Veil Of Shadows-Jennifer Armintrout

Veil Of Shadows

Jennifer Armintrout

Mira, Nov 24 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780778326786

 

With the deaths of her royal parents Queen Ayla and Malachai during the battle between Lightworld and the Darkworld elves and waterhorses (see the second book Child of Darkness); the heir to the throne of Faery Queene, Cerridwen flees to the Upworld human realm.  Accompanying her in order to keep her safe is her late mom’s chosen betrothed for her Cedric.  They make it to Eire, the last fairy realm amidst the mortals.

 

Ruling over Eire in the new queene’s absence is the High Priestess Danae.  Although she pretends to bow to Cerridwen as the rightful ruler of the Fae, she is setting up her highness to destroy her so she can reign as the rightful ruler.  With no experience as a leader making life and death decisions, Cerridwen must learn fast or see the usurper take her crown, kill her allies, and plunge her people into civil war at a time they need unity to battle the Darkworld denizen.

 

The third Lightworld/ Darkworld (see the first book Queene of Light) centers on the next generation as Cerridwen with Cedric at her side having her back covered battles an internal betrayal as well as the Darkworld invaders.  The story line is fast-paced with the romantic subplot enhancing the political seditious intrigue that threatens the heroine.  Although it helps considerably to have read the previous two tales especially the Child of Darkness to understand how Cerridwen finds herself struggling to survive, fans will enjoy this exhilarating fantasy as the war has moved to Eire in the Upworld.

 

Harriet Klausner

Night Of The Wolves-Heather Graham

Night Of The Wolves

Heather Graham

Harlequin HQN, Nov 24 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780373774043

 

In 1864 in New Orleans a deadly serial killer shakes up the locals as well as the occupying army.  Union officer Lieutenant Aldridge asks for former Confederate soldier Dr. Cody Fox who is sent to investigate as he has previous experience with these types of killings back in Alexandria in 1859 with a decapitating vicious serial killer.  His assignment is to solve who is behind the mass murders and prevent more from happening.

 

Alex Green heads west to be with her father, but she arrives in Victory, Texas to learn he is dead although she is unaware how he died as no one will whisper a word of it as if they feared his fate if they say anything.  Meanwhile deadly outlaw Milo Roundtree arrives in town as does Cody tracking the culprit who most believe is the vicious criminal.  When Milo places a knife at Alex’s throat, Cody kills him saving her life.  However, nothing is resolved as the mass graves are empty and rumors abound to stay in-doors once the sun goes down.

 

This is a refreshing vampire historical romantic fantasy.  The cast is solid especially the lead couple, the townsfolk, and the key second in command of the bloodsuckers who cleverly is hidden in plain sight.  The prime weapon against the undead seems much more effective and realistic than the usual stake as Heather Graham provides a fun fast-paced story line as vampires and hunters collide in Civil War Texas.

 

Harriet Klausner

What I Wore to Save the World- Maryrose Wood

What I Wore to Save the World

Maryrose Wood

Berkley Jam, Dec 2009, $9.99

ISBN: 9780425229675

 

Millenia ago Queen Titania of Faerie and a mortal produced a hybrid offspring.  In the present Morgan Rawlinsonis a direct descendent of that long ago child; her DNA is half faerie Faerie although her parents are totally human.  They pressure Morgan to choose a college although she has poor grades, a low SAT score, and no community service.

 

She is sent to a paying advisor who insists he can get her into Oxford on a full scholarship.  While she prepares to go to England (not Mississippi); her Irish boyfriend Colin asks her to meet him at a resort in Wales.  When she arrives, Colin swears he never sent her an email, but she soon learns the Oxford offer and the odd email has to do with Queen Titania lifting the veil between the two realms.  She has to be stopped, but Colin believes she lied to him because she omitted to tell him she is a demi goddess.  Between saving the world and her relationship, college has fallen to the bottom of Morgan’s agenda just after what she should wear to save the world.

 

The third Morgan teen fantasy (see Why I Let My Hair Grow Out and How I Found the Perfect Dress) is a fun fast-paced frolic that young adolescents will especially enjoy the wee bit of magic in the world of Maryrose Wood.  The seventeen years old heroine is a down to earth and pragmatic with a touch of romance in her soul as she loves her Colin, but fears he will reject her once he learns of her bloodline.  Colin is science so Mojo magic goes against his belief in physics; yet he must adapt if he wants to remain with the woman he loves as she tries to save the world from the actions of her great ancestor many generations removed.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

What I Wore to Save the World-Maryrose Wood

What I Wore to Save the World

Maryrose Wood

Berkley Jam, Dec 2009, $9.99

ISBN: 9780425229675

 

Millenia ago Queen Titania of Faerie and a mortal produced a hybrid offspring.  In the present Morgan Rawlinsonis a direct descendent of that long ago child; her DNA is half faerie Faerie although her parents are totally human.  They pressure Morgan to choose a college although she has poor grades, a low SAT score, and no community service.

