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 enlarge | Author: Jeri Smith-ready
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $5.24
You Save: $8.76 (63%)
New (27) from $7.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 275165
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 141655176X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416551768
ASIN: 141655176X
Publication Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Moderate cover wear, pages nice.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wicked Game is Wicked Fabulous June 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's been a while since I've been this totally gonzo about a book. I just really loved it. It's smart, the writing is clever, tight, sexy in the right places, tense in others, scary here and there and totally original.
Ciara is a smart but not perfect heroine. A grifter (oh how I love twisted characters) trying to go straight for a host of believable and layered reasons. Her job at this funky radio station makes sense. The way she acts with the vampires makes sense. The way she interacts with Shane her sort of boyfriend/vampire makes sense. I liked her a lot because she was accessible in a really wonderful way.
The mystery/suspense element was well done. The worldbuilding was clever and believable and the romantic sub-plot handled well and in proportion to the story. On top of all this? Jeri is a really, genuinely nice person, which is all too rarel.
Wicked Game is a really good book and if you haven't grabbed it yet you really should. You won't be sorry at all.
A Fresh Vampire Tale June 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The protagonist, Ciara Griffin, finds a marketing internship at WMMP, a radio station with an eclectic format. It doesn't sound like the stuff of urban fantasy tales, but after a few stitches, Ciara is in on the station's little secret: the DJs are vampires.
There is a problem looming- the station may be sold to a mega-conglomerate, Skywave, if revenue does not increase. Skywave would take away the station's unique format and put the vampires out of work. Saving the station means saving the DJs (the DJs are each locked in the music lifetime they were created; being connected to the music of their time helps keep them sane).
Ciara comes up with a marketing plan to have the station changed to WVMP ("The Lifeblood of Rock and Roll") and use the DJs' vampire identities as gimmicks and thereby hiding in plain sight. The story escalates when they have to fight those who do not want vampires to interact with humans.
But there's a lot more layers to the story---Ciara is fighting her own demons. Having been raised by con-artist parents, she's trying to go straight. She also develops relationship to the "youngest" DJ at the station, Shane. Interspersed through the book are the backgrounds of how the vampire DJs came to be, as well as the human station manager David's relationship to the vampire world.
The book is like a perfect mixtape--- it has the perfect balance of action, wit and romance. Smith-Ready has crafted a fresh vampire tale. It might be a tale of redemption, but there are no stereotypical dark tortured vampires (well, if you don't count OCD) and the heroine is clever without being foolish.
(A few notes: The author's references to music in the book was superb. And as a personal aside, any book that sneaks in the word jagoff (and its verb form, jaggin') is alright by this Pittsburgher!)
Rock N Roll & Vampires !!! May 31, 2008
Rock Music & Vampires, two of my favorite things!
Former con artist Ciara takes a job at a rock radio station WVMP. She's hired as a marketing intern. She's there to help the station, so it doesn't get bought by big corp Skywave. The DJ's are vampires that are stuck in their era. It's the music and radio station, that is the staple to their world. To survive and Not Fade Away.
I found Jeri's vampire mythology very intriguing. Not only are they stuck in the era/year they died in but alot of them seem to have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which I find very interesting. I don't think I have ever read about vampires like these ones. Another thing I found cool about this book is that each chapter is named for a rock song. Such songs as It's Only Rock N' Roll(But I like it), Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Come As You Are.
The book was fast, fun and sexy. I highly recommend it. So far it's one of my favorite book of 2008.
 Wicked Game Rocks! May 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ciara Griffin's parents raised her to be a con artist, but she wants to go straight. She pulled one big job to help her survive awhile, but she needs a job if she wants to keep paying her bills. Her best opportunity? Interning at local station WMMP. Of course, it seems prudent to quit once she learns the station believes the DJs are vampires. She learns her potential coworkers aren't insane when she takes the scruffy Shane home and he bites her.
Eventually, Ciara decides to continue working for the station and designs a brilliant marketing strategy. Reveal the DJs are vampires because no one will believe the gimmick is true. The station needs the money the increased popularity will bring because the owner is threatening to sell to the conglomerate Skywave. Luckily, WVMP, the Liveblood of Rock `n' Roll is a hit. Unluckily, other vampires are not pleased with the marketing strategy.
WICKED GAME moves quickly, combining business, cons, and more traditional fantasy action to create a truly satisfying urban fantasy. People complain about the glut of vampire novels, but Smith-Ready's showcases their best aspects. She's created an interesting mythology: vampires are stuck in the time they changed and must maintain ties both to their Life Time and the present. WVMP combines the music of the vampires' times with modern technology, a perfect solution. Especially since Smith-Ready has the musical chops to pull it off.
I also appreciate that Ciara doesn't instantly want Shane to bite her. In fact, she starts to fight him when he accidentally does it. It shows a level of sense that most urban fantasy heroines seem to lack. Ciara is not a traditional BA type - when the violence breaks out, she's not in the center breaking skulls, she's trying to get out of the fray. I respect that. She's a tough woman, but her strengths aren't physical. Refreshing.
Excerpted from In Bed With Books
New Life For The Literary Vamp! May 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of Ms. Smith-Ready's ever since I read "Requiem for the Devil" several years ago. I'd thought it was an excellent book & had wondered how will this author follow such a fantastic read. Then the "Crow" books came out and I had my answer....she followed up and surpassed her freshman work. Now I knew, when I'd heard Ms. Smith-Ready was coming out with a new book, that it was going to be something special. Until I read "Wicked Game"...I just didn't realize how special. "Wicked Game" is, simply put, stunning. I was hooked starting from page one...and read non-stop the entire book in one sitting. When I read that the book involved vampires...I just knew that this author would be THE one to put new life into their mystique...and boy did she!
Ciara Griffin, ex-con artist/college student, accepts an internship at a local floundering radio station with a wide and varied music format. She discovers that the DJs of the station are all vampires...and all completely in-tune with the music genre of their heyday when they were alive. I won't give any more away in this review other than my extremely strong recommendation that you buy this book ASAP and enjoy it as much as I did.
*on a tres cool side note...my 14 year old daughter was THRILLED to see that the main character shares the same first and last name as her! Ciara Griffin from "Wicked Game" and Ciara Griffin, my daughter...both rock! :)*
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