Archive for vampire novels
The wattpad sensation now available as a book.
The Dark Heroine: Dinner with a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs
Kidnappings, murders and intrigue, and that is just in the first chapter! Bella and Edward move over, because there is a new couple in vampire romance and they are gonna leave your romance in the dust! I first heard of Dinner with a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs on wattpad and then some friends on Facebook turned me on to more. Now it is finally out in a downloadable version for my Kindle and the end result is even better than I thought it could be.
Abducted while witness to a brutal murder; Violet soon finds herself falling in love with Kaspar, the dark and dangerous son in a princely family of vampires. But she also soon finds out that she may be part of an ancient prophecy. Can she be the one to finally end the bloody battles between humans and vampires? Even if she is, how does that compare to the dark secrets that Kaspar holds, secrets that could destroy everything around them?
A Dark Romance
Warning to the faint of heart, there is a dark side to this story. There is some real brutality shown at times. Violet and Kaspar are lovers in the true fashion of vampire romantic fantasies. Although I do believe that Kaspar, for all his dark prince ways, is a very romantic character it was how Violet is handled that makes this a very modern story. When you add in that author Abigail started writing this story when she was only 15 years old, well that just adds to the intrigue of the vampire romance.
The Dark Heroine is the series, and with the publication of Dinner with a Vampire we finally get a more polished complete version of Abigail Gibbs now almost legendary online gothic romance. If you love sexy vamps, strong willed women and sizzling romance, this is just the thing. Dig in, keep up with the fast pace and get ready to find yourself choosing sides in this dark gothic vampire romance.
Of course, it makes sense that you can download a kindle version, but there is also a paperback version for those who still love the old fashion feel of a paper book in their hands.
Dark Nights by Christine Feehan
If you are a follower of Christine Feehan’s vampire stories in the Carpathian Hunter series, then this will be treading on familiar territory. The book takes two classic tales of the warrior clan that were published elsewhere and adds a bit of meat to those old bones by fleshing out the characters for us.
Each on their own are fine, but combined like this they are a great way to get a taste of just what exactly has made Christine’s series so popular. The end result is a great place for anyone new to the series to check out and a set of great treats for those who already follow the series.
Dark Descent
Like many stories from this series, this tells the tale of two lovers and how they met. We are taken down into a mysterious ice cave where we learn of the Dragon line and how master vampires plot to rule the world. Joie Sanders is a bodyguard who has stumbled upon the ice cave’s secret, along with the warrior Traian. Together they must find their way past ancient traps in a winding and confusing pathway that reflects their own growing passion. Heck- you know the two will find their feelings for each other, it is the getting there that is the fun in this story. That and this version gives us more of a back story on the characters including some of Joie’s family. You can’t help but see how our gal got her butt-kicking attitude when you meet the other women in her family. This appeared earlier as part of an anthology and so to find it here again, with the second story, is a win-win situation for anyone who either follows the series or was curious about it.
Dark Dream
This is another of those vampire stories where we get to see how a couple that would become pivotal in the ongoing series meet. This time it is the Carpathian warrior Falcon we first see, as he returns home after a long absence doing the bidding of Prince Vladimir. The Prince has been sending him on a mission to destroy the ancient vampires and in the process save his race. He recalls how a thousand years ago he wrote a journal in hopes that his life mate would find it and in it see her role in his life. It is while he is musing on these memories he is jumped by a group of thieves and is saved by Sara.
Sarah has read his journal and understands who Falcon is. Using the journal as a bridge between the two, she eventually overcomes her history of witnessing her entire family slaughtered by the ancient vampires. It is her passion to save the children she shepherds while growing to know and understand Falcon through his journal that makes the core of the love story.
For those new to the legend of the Carpathian race, an ancient people here to save humanity from the threat of the vampires, there is more. A short prologue at the beginning of Dark Dream has Prince Vladimir expounding on the terrible decision he must make each time he sends his warriors away from home and family to fight. His reasoning is the core of the series and having it here makes this a great beginning for anyone who knew of the series and wasn’t quite ready to jump in.
