Novelspot

With all the vampire stories, novels, movies, plays and even TV serials created over the years for the nosferatu connoisseur, I had finally come to the conclusion: They’re not just beating a dead horse here, but re-microwaving the meat. Seems I was a little too fast to draw that conclusion. So, you may ask, alright Laurie, what more can be done with the sexy allure of the vampire that’s not already been done to death - or undeath, if you will?

Author Marianne LaCroix breathes new life into gothic eroticism with Eternal Embrace, the prequel story to her Descendants of Darkness vampire series.

A visit to Paris is the least of Johann Wilhelm’s wishes. When the coven oracle explains that his destiny lies in this visit, Johann is not persuaded to turn his back on the familiar just to venture to a city that holds unhappy memories. Only a dream of Kira –called the Mistress of Midnight - holds the power of persuasion over Johann’s reservations.

The strong-willed Kira isn’t exactly thrilled when Johann shows up to claim her as his mate. But Johann’s debonair good looks and mesmeric personality eventually prove more powerful than any antagonism Kira indulges. Despite mutual reluctance, the pair find themselves physically drawn to one another. The mounting desire between them eventually ignites in a fireworks consummation. But there is more to add to this affair with the arrival of Johann’s attractive brother, Lucius. With his entrance and with the tempestuous events following, Kira is at last able to accept the destiny that is as much hers to bear as her lover’s.

Eternal Embrace is a short and passion-driven story. LaCroix has incorporated quality erotic content while imaginatively sustaining a very gothic mood. As a prelude story I thought the hints of conflicts and quandaries for the individual characters well conceived. The descriptive qualities are good, and the plot convincing. I am happy to report that the “pillow talk”, while sexy, was not totally enslaved to trite vulgarity, which I feel all too often turns contemporary erotica into just voyeuristic porn. This story was an enjoyable stand-alone title; but even better, it whetted my appetite to read more about the individual characters.

My final verdict: this story lived up to all genre expectations and delivered in spades! For readers looking for a scorching gothic story that will leave them hungering for more, Eternal Embrace is a sure-fire winner.

Reviewed by Laurie
©April 2007

Have you ever had something that was really small, but terribly annoying to you? Like something creeping across your skin, a watermark on the wall, or a minor mystery you just seem to obsess about? Well here is one that all starts innocently enough with a dirty stain on the Wallpaper of a house. Just a stupid stain except--it moves. No, not while you are looking at it, but when you are asleep. All proofs to document who did it, or why, come up nil. Until one night, a chopped off foot from well-set traps changed everything.

This story idea starts out with a first person point of view and carries it to the end; one that one can see from the first paragraph. It's not that the idea is a bad one or that it cannot be written into a suspenseful story, or one of satire, or even dark humor. The problem is that it rants and raves and goes basically nowhere. You get right away that the guy is losing his mind and loves the word "f**k" more than any other. You feel a bit sorry for the guy but by the third paragraph, have cease caring for him and I am really just reading to the end as if it were a high school assignment I had to finished.

So what is so bad about it? First of all, cussing can be used to bring out strong scenes and show powerful emotions like anger. But when it becomes a part of conversation, even if the character is someone who does it on a regular basis, it becomes a distraction. I find myself wondering if I should count the cuss words just for the fun of it. Then there is the time when the writer does include conversation that is not from the character, breaking the one-person point of view, which is the only strong point of the story. It's the one reason I gave this at least a two because first person is terribly difficult to carry through out an entire story. Instead of having the other characters that are after him speak, there should have been a continuing of the main and only speaking voice to describe what was being heard.

Wallpaper could have been a very well crafted story, if it were crafted enough. My vote: take it back, go over it with a good editor, and then try again.

Reviewed by Nancy Louise
© July 2007

Casket For Sale (Only Used Once) is the third book in Jeff Strand's Andrew Mayhem series, in which he mixes horror and comedy.

In an effort to become a more responsible person and a better father, the main character, Andrew Mayhem decides never to accept any more strange jobs from strange women in coffee shops, because the results are usually catastrophic. After refusing such an offer, he goes for a camping trip with his family and two friends. Then he decides not to ignore the warning of an old man, and they find themselves face to face with a group of psychopathic killers. They have no other option than to run for their lives and to fight if needed.

