'The Vampire Shrink' by Lynda HILBURN

From the BLURB:

Kismet Knight, PhD, doesn't believe in the paranormal. She especially doesn't believe in vampires, but she begins to wise up when she is introduced to a handsome man named Devereux who claims to be 800 years old. Kismet doesn't buy his vampire story, but she also can't explain why she has such odd reactions and feelings when he is near. Then a client almost completely drained of blood staggers into her waiting room and two angry men force their way into her office, causing her to consider the possibility that she has run afoul of a vampire underworld. Enter FBI profiler Alan Stevens, who warns her that vampires are very real, and one is a murderer—a murderer who is after her.

Initially I really liked this book. Hilburn has a great premise that’s made all the more interesting by the current media frenzy surrounding vampires. ‘The Vampire Shrink’ opens with protagonist Kismet Knight sitting down for her first therapy session with new client ‘Midnight’ – a 19-year-old girl who claims she is a vampire groupie, soon to become a bloodsucker herself. Believing Midnight is living out her delusions, Kismet starts delving into the cult phenomenon of vampire wannabes – which leads her to vamp club ‘The Crypt’, introduces her to an FBI agent investigating the supernatural and has her sparking the interest of head Poombah vampire Devereux.

It really is a great plot – in theory. Unfortunately it soon becomes apparent that beyond a great premise, Hilburn is really stumbling and shuffling along in the books storyline. She hasn’t got the nuts and bolts figured out – and as a result heroine Kismet Knight is procrastinating for the first half of the book.

The second big fault is lifeless characters. When we meet her Kismet has been single for 2 years – but as events unfold, so does her love life and libido. Inexplicably, men are coming out of the woodwork and flirting like crazy with her – and to be honest, there’s no real reason why. Hilburn has tried to make Kismet a witty, funny and intelligent working woman. But the jokes fall short – Kismet impersonating Alex Trebek and playing “what are bloodsucking fiends?” for $65,000 isn’t exactly high humor, and doesn’t endear her to me. I also got frustrated with her need to intellectualize everything and refusal to believe in vampires, despite all evidence to the contrary. She sees a vampire’s fangs grow and retract, she get’s bitten by a vampire, and she sees one levitate – but still wants to put it down to mass hallucination and great prosthetics? There’s being a realist, and then there’s just being plain stubborn-stupid.

I also didn’t like leading man Devereux. Kismet goes on and on and on about how incredibly Adonis-like he is (another Edward Cullen picture perfect vampire hero). But for all his good looks, Devereux is so incredibly *boring*. He is totally, 100% bland – to the point that when he and Kismet first have sex he announces his intentions – no spontaneous sex for Dev, he comes right out and says “I want to make love to you”, like an automaton. Even his proclamation of love is snooze-worthy;

“For eight hundred years I waited for this night. I am very much in love with you. I do not expect you to return my feelings right away. I understand that this is all new to you. I only ask that you give me a chance to win your heart.”

Hilburn has a second book out called ‘Dark Harves’, but I’m somewhat reluctant to read that one because the blurb sounds a little bit waffling, the plot hazy. I still really like the premise of a vampire psychologist, it’s just a shame Hilburn doesn’t deliver in execution – it also sucks (ha!) that the book has such a crappy title – ‘The Vampire Shrink’ – sounds like an SNL skit, not an Urban Fantasy.

1.5/5

P.S. – I love the cover art. Illustration is by Adam Mock. And as a side note, this is what I picture Lassiter (From J.R. Wards’ ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’ series, to look like).

'Nice Girls Don't Live Forever' by Molly HARPER

From the BLURB:

Nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels. Jane Jameson’s sexy sire, Gabriel, has always been unpredictable. But the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow — alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

Now the children’s-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane. Step One: Get her newly-renovated occult bookstore off the ground. Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby . . . or litter. Step Three: Figure out who’s been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel. Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is becoming a matter of life and undeath...

Molly Harper’s debut ‘Jane Jameson’ was, without a doubt, my favorite new series of 2009. I love these books, and I have a serious fictional girl-crush on protagonist Jane Jameson. The third (and possibly last) book in the series, ‘Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever’ definitely delivers and maintains Harper’s winning-streak.

Molly Harper’s writing is quick, zany and completely infectious. The closest comparison I can think of is to dearly departed television series ‘Gilmore Girls’. Jane’s mouth runs a mile-a-minute; spouting out witticisms, pop culture references and Jane-isms that make her entirely endearing and hilarious. I especially loved this Buffy-reference, cementing Jane as my No.1 fictional best friend;

“Zeb said we should bring over the first season of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, but Andrea thought you’d get all depressed,” Jolene told me.

