Heart Search Book Three: Betrayal, by Carlie M.A. Cullen

Today we are looking at the third and final volume in the Heart Search Trilogy by Carlie M.A. Cullen, Heart Search  book three: Betrayal. I have to say, I love the cover--it really represents the story well, and the book beneath that cover does not disappoint in any way.

BUT FIRST, THE BLURB:

One bite started it all . . .

Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?

As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.

And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?

Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive? 

MY REVIEW:
Where to start? It is the third book in the trilogy, and so it picks at the end of the previous book, of course–but a new reader could start with this book and be intrigued.

For me, this book is a roller-coaster of events and emotion, as Samir’s and Joshua’s covens prepare to defend themselves from an upstart rival’s attempted takeover. The disappearance and kidnapping of one of their own casts suspicion on several people, and the discovery of a traitor in their midst is an unpleasant monkey-wrench tossed into the works, making it difficult for Samir and Joshua to know who to trust.

This book has many, many threads that are woven together to create a compelling story of intrigue, Stockholm Syndrome, and the arrogance that comes with immortality. It is filled with strong characters and inventive plot twists—some creepy, some chilling, and some downright horrifying.

Phoenix, the hidden traitor in their midst is an arrogant, self-absorbed twit. We don't find out until nearly the end just who Phoenix is, man or woman. This traitor claims to care for the person handed over as a hostage, but does it anyway, knowing the hostage will not be treated well. Phoenix manages to cause nothing but trouble before their identity is finally revealed.Their enemy, Liam, is a low-class thug who has no problem starting the equivalent of a gang-war within the vampires’ society. His heavy-handed bullying of his subordinates and cruelty to his victims is evidence of that. His second in command, Max, is a much smarter vampire, a man who could have been quite decent under other circumstances and isn't quite sure that his maker is all that sane.

This is a fitting climax to a wonderful series. It’s a paranormal romance, so some graphic sex and a great deal of violence make this book definitely an adult read.

A Dry Patch of Skin, by Stephen Swartz

I love it when an author approaches an old tale with completely new eyes. A Patch of Dry Skin is most definitely a new take on the old tale, and I must say it's about time! Indie Author Stephen Swartz has put together a well-crafted tale that is both a horror story and a morality tale.

But first, the Blurb:
The truth about being a vampire: It is not cool, not sexy. It’s a painful, miserable existence.

Good reason to avoid that situation, thinks Stefan Székely. He's too busy falling in love with TV reporter Penny Park, anyway. Until one day when she notices he has a dry patch of skin on his face.

At first it's annoying, nothing to worry about, some weird skin disease he can treat with lotions. However, as his affliction worsens, Stefan fears that his unsightly problem will ruin his relationship with Penny.

If only that was all Stefan has to worry about! He soon realizes there is a lot more at stake than his handsome face. To save himself, Stefan must go in search of a cure for the disease which is literally destroying him inch by inch. If only his parents had told him of his family's legacy.


My Review:
This is a deep book--I found myself thinking about it long after I finished reading it. Stefan Székely is an interesting character. He's a successful phlebotomist, his parents have died, he's approaching middle-age, and has finally fallen in love with a woman he could spend the rest of his life with.

Unfortunately, he has this little eczema problem, which begins slowly, and soon escalates to tragic proportions. Confused and just wanting it to go away, Stefan consults doctors, seeking treatment through progressive western medicine, to no avail.

Penny is a strong woman, but the disfiguring disease is sometimes too much for her. If Stefan is to keep Penny, their romance has many bumps to overcome, and some of those are insurmountable. Salvaging his romance with Penny becomes Stefan's obsession. 

Stefan has a high sense of morality, and when he accidentally discovers that blood relieves the symptoms, he is faced with making terrible choices, none of which are good for either his career or his relationship with beautiful Penny.  

Things really take a change for the strange when he seeks an unusual treatment in New Orleans. This tale takes the reader all over the world, and into some dark places. The characters he meets along the way are wonderfully portrayed. The sense of history in each location is there, underpinning the story, and his journey becomes a quest for salvation--one he may not achieve. The ending of this tale is both surprising, and is really the only way it could have ended when you think about it.

