I was excited to see a vampire book written by and about an African American woman, but once I started reading I was totally let down and couldn't finish the book. There's way too much bad dialogue and "hip hop" talk for my tastes. I don't know anyone (of any color) who speaks like the author made her characters speak and if I did I'd probably have to walk away from them just like I walked away from the book. Real disappointing.

This is the first book in the Vampire Huntress series, and it is incredibly hard to get through. The first 3/4 of the book took me over a week and I'm a fast reader. However, having read the next two books it's worth it - and I believe that is 100% having to do with Carlos' story. So while this first book is hard to trudge though I'm glad that I did because I've loved the books that follow.

I very rarely give up on books. If i have a problem getting into a story, I will usually put it down for a while, and try to approach it again at another time. I attempted to read this book on 4 separate occasions over the course of a year, and I still found it impossible to finish.To be quite honest, I found this practically impossible to read. First of all, there's not many things I hate more than the feeling of being dropped into the middle of a story without any kind of explanation or backst...

Ugh. I had high hopes for this book, but it came nowhere near following through. I must admit to not finishing the book. It became due at the library and though I'd made it through half the book, I decided that the book wasn't worth a renewal. And I really hate leaving books unread. If I'd owned it (I'm glad I didn't waste money on it), I probably would have finished it.I had three huge issues with this book:1. The characters, though seemingly diverse, fell flat. The main character is an African...

Minion is most definitely a foundation book. Plenty of explanations and detail in this one, but not a lot of forward momentum for the story. However, I don't really mind that so much if I am pretty confident that the following books will be more focused on moving the story along. I went into this one with a pretty open mind and no idea what to really expect and I was surprised at how dark this is. These aren't sexy romanticized vampires and supernatural beings. The creatures in this world are vi...

The writing it burns...I gave up after a few chapters. I know, I know...she's an author of color, writing about characters of color in the fantasy genre, and I'm a woman of color. So it all should be very exciting. Unfortunately all I could feel was annoyance at how contrived the plot was and more than a little offended at the pretentious "urban" dialogue.

I reread the book. Its still bad but its not completly bad! It needed lots of revision. She's not a bad writor its just the unnecessary hip hop vernacular, fist pounding, lack of action, etc. which destroys a somewhat good story concept. I'm going to read the next book, hope there is an improvement. I have no idea how she was able to get a book deal! Perhaps another rewrite would have really made it a great book because there are moments of her description that really shows excellent writing. So...

Hello goodreads! This is my 1st review of anything so here goes! Minion (A Vampire Huntress Legend) by L.A. Banks. It's been a while since I've read it. I'm on the 7th or 8th book in the series... but WOW!! I've been hooked on Damali Richards & that sexy Carlos Rivera ever since! The Vampire Huntress series has it ALL.. romance, action, mystery, religion, history, and of course some good ole' fashion Demon-A@#-Kicking! But at the heart of it all, relationships continue to be at the core of L.A.

I was in the bookstore and told the clerk I was looking for a good vampire novel, he suggested this one. I am very glad he did because I immediately got caught up into the story. This is about a Vampire Huntress (think Buffy with more attitude)who is also a spoken word entertainer. The themes are spiritual but with a real world feel. This is the first in a 12 book series which takes you around the world and rewrites the fight between good and evil in a way that makes it very entertaining. You wi...

This is still a GreatRead for Mi

I really wanted to like this book more. I give LA Banks a very firm pat on the back for creating an African-American vampire huntress. I saw this book and grabbed it off the shelf. However, the execution didn't live up to my expectations. It was too dry. Too much new-agey talking and two much hip hop lingo. I want the vampire huntress to kick butt, no just sit around talking about kicking butt. I loved her eclectic band who were all her backup in the vampire fighting that didn't even happen exce...

First this is one of those times when I feel I need to open with an apology to those who liked this book and encouraged me to read it. I know you like the book.I don't.To categorize a book as good or bad is often somewhat difficult to do. If a book is badly written, if the sentence structure is bad or the writer can't make him or her self understood, that would be a bad book. In most cases however whether a book is liked or disliked depends on "taste". Do I like the writer's style? Do I like the...

I'd had this series recommended to me so many times that I've lost count. I've long since wanted to read another good vampire hunter series ever since Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series started going downhill. I finally started reading this series & I just had to wonder... why was I even wasting my time with the Anita Blake series? Since so many other people have outlined the plot, I'm not going to bother repeating it here. The book starts off slowly. VERY slowly, in fact. It took me a whil...

Yuck. The writing was poor, the attitude was bad & the heroine was a whiner. No redeeming features to this book, IMO.

This story about a young vampire huntress was very confusing to me. I liked that it started by putting you in the thick of the action; however, the action made no sense. I also didn't get a back story until much later in the book and it was all too brief. I still don't know how this group got together or even what type of music they play. And how did they get that wealthy?The vampire and demon hierarchy was way too confusing and I think my eyes glazed over a few times during the long winded expl...

Buddy read with Loriidae (sorry, friend: my bad.)Minion, book one in the Vampire Huntress series is... how shall I put it? Bad. How bad you ask? Here, have a look:"I decide when we roll. Everybody clear?""If you're up to it, fine.""Yeah. I'm up to it, so long as you're clear.""Very.""Alright.""Everybody ready?""I'm always ready.""Save it, Rider." Marlene warned. "Not now. Nobody's in the mood for the sarcastic commentary.""Truth." Mike agreed, making Rider scowl."We ain't got the time for the jo...

I read this many years ago and it introduced me to a genre I never thought I would ever read. This time I listened to the audiobook and was able to enjoy it even more. They story was much better because I was able to concentrate on the story instead of pronunciation of words. I wish all of her books were available on audiobooks.

In the beginning of the book, caught my attention immediately, as other vampire books have all this gibberish between teen-agers. L.A. Banks brings action and legends all in one package. What makes me excited to read this book, is to not only see drama in the first few pages, but AA characters--female AA slayer! Buffy Vampire step back, Damali is on the attack. Buffy Vampire Slayer (white female) with twists of Blade (black male), now we got a black female slayer--and I am reading the new scenes...

I tried reading this book 10 years ago. I was looking forward to reading a vampire hunter series with a black chick leading the list of characters. Back then, I couldn't get to page 100. I tried again & finished it, but hated it every step of the way. It felt like I was reading knockoff Buffy. When I have the real thing, who needs a knockoff? The quips & slang & drawn out explanations were annoying. Not the least bit suspenseful. The only good thin about reading this book is knowing for sure tha...

Minion: A Vampire Huntress Legend is the first of a new vampire trilogy from L. A. Banks - it is a wonderfully imagined beginning to a new, hip group of vampire slayers. By day, they are lead by twenty-year-old Damali Richards, who along with her guardians are Spoken Word artists that travel the country performing their craft. By night, each uses their specialized senses (sight, smell, mental telepathy, etc.) as they collectively hunt vampires and demons using their specialized weaponry.The nove...