This is a twisted story with a lot of action, where the funny and the scary parts follow each other. The author is mixing genres, and the beginning of the story is a bit too light, considering the occasional excessive gore or the action movie-like parts that come later.

Strand creates some really likeable characters (Andrew, his wife Helen, the two kids, and the other couple), so you read through the whole book, rooting for them, hoping they will survive the trip. Casket For Sale (Only Used Once) is also enjoyable without knowing the previous books in the series Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) and Single White Psychopath Seeks Same.

Casket For Sale (Only Used Once) contains torture, murder and excessive gore at places, so it is not recommended for everybody. However, it is a hilarious book for those who like their reading sick.

Reviewed By Ilona Hegedus
© June 2007

Ever wonder what happens to well known celebrities who suddenly disappear off the face of the Earth? Some may have reached the end of the road after a series of box office flops. The world seems to have passed them by. Then there are others who, like Dylan Evers, who decide to take a pass on the world, to step out of the fast paced rat race.

Dylan Evers, the “bad boy” tabloid star is tired. He’s tired of fame, tired of his infamy and just plain tired of being a celebrity. After the death of a close associate, he decides to take a break by buying a personal island. All he wants to do is be alone. His aloneness allows him time to walk the beach, dive and self-reflect. He’s so much into self-reflection that he has no contact with the outside world. His only link is a supply boat that shows up every two months on schedule. No phone, no television, no touch with any human until the boat wreck that flings two beautiful females onto his personal beach.

Avril Towers, a copper-haired reporter, is staking everything on getting a coveted interview with Dylan Evers. The problem is that he disappeared, but Avril is hot on his trail. She bribes the desk clerk for information on the elusive Dylan. A hot tip leads her to the dock in search of a man named Ramirez. Instead, she meets his dark-eyed daughter, Seville, who agrees to transport Avril to Dylan’s island after being tricked by Avril. The trip ends with the boat wreck, casting the two on the beach. The first thing Avril sees is a buff, nude Dylan walking towards her. Could life get any better?

Seville isn’t a great sailor, but feels obligated to transport the quick-talking American when she claims to have paid her father in advance. It wouldn’t do for her father to come back from his honeymoon with an irate customer waiting. Against her better judgment, she carefully cruises toward the Dylan Evers’ island only to be snagged by the coral reef. Cast up on the beach, she watches her father’s boat sink as a gorgeous blond man approaches. Could things get any worse?

Three separate souls tossed together, with at least two being unhappy with the initial meeting, struggle with self, lust and each other to find the real truth of what they have been seeking. The subtitle, Tarot: Four of Cups, deals with where Dylan finds himself at the beginning of the tale, but it may not just be Dylan who is self-absorbed at the start of the story.

This short, sexy romp actually delves quite deep into the psyche of its characters. The island setting also gives it a more laid back feeling—a sort of Jimmy Buffet singing a song about Jung while incredible hot bodies wander the beach. I would recommend Tarot: Four of Cups-Lust and Found in Paradise for a fast beach read.

Reviewed by Morgan
© June 2007

The crazy world of entertainment can be such a rush. From the lights to the adulation of the fans, to the blood pumping electricity that flows from the band to the audience and back to the stage--there's nothing like it. Life can't get any better than that. Or can it?

Blade, punk band extraordinaire, is about to embark on tour. Blade is the name of the band but the name has been pinned to the tall, pink-haired, tatted and pierced lead singer. She doesn't mind because Jenny has taken great pains to keep her private life separate from her public persona. It gives her a sense of security, something that she sadly grew up without. On her own by the age of sixteen, Jenny has made herself a successful and secure life by the age of twenty-eight. Or so she thought until she began receiving anonymous notes.

Runner. Who the heck is Runner? Why is Runner sending Blade notes, flowers, and threats? The childhood phrase, "peek-a-boo, I see you", has come to make Jenny's skin crawl. Jenny has to face it. She has a stalker, one who knows her name, where she lives, and far too much about her personal life.

Dan Janson is not in the least happy about his latest under cover assignment: fiancé to a punk singer called Blade. Besides feeling unfaithful to the memory of his deceased wife, Sarah, he has no desire to be wrapped around some drugged up sex-kitten. He is sure he is right in his assessment of Blade, especially when she comes crawling across the stage toward him, bringing to life emotions he's never experienced in his life. He knows he is in trouble later backstage when they touch, when electricity surges between them.

