Musing Bookworm

Review originally posted on Musing of a Bookworm Can Gabriel ever be redeemed for the sins of his past? Or is he doomed to forever walk the circles of his own personal hell?Sylvain Reynard has skillfully used the inspiration of Inferno, the first chapter of the 14th century epic poem La Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri, as a starting point for both characterisation and storyline in this beautifully crafted story of love lost, found and fought for.Gabriel takes the role of Dante. Gabriel has created his own personal hell, constructed from his past failings and errors. He must traverse his seven circles of Inferno without Virgil as a guide. He punishes himself by keeping himself apart from his adopted family and has few friends. Gabriel has perfected the art of objectifying himself and others, unable to give or take love from anyone. It’s not until he meets his own personal Beatrice, Julianne.Julianne has loved Gabriel since she was a teenage girl, best friends with his adopted baby sister. Their one meeting changed her life forever, becoming the very example of her idea of perfect love. Gabriel inspired her choice of career and he can’t remember her at all. Julianne has been through her own hell, and now she must go through the heart break of watching her first and only love not remember her, and actively dislike her.Reynard prose is elegant and emotive, bringing to mind the writing of Anne Rice and Colleen McCullough in its style. The characters have intricate backstories which allows the reader to become truly immersed in the romantic tale.I loved the character development in this tale. Honestly, I found Julianne’s character insipid and weak at first. I truly disliked her until she become more confident in herself storms out of his apartment, then argues with him in class. That’s when I found something to identify with the characters.Sylvain Reynard has crafted a story of love, hardship, personal growth and overcoming obstacles which draws a reader in with the intelligent prose and artfully constructed characters.Go out and buy this book now! You won’t regret it. I couldn’t put it down. And its the first in a series. YAY!

This review was originally published on Musing of a BookwormOne With the Night by Susan Squires is part of The Companion series of books.In the wild Scottish highlands of the 1822, Jane Bludell fights an infection in her blood. Jane has been infected with Vampirism. It gives her strength that terrifies her. Her senses of sight, smell and hearing are magnified to a phenomenal level, but she must remove herself from the world of sunlight and food will no longer sustain her on its own. She must have blood. Jane knows many things, she is an accomplished midwife and sees herself as a scientist, but she has no idea HOW to be a vampire!Jane’s father is Dr Blundell, a noted research doctor in London was developing the methods of blood transfusion. Through accident, a blood sample in his laboratory (infected with vampirism) breaks and Jane comes in contact with the blood and it infects her. Dr Blundell is diverted from his transfusion work to search for a cure to his daughter’s “illness”. He takes her to Scotland, with the hope of keeping her safe and continuing his search for the illusive cure.Callan Kilkenny, has escaped the clutches of a beautiful but depraved and evil vampire. Filled with self-loathing for the crimes he has been forced to commit, he goes in search of Dr Blundell and his cure, in the hopes the he can be changed back to human and if not return to his former life then at least leave the immortal one that he hates.As Callan approaches the Blundell’s farm house, he feels the presence of another vampire. He comes to the rescue of Jane and her father as a “born vampire” attempts to destroy the Blundell’s laboratory. Callan is injured and it is not till he awakes that he realises that Jane is a new vampire with no concept of what that means. He decides to stay and protect the Blundell’s in exchange for the cure – though he will be tempted daily by Jane’s mere presence.Squires has created an in-depth vampire world, hidden inside historical Europe. There are two types of Vampires – those “born” and those “bitten”. The born vampires feel that they are the pure race and that the bitten vampires should be killed. The story eludes to complex politics within the born vampire society (which I assume is more fully explained in other novels in the Companion series) which leads to the born vampires wanting to eliminate Dr Blundell and the cure. This is the one of the first sources of conflict you meet in the novel and is a continuous vein weaving through the storyline. This gives a solid grounding to the narrative allows the Squires to make many twists and turns throughout her story line. The first conflict the reader is faces is that between the character Jane and the vampire “illness” in her blood. Jane wants to help those around her, particularly those in need of medical assistances such as women in labour, but the vampire side of her thirsts for blood, power and sexual release. In his world, the person is not transformed into a vampire, but they are infected with a vampire “in their blood”. It is a separate entity that lures them to make love and create new life. It is a symbiotic relationship where the host feeds the vampire in their blood with human blood and it pays them back with strength, speed, extra sensory power. However, it does not take over the host. The host make call on it to give them more power – allowing them to travel through space via translocation.Jane is a women of her time, and though she has experiences the physical elements of sex (purely scientifically and so she could help women in need) she has no understanding of passion or physical need. When Callan comes into her world she is suddenly possessed with a need to make love to him. Her body responds to him immediately, at first sight she has “heat between her thighs” and thinks of “the wetness” growing there. Callan explains to Jane that this is their “Companions” want them to procreate and that is why her body is crying out for his. They fight the urge as hard as they can. Can you say HOT love scenes? Delicious.The issue of “compulsion” is also used in this world, compulsion being a force that a vampire can use on humans or younger, weaker vampires to make them do their will. This is used both for good but mostly for evil in this world. The hero and heroine in this novel are breath taking. Jane is a girl far to strong for her era, which make me love her. Historical romance is not one of my most favourite genres but Squires uses a strong willed heroine which made me love the character. She is flawed and sometime naïve, but her intelligence, wit and strength of personality saves her from being a simpering damsel in distress, which I utterly despise. Instead, I identified with Jane’s need to be accepted for who she is and all she has to offer in a male dominated world.Callan is scared and battered from his human life as well as his treatment as a young vampire. My heart utterly bled for the suffering he experienced. This sensitivity, which the other characters do not see until later in the narrative, juxtaposed with his strength as a vampire and as a rough and ready Scot/Irish man creates a man that you fall in love with. The brogue the Squires attributes him is at first hard to read, but once I got the hang of the sounds (in my head) I was just WISHING for my husband to call me “lass”. Who doesn’t love a man with an accent, I ask you?This book was a marvellous read. I am now searching for copies of the rest of the series so I can read more. I highly recommend you give One With The Night by Susan Squires a go. You won’t be sorry!

