Deadtown Review

Welcome to Deadtown, the quarantined city of paranormals who have almost no rights and are treated like animals. Werewolves are sent off on a three day retreat during the full moon, vampires are only allowed one pint of blood, shifters can only shift three times a month, and zombies must have a permit to go into most establishments.

When the plague happened in Boston, many residents died, only to come back as zombies. Now they are restricted to living in Deadtown and are not permitted to leave there. Victory (Vicky) Vaughn is a shifter and a demon slayer. She’s been trained since she was a kid on how to slay demons. After her father was killed by a Hellion, Vicky has been determined to put an end to his murderous ways.

Vicky’s boyfriend Alexander Kane is a werewolf lawyer and is never around to spend time with her. He wants her to use one of her shifts to go on his retreat with him as a werewolf. No matter how many times she tries to explain to him that she isn’t a werewolf and would feel like a fake and doesn’t want to do that, he just doesn’t get it.

But when Vicky takes on a job slaying demons for someone Kane despises, the arguments really heat up between them. When a sexy norm cop named Daniel starts paying Vicky some attention, she revels in it and doesn’t think twice about seeing him also.

When not training her apprentice, a zombie teenager, Vicky is training to slay the ultimate demon. The Hellion is back and he’s coming for her and Vicky will be ready this time. Will Vicky be able to put an end to The Hellion once and for all?

Deadtown is the first book in a new urban fantasy series by Nancy Holzner. Every paranormal entity that you could imagine is in this book; vampires, zombies, shifters and werewolves all in the same town. Most urban fantasy and paranormal books romanticize paranormals and have them live amongst humans and they are accepted and treated as equals.

But in Deadtown, the paranormals can’t even leave the town without being in fear for their lives. The police barge into their homes and treat them like monsters even though they abide by their laws. With an election under way, Vicky may lose even more rights if the wrong man wins.

There is great characterization in this novel with each person fully fleshed out. The zombies are like regular people, the vampires are self absorbed, the werewolf is a workaholic, and the shifter is a kind hearted demon slayer out to save the town. There’s plenty of action, suspense and humor in Deadtown that will keep you reading long into the night. I am thrilled with this first book and can not wait to return to Deadtown for more adventures with Victory Vaughn.

I Married a Demon Review

Jennifer Randall works as a Protector for The Society protecting mortals from Otherworlders. But sometimes her radar for detecting Otherworlders isn’t always right. After numerous tragic mistakes, Jennifer’s boss sends her on a mandatory vacation for her to get her mind straight. Constantly thinking mortals are demons, ghouls, gargoyles or other creatures when they’re not and then attacking them is just not acceptable when working for The Society for the Protection of Mortals and Control of Supernatural Beings.

While on vacation Jennifer meets an extremely sexy man named Blake Barrington and quickly rushes off to marry him. She’s fallen in lust and love with him so quickly that she might have blinders on about who he really is. Despite the obvious signs, Jennifer ignores her instincts that her husband could possibly be a demon. Afterall, she has been wrong so many times, who knows if she can trust her senses anymore.

But when other people confirm her suspicion, Jennifer is in big trouble. Her job is to protect mortals from people like her husband. Protectors who work for The Society can’t marry demons! But without knowing for sure if Blake is a demon or not, she starts to investigate him a little closer to uncover the truth.

In the meantime, Jennifer is on a mission for The Society to find The Bracelet of Invincibility. It was somehow stolen and they need it back before it lands in the wrong hands. With the help of a smart-alecky, cowboy imaged, sidekick/electronic device - named Partner, Jennifer must get her hands on The Bracelet before the demons get it. Will Jennifer end up battling her own husband to protect the mortals or will her instincts once again tell her she was wrong and he is not a demon?

I MARRIED A DEMON is a hilarious, action packed, paranormal romance that I found impossible to put down. Jennifer is a sarcastic, self deprecating, kind of person that had me laughing so hard from the minute I was introduced to her. The story is told in first person point of view (my favorite point of view) and this gives the reader a close intimate place in Jennifer’s head and what she’s going through.

At the beginning of the book there was very little dialogue, a lot of erotica, and then the story seemed to turn Sci - Fi with Jennifer visiting The Society. I loved the author’s writing but I was starting to worry that this book was all over the place and almost stopped reading it. But I kept going and I am so glad I did. The story really found its place and flowed a lot better once Jennifer got going on her mission.

Partner’s character was written so well and was one of my favorite parts of the book. If you could picture a telephone with a screen saver of a cowboy that is animated according to what is going on, that is Partner. He’s Jennifer’s sidekick and a device The Society gave her to help her out. He acts like a real person and is always saying the funniest things and arguing with Jennifer.

All of the Otherworlders were a delight; every character brought something to this story. I would compare the humor, storyline, and characters to the style of Angie Fox and Dakota Cassidy. So if you adore books by those authors, I would definitely recommend I Married a Demon by Beverly Rae.

I was very sad to finish this book as I have been enjoying a little each day and miss it now that I am done. Overall, I Married a Demon is a wonderful, laugh out loud, suspenseful story that I absolutely adored and I think you will too!