The Carpathian Legend
Although not your typical vampire stories, the series has a strong following and like many longer on-going series in fantasy it can be hard to judge if it is worth wading into the deep waters. For those who have looked at the covers, thought about the characters and wondered, here is a good place to dip your toe. For the many that already follow the series, these stories are a little reminder of what great characterization can be done in a short story format. Seems to me Dark Nights is a winner of a book no matter how you look at it.
Be sure to find your copy in either the paperback or Kindle format.
Darkness Devours by Keri Arthur
She walks the grey fields, those nether lands that exist between the living and the dead. It is the place that souls go to when they are waiting to be reborn and Risa has more than once used that ability to help those that still carry on in the land of the living. It isn’t the only gift that Risa has, but it is one that has stood her well in a world where not only vampires and werewolves exist, but angels dwell amongst us and The Directorate of Other Races keeps an eye on all of them.
A Dark Vampire Novel with Heart
If you have never tried out Keri Arthur’s vampire novel series Dark Angels you may want to jump in on this, the third book in the series. She does a good job of getting everyone caught up in the storyline without making it laborious, so you don’t need to worry if you don’t know that Jak Talbott is the werewolf that lied to Risa and broke her heart just so he could get a juicy story about her mother for his tabloid reporting job on the world of the paranormal. You don’t even need to know that Risa has a fallen angel as a lover and another that she is more than a little in love with. Lucky for you in this great new vampire novel that continues a really luscious urban paranormal series all is revealed in good time.
Vampire Author Arthur Excels
Keri Arthur is a master at these kinds of stories, where the paranormal elements feel real because she knows how to root her characters in her vampire novels to make them three dimensional. Dialogue that works, characters that have complex problems and a setting that adds to the story all make for a vampire novel series filled with angels, vampires, werewolves and in this story witches that have unleashed a demon that preys on human souls. It is deadly stuff, with serious consequences for their world.
Like many of the female protagonists in these kinds of urban paranormal stories, Risa is a tough kick-ass chick who shows her vulnerability the most when it comes to affairs of the heart. But here she must track down the remaining member of a group of terrorists that make our own seem like a walk in the park. It doesn’t help her self-esteem any that she remains attracted to Azriel – a reaper. They are the beings whose job it is to help souls transition from one life to the next and it is her ability to not only enter the grey fields but to also communicate with the reapers that allows her to meet Azriel, and continue to struggle with her growing love for a being who can never possibly love her back. Or can he?
Lust Between the Sheets
And then there is Lucien. A fallen angel and her very erotic bodyguard who also happens to love to play between the sheets (and just about anywhere else, I might add) with Risa. Sometimes his motives are more than a bit in question, but what do you expect in a vampire novel from a fallen angel?
The story is sufficiently complex so you are driven to find out the answers and I must say that with this third installment of the series Risa has gotten to be a really interesting woman. Keri Arthur has found a way to take what has become almost a cliché in the world of urban paranormal romance; the strong woman with a heart of gold surrounded by sexually astonishing beings and made it all work in a whole new way.
The world building in this vampire novel of power and lust is just one reason that you should check this out. The other is that you will find yourself wanting more – more of Risa, more of the fantastic angels and demons that move through this world and definitely more of Darkness Devours lusty and fascinating Lucien. Ah- but there is always room for one more fallen angel on my bookshelf.
Gypsy Twist Makes Vampire Romance a Mystery
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Gypsy Blood by Lorrie Unites-Struiff
What do you get when you add together a vampire, romance and a murder mystery with Roma undertones? You get a really great story that moves out of the everyday urban paranormal vampire romance genre and into the realm of a real detective with a shady character in the background. Well, it may not be an actual vampire romance but it is a great detective story with a bit of a cool romance thrown in for good measure.
