Night Rising by Chris Marie Green

Favorite Line: “As a kid who’d been raised in Hollyweird, she’d pretty much seen everything.” (p. 8 )

When Dawn Madison receives a phone call from her father’s P.I. associates, she reluctantly returns to Los Angeles to help search for him. It isn’t long before she finds herself at a “Black-Dahlia-dollhouse,” speaking to a blank television screen, while feeling extremely aroused.

Dawn shakes off her body’s craving for sex and begins investigating her father’s last known case with the help of a little person and a techy Lantina. She meets PI Matt Lonigan, a man full of secrets, and keeps feeling amorous. It isn’t long before Dawn learns monsters are real, and stars never die.

Book one in the Vampire Babylon series, Night Rising, is a fantasy published by Penguin. It isn’t new in many ways, because we already know vampires exist. But in other ways, new territory is being created by the different levels of darkness. The vampires are dark, but intelligent. They don’t call attention to themselves, yet still manage to instill fear and punish, without killing.

The shady side of the movie business is explored, issues of parents living life through their children are touched upon, and coming to terms with the past becomes imperative for all characters in Night Rising.

The story doesn’t end with the last page of the book though, as many plot lines travel into the second book of the series. It’s slightly aggravating, but the main plot is addressed sufficiently. My biggest dislike in the book was the need to insert sex inappropriately. I get that Dawn has “Daddy issues, “(don’t most of us?) but adding her sexual urges does little to help me get to know Dawn and her feelings.

It certainly didn’t make me more interested in the series. I don’t think any one thing hooked me on the series. I don’t feel a need or urgency to buy the next book. That said, I wouldn’t turn away the book if it were given to me or on sale.

Other reviews liked, disliked and were so-so about the book: The Dragon Page, Dear Author and Otherworld. What do you think?

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Fallen by Claire Delacroix

Favorite Lines: “Any individual within the geographic boundaries of the Republic, or any individual coming under the geographic boundaries of the Republic by dint of Republican expansion, will be evaluated to be a Sub-Human Atomic Deviant if any of the following criteria manifest in his or her physical person and the individual can be documented to have been exposed to radiation.” (ARC p. 16)

In the year 2099 the world has been decimated by nuclear war. The effects have mutated humans and their lifestyle drastically, creating a world of fanatics desperately trying to avoid mistakes made in the past.

Lilia Desjardins knows that her estranged husband, Gideon, was murdered, and is determined to find out why. Gid was a renowned statistician, who would have never miscalculated the amount of time he was exposed to radiation despite the official finding saying he had. A hic-cup in her plans appears after she has a run in with New Gotham Police Detective, Adam Montgomery.

Adam Montgomery is an angel. Well he was, before he agreed to be part of secret mission to earth that required the removal of his wings. He lives a secretive life on earth, with little memory of his heavenly life, in hopes of making a difference. It isn’t until his contact is murdered and his investigation leads him to the enigmatic Lilia Desjardins that he begins thinking of more than his distant heavenly memories.

Lilia has no way of knowing that she will soon be marked for murder, or that her broken heart will begin to heal, as it takes note of Adam. Adam will learn that earth offers temptation in the form of Lilia that rivals that of heaven. Both will discover that nothing is what it appears as the very still waters of the past are ravaged by the present.

Fallen is book one in Claire Delacroix, aka Deborah Cooke and Claire Cross, “new trilogy of dark fantasy romances, featuring fallen angel heroes, and set in a gritty urban future.” (Claire Delacroix) While it takes a different tone then her books written as Cooke, a huge theme stays the same: the environment.

People do horrible things to the environment. Two of the big questions that summarize the idea for the story (in my mind) are: if humans don’t change the way they treat the earth, what could happen? What would the fall out be?

We see the answer to both questions in Fallen, and the fate of humanity is appalling, yet believable. The path that humanity takes seems plausible, heartbreaking and extreme. It makes me sad (not crying sad), but gives me a quiet, horrible feeling. It makes me want the world I live in to be better, so that not one iota of the fictional world could possibly be valid.

The characters are wrapped in shadows. Even at the end, I didn’t quite know all there was to know about Lilia. Her past still had secrets (which was realistic), but I was satisfied by what Ms. Delacroix gave me.

Fallen introduces a new paranormal romance showcasing good vs. evil and angels vs. demons. It didn’t give me happy feelings, but I am glad to have read it. It’s a keeper for me that I’ll probably read once a year.

Fallen goes on sale Sept. 30, 2008.

I’m having that

kind of day. I stayed up late writing my review for Fallen by Claire Delacroix, but what did I do? I left my book at home, and just realized I forgot to enter my favorite line from the story. I always write that first, well before last night.

Tomorrow I’ll post Fallen, and Friday I’ll post Night Rising by Chris Marie Green. Thanks for your patience.

Scooper

Free snippets and e-books

Okay, it’s been awhile, but here goes. I’ve played around so you won’t have to and found a few free snippets of upcoming books and a free e-book.

Cliff Burns Of the Night

Jennifer Estep Jinxed

Sarah A. Hoyt Heart and Soul

Claire Delacroix Fallen

Robin D. Owens Heart Fate

Enjoy! I will. 🙂

National Bad Poetry Day

is today. So…. here goes.

I walked out of my room
turned and hit him with a broom.
“Faster,” I say.
“’tis not May.”

Your turn.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Favorite Lines: “There was a squeal against the window-someone deliberately scraping their steel nails across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine noise. I shuddered.” (p. 29)

Bella Swan is about get married, be turned into a vampire and never ever be 19. With her fiance, Edward, and her families planning an elaborate wedding, all she has to do is focus on getting married. That’s what she’s planned, but what she gets is something she never expected.

