Fangirl Friday - Jaz Parks Series by Jennifer Rardin

Why should everyone read the Jaz Parks Series by Jennifer Rardin? Well, the answer is simple, it's awesome and it kicks ass!!

The series was written by Jennifer Rardin and she has created an amazing heroine and put her in some pretty sticky situations. There are 8 books in the series and they should be read in the correct order, after all, there is an overall storyline.

Books go as listed:

 Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Another One Bites the Dust 

  Biting the Bullet
 Bitten to Death
One More Bite

Bite Marks

Bitten in Two
The Deadliest Bite

I tried to be vague enough but after you make the jump BEWARE there might be slight spoilers! 

Jasmine Jaz Parks is a CIA operative. She is a wise-cracker and a bad-ass. She has a twin brother (Dave) and a sister. Her father was in the military and her mother was an abusive parent. Her family was always moving so Jaz is used to being a loner. She often gets assigned the paranormal cases, since she is a sharpshooter, a martial arts specialist and is able to sense vampires and resist several of their abilities. Later in the story it is revealed her powers are able to grow thanks to her growing closeness to Vayl.

Her whole life changes in one night when her fiance, her brother's wife and her teammates get murdered by vampires. After some time has passed she gets a new position at work, she's reassigned to assassinations and gets a new boss, a vampire, Vayl.

Vayl is an old vampire, 1744, Romania. CIA is familiar with the fact that vampires exist and Vayl's agency record is only known to the head of the CIA and the president of the USA. Vayl was traumatised by the death of his children. He tried to get revenge on his children's killer by summoning a creature, but it backfired and the creature turned his wife Liliana into a vampire, and in turn, she turned Vayl in a vampire. He possesses a ring, cirilai, which contains his soul. He gives the ring to Jaz so she can keep his soul safe, and it also grants her some interesting benefits. He keeps to himself and rarely smiles. He’s really good with a sword and combat; his main ability is that of a wraith but through the story his power exponentially grows as his connection to Jaz grows. It’s not just a random affection these two share, as it is slowly revealed that Jaz is Vayl's avhar and he her sverhamin, sort of a partner chosen by fate, one for each vampire. I know what you think, fated mates and all that jazz, but it’s not like that. Yes, Vayl is very protective of Jaz and he knew from the start she’s his avhar, but their love isn’t instant. It starts as a weary partnership and turns to friendship until it becomes love and passion. They are able to help each other to make peace with their past and look to the future.  

Other members of the team include a private investigator, Cole, who brings humor and fun together by annoying Vayl with his constant flirting with Jaz. A psychic Cassandra who uses her abilities to help Jaz with their cases but also to help her tap into her growing abilities. And lastly, Bergman, a tech who brings reinforcements with his interesting and unusual inventions.

Each book brings a well-rounded story and gives you a sense of completion, but the real fun is reading the whole series and seeing the way the characters change and grow, how their final story will finish.

Why do I love this series? Well, the main reason is Jaz, the second reason is the world and the setting for the story, then comes Vayl and, lastly, the rest of the team.
 

I really love that no one ever questioned Jaz's ability as an agent, everyone knew she was good at what she did and had complete confidence in her abilities. Jaz has some serious emotional and psychological traumas after the death of her loved ones. The story doesn’t give an instant cure to her issues; it takes time for her to overcome such violence and loss. She doesn't do that only with Vayl’s help but the whole team is crucial in it. She has to learn to let other people in again even though there’s a risk of them dying or leaving her. I love her relationship with Vayl. They both feel this connection to each other, but are cautious and resist it. It takes a while for them to move from partnership to friendship, they have to build everything between each other from ground up and you can tell Jaz is scared and pulls back often. It’s also obvious how much Vayl needs her help to move on from the pain he’s been carrying around for almost 300 years. Love isn’t easy for these two and it comes gradually, and it’s wonderful to read about its development. When it comes to kicking butt, these two are a well oiled machine, perfectly matched partners who are able to anticipate and assist each other in any situation.

If you want likeable heroes, a kick-ass heroine, cool world, amusing banter and spy-action story these books are for you.

If this was a book review I would give it awesomsauce!!