Cultivating a decided dislike for each other and with his cover blown before they even leave the venue, Dan and Jenny decide to make the best of the situation. Dan is assigned to go on tour with Jenny and that's the end of that discussion. Leaving town doesn't stop the notes, or the escalating threats from Runner who is obviously enraged over Jenny and Dan's growing relationship. Unfortunately, living in close proximity and getting to know each other better only ups the voltage between the couple. The question now is, will Dan be able to capture Runner as easily as he captures Jenny's heart?

Peek-A-Boo (I See You) is a hands on daily journal of life on tour with a super popular punk band. Ms. Martinez has definitely done her homework on the ins and outs of the music scene, from the choreography of the stage show to the costuming for music videos. The suspense builds slowly but is perfectly paced throughout the novel. Every time I thought I figured out who Runner was, Ms. Martinez changed directions.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Peek-A-Boo (I See You) and hope that Ms. Martinez will see her way clear to writing a sequel or two, perhaps spotlighting other members of the band. Blade has series written all over it!

Reviewed By MargeAnna Conrad
© March 2007

In ten years you can get to know a person pretty well. Especially college buddies whom you partied with, and watched fall in and out of love. You get to know them almost better than your own kin. Unless they are aliens with a secret so deep, they do not even know it themselves. Gilded Folly is the story of three people, or beings from another place or world. A world where nanobots help keep people youthful, healthy, and in control.

But control can be a two-edged sword. There are three roles in a game over one thousand years old: the assassin, Rom, the victim, Glys, and the guardian, Wick. For ten years they have lived undetected among humans. Wick and Rom in particular have become close to a group of humans. Rom has no conscious memory of what he must do, just persistent sleep walking problems that only Wick knows the cause of--until a letter with pretty glittering images sets it all off.

Gilded Folly follows three aliens and the three humans who refuse to give up on them, even after finding out they are not human. Bodies full of nanobots now awaken by the Gilded Folly begin to do what they have been programmed to do. Directing the actions, thoughts, and even feelings of these three people caught in a web in which they have no clue as to where, what or why of its existence. All they have are instinctive feelings developed among their years of living with humans, a part of the plan that the designers of the Nanobots programming never saw coming. It is this that gives them a special edge. But only if they are able to separate that which helps them survived, from that which relentlessly is guiding them to a ritual death. Until they realized, it's not even as simple as that. The balance of two worlds now rests on the six of them finding the clues and staying ahead of a one thousand year old game.

My main complaint with this story has to do with the confusing beginning. I had several false starts and had to reread the first three chapters more than once to get into the rhythm. I am all for seeing through the characters' eyes, but it has to be eyes where one can recognize what they are seeing. The reading was chaotic and too much so. A better handling of how to go from one character to another in the beginning would have made the reading much easier to comprehend. But if you stick with it, you will find a unique science fiction fantasy that uses mythology from our own American continent as its background.

Reviewed by Nancy Louise
© March 2007

Western mountains, wide-open skies, rugged individualists, and leather clad cowpokes. All these bring the strong image of manliness and macho-ism that pervades the idea of the Wild West. But among all those images, are stories. The tale of No Bull brings a very honest modern day version of this west, one that a person who lives that life, can authenticate.

Being stubborn as a bull is "no bull" but the norm for characters Diana and Jake, who run bullrings around each other, all the while the rustling of cattle, murder, mayhem, distrust of one another because of family names, and all the other good trappings of a mystery are taking place in a western setting. No Bull comes across with real science in veterinarian medicine: from the birthing of a calf, to the care given to various larger animals a veterinarian has to contend with. Not only does Diana have to earn the trust of the large and small ranchers from the old vet who is retiring, she has to get them to see her for herself, and not her much older sister who betrayed a large ranch owner almost two decades before. But memories run long in the mountains.

Kelsy George is rapidly becoming a favorite author of mine for her authentic handling of characterization and locale. Being a woman of the west myself I smile at the various phrases she uses. Many look at ranch hands as dumb human jerky, without a wit about them. But here they come across as men and women with their fierce independence. Under all that independence is a firm understanding that you must also depend on your neighbors for help in the bad times and in the good. The story also sets the stage for why betrayal by one person can taint the family name in the whole area. But the western landscape for all its harshness can also show that not all folks are what their name might say they are.