 

She is sent to a paying advisor who insists he can get her into Oxford on a full scholarship.  While she prepares to go to England (not Mississippi); her Irish boyfriend Colin asks her to meet him at a resort in Wales.  When she arrives, Colin swears he never sent her an email, but she soon learns the Oxford offer and the odd email has to do with Queen Titania lifting the veil between the two realms.  She has to be stopped, but Colin believes she lied to him because she omitted to tell him she is a demi goddess.  Between saving the world and her relationship, college has fallen to the bottom of Morgan’s agenda just after what she should wear to save the world.

 

The third Morgan teen fantasy (see Why I Let My Hair Grow Out and How I Found the Perfect Dress) is a fun fast-paced frolic that young adolescents will especially enjoy the wee bit of magic in the world of Maryrose Wood.  The seventeen years old heroine is a down to earth and pragmatic with a touch of romance in her soul as she loves her Colin, but fears he will reject her once he learns of her bloodline.  Colin is science so Mojo magic goes against his belief in physics; yet he must adapt if he wants to remain with the woman he loves as she tries to save the world from the actions of her great ancestor many generations removed.

 

Harriet Klausner

Brooklyn Knight-C.J. Henderson

Brooklyn Knight

C.J. Henderson

Tor, Jan 5 2010, $14.99

ISBN 9780765320834

 

A legend, Brooklyn Museum curator Professor Piers Knight enjoys collecting paranormal artifacts.  His newest employee,  summer intern Bridget Elkins is in awe and shock before she meets the mythical Professor Knight, known for finding the historical ancient lost and arcane.

 

Dr. Ashur Ungari in panic calls from the Middle East while Professor Knight shows Manhattan Island from a different perspective than Bridget ever noticed or hace been aware exists; explaining further that Jersey on the other side of the water is insignificant and Queens is the dumping ground.  However Ashur tells Knight he found the site of Memak’tori in Assad’s Syria; the birthplace of civilization.  However, as Ashur describes the dig in terms of future archeologists uncovering the Empire State Building, astral thieves including a fire elemental and a terrorist try to steal the mysterious Dream Stone, the heart of an incredible find.  Another elemental also comes for the stone with Knight leading the counterinsurgency against the paranormal horde and their evil allies.

 

Although the Professor never lets his hair down even when Briget throws herself at him (blushes and nitrates are not enough) and the NuYawk accent feels forced, fans will enjoy this over the top of at least the Observation Tower of the Empire State Building.  Readers will relish the fast-pace from the frantic call by Ungari to the final climax in National Historic Landmark Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery as this is a fun pulp fiction paranormal thriller.

 

Harriet Klausner

Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever-Molly Harper

Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever

Molly Harper

Pocket, Jan 10 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9781416589440

 

A drunk thought Jane Jameson was a deer and shot her.  As she lay dying, the vampire Gabriel turns her into a creature of the night like he is (see Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs).  They forge a unique relationship of sire and fledgling as well as lovers.  They are touring Europe, but Jane knows her mate is not having a good time because at each hotel they stop at he receives a letter that he refuses to discuss with her.

 

In Brussels, Jane finally sees one of letters sent by Jeanine; it reads like a love letter.  Tired of the strange calls, the secret letters, and his refusal to explain what is bothering him, she leaves returning to Half Moon Hollow by herself.  She opens a new bookstore aimed at vampires as customers.  She also tries to find a way to get her friend’s Zeb’s house built as his wife’s family keeps sending the construction crews away.  Jane begins receiving threatening letters warning her to stay away from Gabriel or else.  With her life in danger, she needs to persuade her sire to tell her the truth.

 

Molly Harper has written another delightful vampire tale (see Nice Girls don’t Date Dead Men) filled with romance, intrigue and a strong cast.  Some family members are in denial refusing to accept Jane’s Undead living condition especially her sister and grandmother who want her booted out the family.  This leads to some humorous scenarios that act as a counter to the threat.  Although the plot is a bit thin, fans will enjoy this nice girl who has adapted quickly to living forever.

 

Harriet Klausner

 

Hallowed Circle-Linda Robertson

Hallowed Circle

Linda Robertson

Juno (Pocket), Dec 29 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9781439156780

 

Lydia Whitmore of the Witch Elders Council nominates Persephone Alcmedi to be the next of High Priestess of the Cleveland coven.  Instead of euphoria Seph is dismayed for several reasons starting with her being a solitary act belonging to no coven.  She is also the guardian of Beverly, whose mother died.  Then there is the problem of her wearing the stain of the vampire Menessos, which leads to her being stronger than most mortals.