Quickie Contest!!

Since I never heard back from the person who won a copy of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, I am going to have a quickie contest for a new winner. ONLY the people who posted on the original post when Marta Acosta guest blogged are eligible.


So if you are one of those people and are the first person to post here in the comments with the words ''I was here, pick me!'' AND email me (through the link in my profile) with your name and address right away, you will win the book. Ready, Set, GO!


EDITED: This contest is now over. Linda Henderson is the winner!

Divorced, Desperate and Deceived Review

Kathy Callahan wants a second chance at finding true love but she hasn’t had the best of luck lately. She’s had her eye on her plumber Stan Bradley for the last two years but despite all her attempts at seduction, nothing has worked on him.

Kathy’s best friends Sue and Lacy have both found love again after also being divorced. They’re both married to cops, pregnant, and over the moon in love. Kathy is the last one in her group of friends aka The Divorced, Desperate and Delicious club, to still be single and she isn’t happy about that.

When Kathy decides to finally ask Stan out, she picks the worst time to finally have the courage. Stan is a federal agent in the Witness Protection Program and his real name isn’t even Stan. There’s a mob of bad guys who would like nothing more then to silence him and Kathy is in real danger by being anywhere near Stan.

Before she even has the chance to get to know Stan better or even properly chat, things get crazy and they’re both on the run! With the cops assuming Stan kidnapped Kathy, things get hectic really fast. Will Kathy and Stan find romance while shacking up together on the run or will all of his secrets and lies cause her to not trust him?

Divorced, Desperate and Deceived is the third and final book in the series featuring women who are divorced and looking for love again. There are plenty of hilarious scenes as always in this series and the suspense is exciting. I loved the chemistry between Kathy and Luke aka Stan and was rooting for them to get their happily ever after. It was nice to have the main characters from the previous two books back and to see how their lives are now. Overall, Divorced, Desperate and Deceived is a fun thrill ride of adventure and I can’t wait to read the next Christie Craig book!

Reviewed for Night Owl Romance

Torn Review

Lily Carlyle thought she was working for the light, the good guys, heaven, God, whatever you want to call it. But after completing her mission, her half demon- half angel friend Deacon Camphire informs her she has been lied to.

Lily has been manipulated and used as a tool to open the Ninth Gate even more, not close it and keep demons out like she originally thought. Without knowing how to properly handle this situation, Lily continues to work for Clarence pretending she is still ignorant of his true intentions. Besides she has bigger problems right now. Lily’s sister Rose is possessed by her rapist, Lucas Johnson.

Lucas refuses to leave Rose’s body and the only way to get rid of him besides asking nicely is to kill Rose. Of course Lily can’t do that so this leaves her with a sister who is only herself half of the time. But  his possession is taking a toll on her and something has to be done before her sister ceases to exist.

Without any other options, Lily agrees to give Lucas what he wants, The Oris Clef. But Clarence has Lily on a mission to collect all three parts to give to him, not Lucas. What will happen when Clarence finds out that Lily is not working for his side anymore?

Torn is the second book in the Blood Lily Chronicles which is an adult urban fantasy series. The first book, Tainted, ended with an exciting cliff hanger that had me very anxious to get my hands on the next installment. When we last left Lily she had discovered the truth about who she was working for and her sister was possessed. Lily is no longer gullible and easy to manipulate. She is furious about the entire situation and is determined to take her life back. Her character is extremely strong and doesn’t need the help of a man but she will take help when it is offered.

The writing in this series is superb and has quickly become my favorite new series. I literally drool just thinking about these books. There is so much suspense, action, mystery, and excitement in Torn that I can’t imagine anyone disliking it.  If you haven’t read this series yet, you really need to. The romance is sexy and the story is tightly plotted to the point where you will not be able to guess what will happen next.

I had a very hard time putting Torn down to go to sleep, it's just THAT good! These books must be read in order or you will spoil it for yourself. Overall, Torn is an outstanding, fabulous, urban fantasy novel that DEMANDS to be read. Look out for the third book, Turned, due out in January. Run out and get this series!! I am telling you it's amazing!!

Winner of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula!

The winner of a copy of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (book 1) by Marta Acosta is

angeleyesak

Please email me through the link in my profile with your name and address and I will forward it on to Marta to get your prize out to you. Congrats! Thanks everyone for posting and thank you Marta for guest blogging!

Edited: Angeleyesak I emailed you at the address you left in your comment on here but I never heard back from you. Please write me so you can claim your prize. If I don't hear back from you by 5:00 pm Eastern time on the 15th I am going to have to pick another winner.

Guest Author Marta Acosta

Please welcome paranormal romance author Marta Acosta! Marta is the author of the Casa Dracula series which currently consists of three books with the fourth book Nancy's Theory of Style due out in 2010. She also has a YA book in the works and runs the fabulous paranormal news site Vampire Wire. Today Marta is here to talk about what holiday movies would be like if there were vampires in them.

