painter
paranormal fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Sugar Skull Books on April 28, 2020 and has 364 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
Second in the First Fangs Club cozy paranormal fantasy series and revolving around Donna Barrone, a newly made vampire in New Jersey. The focus is on coping with this new life and its politics.
My Take
Another fun story from Kristen Painter with a woman facing a totally unexpected and new life. Fortunately there are a lot of perks with this job, including a place to live and a great salary with supportive people around her.
It’s all enough to help Donna change her mind about her new “life”. It also causes her to reflect on how bad too much power can weigh on you, which we learn from Painter’s use of third person protagonist point-of-view from Donna’s perspective.
Oh, man, the reason Claudette didn’t like Temo comes out. It sounds par for the course for her. The woman has no judgment.
Fitzhugh is such a jerk! I do love how Donna handles him, lol. She credits her life with Joe and the Mob for how much she learned that has prepared her for her new life. It certainly comes in handy when Donna has to meet the Russian mob boss. Her husband, her deceased husband I should say, Joe, was also a jerk and is an amazing contrast with Pierce. Lucinda is another pain, and for some reason she’s sucking up to Donna big time, hmmm . . . Fitzhugh isn’t the only one Donna, um, handles, lol.
A major series arc is how quickly Donna rises to power after becoming a vampire and how much she enjoys being able to do good, to counteract the bad her husband had done. The good she does for Rixaline is an absolute treat.
Okay, now that is a surprise. Pierce has a good eye for fashion and helps Donna work her wardrobe.
I get such a kick out of her friends from the First Fang Club and how much they want to help her out. As for Joe’s surprise stash. Oh, boy. Yeah, I’d be majorly ticked too. It sure answers a few questions.
Romance is blossoming, and Donna might wanna be careful around that poison garden!
Rixaline is in a tight spot, and when her past is revealed, you’ll want to cry and scream! Of course, when you read of Joe’s “master” plan, you’ll scream too, with laughter. Oh, and “family” means something to Joe. The boy is clueless.
It’s an easy read with Donna such a natural person, which is reflected in the prose. It’s both character-driven with a good bit of action — physical and thoughtful.
There is a nasty little cliffhanger ending, and I simply had to get Sucker Punch! Okay, and partly because I am so, so envious that Donna can eat whatever she likes. Sigh.
The Story
It’s a question of balance in her new life. Balancing the demands of her job and of the politics of interacting with other governors.
One smarmy governor in particular, a bad experience that does not outweigh all those positives!
The Characters
Belladonna “Donna” Barrone is 49 and finally free of the mob. Sort of. Now she’s been turned into a vampire, and gasp, the new vampire governor of New Jersey. Lucky is Donna’s cat. She has a son, Lieutenant Joe Jr, who’s in the Air Force, and Christina, who’s in college. Donna’s new penthouse apartment is in Wellman Towers, where every resident is a supernatural or in a supernatural business. Cammie is Donna’s nun sister, Sister Mary Lazarus Immaculata. Joe is Donna’s . . . what? Not dead husband?
Pierce Harrison, a successful defense lawyer in Manhattan, is Donna’s new assistant. Charlene “Charlie” Rollins, half-banshee with a smidge of fire mage, is Donna’s administrative assistant — and such a blessing! She has a master’s in business management, had been the executive assistant to the CEO of Rothchild’s Antiquities in London, and a concierge at the Regency Hotel. Temo, a descendant of Mafui’e, the Samoan god of earthquakes — which does come in handy, is Donna’s driver and in charge of her security. He’s also former Special Ops and really good behind the wheel with his last job as a bouncer at Spotlight. Penina is Temo’s cousin and backup security. India does Donna’s hair. Dr Ezrun Fox, a gnome, is their doctor and has three sons and two daughters. Jerabeth Smalls, an elemental witch, is in charge of the governor’s greenhouse. Jerabeth’s mother had been a green witch.
The Fae are . . .
. . . the sworn enemy of vampires. Rixaline is half-fae and half-vampire, a dhamfir with a rare ability to find anything. King Dredward rules the fae.
The Vampires
The First Fangs Club is . . .
. . . a support group of new-made vampires and where Donna met Neo, the ditzy Bunni, the adventurous yet old Francine, LaToya Shay Jones (she has a baby and a werewolf boyfriend, Isaiah, who’s also in Rico’s pack), and Meghan Murphy, Donna’s blood sister and a famous supermodel. Lionel is the hunky “young” musician who sired Francine. His current band is Bittersweet, which he fronts as Leif Harker — Charlie is fangirling and it seems that Christina loves the band too. Artie, a movie producer, had been Francine’s third husband. Dr Ursula “La” Goldberg had been Donna’s therapist in her human life. She’s also the empathic facilitator and therapist for the First Fangs Club.
Artemis, the vampire queen of the US and Donna’s grandsire and sire to Claudette, the former New Jersey governor and Donna’s sire. She has a studio in the Village. Hawke Fitzhugh is the showy, obnoxious New York vampire governor, who thinks he’s God’s gift. Greene is the governor of Ohio; Showell is the governor of Maryland.
The Immortus Concilio is a seven-member group who oversee vampire activity. Hubert Renard is the vampire ambassador from France; Sylvie is his wife.
The FBI
Special Agent Rico Medina, a werewolf, had been Donna’s handler when she was planning to be a witness against the Mob. Other agents include Kowalski, Cheng, and Franklin.
Carmella is a dental hygienist. Carmella’s grandmother is intense.
The Mob
New Jersey
Anthony “Big Tony” Villachi, the mob boss in Jersey, is married to the cranky Lucinda, Joe’s sister.
The Russians
Boris Reznikov is their mob boss. His people include Dimitri and Yuri, the unfortunate Russian lunk in Sucks To Be Me, 1. Pravda is their downtown club.
Rigby’s Pub. Blue Bell’s Diner has great pie. Nell is one of their servers. Count DeLaRossi was at one of Francine’s parties. Van Marten’s offers jewelry.
The Cover and Title
The cover is consistent with the first story, Sucks To Be Me, with its range of blues from the deepest navy to a grayed light blue of the gravestone that’s front and center with the slightly embossed title in black. Donna, in a long, sleeveless red dress with her brown hair flowing down her back, is standing at the railing looking out over the lit-up New York skyline. The bottom of the gravestone is wreathed in ivy and fairy lights. Below it is an info blurb in white with the author’s name in an embossed turquoise below that. Going back up to the top is the series information in a white with a red horizontal rule behind it, that ends on each end with spear points.
The title is Donna’s own advice to herself, Suck It Up Buttercup.