“Yeah, because what’s the point of watching ‘Buffy’ if you’re not watching the second-season episodes with Spike in them?” I asked, uncorking the bottle of wine. Andrea poured me a large glass. “Hmmm. I wonder if it would be unethical for me to turn James Marsters? And then force him to fake the Cockney accent? And then make him my love monkey?”

If Harper’s series has a flaw, it’s that the plot/character balance is out of whack. Not a whole lot happens with storyline – that was true of ‘Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs’ and ‘Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men’ – and it happens again in ‘Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever’. Harper initially sets up a really interesting premise regarding Gabriel’s shady past – but that plot is pretty quickly pushed aside, to be mentioned in passing throughout the book but never made the sole focus. Instead Harper prefers to concentrate on the lives of secondary characters as they impact Jane and as Jane herself deals with her new career path and wacky family antics.

To be honest, Harper’s writing is so funny and so damn *good* that you don’t really notice the lack of forward plot momentum until you’ve finished the book and try to remember the in’s and out’s of the storyline. It’s only after the fact that you realize not a whole lot actually happens in the book.

Regardless of any shortcomings in plot, I am completely crazy about this series. I was really upset to discover that Molly Harper is only contracted for the three ‘Jane Jameson’ books. Unless her contract is extended ‘Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever’ could very well be the last we hear of Jane Jameson. I really, really hope we get more wacky Jane adventures. I love these books so much that Molly Harper is now an instant pre-order for me.

To be honest, the ‘Jane Jameson’ books aren’t reinventing the ‘Urban Fantasy’ wheel. The storyline is reminiscent of MaryJanice Davidons’s ‘Queen Betsy’ series, with a hint of Charlaine Harris’s ‘Sookie Stackhouse’ or Kerrelyn Spark’s ‘Love at Stake’ books. But Molly Harper’s voice is so distinctive, infectious and down right brilliant that she sets herself apart from the rest.

If you haven’t yet read the ‘Jane Jameson’ books please, please, please give them a go. You will not be disappointed, and you might even start spouting Jane-isms.

5/5

'Requiem for the Devil' by Jeri Smith-Ready

From the BLURB:

Set in modern-day Washington, D.C., REQUIEM depicts the end of the Devil's ten-billion-year career. For the first time in his existence, Lucifer falls in love, and this event threatens to transform his identity and perhaps even his destiny. Gianna O'Keefe is the woman who drags him out of his ancient despair and points him toward possible salvation.

Yet Lucifer's path from evil is neither straight nor smooth. Pursuing love means betraying his fellow fallen angels, the loyal friends who once followed him to damnation. Divine and infernal forces seem to conspire against his and Gianna's union. Lucifer's empire crumbles around him as he dares to defy the natural order and question his fate.

This is Jeri Smith-Ready’s first published work. She wrote it for the 2000 Writer’s Association Novel contest. Because I love Smith-Ready’s ‘Aspect of Crow’ and ‘WVMP’ series, I was really interested in reading her first literary foray. I’m so glad that I did.

I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of Kevin Smith’s 1999 (awesome) film ‘Dogma’ - beautifully and hilariously depicting biblical characters in the modern world. Lucifer hangs out with three demon cronies – Beelzebub, Belial and Mephistopheles. The four of them exchange witty banter that occasionally turns macabre and disturbing – but is also darkly humorous.

“Wanna go down to the Vietnam Memorial and make helicopter noises?”

But it’s not all wit and black humor. Smith-Ready actually delves into Lucifer’s relationship with his ‘Father’ – God, and explores his feelings of abandonment from the one who was supposed to be the centre of his universe.

The love story is actually quite a slow burn. You would think a story about the Devil falling in love would be all fireworks and epic diatribes about the beauty and salvation of love. But what makes this book so brilliant is that love creeps up on Lucifer the same way it does for most people. He’s not expecting it; he rebels against it, tries to deny it but eventually succumbs – slowly and thoroughly. That’s also what makes Lucifer such an intriguing character – that he is so relatable in his emotions.

And his love interest isn’t what you’d expect. Gianna isn’t a virginal beacon of purity and honesty – she is a lawyer turned lobbyist for America’s poor – but she’s actually quite cynical and jaded, spouting witty self-deprecating humor that makes her entirely endearing.