This review was originally published on Musing of a BookwormSo, we all KNOW that vampires exist. They are ridiculously gorgeous (Erik Northman, Angel, and Lestat de Lioncourt to name a few). They have incredible skills of immense speed, super strength, mind control and they can READ YOUR THOUGHTS. Add to that some alluring eyes and old school manners and you have some serious hotness.They live for centuries, millennia, so they must be more mature and interesting then the local boys, right? Buffy and True Blood have shown us that a relationship can be had with the Undead or Supernatural lover, but what does a girl do when the neck nibbles become more neck BITES?Claire Hooper steps into the breach with her one of a kind instruction manual Love Bites – 101 Tips for Dating Guys with Fangs. She helps the girls who help themselves to the men of night by providing simple to follow guidelines and answers questions at the tip of all Vamp loving chicks, such as′I know vampires are really into virgins. Can I just tell him I am one? Or will he read my mind and find out the truth? ′and‘If, like you say, he′s watching me when I sleep, does that mean he′s watching me when I pee? ′Then, of course, how to wean your new love off “the hard stuff” (AKA Human Blood), moving in together, what to do when his mates come to visit and, the eternal life question, will you take the big step – In Undeath Do We Never Part?Truth be told, I was a little disappointed with this book. For some reason I had the impression that this was a novel, when it is in fact 101 chapters of how to lure and keep a vampire babe. That being said, it is cute idea though I do not think it was executed in the best way.Each chapter is between one and two pages and each answers one of the “101 Tips”. Hooper draws from many different vampire worlds, including Buffy, True Blood and Twilight to give her advise on surviving the attentions of your vampire boy. I found it very hard to get drawn into this model of writing – It was disjointed and not as addictive as a prose novel. That being said, there are some rather witty sections for those who don’t take their vampire love (or Robert Patterson) too seriously. WARNING TO TWIHARDS – Not your deal, run away.Claire Hooper is a well-known Australian Comedian (well-known in Australia, anyway). She stars as a team leader on Network Ten’s Good News Week as well as a weekday morning show host of Sydney Radio Station Mix 106.5. Hooper has also starred in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Great Debate (2007). When reading a book written by a comedian, you need to be ready for a bit of satire, which you do find in Love Bites but I would have loved a bit more. Overall, I found the book a little dull. Not satirical enough to be truly comedic, not serious enough to be taken has a handbook on Vampiric fiction and not engrossing enough for me to read again. Glimpses of greatness can be found but they are not chased through to their potential and you are left with a feeling of being unsatisfied.Ok for a quick read, on a short flight perhaps, or perhaps for a Vampire obsessed teenager, but lovers of paranormal romance should stay away.

