Review: Succubi Like it Hot (The Succubus Diaries #2) by Jill Myles

 

NOBODY SAID SUCKING WAS EASY.

With a hot new figure, her dream job as an archaeologist, and two gorgeous boyfriends to scratch her seductive Itch -- an angel and a vampire -- Jackie Brighton is totally getting the hang of life as a succubus. Then she accidentally knocks the pizza guy unconscious with her touch. Great -- she's cursed. After striking a deal to get the curse lifted by a crafty demon, Jackie and her best friend Remy take a road trip to deliver a cryptic message to the nation's oldest succubus.

Unfortunately, neither of her jealous lovers is talking to Jackie right now, and due to the curse, she's desperate to get her Itch scratched very soon. Their journey gets weirder with every mile --

demonic possession, a charming stalker, a cryptic warning -- and when they get to New Orleans, Jackie discovers a dangerous catch to her supernatural bargain. Someone wants her dead -- again. Can a brainy vixen in a miniskirt outsmart the forces of evil?

My Review

In the second installment of The Succubus Diaires – Succubi Like It Hot, I found everything I was hoping for in this series: an action-packed paranormal romance, a great love triangle, hotter sex scenes, lots of humor, and a strong(er)  female lead character. 

In the last book, Gentlemen Prefer Succubi, Jackie loses her job as docent in the museum, but in the sequel, she gets a new job with the New City University’s archaeological team. We begin the book at a fundraiser for the department when Jackie’s Itch makes its presence known. Good thing Noah is around to help our girl out – only something’s wrong with Noah, and he’s not too keen on having sex with Jackie.

The problem? Noah tells Jackie he wants the “C” word – and Jackie pales at the thought. Apparently, our girl Jackie has been having her cake and eating it, too – jumping from Zane’s arms at night, and going to Noah’s in the daytime, so “Commitment” is the furthest thing from her mind.

Noah leaves, saying he’s tired of playing Jackie’s mind games and he’ll come back when she’s ready to be with him and only him. It’s an uncomfortable ride back to Jackie’s house, but our girl is left to make do with a cold shower and pizza while she waits for Zane to sate her desires. While she waits, she realizes her Itch is coming sooner than expected, but before she can ponder if something is wrong, the pizza delivery boy arrives at her door. Then after an casual touch, the delivery boy is out cold, and Jackie can’t revive him.

Panicking, Jackie calls Remy, her fellow Succubus and friend, to help her out. In the first book, Remy accidentally absorbs a fallen angel’s – Joachim – halo in her and is sometimes possessed by this evil entity, though by book 2, Remy gains control over the pesky intruder. Remy tells Jackie she thinks she might be cursed and they need to get some help to find out how they can reverse it.

Afraid to go to a church and seek out an angel (who will no doubt use them for their own gains) they opt instead to go to a graveyard for help. There they meet Mae, a demoness who confirms that Jackie has been cursed. In exchange for the information, Jackie must go to New Orleans and seek out another Succubus – Delilah and give her a message. 

Remy knows Delilah – a brothel madam and voodoo priestess – and agrees to take Jackie there, but only if Jackie agrees to pose as her assistant and make a few stops to promote Remy’s new porn movie along the way.

Jackie reluctantly agrees and manages to get Zane to go with her for when her Itch makes its presence. Zane realizes something is wrong and after a hottt scene between him and Jackie, our girl confesses she’s been cursed. Visibly shaken, Zane does the unexpected and leaves Jackie. No longer being able to depend on either Noah or Zane to help her out in her time of need, Jackie’s world seems to crumble. Then in comes Luc, a sexy French guy who’s shrouded in mystery.

Red flags go off whenever Luc, the sexy stranger, is around and trouble brews as a growing trail of unconscious people (unfortunate humans Jackie touches), and dead bodies crop up, leading Jackie to believe that someone is definitely out to get her. But having racked up so many enemies, it’s hard for her to find out exactly who it is. Everything comes out at Jackie in this book and you’ll be left wondering – will she survive long enough to find out who this new sexy French stranger is, or will the curse and her secret enemy get to her first?

I just loved this book! There were so many different plot lines and twists masterfully crafted and intertwined in this book, you’ll never find a dull moment! Not having Noah and Zane to fall back on, and Remy being Remy – Jackie has only herself to rely on in this book – and boy is she quick on her feet :)

There are several hilarious scenes I couldn’t get enough of and we get to see Jackie’s resourcefulness and sharp wit come forth. There are so many roadblocks in Jackie’s way, you’ll be amazed at how Jackie handles them all.

1) There’s definitely something up with Luc, but with his sexy French accent and physique, what’s a Succubus to do when the Itch hits and her two boyfriends are MIA? ;)

2) Delilah has got the hots for Noah and the New Orleans madam wants nothing more than to get Jackie out of her way. Will Delilah play fair and help Jackie?

3) Though Remy has a handle on herself for most of the book, Joachim, the evil entity she’s absorbed, comes out to play, making more problems than poor Jackie can handle.

4) The demoness, Mae, is just such an awesomely wicked character – I loved her part in this book! I hope she comes back again in other installments of the series. But she definitely throws a wrench in Jackie’s plans and you won’t believe what carrying her message will cost Jackie.

5) You’ll never believe who’s trying to kill Jackie and the lengths this person goes to in trying to get rid of her.