The romance is quite romantic – regardless of the fact that Lucifer is still carrying out his demonic plans while wooing Gianna, and that he has bizarre reactions to his feeling for her (like threatening to throw her into the Grand Canyon if she doesn’t admit to loving him). What makes the love story so appealing is that it’s all so completely new and shiny to Lucifer – he’s stumbling, bumbling along in the relationship with absolutely no idea about what he’s doing.

A long-sleeved velvet dress cleaved to her thin body and was a deep, delicious red that made my eyeballs feel drunk. I fought to remember who I was and to maintain an aloofness appropriate to the second most powerful being in the universe.

I wasn’t successful.

What makes ‘Requiem’ so interesting is Smith-Ready’s gradual build-up to an intense emotional conclusion. A novel about the devil falling in love could have been pretty boring, but Smith-Ready writes the story as a gradual culmination to the Devil revealing himself to the woman he loves. Lucifer struggles with his love for Gianna, especially when he feels the need to reveal himself to her and have no secrets between them. It’s an intense build-up, and Lucifer’s internal struggles and Gianna’s possible reactions to his true identity reveal ‘Requiem’ as an amazing metaphor. Lucifer as evil incarnate could be any sinister individual – murderer, pedophile, rapist – and Smith-Ready asks the uncomfortable question of whether or not he can be forgiven, rehabilitated or even loved.

I might be making ‘Requiem’ sound like seriously heavy reading. It is definitely an admirable literary work – but having read ‘Requiem’ I can see why Smith-Ready was contracted for her fantasy series ‘Aspect of Crow’ and Urban Fantasy ‘WVMP’. Smith-Ready beautifully intertwines theological debates, black witticisms, and interesting characters in the modern world. She’s funny, dark and thought provoking. Don’t assume this is a heavy read – it’s actually very funny and enjoyable, and surprisingly romantic.

I’ve heard a few people say that after reading a few duds (*cough* ‘Covet’ *cough*) they are completely turned off by the whole ‘Angel’ storyline. Well, I would highly recommend ‘Requiem for the Devil’ as a cure. Smith-Ready has written the ultimate fallen angel love story – and she’s written it with panache, dark humor and infinite tenderness for the embodiment of evil and his romantic trials and tribulations.

5/5

'Covet: A novel of the Fallen Angels #1' by J.R. WARD

From the BLURB:

Redemption isn't a word Jim Heron knows much about-his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he's good with that-until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart-and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

I waited a while to read this one. I had to wait a couple weeks after the release date for Amazon to ship me my copy – and in that interim I read a *lot* of negative reviews. So, I was put off – and decided to wait a while before reading and reviewing.

Okay – so, truthfully it’s not good.

I think Ward’s biggest mistake lies in point of view. Jim Heron is apparently going to be this series’ main protagonist – and his mission from God is to guide potential sinners onto the path of righteousness (or something like that). The people he meets and tries to ‘save’ will act as secondary characters in the books – and in ‘Covet’ that secondary character is Vin diPietro. That’s all well and good – but it doesn’t really work in the first book of the series because Ward has devoted so much of the story to Vin. So it feels like Jim is actually the secondary character… and since he’s our leading man (the one character readers are supposed to be rooting for throughout the books) it doesn’t really work in the series debut that we don’t get much of a sense of who he is. I mean, is Vin even going to appear in subsequent novels?

I understand that Ward wouldn’t want to show all her cards up front – she wants Jim to retain an air of mystery, so she remains allusive about his work history, childhood etc - but as readers we really don’t get much sense of his personality. He doesn’t come across as particularly charismatic or memorable. Jim was just a little too flat for me. I wish Ward had imbued him with a wicked sense of humor or a weird hobby (i.e.: Vishous and his love of R&B/Rap music). He was so boring to me – and his background didn’t really match with his actions in the book. From what little information he reveals about himself, we know that Jim is a trained assassin. Yet when he is recruited for this Heaven VS. Hell ball game he just passively takes on the job. For a nanosecond he considers that he might be losing his marbles – but then he’s pretty quick to jump onboard the Savior-express. I just didn’t buy it.

And another thing – I hated Ward’s interpretation of Heaven (well, the outskirts at least). Four British dudes playing croquet? Seriously? I think the demons could win this whole Good/Bad ballgame just by telling peoples that’s what they had to look forward to – snobby angels and mallets.

