Archive for December, 2009
Vampire Book Review: Jane Bites Back
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The story begins with a modern day Jane Austen – now known as Jane Fairfax – running a bookstore in a small university town in New York State. She’s a vampire, having been turned by a handsome stranger back in the 1800’s and she’s spent the last 150 years keeping her identity a secret, while trying to get a new book published. Needless to say she’s not been successful with that endeavor. However to add insult to injury, since she now owns a bookstore, she sees firsthand how other writers are profiting by using her characters in unauthorized sequels and spin-offs of her work. As you can imagine, she’s not too happy about this.
However she does have a few admirers of the male persuasion. The scandalous Lord Byron, the person responsible for turning her into a vampire, wants to court her. And a local friend and widower Walter Fletcher, makes it clear he’d like to spend more time with her.
And then finally, after hundreds of rejection letters (remember, she’s been submitting this manuscript for decades) she finally connects with a publisher who’s interested. And that’s when the excitement begins. Jane is suddenly thrust into the whirlwind world of celebrity authors where book signings, interviews and talk show appearances prevail. But that’s not the only attention her sudden fame brings her; an old rival begins stalking her and a dead body turns up in her hotel room during her book tour.
With a crazy poet declaring his love for her and her need to “come clean” and tell Walter about her vampire lifestyle, not to mention the stalker problem which threatens the safety of those around her, it’s no wonder that Jane feels overwhelmed and a bit desperate to live a normal and peaceful life.
What will Jane choose – the secretive vampire lifestyle or risk exposing herself to the humans closest to her in an attempt to save their lives? You’ll have to read it to find out . . .
Jane Bites Back just went on sale this week at Amazon. Check it out to find out how Jane deals with her problems – and learn the secret identity of the stalker!
Fantasy Book Review – Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy
Posted by: | CommentsCoyote Dreams
The main character, Joanne Walker, a.k.a. Siobbhan Walkingstick, is a shaman who does most of her work in the astral plane and most of her communications through dreams. A good bit of the story occurs in visions interacting with mystical guides such as the raven, the coyote, and other American Indian legends.
Joanne is a tough Seattle police woman who has reluctantly discovered that her healing powers are needed again when a good portion of the police department fails to show up for work. It appears that they have all gone to sleep and no one is able to wake them up. Using her powers as a shaman, Joanne realizes the sleepers are being slowly drained of their life forces by some parasitic type of magic. As her investigation progresses, she realizes she’s the source of the coma problem and she’s got to move fast to save her friends, her fellow officers–and eventually, the world.
The character of Joanne is well developed and it’s enjoyable getting to know her in the book. She’s tough and vulnerable at the same time and I like that combination in a female lead character. All of the male characters are described as good looking, except perhaps Gary, a friend of hers, who is a good bit older than the other characters. But even he is compared to Sean Connery by Joanne, and that makes him pretty good looking to me. The nice thing about the male characters in the book is that they are intriguing, they all have a ‘real’ personality, and they engage your interest as one tries to evaluate their romantic potential for ending up with Joanne.
If you’ve read previous entries in this fantasy book series you know that Joanne has a love/hate relationship with her boss. I’ll bet you’re wondering if anything comes to fruition in this book . . . let’s just say that anything can happen in dreams. And, like in dreams, when you wake up you wonder “did this really happen”? You’ll have to read this one to find out!
This fantasy book was a change of pace for me. The use of dreams as the communication path gives you a different approach to the urban fantasy novel. Joanne spends about half of the book in some kind of trance giving wonderful descriptions of her dream world which makes you want to be there as well. C. E. Murphy provides us with a unique setting that you are happy to jump into, postponing your own dream world as needed, in order to finish her novel. Check it out at online retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Note: this book is also suitable for young adult readers.
Vampire Book Review – Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready
Posted by: | CommentsBad To The Bone
You see, WVMP’s radio broadcasts are being overridden by a religious radio station whenever music by female artists is played. When Ciara takes it upon herself to find the infiltrators she soon realizes that solving this mystery is more difficult than she’d originally thought. To discover the source of the treachery she ends up going undercover by joining a weird vampire victims support group.
On top of that, Ciara has to juggle finding extra time to complete her college work, deal with her own personal problems and take care of a stray vampire dog named Dexter. And although fitting together the pieces of the puzzle proves to be a pain-staking (sorry) process Ciara is up to the challenge. Ciara’s adventures provide a perfect combination of mystery, suspense and humor to make the plot fun and interesting to follow.
With elements like shady government agencies thrown into the mix this book is full of wonderful twists and turns. All in all, Bad To The Bone is thoroughly engaging and a refreshingly cliche-free addition to the vampire book genre.
Let me put it this way: I just purchased a Kindle as a holiday gift to myself. I’ve been trying to decide on the one book that will be My First Ever Kindle Book Purchase. Bad To The Bone just won that distinction.
This is a solid read for fantasy book lovers, vampire enthusiasts (we know who you are) and mystery fans alike.
Check it out guys.
Fantasy Book Review of Vampire Sunrise
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Carole Nelson Douglas has written the third installment in her Delilah Street: Paranormal Investigator series and I am thrilled to say – it does not disappoint.
