Mosquito District (Mosquito District #1) by Leona Bentley - Review, Excerpt and Giveaway



Mosquito District is dark and well written. Felt like a post apocalyptic vibe.

From the blurb:

Lee is a jaded young man living in a district owned and overseen almost exclusively by vampires.When he mouths off to one of their flunkies, his life loses all of its carefully constructed order. 

His next shift at the library where he works brings Ira, a millennia-old vampire who is new to that part of the world and looking for answers that Lee just might be able to help uncover—if they can learn to trust one another.




Janet's Review:

Mosquito District was a dark and well written, with great world building. It felt apocalyptic. 

Liam works in a library in a world that is overrun and controlled by vampires. He lives in a bug invested home with his brother and brother’s girlfriend. He calls the vampires mosquitos and has a passionate dislike for them. 

Ira is an old vampire that Liam mouths off to. Every time Liam mouthed off, I thought, “Ohh no, here it goes.” I loved Liam’s sass and snark! Ira thinks that Liam can help him find answers to something…. 

You’ll have to read it. Overall, this is a good read.

Rating: 4 Stars



Angel's Review:

Where do I start? This book is about Liam, who works at a library and also lives in a bug infested apartment with his brother and his brother's girlfriend. He thinks all vampires are pests, so he calls all of them mosquitoes. He hates vampires, despises them. Until he meets Ira, Ira intrigues him and piques his interest. He can't get the vampire out of his head, especially not when Ira's so keeps causing problems. 

Ira is an old vampire. He has many followers and has been around for quite some time. His son stole from him long ago, that he could overlook, but killing those who were loyal to him was the last straw. Then going after his mate? Ira had to take care of that problem. 

I really enjoyed Liam's sarcasm and his snarky comments, despite being surrounded by vampires, he keeps giving them a hard time. His character was one I enjoyed but also wanted to ask "what on earth are you doing?". It's almost like he had a death wish at times, but I also enjoyed that. Ira kept calling Liam his Wyrm, which I thought was cute. The action scenes were really detailed, and the writing was good. I personally just had a difficult time getting into this story. I felt like it was really slow going. And I'm not sure if this is going to be a series, but it leaves a lot of things unfinished. In the story Ira mentioned making Liam his completely, but then it wasn't brought back up again. Same with the vague mentions of Ira's other kids, it was mentioned, but we didn't get much information. 

Despite that I did enjoy the overall read it just didn't blow me away. I still recommend this though. Especially if you want a unique take on vampires. 

Rating 3.5 Stars


Mosquito District is available to buy as an ebook wide.


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Excerpt

Mosquito District
Leona Bentley © 2022
All Rights Reserved

I felt like a fly with nowhere to land, buzzing in ceaseless circles with no bright light to syphon me to a sudden end. The entire district was a cesspit where the dregs of the city huddled in vermin-ridden homes, cursing each salvaged day. Our ruling masters would bleed us dry eventually. When they moved on, the vermin and insects vying for what we’ve hollowed out would end up the victors.

Like survived best with like, after all, and we had a serious mosquito problem.

I clenched my free hand into a fist beneath my desk, pointedly refusing to acknowledge the mosquito looming impatiently across from me. As a night-shift librarian I was somewhat used to his type, but that didn’t endear them to me. Always so self-important, they all believed in their right to muck up our mandated schedule whenever it suited their fancy. Longevity was likely the culprit there.

Frigging vampires.

Ross quit—I jotted down, knuckles white around my pen. I tried to look busy, hoping to create the appearance that he was a minor inconvenience at best—I’m leaving his keys for Joan in the broken cupboard. I took my time dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s, delaying as best I could. Finally, I gave in to the inevitable and looked up again.

Yep. There and still seething.

“Is there something else?” I asked with faux politeness. An itty-bitty part of me really enjoyed the way his jaw twitched.

“Get me the documents.”

“No,” I repeated flatly. I’d told him the same thing when he first made his demand. He could likely hear my fear pumping through my veins, but hopefully he’d take that for anger. The last two years of practice, dealing with these insects had greatly improved my facial control. Plus, I honestly felt no sympathy for his impatience. “Like I said, we close in fifteen minutes. There isn’t time to get your list pulled. Leave it with me. If you come back tomorrow night, we should have everything set aside for you.”

And that would only be possible after our day staff put in several hours digging through the basement archives. Seriously, not even one of the books he requested sat amongst our regular stock.

My third repetition of the facts didn’t work much of a charm—imagine my shock—the vampire across my desk might be aggressively set on getting his way, but he’d find me just as stubborn. I wasn’t about to break the rules and stick my neck out for any reason, no matter how snarly and intimidating said reason presented itself.

The beast flashed his teeth at me, dark lips curling to show the elongated incisors framing his pointed front teeth. “Confident you won’t have time?” he demanded again.

Nice. Considering the smooth, crisp look of the suit practically molded to his dark skin, I doubted he had much experience with humans getting in his way. That was too bad. Tonight could be a first for him, and hopefully it wouldn’t be my last, but when did my mouth ever show any concern for my safety?

“Not if your boss is to have his way,” I answered anyway. “You really want to tell me to break curfew and stick around? This isn’t a restaurant or bar, you know.” Both of which granted select employees passes stating they were permitted outside during the hours between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. “Get us some passes and maybe we’ll talk.”

Gooseflesh prickled up my arms at his answering snarl. I steeled my expression, focusing on the bridge of his nose—safe—and refusing to let the thudding of my heart show in my face or voice. He could likely tell anyway, what with those extra senses, but I’d be damned before I showed him my fear.

“I can point out the time you showed up here,” I added. His continued refusal to take my point wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “We have surveillance, and you walking corpses do show up on film, no matter what popular media says.”

The bastard snarled again before jerking his head sideways in a silent, sneering insult. Fine. I found him insulting, too. My hand curled over the pen, using it now as more of a stress ball than anything that hard and thin should ever be. I waited him out. One of us would have to give ground, and it wasn’t going to be me.

“Have the books pulled,” the mosquito finally snarled. “Hope, too, that my boss doesn’t take offense at the added wait.”

I shrugged, hiding behind more false bravado. “Come before closing next time,” I suggested. “If your boss wants them so badly then I doubt he meant for you to put off coming for them until this late.”

There, I’d hit a nerve.

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NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Leona Bentley grew up in a small village in the Canadian Maritimes. Windy autumn days are her favourites, especially once summer’s heat takes off and the leaves start to change. If she isn’t holding a pen then she probably has either a book or a cup of tea. Visit Leona's website.

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