No Bull goes about taking a tiny woman with big ambitions to be the best she can be in spite of her dead sister's reputation. She found a life, a place she loves, and dares to say she belongs there, too. Even when it seems she's going to lose it all, she still hangs on. You will find yourself rooting for Diana from the first page to the last. Plus there is an ending ripe for a sequel that I sure hope will be coming soon.

Reviewed By Nancy Louise
© February 2007

Among science fiction that takes place on Earth, all things Egyptian seem to be a reoccurring theme. It is where Vampires supposedly originate, or Aliens come to teach us civilization, or something from so long ago happens there that shapes us even today. There are far older and more fascinating places all over the world. But Egypt seems to hold a special place in our mythological western hearts. It is different enough to be exotic, but familiar enough to be comfortable. It is in this place, this space of thought, that this story takes place.

Twelve thousand years ago, there was an unholy assassination, alien space invaders, and jewelry. Jewelry? Now it is 2204, fully modern times, and there is nothing to do with the past except to study it. Cathy, a simple college student, finds herself late for class, again. She decides rather than face Professor Anderson she'll simply get a cup of coffee and use the time to study in peace. While the rain drips down, the hot coffee helps to warm and dry her. A friend stops by, and soon after, all normalcy ends. Subtle but persistent change and tragedy dog her steps. People are after her for no real reason, and a romance develops that she cannot forget even though it is forbidden. She is not told of any of this; she finds clues that have been deliberately left for her. Not liking where things are leading, Cathy does everything she can to deny what she has seen, what she vaguely remembers, and stubbornly lives her own life. But destiny is a patient being.

This story of Alien Genes 1: Daughter of Atuk is an engrossing story that takes place over a period of years. The years do not drag this book down, but give it a substance of living the experience between the pages. It gives plausible reasons why Aliens or non-Earth beings would even have an interest in us, some taste of what past life visions might really mean, what another world could be like that can support an alien human in their environment.

This book carries the thought through that, while there might be destiny for some people, choices are still available for all. We are more in control than we think, and less in control of what we want to be. Many of the philosophies and arguments over the years among academics are played out in this story. Daughter of Atuk provides thoughtful ideas, intriguing action that moves the pages at a quick pace. You find yourself rooting for Cathy, some for the aliens who declare their own right to live as they choose, and for interstellar romance to spice things along the way.

Daughter of Atuk is the second in a series, the first of which is Alien Genes 1. I look forward to reading the rest and reviewing them as well. Like the jewel in the beginning of the book, this story too is a jewel all its own. It is always a refreshing and pleasing thing to find new friends among the pages and imaginations of a well-crafted story.

Reviewed By Nancy Louise
© March 2007

How would you feel if tragic circumstances suddenly and fatally whisked away the love of your life? Would you be tempted to bring your beloved back from the dead if the possibility were presented? What would the consequences be if you did play with fate in this manner? Author Willa Okati speculates on these very questions with A Year and A Day.

Ash and Slate had been introduced through Ash’s cousin and the love that grows between the two men gives them the strength to turn their backs on a world that rejects them both. Together they move to the Appalachian Mountains and set up housekeeping on a farm. Theirs is a life of hard work, casual routine, and overall devotion to one another. But when Ash unexpectedly dies, Slate is thrown into a deep depressive state. Life at the farm once shared with Ash goes on; but Slate is now a man dispossessed of all spirit. Only an encounter with unworldly forces holds a prospect of happiness for him: the tempting proposition to bring Ash back from the dead.

A Year and A Day is a paranormal M/M romance. Unlike some gay stories I’ve read, I was impressed with the author’s skill for balancing graphic sex with convincing affection between partners. The overall writing style is tidy, and writer, Okati, knows how to make for clever scene changes.

With this said, I did have a few problems with A Year and A Day. The secondary characters had interest, and I was drawn to know more about them. However, they were never fleshed out enough to come across as anything more than sounding boards for the main characters’ perceptions. I also felt that the very wonderful premise was sacrificed for a conscious fixation on the sex. While there are few genres I enjoy more than a good erotic paranormal story, the haste with which the paranormal was handled here left me feeling rather gypped. There can be harmony of plot and sensuality in any tale, but I didn’t find this the case here.

My final verdict: A Year and A Day will probably appeal to readers who enjoy a read with sex and plenty of it. But for those looking for a satisfying marriage of paranormal and erotica, this story leaves much to ask for.

Reviewed by Laurie
©April 2007