3.5 StarsWe met Martha in Eve of Samhain. She came across as the freaky, anti-social weirdo roommate. Not much has changed since except that Martha now has two new roommates and she's a little less on the anti-social side. Martha is a witch and she likes kicking butt and taking names. She fights the bad guys - vampires, demons. She has a grudge and a chip on her shoulder that won't go away until every blood-sucking vamp is toast!I was super curious about Martha when I read Eve of Samhain and was super excited when I found out that she was going to have her own book. Martha's voice in Pleasures Untold took getting used to. I felt that her snarkiness and self-deprecating humor came off as a little forced and a bit much. Martha is very introverted and is used to living her life in the shadows. She uses the snarkiness to keep people at a distance. But I would hope that she would be a little more open with her roommates. As it happens, she does finally open and let herself be vulnerable. We find out secrets from Martha's past that are shocking and gives insight into the person she has become.The one thing Martha does not anticipate is falling for sexy, latin, bartender Xan. Rawr! Martha isn't your typical boy crazy 21 year old college student. But there's something about Xan that makes her quiver. Her attraction to him is instantaneous. When she discovers that he's a vamp, one of the creatures that she vows to kill, the attraction doesn't fade. Xan isn't like most vamps and it has Martha questioning everything that she knows.Pleasures Untold started off slow for me but has the plot developed and the pace picked up, I was engrossed in the story. It took me awhile to get used to Martha's voice. The snarkiness and self-deprecation was a little off-putting. I wanted to shake Martha. She is so strong and confident when she's fighting but when it comes to personal stuff, like her appearance and her "lack" of attractiveness, she is so down on herself and with no self-esteem. I had to continually remind myself that Martha is not all fluff and light. This was Martha's personality so I went with it. She has issues that she needs to work through. As Martha opens up more to her roommates and Xan, we see a more softer, gentler Martha who can still kick ass! Martha had plenty of great one-liners throughout the book that reminded me Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Pleasures Untold definitely had more heat than Eve of Samhain. There were plenty of plot twists and surprises that kept the story interesting. I loved the building relationship between Martha and Xan. And also her relationship with her roommates. Pleasures Untold ended with some things left unsettled which hopefully will be resolved in the next book. I can't wait!
