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Shapeshift (eBook)
| Shapeshift | |
|---|---|
 Shapeshift eBook Cover, written by Vanessa Von Vine | |
| Author(s) | Vanessa Von Vine |
| Series | Succubus Incorporated |
| Publisher | Red Hill Press |
| Publication date | January 6, 2015 |
| Media type | eBook |
| Length | 24 Pages |
| ASIN | B00RY77DAW |
| Preceded by | Bucky |
| Followed by |
Succubus Incorporated Boxed Set |
For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).
Shapeshift is an eBook written by Vanessa Von Vine. It is the third work in the Succubus Incorporated series by this author. In this work the character Sarah Donavan is a Succubus.
Overview
- Title: Shapeshift
- Author: Vanessa Von Vine
- Published By: Red Hill Press
- Length: 24 Pages
- Format: eBook
- ASIN: B00RY77DAW
- Publishing Date: January 6, 2015
Other Works in this Series on SuccuWiki
Plot Summary
Sarah learns more about her new powers as a succubus. This time how to shapeshift into a man, in order to try to lure a were-cat, who happens to be gay. The only problem is, Sarah has other ideas - she wants to shapeshift into something that will help her get the man she has always loved, Mr. Morlock . . . but will she get him, or will yet another attempt to get the man of her dreams fail . . .
Sarah has a sharp learning curve a head, but with each erotic encounter, she grows stronger in her powers . . . and closer to using them to finally have Mr. Morlock for herself . . . she will get him to fall in love with her . . .
Succubus Incorporated is a paranormal Romance. It is about the training of a new Succubus, a young eighteen year old girl named Sarah Donavan, who saves the world by having sex with mythical creatures - the only way to keep a demonic force from exiting its cage, a strange wooden idol. She just has one problem, the old sex witch, who is Mr. Morlock's wife, Mrs Morlock, hates her and there is a growing divide between them . . .
Book Review
The following review was originally published by Tera on her Blog, A Succubi's Tale on February 28, 2016
The series summary is slightly misleading as the story tends to centre around Sarah and Mrs. Morlock butting heads, threats being thrown at each other and, as a whole, that becomes all that the series seemed to focus on. That and a series of short hot flashes as Sarah learns about her powers and the new existence that she finds herself in.
The plot that keeps returning over and over again of Sarah wanting Mr. Morlock, then having to deal with Mrs. Morlock just becomes too repetitive. It turns into a game of ‘ticking each other off to see who breaks’, along with the typical taunts and curses being thrown. This takes away from really learning about how things work for Sarah, what she can do, how the Morlocks got into the situation they are in, why things happen as they are.
While both Sarah and Mrs. Morlock are called succubi, it’s not really clear if they actually are. There are hints of some mind control being used, a little magic ability, some shapeshifting and so on. Being they are acting in a succubus-like way, and there is some references to that, it makes some sense in that context. But to find that, one has to wade through all of the internal monologue from Sarah about pining for Mr. Morlock, her hate for Mrs. Morlock, and so on. In the moments when Sarah uses her powers, or when Mrs. Morlock does, that was interesting, had some heat and worked overall.
The erotica runs hot to warm, depending on the events of the moment. There is some vanilla scenes, a couple of supernatural ones as well. There is some complexities as well in the erotica which reflects Sarah’s internal needs and struggles which I didn’t expect and added something to her character.
But as for some growth in the characters, that really doesn’t happen. Sarah’s thoughts do not change from start to end, Mr. Morlock is as conflicted as he was in the beginning, and Mrs. Morlock is every bit as ugly in personality as she was at the start. There’s so little change in any of the characters and that need not have happened.
One thing that kept nagging at me was how the Morlocks were never referred to by first name. It always was “Mr.” and “Mrs.” which I could understand from Sarah being somewhat overwhelmed by events. But it also put up a wall to those characters where there wasn’t a connection to them. Sarah being focused on only having Mr. Morlock as well didn’t make a connection for me either, and her constant cursing and ranting internally over what Mrs. Morlock does, again, just left me not caring to any great extent.
There is a story, background and a universe here, but that’s fleeting in how much is told about it. There’s a info dump at times which helps, but, again, the infighting among the characters gets in the way of the storytelling. I understand there needs to be conflict, that it makes for a better story, but repeating the same curses, having the same arguments, doesn’t really make things work.
As a whole, the characters are a little thin, needing to be rounded out more, tell more about themselves, and not be so sealed up with who they are. To have the characters be, in their own ways, stereotypes of the horny teen, the submissive husband, and the overbearing wife, leaves a lot to be desired.
At the end of the series the work ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, a threat in a way. There seems to be a direction for the series to take which I think would be interesting, but that never came to pass. But as well, on the last page, it’s clear that none of the characters has learned anything and the series ends where it begins.
Two and a half out of five pitchforks.
Characters that are hard to like, a plot that doesn’t really go anywhere, and then a series that ends on a cliffhanger and goes no further. It’s a shame because the core idea is a good one, but losing that to the infighting just takes away so much.