Review: Supernatural with Larissa Ione, Alexandra Ivy, Jacquelyn Frank, G.A. Aiken

Supernatural is a paranormal romance collection comprised of four stories written by well-known writers. Each story is connected to worlds they've created, where characters from those worlds find their happily ever afters.

In Larissa Ione's Vampire Fight Club (Lord of Deliverance, #1.5), Nurse Vladlena's and the sexy vampire Nathan's tale proves that sometimes revenge is a dish best served hot! This story stands well on its own for those who have not read this series, but it has some interesting tidbits for those who have. Shifters, sexy vamps, demons and plenty of action.

Alexandra Ivy's "Darkness Eternal" (Guardians of Eternity series) is also on the hot side with magic and vamps mixed together. In this novella witch Kata and vampire Uriel find paradise in hell. There is a bit too much of the sexin' going on while this couple is in dire danger, but I do think that the way their plight is resolved is quite creative.

With Kane ( Nightwalkers, # 5.5) by Jacqueline Frank we get more hotness, but this time with lots titillation and revved up sexual tension. Kane knows Corrine is meant for him, but to a demon she's an untouchable human. When he breaks the rules, punishment might just be worth it. I enjoyed the world building in this story, and although I think character development is somewhat short changed in this novella, the characters are both likable and interesting.

Last in the anthology, and easily my favorite story, is "Dragon on Top"(Dragon Kin, # 4.5) by G.A. Aiken. I loved the romance between "kickass" dragoness Ghleanna the Decimator and beta, slightly forgetful Bram the royal. Bram's crushing on Ghleanna from afar is really sweet, but once they get going he's also one of the hottest heroes in this anthology. This is the story with the most involved plot and best character development of the four, as well as the most entertaining with great dialog and secondary characters.

Some of the stories were more enjoyable for me than others, however as a whole all four of them fit quite well into this anthology. Overall Supernatural is a good, sexy collection involving four interesting and very different worlds, hot couples and quick, happily ever afters achieved in that paranormal romance style readers love.

Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Zebra/August 30, 2011
Source: Kensington Publishing
Grade: B

Review: Demon Marked (The Guardians, #7) by Meljean Brook

In this stunning and sexy addition to the world of the Guardians, a man seeks revenge against the half-demon he once loved...

Nicholas St. Croix is familiar with the evil of demons. After his father's death, he was raised by the demon who had taken over his mother's body. Six years ago, his "mother" was responsible for the disappearance of the woman he loved, and Nicholas swore he'd find her--even if he had to go to Hell and back. Except she finds him first--and with one tormented kiss, he knows that she, too, is a demon. Now he is determined to take his revenge.

Ash is a half-demon with no memory of her past or how she got to Hell. All she knows is that Nicholas St. Croix holds the key to her identity. And though he's clearly drawn to her, Nicholas makes no secret of his distrust of her. Yet one kiss at a time, he breaks down her defenses as they battle an array of demons and Guardians. But is Ash's greatest enemy the man at her side?

The Guardian series is a favorite paranormal series and Meljean Brook a favorite writer. I look forward to all her new releases and Demon Marked is no exception. Demon Marked is book number 7 in this series, so if you haven't read the previous books expect a few spoilers.

Nicholas St. Croix was introduced in the last installment Demon Blood as a human whose life became hell on earth after a demon took his mother's place and basically raised him. By the time she was done, Nick's father had committed suicide and Nick's lover Rachel had sacrificed her life to save Nick's. He lives only for revenge and in the hopes that Rachel had been turned into a Guardian because of her selfless sacrifice. When we meet Nick again, the only thing that has changed is that he has become even more ruthless and coldly focused in his search for revenge.

Ash wakes up in a mental institution with no memory of where or who she is. Eventually, after six months of not speaking, she remembers part of her name and slowly begins to exhibit strange behavior and powers that scare nurses, the psychiatrist and other patients. The one thing that's evident is that Ash is very different, exhibits no emotions and has a totally flat affect. Memories flicker on and off and when the psychiatrist won't help, she leaves the institution and ends up at Nick St. Croix's house. The two meet and although she looks like Rachel, both Nick and Ash know that's not who she is. They strike a bargain, Nick will use Ash to lure the demon who killed his mother, and Ash will use Nick to figure out her identity.

At the beginning of the story Nicholas and Ash were quite cold and it took me a while to warm up to both of them. Ash in many ways seemed lifeless and almost robotic, and Nicholas's obsession with revenge made him into a detached and ice cold man with little to no feelings but cold rage. I shouldn't have worried though, Meljean Brook certainly thawed them out nicely. Soon, there were enough human moments between them and surprisingly amusing dialogue to make Demon Marked worthy of this series.