 

If the Elders learn she wears a vampire’s stain, she will be Bindspoken, unable to use her power.  Finally, she is The Lustrata the walker between two worlds who brings balance preventing wars between species.  However in spite of all that and what she knows about what happened to the missing previous coven chief Vivian Diamond, Seph does not believe the other nominee snobby but talented Hunter Hopewell would make a good leader at a time when the Cleveland coven crowd needs one.  By the time the competition ends, Seph is bound to the head of the Council, Menessos and Johnny the werewolf but it is as The Lustrata that she must prepare for war as the treaty involving the fairies was broken.

 

Seph is linked to several diverse groups who are natural enemies, but needs to find her own path to fulfill the role destiny has in store for her.  She has the favor of the Goddess but it is through the competition that she sees who she is, what her strengths and what she must do.  Linda Robertson has written en enthralling supernatural urban fantasy filled with mystery, romance, and intrigue.  Hallowed Circle is loaded with action and a cast who make the paranormal seem normal so much so that readers will believe that they exist.  Hallowed Circle, like its predecessor Vicious Circle, is an entertaining heroine driven urban fantasy.

 

Harriet Klausner

Scorched-Sharon Ashwood

Scorched

Sharon Ashwood

Signet, Dec 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451228642

 

Former detective Connall “Mac” Macmillan honestly can say he was on the date from hell; in fact it went so bad he was turned into a demon.  He prays all the time to regain his humanity and being able to destroy Geneva the demon was a large step at regaining what he lost.

 

However Alessandro Caravelli the vampire distrusts the demi-demon so incarcerates him in the Castle, a prison with magical bars.  For centuries Constance the vampire has resided at the Castle where she served Atreus the sorcerer who recently has gone insane.  When the guards kidnap her adopted son, she pleads with Mac to find and rescue him.  Unable to resist her, Mac investigates inside the prison he reluctantly with no choice calls home, but he begins to find clues that something is not right at the Castle and unless rectified many will die.

 

The second Dark Forgotten urban fantasy is a terrific thriller as Mac goes from the bad that happened to him in Ravenous to the ugly of being Scorched in a magical prison.  The key to this super tale is his investigation inside the realm of magic as fans will want to join his escapades.  Sharon Ashwood provides a super saga leaving the audience what next will befall Mac.

 

Harriet Klausner

Hunter’s Need-Shiloh Walker

Hunter’s Need

Shiloh Walker

Berkley, Dec 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425231500

 

Psychic Analise Morell and shapeshifter Duke Lawson attend Excelsior exclusive private school for Hunters. They hate each other ever since she left him with a nasty vampire four years ago.  His friends helped him escape hell, but neither of them could help him escape his bittersweet memory of kisses and betrayal.  They also conceal how attracted they are to each other inside of their loathing for one another.  Simply they keep their distance.

 

However Ana needs his help as she has no one else she feels she can turn to yet ironically she distrusts him.  He would prefer to tell her to go get bit by a feral vampire in hell, but fears she will go after a killer by herself if he says no.  Reluctantly though he distrusts her he agrees to be her co-Hunter going after a deadly predator whose victims haunt Ana to liberate their souls.

 

This is a terrific Hunters romantic fantasy starring two intriguing protagonists who have an interesting history that interferes with their present.  The story line is fast-paced from the onset as Duke begins to understand his beloved enemy to his chagrin.  Fans will relish this fine entry and seek previous Hunter thrilling tales (see Hunting the Hunter).

 

Harriet Klausner

Rion-Susan Kearney

Rion

Susan Kearney

Forever, Nov 24 2009, $6.99

ISBN: 9780446543323

 

Humanity has been saved from extinction due to the magic elixir of dragon blood (see Lucan).  No longer sterile, mankind still struggles with adjusting to the byproducts like shapeshifting.  In demand are telepaths like Marisa Rourke who can keep people calm, which enables the avoidance of panic attacks.

 

Rion of the Chivalri has come from space because he believes Marisa’s gift can save his people enslaved by the Unari.  Having his own paranormal skill, Rion’s precognitive ability warns him time is running out.  Not wanting a debate, he kidnaps an outraged Marisa.  However, once she understands the plight of the Chivalri and the danger of the Unari to his people and her, she is a willing ally.  Falling in love just strengthens their regard.

 

The second Pendragon legacy continues the search for the Holy Grail with a spin in space to an enslaved planet desperately trying to obtain freedom before extinction.  Readers will consider places like colonized Africa as the Tyranizer and the Unari suck out the essence of Chivalri leaving nothing behind except an economy in ruin.  Fans will appreciate this enjoyable outer space romantic fantasy.

 

Harriet Klausner