Meanwhile, Bella’s best friend Jacob is having issues. As a werewolf, he has a natural aversion to vampires, therefore Edward. Jacob is afraid of losing Bella and left (in wolf form) to run in the wild. It seems like nothing will bring him back, not with him knowing that Bella will be transforming into a vampire.

I wondered how Stephenie Meyer was going to wrap up all the different strands of Bella and Edward’s relationship and she didn’t disapoint. I see where other stories can come into play, but all the issues that were brought up in different books are resolved satisfactorily.

For me, this is a hard review to give without spoilers, so I’ll stick to the basics. Bella, Edward and Jacob are true to the people we met in Twilight. The world building has not changed and seems stronger, because it revisits different aspects and solidifies the world. The feud between the werewolves and vampires is looked at, the vampire rulers are faced, and a very personal grown-up issue between Edward and Bella is finaly addressed.

Breaking Dawn is sometimes painful to read (physically), but there is nowhere near the emotional turmoil that was reached in book New Moon. Enemies become comfortable together, and the “your enemies enemy is your friend” becomes true.

Read other reviews at Book Room Review, Teen Book Review, and Love Vampires.

Insatiable Desire by Rita Herron

Favorite Lines: “The deep shadows of the Smoky Mountains hid monsters. Beasts and evil that fed off the weak. Creatures not quite human.” (ARC p. 1)

Vincent Valtrez has bad blood. His blood is a darkness living inside of him, and allows him to find the worst serial killers. The darkness also brings bad thoughts. For Vincent, sex alleviates the primal, murderous thoughts that plague him, and has led him to create two rules about sex: always use a condom and never have it with the same woman twice.

Clarissa King is afraid of losing her mind. She is the child of a clairvoyant family and the daughter of a woman driven mad by the pleas from the dead. So when the ghosts of two local women visit her, Clarissa tells the Sheriff a serial killer is in their town. Instead of getting relief from the supernatural while she quests for justice on behalf of the women, she begins to hear more voices begging for help.

Vincent and Clarissa have no way to know that the killer and ghosts are all being driven by a demon. The demon is playing them like a fine tuned violin and is desperate to take souls, thereby earning a better position in Hell.

Insatiable Desire is book one in a new demon series (The Demonborn) that takes a slightly religious spin 0n the paranormal romance genre. It has demons and angels, the devil and ghosts. It also has hot sex and churches offering redemption.

The battle between good and evil began long ago for the characters in Insatiable Desire. As a child, both Vincent and Clarissa dealt with the dark side of life. Vincent had to live with an abusive, devil-worshiping father. Clarissa got stuck with the ability to lead lost souls to the light. Her powers bring the most traumatized of spirits to her, thus she sees terribly disfigured ghosts.

These ghost make sure that you never forget women are being killed in Insatiable Desire. Ms. Herron also did a good job disguising the killer. I had no idea (well until I read the page before the killer was identified) who was causing so much destruction.

The epilogue was something else though. I read it and had a WTF moment. I know that it’s propaganda for the series, but it came out of nowhere. Read it and come back. Tell me what you think about it. All I’ll say is that images from the television show Charmed popped into my mind.

Read another review at Darque Reviews, or watch the book trailer. Insatiable Desires goes on sale in September.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Favorite Lines: “Her wolf didn’t like seeing his unhappiness, wanted to bind him to her, to them, with chains of love until he could never think of leaving them again.” (p. 114)

Anna has survived being changed into a werewolf, losing her family and three years of abuse. Not expecting to survive after she calls the leader of North American werewolves, she is surprised when his enforcer, Charles Cornick, arrives and begins teaching instead of killing her. He tells her the many things her pack should have done long ago: she’s an Omega and therefore, exempt from regular pack structure.

She is not passive and has a calming effect on other werewolves. She is meant to be revered and cared for, but her former pack abused that privilege. The two discover that they’re wolves have chosen one another to mate shortly after they meet and Charles asks her to travel with him to his home in Montana. He is determined to show her that there is good in being a werewolf.

Not long after arriving in Montana, Charles and Anna are sent to investigate a rogue attacking humans. The couple is still getting to know one another, but their trust and belief in each other will lead them into a dangerous wilderness and an enemy they’ve never faced before.

I’ve been waiting for a year for Charles and Anna’s story to be published. When I met them in the On the Prowl anthology, I loved them. I loved Anna’s resolve to overcome the physical, sexual and emotional abuse her pack piled on her. Charles was different. I loved his strength, desire to protect and sensitivity. That didn’t change in Cry Wolf, which takes place within days of their meeting in Alpha and Omega.

The characters are complex and emotional, and despite their wolves agreeing to mate, have a long road ahead of them in terms of the humans relationship. They have inner turmoil and a killer stalking the wilderness to cope with. A grieving town, a jealous woman, a man begging for death and a sinister murderer, all converge on Anna and Charles in different manners. They add plot and depth to the main story (Charles and Anna).

My biggest issue with Cry Wolf is the introduction. I knew exactly what was going on, but those who haven’t read Alpha and Omega might be lost. Lost in the relationship, the extent of abuse, and the world of Brigg’s werewolves. It’s a world that began with the Mercy Thomas series, but has been extended to Anna.

If I had to limit myself to 10 authors, Patricia Briggs would definitely make the list. This will be a must follow series for me.

A holiday for

almost every day can be found online. Today is National Raspberry Creme Pie Day. Nobody knows who created it, but there it is. Go get a slice of pie!