Fantasy
Nicholai is a vampire kept as a slave with no memory of his previous life. Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter opens with Jane, living in our contemporary world, reading a strange book that was anonymously sent to her about Nicholai that calls to her. When Jane wakes up the next morning she finds herself in a different world with everyone believing she is someone else and finds herself attracted to the sexy but mysterious Nicholai. Unsure who she can trust in this magical world, Jane must brazen out the facade of who she is while trying not to get killed.
Nicholai struggles to remember who he was, knowing that he must return to where he came from but unsure why. Nicholai is determined to not allow anything to get in his way and that includes the strangely vulnerable Jane. Nicholai finds himself drawn to Jane and as the memories start coming back, he starts to realize how important Jane is and was but if she returns to her world he isn’t sure he can get her back.
Loosely based on the idea of Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Vampires is about a woman who finds herself essentially falling through a rabbit hole to a whole different world. I admit I had some concerns going into the story because Nicholai is a sex slave but the story didn’t really get a whole lot into that, briefly mentioning at the beginning but not any specific details. Lord of the Vampires is the beginning of a new series The Royal House of Shadows about Nicholai and his siblings, separated by magic but all with a consuming need for revenge, all the books in the series are based on a different fairy tale. I have to admit that Nicholai was okay as far as a character goes but Jane was amazing. Her strength to overcome all the trials she had made her endearing and made me cheer for her at times. Lord of the Vampires was okay as far as read but I am interested to see the other author’s take on their fairytales so I will continue to read the series in the upcoming months.
You can read an excerpt here.
The Royal House of Shadows:
Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter
Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe (Sept. 20, 2011)
Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen (Oct. 25, 2011)
Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (Nov. 22, 2011)
The series has it own webpage and can be found here.
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Title: Lord of the Vampires
Author: Gena Showalter
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 288
ISBN: 978-0373618668
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequinn
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Helen Hamilton has always known she is different from the others living on Nantucket Sound but when a new family moves into town even she is shocked by her reaction to them. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini begins with the Delos family moving to Nantucket, not really interested, Helen is shocked by her strong reaction to Lucas and even more shocked when she tries to kill him. This just isn’t Helen’s year, not only does she try to kill someone she doesn’t know, she is suffering from strange dreams that leave her feet covered in dust and cuts and now she fears she is suffering from hallucinations.
Lucas and his family have moved to Nantucket Sound to get away from their family politics and now find someone that they didn’t believe existed. Lucas finds himself drawn to Helen but he fears that they are just on a path set up the Fates, destined to end in tragedy. When Helen is attacked several times, Lucas starts to wonder if he cares if he is destined to end in tragedy so long as Helen is safe.
An interesting take on the mythology of the ancient Gods and Goddesses, Starcrossed was a great read. Helen’s feeling of being different and finally finding out who and what she is are believable and touching. I loved the scenes in the kitchen centered around Lucas’s family but especially his mother. Unlike so many YA novels (so many of them have nonexistent or non paticipatory parents), Starcrossed has some great parental figures for all the youth characters and I loved the Delos’s family dynamics. I flew through Starcrossed in one morning but the build up to the second novel, Dreamless, has me really looking forward to the next novel!
You can read an excerpt here.
Awakening Reading Order:
Dreamless (May 2012)
Unknown Title (unknown date)
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Title: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Format: Hardbound, eBook
Page Nos.: 496
ISBN: 78-0062011992
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
So Starcrossed has its own theme song, performed by a German Band called the Demigoddesses, how cool is that? I have posted it here for your listening pleasure. 
When bodies start appearing on the streets of New York carefully cut up, Detective Jude Crosby realizes that a new Jack the Ripper is haunting the streets of America. Sacred Evil by Heather Graham, the mayor of New York brings in the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters group to assist Jude in these strange cases. Whitney Tremont has traveled on ahead of the Krewe to start the gathering of information. Jude is not happy to have the FBI intruding into his turf but he is really not happy to the “ghost hunters” sticking their nose into his case. As Whitney and Jude start getting closer, Whitney is afraid to share her psychic talents with Jude but when she discovers the bodies of the historically killed women, Whitney must be honest with Jude but will his disbelief of her skills ruin their beginning relationship.
As the body count starts rising and the media makes the case more difficult by splashing the headlines, causing citizens to try their best to get photos of the displayed dead bodies, Jude and Whitney must work together to stop this killer who is preying upon women. As the past and the present start blurring, the danger escalates for the Krewe members.
Sacred Evil is my favorite, so far, of the Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham. The blending of the theory of Jack the Ripper in America to a current serial killer was fabulous and kept me glued to the page. This might be because I am more familiar with this theory than I was of the previous novels. I also really liked Jude, a good guy trying his best to stop the bad guys but having no illusions as to what that does to his social life and personality, his dedication to his father makes him endearing. I have to admit that I was kept guessing until the very last minute as to who the killer was, a lot of theories of individuals but at the very end I was still guessing.
You can read an excerpt here.
Krewe of Hunters Series:
The Evil Inside (September 2011)
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Title: Sacred Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 384
ISBN:978-0778312420
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: July 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequin
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Donegal Plantation, known for its history and unique Civil War reenactments, is now the site of the Krewe of Hunter’s latest mystery. Heart of Evil by Heather Graham begins with Krewe member Jake Mallory returning to the location of the plantation he used to help run but this time it is the death of an reenactment member, while dressed as the murdered general, that has brought him back. That and his unfinished business with Ashley Donegal.
Tragedy in her family once caused Ashley to turn away from Jake’s love but with a murderer on the loose and Ashley’s strangely prophetic dreams, Jake is the only person Ashley feels she can trust. But when the Krewe of Hunters arrive, Ashley is torn between wanting to share everything with Jake and worrying that everyone will think she has gone crazy.
As always, Heather Graham does a masterful job of weaving the paranormal with the scientific. Heart of Evil felt very much like Jake’s story and Jake’s alone. While the other Krewe members were there, they played a very minor role to the main plot line. I have mixed feelings about this, I love the Krewe and the Krewe’s interactions with each but it was great to have a different perspective and focus on this third novel in the series. I am looking foward to Sacred Evil and the continued investigations of the Krewe of Hunters.
You can read an excerpt here.
Krewe of Hunters Series:
Sacred Evil (August 2011)
The Evil Inside (September 2011)
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Title: Heart of Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 384
ISBN: 978-0778329985
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: June 28, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon, eHarlequin
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