Ash's character warmed up slowly and believably, and Nicholas' thawing personality changed with enough doubt intermixed with his growing feelings for Ash, that it was believable as love and passion grew between them. Although the fiery passion in this book is not as hot as in Demon Forged, as always, Brook revs up the sexual tension and there's a great payoff when the characters finally give in to passion.

The overall story arc worked out well for me with one exception. I found the outcome of Nicholas's revenge against the demon predictable. However, the way the story line is twisted to work in Michael's situation is rather well done. It's quite nice to see characters from the series make appearances as secondary characters, without them taking too much of the focus away from the central characters. It's always great when Lillith and Hugh make an appearance. However, Khavi is still a mystery, isn't she? I still believe that her methods are highly questionable.

I also have many questions as to what the Guardians are doing and how they compromise their principals to achieve their goals. In this particular story the sacrifice of good souls for the one. Thinking back to Lillith and Hugh's story (Demon Angel) at the very beginning of the series, it seems as if somehow the Guardians have been derailed from their true purpose and in many ways they've become as manipulative as the demons, even as it is understood that their whole structure needs change to survive. But how far are they willing to go? It says a lot about Meljean Brook that such gray areas have been building up slowly and are up for debate and about to climax at this point in this paranormal romance series.

I am especially looking forward to Michael's story, as by addressing the very nature of that character's duality the above questions should be answered. However, how Meljean Brook goes about doing so? Well... talk about high expectations!

Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Guardian Series
Publisher/Release Date: Penguin/September 6, 2011 - Kindle Edition
Grade: B

Visit Meljean Brook here.

Series to Date:
The Guardians, Novella .5 (Hotspell Anthology)
Demon Angel, Book 1
Paradise, Novella 1.5 (Wild Thing Anthology)
Demon Moon, Book 2
Demon Night, Book 3
The Guardians, Novella 3.5 (First Blood Anthology)
Demon Bound, Book 4
Demon Forged, Book 5
Blind Spot, Novella 5.5 (Must Love Hellhounds)
Demon Blood, Book 6
Demon Marked, Book 7
The Guardians 7.5, Novella (The Angels of Darkness) Releasing October 4, 2011

Review: Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction edited by Steve Berman

As we all know, speculative fiction stories are tough to categorize. That is particularly evident in the Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction collection of 14 stories gathered and edited by Steve Berman, where you will find horror intertwined with weird fantasy, weird fantasy love stories, and even a mix of science fiction and pop culture.

It is also true that often within fantastical, horror-based and science fiction tales, the reader will find underlying pertinent social commentary. There’s no question that weather it is the subject of acceptance of the gay lifestyle by loved ones or society, bullying, child abuse or neglect, loneliness, love or loss, those social commentaries can be found in this collection. However, also present is the subject of love. Gay love or related themes are there for the reader to find in most of the stories, entwined with the fantasy, horror and science fiction.

Two excellent examples of spec-fic fantasy and sci-fi with that underlying social commentary are Map of Seventeen by Christopher Barzac, a story about young woman who struggles to understand her hidden powers, society, and her gay brother's choices, and written for all those who feel they're different or outsiders, How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade by Nick Poniatowski, a touching sci-fi story about two boys, extra terrestrials, a science project, friendships, self-deception, acceptance, and fantastical solutions. And of the weird fantasy stories with an underlying love theme, the surprisingly touching How to Make a Clown by Jeremy C. Shipp has to be a favorite for me, as is Mortis Persona by Barbara A. Barnett's fantastic mythology-based story dealing with love of the "forever" kind.

I love my science fiction and there's nothing like weird fantasy, however horror is not usually the first choice in my reading agenda. Which is why it came as a total surprise when some of the stories I enjoyed the most fell under the horror-based category. Horror-based stories and weird fantasy rule the day in this collection with science fiction coming a distant last with only two contributors -- my one small niggle because of personal preference. However, there’s quantity and then there’s quality and those two science fiction stories are excellent!

From the horror-based stories there's the jewel called Mysterium Tremendum by Laird Barron. This is the longest, and one of the creepiest, most atmospheric novellas in this collection. It kept me on the edge with its compelling rough and tough gay characters, a touch of the occult, and excellent pacing and action to its creepy, heart-pounding end! And of those two excellent science fiction short stories, the highly creative Beach Blanket Spaceship by Sandra McDonald with its combination of fine sci-fi and excellent 1960's pop culture details really worked for me.

There's a lot more in this collection that should be mentioned, such as the Dracula-based vampire historical tale Hothouse Flowers by Chaz Brenchley, Alaya Dawn's creepy romance between a flesh eating zombie and a hunter, Love Will Tear Us Apart, or on the other side of the spectrum a story that haunted me with gentle terror, Joel Lane's All the Shadows. Then there's Oneirica by Hal Duncan, a strangely fantastical story full of allusions to myths and mythological characters that meanders like a dream from one plane to another -- past and present, myth and reality -- until the reader, like the characters who lose themselves through time and corridors, also loses his/her bearings.

With Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction, Steve Berman gathered a collection that encompasses everything I've come to expect from LGBTQ speculative fiction. There are the thrilling and chilling moments that come from horror, the confusion and sudden realizations that go hand in hand with weird fantasy and that incredible wonder that I never cease to experience when reading science-fiction, all of it successfully combined with pertinent gay themes and wonderful characters. However, none of the above would happen without successful execution by the authors, and Berman included some of the best along with fresh new talent in this collection. I loved it and recommend that the collection be read slowly for better enjoyment. Highly recommended.

Category: LGBTQ Speculative Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/August 20, 2011
Source: ARC Lethe Press
Grade: A-

Stories and Authors in order of appearance:
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Alaya Dawn Johnson
"Map of Seventeen" by Christopher Barzak
"How to Make Friends in Seventh Grade" by Nick Poniatowski
"Mortis Persona" by Barbara A. Barnett
"Mysterium Tremendum" by Laird Barron
"Oneirica" by Hal Duncan
"Lifeblood" by Jeffrey A. Ricker
"Waiting for the Phone to Ring" by Richard Bowes
"Blazon" by Peter Dubé
"All the Shadows" by Joel Lane
"The Noise" by Richard Larson
"How to Make a Clown" by Jeremy C. Shipp
"Beach Blanket Spaceship" by Sandra McDonald
"Househouse Flowers" by Chaz Brenchley

Review: The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

The people celebrate
and go all the way
for the Feast of the Goat
the Thirtieth of May.

—"Mataron El Chivo"
“They Killed the Goat”
A Dominican merengue

The Feast of the Goat or La Fiesta del Chivo is a fictionalized account of the Trujillo Era written by the Peruvian writer and winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa. This powerful and haunting historical fiction novel depicts the last day in the life of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina who held power over his people in the Dominican Republic between 1930 and May 30, 1961. The original book is written in Spanish, however in my opinion the translation of the book by Edith Grossman is excellent and I do not have complaints when it comes to either the language nor how the translation effected the writer's prose.

Vargas Llosa approaches the story from three different points of view:

• The present and past memories of the fictional character Urania Cabral.
• Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina's view of events as they unfold on the day that he was assassinated, May 30, 1961, and his memories of past events. 
• The point of view of the Trujillo's assassins as events unfold on May 30, 1961, and their memories of the past events that motivated their actions. 

The three perspectives allow the writer to present the full scope of the history encompassing the Trujillo Era in a fast paced style that keeps the reader glued to the pages. The three points of view, which seem disparate at first, alternate and get closer to each other until they merge at the end in a cohesive manner.

Vargas Llosa uses the fictional characters of Urania, Agustin Cabral and their family to bring cohesion to the story, as Urania returns to the city of Santo Domingo after years of absence, and in turn to her memories of the past while confronting her senile and silent father with his past sins. Her memories, accusations and revelations take the reader to a time when the Dominican Republic and its people lived under the mesmerizing power of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina. Vargas Llosa uses Urania as the voice representing Dominican women of her time, as she narrates experiences that are full of wonder, innocence, horror, and ultimately terrible betrayal. The betrayal experienced by Urania is a double edged sword as it comes from her father and from a society that is patriarchal in nature, killing her faith in men.

Trujillo had quite a few nicknames: el Jefe (the Chief), el Generalissimo, the Benefactor, and of course the Goat. Vargas Llosa portrays Trujillo on his last day as an old man in his 70's who is slowly losing control of his body, his allies, the country and its people. It is an intimate and personal portrayal of a man who truly believes his own press: God and Trujillo, Trujillo and God. He believes that he is savior to the Dominican people and that they owe him everything, including their properties, women, children and even their very lives. As the base of his rule there is authoritarianism and paternalism, however this is combined with violence and corruption that ends in immense abuse of power over his people, family, collaborators and enemies alike.

More than anything else, what he could not forgive was that just as he had corrupted and brutalized this country, the Goat had also corrupted and brutalized Antonio de la Maza. - Antonio de la Maza - Chapter 6

The assassins point of view is the most compelling for me in this story. Vargas Llosa portrays the last moments, the history and motives that placed Antonio de la Maza, Antonio (Tony) Imbert Barrera, Lieutenant Amadito García Guerrero, and Salvador (El Turco) Estrella Sadhalá on the San Cristóbal Highway on May 30, 1961 and made assassins out of family men and former trujillistas. Theirs are stories of men who were subjugated first through love and then through fear, and whose spirits were almost broken after years of giving of themselves to a man and a country that took it all and gave nothing in return except terror and betrayal. Their stories are moving, horrifying, and violent, and the individual motivations and the after effects of their collective actions, as portrayed by Vargas Llosa, are fascinating.