Rita is a gal who loves her work and is good at it. She is a detective and has a reputation for solving some of the more shady crimes that come her way. Of course, what most people in the force don’t know is that Rita is a gypsy and gets a little help from her Roma background. Her grandmother has given her an old crystal that when dangled before the eyes of the recently deceased reveals the image of the last person that they saw- the killer. It has helped her to solve a lot of mysterious crimes.
The problem is, this time it isn’t helping her at all. There have been several prostitutes killed in her area lately, and Rita is stumped because the crystal keeps revealing the wrong person. They are someone the dead girl saw alright, just not the ones that killed her. The crystal has never let her down before and she is puzzled why it is acting this way. Because she knows someone is killing these women, and all in the same way.
To make matters just a bit more interesting, the FBI has sent one of their own, Matt Boulet, to help on the case. Matt is someone with a few secrets of his own, but his ability to sleuth out the killer is what makes him the perfect person to work with Rita on this case. Because the killer is not human, and the killer needs blood and that is why they kill.
I have read few detective stories that were able to pull off the vampire as a monster story quite as well as the author does in Gypsy Blood. I don’t think I am giving too much away to say that the killer is a vamp, all fans of the genre will know within a few pages I think. What really makes the story interesting is the way they work the two characters towards that conclusion.
Although not an actual vampire romance, but more a detective story with a vampire in it, and a romantic twist, it still brings the paranormal into our everyday lives in a way that can bring a shiver to the reader. If you are a fan of the detective genre and you love your vampires shady and more than a bit scary, this is just the kind of book for you.
Title: Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 3)
Author: Faith Hunter
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Pages: 320
Genre: Urban Vampire
Jane Yellowrock, a shape-shifting rogue-vampire hunter-for-hire, is now taking blood money from the very vamps she used to hunt. But things start heating up in the Big Easy when weres announce their existence to the world, and revive the bitter tensions that run between them and their old enemies — vampires. Jane finds herself caught in the crossfire in Book 3 of the Jane Yellowrock series.
Eric has done it now…killing Talbot means Russell will never rest until Talbot is avenged and Eric knows the king is coming after him. This week’s episode of True Blood starts with Eric racing to his vampire bar as quickly as possible so he and Pam can make a getaway but those plans are quickly ruined when Nan Flanagan and her cadre of enforcers arrive. The problem is that they are not there to save anybody, they want to know what happened to the Magister and Eric is going to have to give them the information they seek if he wants to continue to live. He tells them everything about Russell’s deeds – including the killing of Eric’s own father so many years before.
Bill and Sookie waste no time reconciling after the werewolves’ attempt on her life. They finally wrap up their antics and begin to gather up the werewolf bodies but not before an intimate shower to get some of that blood off from their busy, busy night – looks like Sookie shared a lot of her special blood with her vampire.
Felton knows that Jason has done something with Crystal so he goes to Jason’s house to find out. He confronts Jason as he arrives home and just as the fight begins, Crystal comes out of nowhere to knock Felton out cold. They tie him up and decide to frame him for drug dealing by putting V on him and placing his body where the authorities will find him later.
Sam is reminded of how wonderful his new family is – NOT – when he gets a noise complaint call about his brother and he leaves to take care of it. He arrives to find Tommy having very loud sex with a lady friend and asks him to keep it down but he just receives a smart-ass reply in return. Sam maintains his composure but you can see that he’s on the edge of telling his new brother to beat it.
The arrest of Felton did not go the way Jason and Crystal planned because the responding officer ends up in the hospital and Felton is nowhere to be found. Crystal and Jason arrive at the police station to tell Andy that maybe it is time to take down Hotshot and get rid of all the problems they are causing with their drug running and meth labs.
Hadley finally confesses to Sookie about her part in the betrayal of her cousin and her powers. She apologizes profusely as she tells Sookie that she told the vampire queen all about her. Now Hadley is terrified that her own son has these same powers and asks Sookie to find out. Sookie immediately realizes that he does and Hadley panics – realizing that the vampires will be after him too.
