Oliver's Hunger (Scanguards Vampires #7) Paperback – February 25, 2016

*********SPOILERS*********When Tina released the first chapter of this book on Facebook, I was so excited about the story. Finally a vampire that wanted to bite humans, finally one that didn't immediately think everything was all perfect with being turned, I was thrilled with that aspect of the story. I also loved the passion between Oliver and Ursula, it was incredibly hot and what you expect from one of Tina's books. Their relationship was a bit formulated, no she can't, but she does and then there is love, but it was well written and worth the read.However, that being said, there was so much lacking in this story. The first issue I had with this story was Oliver's addiction to human blood. As an addict, it is easy to see why Oliver would be drawn to the more potent blood from the humans, and the beginning is well written about his struggles with trying to not kill someone, but towards the end, it just falls short, of course, he knows he can't have Ursula's blood because of the addictive properties but he never realizes that all blood is an addiction to him. And, it's rather like people who are addicted to food, but Oliver never realizes this and then without even forming a blood bond he seems to get easily over this issue. It left the story a little flat. There was such a good build up that it was incredibly disappointing how it ends.Another issue I had was with how his so called friends treated him with disdain. These are people who are supposedly family, but his "dad" goes off on a honeymoon with Rose instead of staying to help his son who he knows has an addiction problem. And all the people he has helped and supported over the years basically leave him alone to deal with his addiction problem. Through the story, at so many points, no one believes anything Oliver says, and that makes sense, you don't generally go around believing addicts. But even when it is proved that Oliver is telling the truth, it is mostly blown off and no one really takes him seriously or tries to see the changes he had made.Also, there doesn't seem to be any real HEA for Oliver and Ursula. Yes, they changed the memories of her parents so that they don't remember that she was ever kidnapped and that was all sweet and all, and Ursula came back to San Francisco to go to school, but there was no blood bond, there was no happily ever after. There was just well, we will wait and see what happens in a few years... really? Is that the best you could give us. I wanted Oliver's happily ever after. He deserves it after the rough life he has had, and at least if they were bonded, we know that his blood addiction issues would have been resolved. Instead everything is just left hanging and you just want more when you read it.However, my BIGGEST issue with this book, is that Eddie overhears that Thomas has the hots for him, and seems really angry. Even if Eddie didn't realize Thomas had feelings for him, he had to know that he was gay since he had been living with him for so long. However, once we see that Eddie is angry and upset over this revelation, there is nothing else about them in the book. Perhaps since Thomas had been one of my favorite characters since the beginning of the series, I just want to see him happy. Now I'm going to have to wait to see if there will be another snippet of information about him and that just drives me crazy.Overall the story between Oliver and Ursula is worth the read. I am very demanding on authors that I know have the potential for greatness and Tina Folsom definitely fits that bill. I'm sure that my disappointment with this story has more to do with my incredibly high expectations, especially since most of the reviews for this story were 5/5's.

Each book gets better & better. I love Oliver’s growth and Ursula’s strength & determination. As always I cannot wait to see what the next book brings.

Oliver tried to overcome his urge to feed on 'the hoof', when he ran into an escaped, exsanguinated Ursula. While others like Zane doubted her 'blood-whore' story, and three years imprisonment with other women, Oliver drawn to her believed, so they returned to the building and located Corbin's hidden wallet. The final battle at Vera's left Corbin dead, and Dirk soon to meet his sadist boss in HELL after Ursula dusted him at the truck rest stop battle over the other imprisoned women. Scanguard claimed to have wiped the minds of all those involved and with knowledge of Ursula's reported disappearance, and any written articles destroyed so these two life mates can be together in SanFran! HEA for Ollie and Ursula!Great plot and character development, in this gravity defying novel. Once again money was at the root of the dehumanization of these women. It would be interesting to learn how Corbin made the ancestral Emperor connection to the genetic drugged blood, and located all those women. A good read!12/31/22- 01/01/23 COVID-19 HNY23

First off, let me say that I loved Oliver and Ursula's story. Each was just what the other needed to move forward. I loved that Oliver hasn't had an easy time since his turning. It gives more depths to the possibilities of becoming a vampire and the unique challenges it presents. I liked that Ursula was a mix of strength and vulnerability. Their chemistry was perfect and the story was *excellent* when the two of them were together.But...From the beginning of the series, we are told how much the Scanguards team love and respect each other; how they trust each other with their lives. They've been together for years, some for centuries, and are as much a family as they are a business partnership. However, in almost every book and especially in this one, we are told this, but we don't SEE this. (spoilers ahead) Oliver is turned and is having trouble controlling his bloodlust when it comes to tasty humans over bland bottled blood. Does his Sire stay with him to help him through those critical first months? No, he's in Europe banging Rose on their honeymoon. Does his mentor help him through this difficult time and ensure he's adapted to his new life? Nope, Samson is nowhere to be seen until much later in the book. Instead, he's left to the tender mercies of one of the main characters I'd love to see become a vamp buffet: Blake, the most annoying human in history.We see more of this love, trust and respect when Maya never once entertains the fact that Oliver is telling the truth. She's so ready to get him kicked out of Scanguards that she must have missed the very human signs of prevarication from Ursula that she normally would have noticed. When Ursula confirms his innocence, we get a half-hearted apology with the underlying insult of "well, you were telling the truth *this time*."Then there's Zane. Has there ever been a character with more lost potential than Zane? While I eagerly anticipated his book, it fell short of my hopes for him. This book dropped him further into the "actively dislike" category. With all of his experiences, and all his supposed skill, he failed to realized a clean-up job when he saw it? An abandoned building in that section of town would not have smelled like cleanser unless someone was about to purchase it or trying to remove all trace of their existence. When it's proven that Oliver was right, he went further into douchebag territory by simply blowing it all off as no big deal.And then there's Samson. After working with Oliver for three years as a human, he immediately believes the worst of the young vampire and dismisses him as a disappointment without listening to a bloody thing the man had to say. Granted, he was the only one whose apology I actually gave any credit to but it was a shame that it had to be made. Quinn, Rose, Amaury, *ALL* of them fell short of the mark by not helping him when he was first turned and then calling him a liar when he needed their support.The book's main protagonist wasn't the vampire running the blood-whore business. It was the other Scanguard's vampires. And that's why the book gets a 3/5 when Oliver and Ursula's story is a 5/5.

Si vous avez aimé les autres livres, vous aimerez aussi cette histoire, même si vous avez envie de donner des baffes a quelques vampires au passage qu'on croyait s'être un peu amélioré avec l'amour !! grrrrrr. Mais au final tout est bien qui fini bien.

Wer die Bücher von Tina Folsom kennt, dem ist bewußt: Hier gibt es Qualität. Die gesamte Scanguards Serie ist voller Spannung (ohne in Horror abzugleiten), voller Erotik und in einem sehr guten Stil geschrieben. Das reinste Lesevergnügen und wirklich nur zu empfehlen. Es fällt schwer, das Buch wieder aus die Hand zu legen.

I am so enjoying my journey through this series - really well constructed

Diese Reihe ist einfach nur noch gut -Unbedingt der Reihe nach lesen, - sonst wird es etwas schwer verständlich.In jeden Teil kommen immer wieder neue "Scanguards" dazu, fast jeder taucht mal wo auf.Die Szenen sind der hammer - Black Dagger liebt, ist hiermit auf jeden Fall auch bedient

Wie bereits alle anderen Folgen einfach nur genial zu lesen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Freue mich schon jetzt auf neue Übersetzungen, die es bald hoffentlich gibt.