Another thing I didn’t really like about this new series – the characters too closely resembled the ‘Brotherhood’ gang. I thought ‘Fallen Angels’ would have been J.R. Ward’s chance to step outside ‘Blackdagger’ and stretch her literary wings; shake things up and play around with new characters and storylines. But the male protagonists so closely resemble the Brothers – right down to the lingo. Even though Vin is human he refers to Marie-Terese as ‘his woman’ – that is *such* a vampire expression! Vin may be an Italian stallion, but c’mon! And I don’t know if it’s because ‘Lover Avenged’ was the last ‘Brotherhood’ book I read (and freshest in my mind) but Vin came across as a Rehvenge cardboard cut-out. He was all Alpha male toughness on the outside, marshmallow on the inside. Vin & Marie-Terese had a relationship that reminded me of Ehlena & Rehv. Except instead of Ehlena having to accept Rehv’s dubious past exploits, it was Vin coming to terms with Marie-Terese’s prostitution. Really the only difference was that I actually liked the Ehlena/Rehv pairing. With Vin and Marie-Terese, Ward has chosen a romance route I *despise* - the two lock eyes across a crowded room and feel a certain ‘pull’ to one another. Cue dry heaving.

I didn’t like Marie-Terese (even her hyphenated name pissed me off). I wasn’t too keen on having a prostitute as a character’s HEA, but then I thought maybe J.R. Ward would do interesting things with her character – tell a story of a strong female who wasn’t ashamed of her red-light profession, or a sob story about being sold into prostitution? Nope. Marie-Terese’s ‘sob story’ is pretty convoluted and has plenty of holes. Turns out prostitution wasn’t really her last resort, just the most convenient money-making option. I might have been sympathetic to M-T’s plight, but she was so self-pitying and ‘woe is me’ – I could have had more patience for her if she had been a strong female who wasn’t mortified by her profession (à la Belle in ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’), or if she was actively looking for a way out.

I also could have mustered up more sympathy for M-T’s hooking if J.R. Ward had written more of her home life. The whole reason M-T is in the job is to provide for her seven-year-old son, Robbie. But we get only a handful of very brief scenes with her and Robbie, so there’s no sense of family and maternal devotion – in fact, Robbie reminded me a little of Haley Joel Osment in ‘Artificial Intelligence: A.I’ (2001) – and by that I mean the kid was creepy as all get out.

The only thing I appreciated about Marie-Terese is that she appears in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series, and not the ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’ – which means she hasn’t ended up being Shellan to one of my beloved Brother’s (if she’d been Qhuinn’s HEA for example, I would have been shattered!).

Even though ‘Covet’ is the first book in the ‘Fallen Angels’ series – there aren’t actually that many fallen angels in a good chunk of the book. They kind of pop in at random toward the end and are never really fleshed out – even though they’re supposedly going to be permanent characters.

I did like the demon villain in ‘Covet’ – she is a mean b*tch. I think I liked her so much because her evil under-handed tactics were pretty much just female head-fucks and it was kind of funny to see how easily she put one over on all the men.

One positive about this book is that Trez (of ‘Trez & iAm’ fame in the ‘Blackdagger’ books) makes a big cameo. I love Trez & iAm. They’re so mysterious and sexy. Reading Trez in ‘Covet’ makes me really hope that he and his brother get their own books and/or storylines in the ‘Blackdagger’ series.

So, to recap, I am glad the Warden relegated Marie-Terese to the ‘Fallen Angels’ series and left her out of BDB (one Brother clearly dodged a bullet). That was pretty much the only silver lining I got out of ‘Covet’. Well, that and Trez. Trez was cool.

I kind of resent the fact that J.R. Ward has set the ‘Fallen Angels’ books in the same universe as the ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’. There is clearly going to be crossovers – and I feel like it’s a mean ploy to ensure fans of BDB read this new series.

But, having said that, I have an inkling that the second book, ‘Crave’ will be an improvement over ‘Covet’.

I personally didn’t like ‘Dark Lover’. I thought it was kind of boring, and there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I thought that both Beth and Wrath were boring characters and I wasn’t looking forward to continuing the series. But I am so glad I did! Maybe J.R. Ward is just one of those authors who has a shaky start?

So, even waiting months to let the bad reviews settle didn’t change my opinion of ‘Covet’. I will continue with this series, but only because I feel that as a BDB fan I kind of have to – lest I miss out on big crossover plot developments (or more Trez cameos. I really like Trez).

2/5

'Caleb' by Sarah McCarty

From the BLURB:

Allie always desired mysterious, sexy rancher Caleb Johnson, but he never seemed to notice her. Until the night she's attacked by a vicious animal, and rescued by a shapeshifting vampire that she almost seems to recognize: the baritone growl, the mesmerizing eyes, the inexplicable animal attraction. That's because her savior is Caleb, and now he has no choice but to bring Allie into the shadows with him - to protect her from a rival werewolf pack, and to finally reveal his true feelings for the woman he's been afraid to love.