This review was originally published on Musing of a BookwormSet at the Calgary Stampede, Stampede Fever is about two people who meet through a friend, but their only contact for many years has been through emails.Stacey knows a lot about Daniel through their correspondence, which quickly became friendly and spills into her personal life. Daniel is very interested in Stacey and is hoping she will feel the same about him.Winter has done a wonderful job with this short story. The characters are interesting and there are suggestions of complexity. They only complaint I have is that it is not long enough! I want to know more about Stacey’s best friend, what does her boss decide to do and I feel like the ending wasn’t really an ending of a story but then ending of a chapter.Anya, please can I have some more!?A lovely read

This review was originally published on Musing of a Bookworm Can True Love be found online?Meet Elizabeth (Beth) Mason. She runs a successful bakery in Stamford, New York call Decedent Dreams. Beth spends all of her time working at the bakery and has no time to play housewife. This leads to the breakdown of her relationship. Rather than waste her time with another man, Beth decides that she needs a less traditional way to date. She finds ‘A Foreign Affair’ – a website catering to online dating for people living in different countries.Also looking for love is Yuri, a nightclub manager from Belarus. His best friend and roommate, Nik, has recently lost his father to illness and now his mother has cancer. Looking to get away from the reality of day to day life, after the nightclub he runs burns down, he too turns to online dating to fill the void left in his life.To be absolutely honest, I found this book very difficult to read. The editing process appears to have been skipped all together, with some parts of the text reading like it has been translated from Japanese using Google. The syntax is all over the place, as is the pacing. In some sections entire words have been left out, leaving the reader to assume what the writer was trying to say.The characters in this story have a lot of potential but no spark. I can see where the writer was trying to head with them, but it doesn’t feel authentic. There is no chemistry between the key players or their supporting staff. I was tempted on several occasions to relegate this book to the Did Not Finish (DNF) pile. This is really unfortunate, because I think with a few more edits and work, the story really could work. It is missing some very key elements though.The most integral element missing for me is how the story gets to the Happily Ever After (HEA). It all seems to contrived and there is no organic growth of the characters to get them to the ending point.Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with this book. The author has talent, but needs to spend more time on the editing process and solidifying their characterisations and development of narrative.