All in all, I give A Patch of Dry Skin 5 full stars. This is a classic horror story with a non-traditional twist.

The Cold, by Aura Burrows

As my regular readers know, I'm always looking for great, inexpensive reads by indie authors. I have stumbled across a wonderful website, BigWorldNetwork.com, that is something completely revolutionary in this ever-changing industry. I’m completely enthralled with this gorgeous library of the mind!  They bill themselves as the world’s premier episodic network - “Like television…only in book form. Episodic literary series from some of today's most talented writers in written and audio format.”  They truly are television in book form, a way of combining listening and reading that allows the mind to roam freely throughout the entire experience.

OMG!!! I’m hooked!!! And it’s only $3.00 a month for an amazing supply of books in serial from!  So far I have become addicted on “The Cold” by Aura Burrows. I can read it for myself, or listen to the wonderful narrative by Willow Wood, which is how I’ve been absorbing this compelling tale. I don’t watch television, but I have developed a great fondness for audio-books, as they allow me to spend my evenings immersed in the completely visual world that is created when one listens to a good tale, that is well-read. They’re perfect for long trips in the car. One of my own books, a novella, is in the process of being turned into an Audible book at www.Audible.com as I write this post—I can’t tell you what a thrill that is.

So now that I’ve gotten my squeeing like a little girl out of the way, we can get down to my review of indie author Aura Burrows’ wonderful urban fantasy serial, The Cold.

The Blurb:

I was a warm and at times emotionally heated lady, until several drinks too many one night. Now there is nothing but cold. Cold hands, cold body, cold heart. Yet I live amongst the warmth of others and must learn to adjust quickly. Because now…I am a vampire.

My Review:

First of all, each episode averages about 10 minutes, so it is easy to either read on the PC or listen while working in the kitchen.  The Cold is told in the first person, which is the only way this particular tale could be told. In episode one, our protagonist (who is not named until chapter 7) is a young gal, unhappily employed in data-entry, and recovering from a bad break-up with a long-time boyfriend. She over indulges and gets completely out of hand, passing from the ‘merely intoxicated’ stage to the ‘toss the bitch out’ stage. 

She is removed from the situation by a stranger, an enigmatic blond man with slight accent. When she wakes, completely naked in a strange place, the man gives her a few terse instructions, leaves her a set of clothes (hers were covered in vomit, apparently) and vanishes.

It takes her a while to realize that she has been changed into a vampire.

Each episode of this serial is about her impressions of the first hours of her new life, the first days and learning the rules of the road in her new society. I love seeing this new existence through her eyes as she makes each unsettling discovery. She is not a terrible person, but she is not a human and never forgets that as she  finds ways to cope with her situation.

I just finished the first season and have enjoyed every episode of this journey into a vampire’s “life”. I highly recommend you check out www.BigWorldNetwork.com and see what else is out there. I honestly think this website and other online sources of free and affordable literature will be great forces in shaping our ever-evolving publishing industry, at least on the indie front.

In the meantime, I am going to start on the second season!

Brawn Stroker's Dragula, by Nicole Antonia Carro

I bought Brawn Stroker’s Dragula, by indie author Nicole Antonia Carro on a whim. When I read the title, I was expecting something incredibly camp and lightweight, but that is certainly not what I got. Instead, I found a tale full of people I could call friends, and situations I hope my friends never find themselves in!

The Blurb:

Ybor City, Florida. November 1999

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, lowly female impersonator Chris Reynolds brings a mysterious stranger home. In the four-day weekend which follows, Chris and his friends become embroiled in the secret world of Dr. Stephen Bartow, a reluctant & incompetent vampire who only wants his humanity restored so he can return to his one true love. Yet they are all in danger when a demon from Dr. Stephen’s past returns to destroy them.