Merlotte’s is full of people and all their special issues. Arlene accuses Tommy of stealing her tips and he goes off on her – upsetting her greatly. She confesses her baby fears to Holly who comes to check up on her as she is crying in Sam’s office. Arlene relays her actual feelings about the baby out loud for the first time. Lafayette serves Jesus a great dinner and Hoyt once again is trying to get his former vampire girlfriend, Jessica, back.
Apparently too much of Sookie’s blood is not necessarily a good thing for a vampire as Bill begins to dream about Claudine and the world of the fey. Bill finally finds out what Sookie is and goes to her as soon as possible to tell her.
Russell is losing what grip he had on reality as he perches on top of a roof holding Talbot’s remains in a jar – lovely, nothing like a vampire soup. He hears Nan tell Eric that they want Russell dead and it is his job to do it. If he does not succeed in killing Russell, it is likely that things will not go so well for Eric in the future.
Jason and Crystal show up at Merlottes to have some fun and they seem to be having an okay time of it until Calvin shows up and picks a fight with Sam. Sam loses it and almost beats him to death before he is stopped. Lafayette has to help get Calvin out of there and to the hospital. Jason expects Crystal to stay with him after the way her father has treated her but instead she leaves to go to the hospital with Calvin – leaving Jason behind to wonder what on earth is going on – where are her priorities?
Tara is seeing all of this commotion with Calvin from the parking lot just as Franklin grabs her to finish off the one thing he loved – Tara. Since she tried to kill him, he will never forgive her betrayal. The interesting thing is when she turns to him screaming that he should just go ahead and kill her, he hesitates. And that is long enough for Jason to come to her rescue and skewer Franklin. Tara is finally free.
True Blood wraps up this week with Russell losing his last grip on sanity as he shows up on the national news to inform the world that vampires will always be superior to humans – humans are nothing but food to them – and he proceeds to rip out the heart of the news anchor for all the world to see.
Title: The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini (The Vampire Assassin Trilogy)
Author: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Release Date: January 27, 2011
Pages: 464
Genre: Urban Vampire
Venice in the early fifteenth century is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. Within the Serene Republic, their word is law, but for all their influence, Venice’s fate still lies in other hands . . .
Lady Giulietta is the Duke’s cousin. She enjoys greater privilege than many can even dream of, but her status will demand a terrible price.
Atilo Il Mauros is head of the Assassini, the shadow army that enforces Venice’s will – both at home and abroad.
Prince Leopold zum Bas Friedland is the bastard son of the German emperor and leader of the krieghund – the only force in Venice more feared than Atilo’s assassins.
And then there is Atilo’s angel-faced apprentice. Only a boy, Tycho is already stronger and faster than any man has a right to be. He can see in the dark, but sunlight burns him. It is said that he drinks blood.
Award-winning author Jon Courtenay Grimwood seamlessly blends history, politics and dark fantasy in a compelling vision of a Venice that might have been in The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini.
Title: Moon Dance (Vampire for Hire, Book 1)
Author: J.R. Rain
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Pages: 288
Genre: Urban Vampire
My warning bells sounded, starting first as a low buzz in my ears. The buzzing is always followed by an increase in heart rhythm, a physical pounding in my chest. I knew the feeling well enough to trust it by now, and I immediately began looking for trouble. And as I rounded another corner, there it was.
Three men stepped out of the shadows in front of me. I slowed, then finally stopped. Four more men stepped out from behind a raised truck parked on the street. Next to the house was an empty, dark school yard. As if reading their collective minds, I had a fleeting prognostication of my immediate future: an image of the seven men dragging me into the school yard. Then having their way with me. Then leaving me for dead.
A good thing the future isn’t written in stone.
I smiled at them. “Hello, boys.” And so begins Moon Dance…