This review was originally published on Musing of a BookwormThe first in The Guardian series (not including the novella Falling for Anthony), Demon Angel introduces a reader to the War between Heaven and Hell over earth and the souls of the humans living on it.The tale starts in Medieval England with a young knight, Sir Hugh. On his way home from two years protecting his Lords child bride in France, he meets Lilith at some roman ruins close to his destination after investigating a mysterious flash of movement. There is an instant attraction between them, though they both fight it. Lilith because she is bound by a bargain with Lucifer and part demon, Hugh fights because it goes against his morals and code of conduct.Hugh discovers Lilith is a demon when he sees her turn to attack his mentor, Sir George and then has the truth revealed to him about Angels, Demons and Guardians. Hugh’s mentor is actually the leader of The Guardians, Michael. When Hugh dies while protecting another from a Demon’s influence, Michael makes him a Guardian to continue to protect mankind from evil influences.After Hugh becomes a Guardian, he and Lilith spend hundreds of years fighting each other, fighting evil and fighting their sexual attraction for each other.Now in present day San Francisco, they must fight together to avert the turning of the war and ultimate evil. I won’t go anyfurther in the story line, because I would hate to destroy the twists and surprices. Lets just say that there is love lost, guilt, punishment, unlikely friendships, love rediscovered, forgiveness, symbols to be decifered, lies, truth, betrayal and trust.I have to say, I am a HUGE fan of Meljean Brook’s series. The world is so detailed and has very defined rules that allow the reader to become submerged in the storyline and the characters.And what great characters. Lilith has to be a favourite of mine. She is smart, sassy, strong and sarcastic (a lot of “S” words). The best part is that Brook is able to show this side of the character but still include the humanizing vulnerabilities. Lilith is totally badass but also very easy to identify with.Brook again uses dual personality with her hero, Hugh. Hugh’s vulnerabilities are also his strengths. He’s need to help Lilith and moral compass are his motivation, which seem to make him soft but his centre is toughened steel. He has the strength to hold up Lilith when she needs support and deny himself what his heart desires (and his body!).Colin is as vain as they come. He bemoans the cost of feeding Lilith’s dog but does not hesitate to spend a fortune on clothes. The sparing between Lilith and Colin is hilarious, empty threats and sarcastic flattery. It is witty, clever and tinged with their loving friendship.However, my most favourite character in this book is a sideline character – and he isn’t human. Sir Pup is a Hellhound. Brook imbues Pup with such human emotions and responses. I often laugh out loud at his antics. Yesterday I found this image and it immediately brought this character to mind!The love scenes are masterfully written. They are strong but loving. INCREDIBLY HOT. My Lord, are they hot. My husband found me to be quiet inspired while reading this book!Favourite Quotes from Demon AngelColin: ”Savitri Murray. What a delightfully mixed-up ethnicity you must have, and how delightfully foxed you must be to ring the wrong number at four in the morning. I must confess, I love nothing so much as exotic women who drink excessively.”“Beautiful? Sartorially exquisite? Witty? Aye, creatures such as I are a menace indeed.”Savi:“And now that I know you have ninja skills, I definitely don’t want you to be a psychopath.”Savi stood by Hugh, her head at the level of his shoulder. “He’s very handsome,” she murmured in Hindi. Colin glanced up, but the rapacious pleasure in his gaze turned to something painfully beleaguered when she added, “It’s too bad he’s gay.”Lilith:“If anyone but me knocks at your door, use it.” Pausing, she reconsidered. After their confrontation in the park, Hugh might seek out the vampire. “Unless it is He-Who-Shall-Not- Be-Named.”….. “Voldemort?”The hellhound gave an inquiring whine; Lilith glanced at him and shook her head. “You can’t eat her. We may need her later. No. Not even one bite.” She grinned at Colin, whose face had paled. “Obedience training. I don’t want him to forget he can’t eat human-shaped things while he’s on Earth.” Sir Pup waited for her; the odor of the park and Hugh lingered on his fur. He glared at her with four eyes, but refused to look at her at all from his middle head. She grinned. “I meant police officers. You didn’t really think he might be harassed by pigs?” She dumped a pile of dry dog food into the bathtub, promised she’d bring bacon to Colin’s house for his dinner, changed into her suit and ran out the door. Her eyes gleamed with amusement. “Have you seen what happens if pure hellhound venom gets into a demon? It paralyzes them. Think how easy it would be to pose you for photos then. I’ll probably keep a few for my own enjoyment; you’re both so handsome.”“I want to be on top,” Hugh said.She stared at him a moment, then shook her head and burst into laughter. “Good, because we are completely out of condoms.” When he frowned, she said, “Idiot, just because we are settling down you think we want a kid? We already have Colin.”Hugh choked on his laugh. “Sir Pup. Savi.”“We are doomed,” Michael said and disappeared.Hugh:She quickly wound her hair into a coil. “Can I drive?”“Not a chance.” He slung his leg over the back of the bike, patted the seat behind him. “I’ve seen you fly.” Hugh slanted an amused glance down at Sir Pup. “Why is it that she’s so determined to put me in a sexual situation with another man?” He caught her look and raised a brow. “I’ll do it, if it makes you happy.” “Michael said the same thing: that there is naught to do but fight,” he said, and laughed when she made a sound of dismay. She closed her eyes, grateful he’d let her escape into humor. “Shit. The next time I sound like him, stab me.” Demon Angel is a fabulous book with intensive characters and some sizzling love scenes. Easily one of my favourite authors, reading any of Meljean’s novels is well worth the time and money well spent.