I like vampires. I like cowboys. I thought I would like the first book in Sarah McCarty’s ‘Shadow Wranglers’ series. I didn’t.

The romance comes way too easily. Despite ranting and railing against the life Caleb has stolen from her (in order to turn her into a vampire) Allie is quickly forgiving and happy to fall into a lustful romance with him. Caleb is pretty much a cardboard cut out Alpha male – growling “mine” around Allie and threatening any male who looks at her sideways.

“Behave,” she whispered under her breath.

“I am.”

“Well, do me a favour and try not to be so eighteen sixties once we get inside. We need answers, and we’re not going to get them if you rip out the hearts of everyone we meet.”

He shrugged, the golden swirls very prevalent in his eyes. “It’s a habit.”

McCarty’s strength lies in character, but her weakness is glaringly obvious; plot. You can tell that McCarty is plopping along in storyline because she isn’t 100% sure of the trajectory. McCarty seems to know her characters’ traits, motivations, hidden desires and deepest fears, but when it comes to writing action for them McCarty falls short.

Throughout the book Allie and Caleb sit/lie around and have long discussions – sometimes these convo’s are important and reveal a little more about vampire mythology, but most of the time they just feel like senseless ‘filler’. And sometimes these lengthy talks don’t even cover the more pertinent issues. For instance, shortly after Caleb turns her into a vampire Allie is horrified thinking that her family will believe her dead and she will never see them again. Allie forgets about these grievances pretty quickly though, preferring to have orgasms with Caleb than think about the family she has lost forever. So not only is McCarty stalling with these scenes, she’s not even utilizing them properly – she just wants to write about Caleb and Allie’s ‘happy fun time’ to completely avoid more complicated plot points?

McCarty is just cooling her heels with these scenes until she can decide what the actual plot action for these characters will be.

The sex scenes also suffer from the same ‘drag out’ writing. To put it crudely, there is *WAY* too much foreplay – you can only read so much about a man sucking on a woman’s nipples while the woman writhers on the bed before you just want them to get to the main event already!

I thought that all the lead-up and stalling would culminate in a knock down drag out action finale. Not the case. In the last few chapters there is a hurried scene change, the introduction of a villain (who Allie apparently dated a few years ago, just randomly mentioned for no apparent reason) and a very clumsy fight scene. I was utterly confused in the last 60 pages or so, and it became apparent why McCarty relies so heavily on writing character development – she sucks at writing action. When you’ve read someone like Rachel Caine, whose action scenes read like screenplays, perfectly articulating combat – it becomes painfully obvious when someone like McCarty falls short. Her action scenes are confusing – weighed down because she includes Allie’s inner monologue while Caleb is fighting some sort of shadow creature (?). Bad, just bad.

The second book in ‘Shadow Wranglers’ is ‘Jared’ and comes out April 6th 2010 (being released in Kindle and paperback). I will probably read the second book – but only because McCarty seemed to have solid ideas by the end of ‘Caleb’ about the overall storyarc for the series. Hopefully her character/plot imbalance will be sorted by book #2.

I was doubly disappointed by ‘Caleb’ because the cover is so damn sexy. Damn me for judging a book by its sexy, sexy cover!

1/5

'The Bride' by Julie Garwood

From the BLURB:

1102 AD. By edict of the King, the mighty Scottish Laird Alec Kincaid must take an English bride. His choice was Jamie, youngest daughter of Baron Jamison... a feisty, violet-eyed beauty. Alec ached to touch her, to tame her, to possess her... forever. But Jamie vowed never to surrender to this Highland barbarian. He was everything her heart warned against--an arrogant scoundrel whose rough good looks spoke of savage pleasures. And though Kincaid's scorching kisses fired her blood, she brazenly resisted him...until one rapturous moment quelled their clash of wills, and something far more dangerous than desire threatened to conquer her senses...

This was a good, romantic read. It is very cheesy – Lord Kincaid is a cardboard cutout Scottish brute, with a marshmallow centre. Jamie is a total Mary-Sue; when she’s not healing wounded soldiers she’s adopting orphaned children. ‘The Bride’ is definitely romantic fluff, but it’s just what I was in the mood for so I was willing to forgive the books cheesy shortcomings.