Her latest novel, Vampire Sunrise, once again features strong, smart, vintage clothing fashionista Delilah Street as she continues to work to find her doppelganger named Lilith while also planning to take revenge on the evil Egyptian vampires who nearly killed her boyfriend, Ric. On top of all this, she is learning about new powers that have developed after receiving a Brimstone Kiss – the kiss that puts women into an orgasmic frenzy – from the mysterious rock star, Snow.
This book starts out with Delilah struggling with the aftermath of saving Ric from certain death at the hands of two psychotic vampire pharaohs who live under a popular Las Vegas casino. She made a bargain with Snow to save her man – earning her a Brimstone Kiss – and that bargain is going to have strange consequences that make themselves known as the story unwinds. With Ric lying in a coma in the bridal suite in Snow’s casino, Delilah racks her brains on how to help him. Realizing that her new powers can bring Ric back, she sets about reviving him, not realizing until it’s to late that Snow has to bear the burden when she uses those powers….what revenge will he inflict on Delilah for her actions? It likely won’t be another kiss…
With Ric back in fighting form, Delilah and Quicksilver – her dedicated and spookily sentient hound – decide to exact revenge on the two evil pharaohs who kidnapped not just Ric, but who also abduct tourists from the Strip and keep them in pits as blood slaves. Along the way they team up with some unusual partners – from werewolves to daylight vampires to magicians – as they work to extinguish a sinister underworld that wants to make slaves of them all.
The almost staccato-like style of Ms. Douglas’ writing keeps you engaged and entertained. She makes a lot of pop culture as well as vintage movie references that fit in perfectly with Delilah’s unique style. I haven’t read another mystery quite like this one, the paranormal element keeps it new and fresh, yet Delilah is still solving a good, old-fashioned mystery. Additionally, questions about the true identity of her parents and information on the mysterious twin who revealed itself in the first book are addressed. But you’ll have to read the book to get the answers!
As I continue reading the books in the serious I continue to develop respect for Delilah. Her street smarts, intelligence and self-assurance make her a female heroine that you’re sure to love. You can read more reviews of Vampire Sunrise here.
Fantasy Book Review – Playing With Fire by Katie MacAlister
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Just when I thought that I had read at least one book containing every type of supernatural being that an author’s imagination could create, I find a new book with a great new storyline. Playing with Fire (Silver Dragons, Book 1) by Katie MacAlister is a great new other-earthly fantasy romance series that you will really enjoy. The main character, May Northcott, is a doppelganger created by a water nymph named Cyrene. May is Cyrene’s exact twin in all ways except she’s not a water nymph. However, she can slip into the shadow world and go past barriers that other beings can’t get through.
All of this was orchestrated by none other than Cyrene herself; she’s the one who decided to make a copy of herself. Why? So she could be a better thief. Yes, Cyrene created May so she could do a better job stealing things.
Of course, in order to do this, Cyrene had to summon a demon lord and give up one of her personality traits; the crazy girl ended up giving up her common sense! Had she not sacrificed this trait she might have realized that Magoth, the demon lord, planned to bind May to him as a slave forever. Yes, Magoth was ecstatic to get a thief bound to him who could retrieve some of the items needed to ensure his return to earth. He also wants to persuade (and seduce) May into being a slave to other (ahem) things. Alas, since Magoth is pretty good looking, May finds it hard to resist him.
So May becomes a thief for Magoth and we enter the story when May is trying to rob an important essence from a powerful mage and, by accident, ends up robbing him of his most powerful essence, which he’ll do anything to get back. He hires every bounty hunter available to find her which puts May on the run. She actually wants to return the essence in the hopes that he’ll drop the chase for her.
However Magoth has no sympathy for her situation and immediately sends her out on another mission. This time she’s not so successful. Or maybe she is.
You see, May gets caught by a dragon, and not just any dragon. She gets caught by Gabriel, an extremely handsome and sexy silver dragon ruler. He and the other silver dragons in his sept (think pack) are trying to find an important dragon relic. When he realizes he’s captured a thief he knows exactly how to use her; he’ll have her find and steal back the relic.
However his plan backfires a bit because the minute he touches her, he’s consumed with desire. Gabriel soon realizes that May is his life mate, someone who he can touch without causing them to burn. Oh, one thing about the dragons in this book; they have 2 forms, a human form (a gorgeous human form) and their animal/dragon form. For convenience purposes dragons default to their human forms.
Okay, let’s recap the problems that May is now facing:
- she’s got to figure out a way to gain her freedom from Magoth;
- she needs to avoid the bounty hunters who’re tracking her;
- she needs to prevent Gabriel (who she really likes) from burning everyone and everything that he believes poses a threat to her;
- she needs to save her “no common sense” twin Ceylon from blackmailers.
As you can imagine there’s a ton of action in this book. Not to mention the really hot sex between May and Gabriel. Additionally, the relationship between May and her twin Ceylon is entertaining and funny to read about. Together they don’t let anyone get the best of them; they also have a witty answer for every situation they encounter. In summation, this book has something for everyone: action, sex, adventure, sex, suspense, sex, and oh yeah, hot sex.
The end of the novel left me hanging so I’m thrilled to know that Katie MacAlister has the sequel already out, ready for my next visit to Amazon. And ready for me to purchase both books for the holiday for a friend of mine!