Guest Blog by Marta Acosta

Someone recently asked me about my favorite holiday movie, and I realized that, although I don’t see myself as a holiday movie fan, I actually have a lot of favorites. All involve mishaps, most have romantic entanglements, and many feature angels. There wasn’t a vampire in the bunch.

Which begs the question, why aren’t there vampire holiday movies?

Because it would be a mistake.


“The Vampire Christmas Story”

All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a bb gun. But his parents insist that he’ll shoot his eye out. When his father’s prize leg-lamp breaks the front window, vampires swarm in for their holiday feast. Ralphie’s parents run to give him his present, but, alas, the steel pellets cannot harm the ravaging fiends. Ralphie realizes all too late that he should have specified silver pellets.


“The Vampire Miracle on 34th Street”

When Santa shows up drunk at a toy department, the new store manager quickly hires a man claiming to be Kris Kringle to replace him. The man seems to have amazing powers of persuasion, but she refuses to believe that he is the real Santa Claus. However, his influence over her sweet daughter convinces her to reject her skepticism. Sadly, she was right not to trust the man, who unleashes his horrific vampire appetite on throngs of helpless children waiting to tell him their gift list.


“The Bishop’s Vampire Wife”

A reserved bishop has lost his way, getting more caught up with fundraising for a new church than with the true meaning of Christmas. A mysterious and gorgeous man appears and says that he’s come to help the bishop. He spends most of his time charming people and macking on the bishop’s bored and neglected wife.

The stranger plays a song on the harp for a rich widow. “How did you know that old song?” she asks. “It was a big hit when I was still among the living,” he answers. She donates a fortune for a new church, and the hot stranger turns the bishop’s wife into his new vampire bride. Theological discussions and mayhem ensue.

The only one of the holiday movies that might work as a vampire story is “Elf” because the elf comes to save his father’s publishing business and then writes a bestselling novel. Bestsellers and blood-suckers? They go together like eggnog and rum.

Have yourself a very scary Christmas!

 Edited: Sorry I had the question wrong. Everyone who entered prior is still entered.

What holiday movie do you think should NOT be made with a vampire theme?

Leave a comment answering this question for your chance to win a copy of the first book in the Casa Dracula Series, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula! This contest will run until December 9th at 6 pm ET. Good luck everyone!

US ONLY PLEASE
Thank you Marta for Guest Blogging. It's a pleasure to have you here today!

Winner of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived

The winner of a copy of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived by Christie Craig is...

Linda Henderson


Congrats!  Please email me through the link in my profile with your name and address and I will forward on your info to Christie. Thanks again to everyone for posting and thank you Christie Craig for taking the time to talk with readers!

Magic in the Shadows Review

Allie Beckstrom works as a Hound using her powers to identify people who abuse magic. Life has been hard for her as every time she uses magic, it uses her back. She’s suffered illness, memory loss, and tattoo like markings on her body from casting magic. For every spell there is a price to pay.

But things are way more complicated now since Allie’s deceased father has somehow entered her mind. While fighting bad guys, it’s his voice guiding her to do spells she’s never even heard of before. The only bad part of having her father constantly in her head, besides how annoying it is, is that people who were after him while he was alive, might come after her now to kill him once and for all if they find out he is still sort of alive inside of Allie.

Allie’s magic is stronger then ever and completely out of control. With no formal training, she is at a loss on how to properly defend herself and how to control all the magic inside of her. Allie’s boyfriend Zayvion decides to take her to meet a woman named Maeve who will properly train her on how to cast magic.

But Allie still has a ton of responsibilities to handle when not training. She has her fellow Hounds to look after, a position as CEO of her father’s business to decide upon, a relationship that she can barely remember, and the crappy problem of constantly being attacked by all kinds of people and creatures who abuse magic.

On top of that she has to decide if she wants to work for Detective Stotts as a Hound for the police department. The same Detective Stotts who is sort of a bad luck charm since every time a Hound works for him they end up dead. Then there’s Nola who’s in town and trying to get custody of Cody and Zayvion knows stuff about the situation but he’s so secretive because it’s official Authority business and all. Things are getting crazy for Allie, how will she hold it all together and figure out a way to control her magic use?

Magic in the Shadows is the third book in the Allie Beckstrom series which picks up right where the last book left off. When we last left Allie, she had discovered her father was inside of her and we didn’t know how this happened or why. We still don’t really know how or why but Allie is learning to deal with the situation and trying to make the best of it. Things are different now though since Allie is being watched very closely by The Authority and her magic use is being questioned. Everything is becoming quite intense for her and the action really picks up in this installment.

Even though Allie’s memory loss put her kind of back to square one with Zayvion, their chemistry and connection heats up a bit in this book. We find out more about Zayvion and what he does for The Authority. Allie is becoming stronger but magic is still hurting her and she suffers because of this. Some interesting theories are revealed which may explain a lot about Allie.

The writing moves at a fast pace with plenty of exciting action sequences to keep readers riveted. Magic is a prominent theme in this book and I love that. This series just gets better and better with each new book and I can’t wait to see what happens next with Allie and Zayvion. Look out for the fourth book, Magic on the Storm due out May 2010.

Reviewed for Night Owl Romance