‘The Bride’ is surprisingly smutty; Garwood’s sex scenes are hot, vivid and very descriptive. I was under the impression that ‘The Bride’ was going to be a PG romance, but I’m glad it wasn’t;

“Come with me, love,” Alec whispered. “Come with me. Now.”

She didn’t know where Alec was taking her, only knew she was safe in his arms. She gave herself over to the blissful surrender and found that surrender was also fulfillment.

I would really like to give another of Garwood’s books a try. Judging from the backlist her specialty is Historical Romance, but her most recent series appears to be a contemporary crime fiction with a romantic edge. If anyone has read Garwood’s other work and can recommend her books, I’d really appreciate it.

Garwood’s writing reminded me of Nora Roberts and Linda Howard. It’s the type of good, fun read that’s a little like popcorn – not very filling, but nice while it lasts. There’s no real conflict for any of the characters and the storyline is extremely predictable. Regardless I did like this book. Maybe it’s because I was in the mood for a light romantic read that I enjoyed ‘The Bride’ so much, regardless of its many flaws... But sometimes I just crave a Highlander hero (à la Diana Gabaldon's Jamie Fraser).

3/5

'Into the Darkness' by Delilah DEVLIN

From the BLURB:

A woman's hunt for pleasure knows no rules . . . and no boundaries.

Escaping from a tragic past, Natalie Lambert arrives in New Orleans and falls victim to a series of strange, unearthly attacks. Now, for the first time in her life, Natalie aches with sexual desire. Confused, frightened, out of control, she struggles desperately to understand a world that is transforming around her. But soon she will be powerful and magnificent in ways she could never have imagined . . .

A ruggedly handsome Cajun policeman, Detective Rene Broussard has come to rescue Natalie in her time of greatest need. And when he inexplicably wakes in bed beside her—both burning with a lust impossible to deny—he doesn't care that a dark and vengeful enemy has brought them to this moment. All that matters is the irresistible curve of her body, the heat of her passion . . . and the forbidden pleasures the night promises.

With one sharp, sensuous, biting kiss, he will be hers for life . . . and beyond.

Devlin doesn’t really delve into the mythology surrounding her series vampires. It’s unclear whether or not her story is set in an alternate real-world universe, or if vampires are considered science fiction. Rene is a human, but he knows that his police partner, Chessa, is a vampire – he says it very matter-of-factly, which lead me to think that vampires are just a given in the world Devlin has created.

This is the first book in Devlin’s ‘Dark Realm’ series (currently with six books). I don’t really know how she managed to make a series of this book – because there is so little explanation about the universe she’s writing. I’m not particularly interested in reading any more of Devlin’s books, because I was outraged by her writing…

I was honestly quite sickened by ‘Into the Darkness’. Natalie rapes Rene, and is utterly unremorseful, even unaware that what she’s done is wrong (or maybe it’s Devlin who is unaware?). Her vampire ‘pheromones’ act as a sort of date-rape drug, and a covenant of older vampires kidnap Rene and chain him to a bed for Natalie’s feeding/fucking pleasure. First, Natalie has sex with Rene while he’s still unconscious. Then when Rene does wake up he tells Natalie he doesn’t want to have sex with her – he points out that he is chained up and can’t fight her off, he also mentions that her pheromones act as a sort of ‘Viagra’ on him, so that while he appears willing, if he was able to resist he would not choose her. Natalie disregards his protests on several occasions. I was completely shocked and disgusted. Devlin writes these rape scenes with such disregard to the deeper implications – I think Devlin herself is of the same mind as Natalie, believing it’s not rape if the man’s body reacts willingly;

“Raped?” Soft laughter gusted against his lips. Her smile was easy, not the least ashamed. “Maybe at the start, but you wanted it. You came for me.” Her eyes narrowed, and she inserted a hand between their bodies, pushing it down between her legs. Moist, succulent sounds followed before she brought her fingers up to paint his lips. “Wanna taste how hard you came?”

If those sex scenes had been turned around, and it was a woman chained to the bed while a male vampire rutted away I don’t think this book could have, in good conscience, been published. I kept waiting for Devlin to write a moment of clarity for Natalie – a piece of inner monologue in which she is completely disgusted and ashamed of herself. That moment only comes (in a small dose) because Natalie’s vanity is wounded by Rene’s admission that he wouldn’t choose her.

I admit, the sex scenes are hot. There is a particular F/M/F ménage toward the end that is blush-worthy – but the fact that all the sex scenes in the first half of the book are essentially rape is utterly atrocious. Devlin needs to learn that ‘no means no’, regardless of gender.

0/5