5) The love triangle SUPER HEATS up in this installment as both Noah and Zane struggle with sharing Jackie’s attention. Jill Myles accomplishes in this book something that no other author has ever managed to do with me. I CAN’T PICK A TEAM! LOL 

Noah and Zane are just so night and day (literally) and they both undergo HUGE sacrifices to show Jackie just how much they love her. I can’t pick between them! No wonder Jackie’s running from one hot bed to the other LOL

In this book I was leaning towards Team Zane, but then Noah isn’t far behind the trail, and aww that sexy angel pulls on my heart stings! *fans self*  I just can’t take how much in love I am with both of these characters! How in the world is Jackie going to choose between them?

I’m so glad I continued this series, now I can’t wait to see what happens next! :)

After a gratifying lunch of four sandwiches, a full bag of Doritos, and two beers, I packed for the trip. According to the internet, 1600 miles lay between here and New Orleans. Twenty-six hours in the car. Even with Remy’s few stops, we could be done with this whole ridiculous curse thing within a matter of days since we didn’t have to sleep.

That thought cheered me immensely, and I even ate a couple of Twinkies to celebrate. Getting the time off work to go on the road trip was stunningly easy. Al I had to do was call Dr. Morgan, turn on the waterworks, and explain that I was having some personal issues because I’d just broken up with my boyfriend.

“Mr. Gideon [Noah]  is still going to fund the Mayan expedition, isn’t he?” Fear edged his voice. “We leave in two weeks!”

So glad he was worried about me. “I’m sure Mr. Gideon won’t change his mind about the expedition—”

“You’re sure?” He sounded relieved, then his voice turned suave again. “You’re still going to be coming on the dig, aren’t you? I hope that your troubles with Mr. Gideon won’t affect your work. You know I’ll need someone I can lean on.”

And someone whose shirt he could look down. “Oh, I’ll be there, Dr. Morgan,” I told him. “This is my first archaeological dig, and I’m not going to miss it just because Noah’s being a control freak. I’ll avoid him.”

“Hmmm.” Dr. Morgan didn’t sound convinced. “It’s vital that Mr. Gideon remain interested and active in the dig. “Perhaps you should apologize to him.”

Apologize? I could feel my face purple at the thought and bit back the retort that bubbled up. If I protested any more he’d kick me off the trip, and that was the last thing I wanted. I’d been looking forward to this dig for weeks. “I’ll talk to Noah. By the time of the dig, I’m sure we’ll be back together.” I couldn’t imagine him staying mad at me for that long.

“You’re a good girl, Jackie. Just think of what’s best for the department. I know you’ll make the right decision.” In other words, he wanted me to swallow my pride and whore myself out, as long as he got to go on his precious dig. I hung up.

Everything was in place now. I was struggling with the suitcase zipper when a gentle snore made me pause. I glanced over at the bedroom, but Zane wasn’t in the bed any longer. The sun had gone down, and rumpled sheets were the only thing left on the mattress. He whistled in the distance, and the shower turned on, drowning out any noise he made. The snore came again, from the other side of the couch. With dread, I slid over to the side and peeked over.

And groaned. My pizza boy from the night before was still there, still unconscious. How could I possibly have forgotten that? I was the world’s worst person ever. I was still staring at his sleeping body when Zane wandered into the living room, half-dressed.

“What’s wrong, Princess?”

I gestured at the comatose man on the floor. “This. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him.” I tugged on the ends of my hair, trying to think. “I can’t just leave him here.”

Zane scratched his hard stomach and leaned over the pizza boy, looking as if it wasn’t any dire problem. “Want me to get rid of the body for you?”

I gasped. “He’s not dead!”

The vampire grinned, the look on his face sly. “Want me to kill him and then get rid of the body?” His eyes flicked red.

I threw a couch cushion at him. “That is not funny.” I ignored his chuckle and looked down at the pizza boy again. “I need to get him out of my apartment—alive—and somehow not get caught by the police.”

He gave me a skeptical look. “You won’t get caught by the police if he’s buried in a fiel—”

“No!” I buried my face in my hands. “Can you please just help me with this and not make it worse?”

“Whatever you want,” Zane said. His casual, easy look turned shuttered. “This road trip . . . is Noah going?”

The jealousy had returned to his face, turning its beautiful planes hard. That was a rapid topic change. “No,” I assured him. “We’re taking a little time off from each other.”

Silence. The smile returned to his mouth, and he moved over to my side. “That,” he said, stroking my cheek tenderly, “is very good news. So you’ve finally made up your mind?” He dipped to press a light kiss on my mouth, his tongue whispering against my lips. “Glad you’ve come to your senses about that self-righteous asshole.”

I pulled away, frowning up at him. “Noah broke up with me.”

He shrugged, his grin displaying gleaming white fangs. “I don’t care, as long as this means you and I are exclusive. No more seeking him out for sex, and I won’t have to go hunting in bars for blood—”

“Whoa, there.” I pulled away from him, my eyes wide. “I’m not going to be your one and only blood supply.” That would mean dooming myself to only half the day again, and if my schedule was going to match Zane’s, that meant no daylight, no regular shopping hours . . . and no Noah. Ever. The Serim slept through the nighttime.

His mouth tightened slightly. “You just fed me and things were fine. Don’t tell me we’re going back to this.”

I thought hard, trying to come up with something that would appease him and still give me my freedom. “How about a test run? We stay exclusive for the next few weeks, I let you drink from me, and we’ll see how this road trip works out. I really need you for this.”

Looking mollified, he nudged the comatose guy with his foot. “Well, then, what are we going to do with this?”

“We’ll figure something out.” I decided to call Remy, who had the answer, even if it was an odd one.

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