I love how badass this heroine is. She doesn't take attitude from any of the characters, especially the hero. But she doesn't ride rough-shoes over him, either. She's sensitive to his past hurts. Sherri does a great job of showing the conflict in the hero. He doesn't want to torture people, he's been tortured. But he's trying to avoid being tortured again. Read this in a couple of hours. Epic goodness. Highly recommend.

This review was originally published on Musing of a Bookworm Part of the ‘Wings in the Night’ series, Twilight Prophecy follows Lucy Lanfair, archaeologist and Professor of Ancient Sumerian culture and written language and her introduction to the World of Vampires. Her Hero is James William (J.W) Poe, part human and part vampire and totally confused about his purpose in life.James is a twin and with his sister, Bridget, believes that the two of them are the only thing that stands between their people and the annihilation of the Vampire species. According to an ancient prophecy, from Ancient Sumer, the twins;“The Two who are opposite And yet the same, One light, one dark,One the destroyer.One the salvation” 1.James, believed to be the “light” twin or “the good one” has the power to heal and to bring back to life. Bridget is “the bad one” or the “dark” and holds the power to utterly destroy.Lucy and James cross paths when Lucy witnesses the shooting of a former Department of Paranormal Investigations (DPI) officer on national television before he has the chance to reveal the vampires to the world in a tell all book. James comes to her aid when he senses the “Belladonna Antigen” in Lucy’s blood. In Maggie Shayne’s vampire world, only those humans who possess this antigen can ever be changed into vampires and all vampires have an overriding physical imperative to protect those with it.Through kidnapping, danger and experimentation, Lucy and James set off to conquer the mistrust of human kind and the danger that they awaken.I found the first third of this novel very hard to get into. The pace is lacking and I was not drawn into the story as much as I would have liked. Obviously, this part of a novel is used to set the scene and introduce a reader to the existing history but I did not find myself compelled to become acquainted with this world. However, after the hard slog of the first third, I could not drag myself away from this book. My husband had to become very strict with me at midnight and make me turn out the light!The protagonists lacked some depth and I would have liked to have more insight into their internal struggles with the moral issues that Shayne brings up in the book. I personally enjoy characters who have strong personalities, those like Rhiannon and Gilgamesh/Damien in this book, which may have coloured my opinions here.I have to say that certain imagery in the book was a little off-putting, though it was very was easy to see in the mind’s eye.“…and he squeezed the tiny bump like a blackhead. It popped like one, too,…”2Can you say, ew!?Though the latest in the ‘Wings of the Night’ series, ‘Twilight Prophecy’ works well as a stand alone text – thought it will entice you to read its predecessors!I was a little disappointed with the ending – it felt rushed, as though Shayne had to edit out a scene or two. That being said, I am waiting in anticipation for the follow on novel, Twilight Fulfilled , out October 2011.In all, Twilight Prophecy by is an enjoyable read.

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Review originally shown on Musing of a Bookworm A man from another galaxy, choosing to stay on earth after being wronged. A women left by her childhood sweetheart and unable to have children. Thrown together through a dating agency specializing in one night stands. A strange premise for a romance short story.Firstly, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't read many sci-fi romances and perhaps this has colored my views. Like other reviewers (see below) I have found it very hard to elsborate on opinions here so as not to spoil the story for others. It is a lovely short novella (perfect for your lunch-break) so key details are difficult to avoid!There where many elements in this story which, when put together, should make a lovely story. But they did not gel for me. I found the premise of a "one night only guarantee" to force an element of conflict. The description of the hero's manly area just didn't it for me.Celestial Seduction had the elements of a good read but didn't really float my boat.