"They kill our fathers, our brothers, our friends. And now they’re killing our women. And here we sit, resigned, waiting our turn,” he heard himself say. Antonio (Tony) Imbert Barrera - Chapter 9

Vargas Llosa is known for successfully "depicting the effects of authoritarianism, violence and the abuse of power on the individual." The Feast of the Goat is an excellent example of this theme. He explores it through all three points of view, even that of Trujillo himself, as it is through him that the reader experiences how and why that power is abused and used to control collaborators and enemies alike. Previously I mentioned authoritarianism and paternalism, however Vargas Llosa goes further by portraying the Trujillo Era as a machista-run society and makes a connection between sex and power, where sex is used by Trujillo as a controlling tool to obtain and maintain his power.

Furthermore, in my opinion, where Vargas Llosa truly succeeds with The Feast of the Goat in his portrayal of the Latin American dictator and in his usage of a conversational, fast paced style that makes this historical fiction novel accessible to the reader. His inclusion of violence and torture is key and contributes to the sense of reality the reader experiences when confronted with true horror and terror. Torture and violence are not just words that are mentioned within the narration. Vargas Llosa brilliantly weaves in history and fiction to make this an excellent read.

There's so much more that I could say about The Feast of the Goat. This is a partial re-read for me, I first read it in Spanish, however this is my first attempt at reading the English translation. I would like to thank Mariana for encouraging me to re-read it in English for our book club. A note: I enjoyed this book this time around much more than the first time. Why? Well, the first time I didn't know anything about the history of the Dominican Republic and researched both history and characters as I read the book, this time I just enjoyed it. What I can tell you all is that both times the story haunted me for days after I finished it.

The Feast of the Goat (La Fiesta del Chivo) by Mario Vargas Llosa. Highly recommended.

Category: Historical Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1 edition / March 4, 2011 - Kindle Edition
First Read: B+
Grade: A

---------------------------
Note: I started a side blog Quotes and Thoughts that I will be using to post write ups on the books I'm reading, as I read them. Not reviews, just thoughts on specific moments in a story that catch my attention, or even to expand on a particular thread in a story while writing a review. I wrote two posts about The Feast of the Goat on that site:

Links to Quotes and Thoughts:
Sex and Power in The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
The end justifies the means... The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

Impressions: Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl

Too much of a good thing…
With her long ponytail and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than a businesswoman—or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he arrives to investigate a break–in at her family's brewery. He's got his own problems—starting with the fact that his partner, Simone, is pregnant and everyone thinks he's the father.

Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother's playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tension could tear her tight–knit family apart. In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their "baby" sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath. He's not who people think he is—and neither is she.

Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl is a solid contemporary romance with excellent secondary characters. The central characters are the focus, even when the others make an impact. The main female protagonist is a bit immature, but is both fun and passionate. The dialogue and situations are amusing and keep the reader engaged. There were enough conflicts, both internal and external, to keep me interested in the story from beginning to end.

I loved the scenes between Tessa and Luke, they sizzled with passion and steam. Luke was a man worth having and I love the fact that he doesn't care when the brothers' interfere. He respects them, specially Eric, but not enough to give up the budding relationship he has going with Tessa. (LOL on the virgin scene). I loved that he stood up for his partner too without making excuses or having to give up that relationship for anyone.

Tessa is a first class manipulator and control freak and that's the main crux of her problem in this story. Manipulation and control that come by way of her fear of losing those she loves. She begins small throughout her life until she goes too far. Although fun and a bit of a contradiction because Tessa seems to be a rather sexy and independent woman on the surface, her character tends to be frustrating because of her tendency toward those immature actions and reactions, however, Dahl works out those issues satisfactorily in the end for Tessa and Luke.

Eric and Jamie are both strong and compelling secondary characters. Jamie as the spoiled and rather immature younger brother, fighting to show that he can and has changed, and Eric as the older brother that not only took charge of the business when his parents died in a tragic accident, but raised both his siblings and now has a problem letting go of that parental role.

Overall this is a contemporary romance that I enjoyed reading from beginning to end because of its mostly engaging characters and interesting, amusing circumstances. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this contemporary series, Bad Boys Do.

Category: Contemporary Romance
Series: Donovan Brothers Brewery
Publisher/Release Date: HQN Books/August 30, 2011
Grade: B

Visit Victoria Dahl here.

Series:
Good Girls Don't, Book 1
Bad Boys Do, Book 2 (Releases September 27, 2011)

ETA: Thanks to Leslie for her thorough review, it convinced me to read this book. :)