One romantic evening gone wrong for Chris and his alter ego Dee Flaytable is forever transformed into a formidable creature of the night– fabulous and seductive, her siren’s song captivates every audience. But can she triumph in the face of true evil?

When the Vampire Queens battle, who will win?

My Review:

As I said at the outset, I picked this up looking for a light, quick read, but ended up staying up to 2:30 a.m. to finish it. The tale is told through the journal entries of Chris Reynolds, and Dr. Stephen Bartow, which I found interesting.

In 1999 Florida, Chris lives in a slightly skewed reality, performing as a drag-queen. He has talent, but he's no RuPaul, and he knows it. His off-and-on boyfriend, Billy, plans to be a preacher and is afraid to come out of the closet.

Chris himself can’t tell his parents what he does for a living, as they would crap their southern middle-class baptist pants. His female roommate is his shield, giving him the appearance of heterosexuality for his folks, who were so afraid he was gay that her being black is no problem. When Chris is accidentally turned into a vampire, things go horribly awry.

This is far more than a tale of a Drag Queen of the Damned. Carro takes on obsession, rape, grinding poverty, racism, homophobia, and all stops between.

This particular book actually follows Dr. Stephen's tale more than Chris's, but i think it works well, as without knowing what happened to Stephen, we can't know why Chris has to fight the Evil Vampiress. Through Dr. Stephen’s journal we are taken back to the post WWII south. We are introduced to his spurned ex-fiancée and see the lengths she will go to have revenge on him. Dr. Stephen is a competent enough physician, but though he is not really a heroic man, he is turned into a vampire with a mission.

The horror is well balanced with humor. It is both graphic and violent, and is not a book for those who want their vampires sparkly and their entertainment sanitized. This a book for smart, thinking people who also like vampires.

I believe a second book is in the works and I hope it will focus more on Chris, as he is an awesome character, but wherever the author goes with this tale I will definitely buy it.

Heart Search 2 - Found, by Carlie M.A.Cullen

This week we taking a little trip off the beaten path and this time we are stepping into the world of paranormal romance Heart Search 2 - Found, by indie author Carlie M.A. Cullen.

The Blurb:

One bite started it all . . .

Another mysterious disappearance sparks a frightening chain of events for Remy and her family. Events foretold come to pass, and more strange and alarming occurrences assail her life. Where can she turn?

Coven politics continue to threaten Joshua’s existence, but an even bigger menace looms.

And Remy’s life hangs in the balance – can Joshua save her?

Fate still toys with mortals and immortals alike, as hearts torn apart by darkness confront perils which could lead to their doom.

My Review:

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and was not disappointed in this book. The story picks up where it left off in Heart Search 1- Lost, but you don’t have to have read the first book to follow the plot.

As in the first book of this series, Carlie M.A. Cullen takes you into the minds and the eyes of her characters. Her descriptions are thick with visuals and layered with emotion. Joshua is sexy and compelling and is most definitely not a two-dimensional vampire, as the male leads in many paranormal romances can be.

Samir, Joshua's maker is loving and cares for his ‘children’ and they in turn adore him – but he has an agenda of his own and a side he carefully hides from the others, and this definitely emerges in this book. As individuals the vampires are inherently selfish and uncaring of anyone but their own society, and Cullen portrays this just as well in this book as she did in the first book. There is a great deal of turmoil in the coven, and there is intense jealousy lurking just under the surface.

Remy is deep and intense, and her best friend Jakki balances her well. Remy relies heavily on her for emotional support. All of the supporting characters have clearly defined personalities, making them interesting in their own right. The environments surrounding them are vivid and clearly drawn, and the two parallel stories intertwine well, making a good contrast.

The mood of this tale is dark and foreboding, yet there is occasional lightness as Remy strives for some sense of normalcy in the face of terrifying events that occur almost daily in her very unusual family.

The ending is satisfying, and while it leaves the door open for a third book, many threads are brought together, so I felt it ended well.

Heart Search, Carlie M.A. Cullen

Heart Search is a first novel for UK author Carlie M.A. Cullen. This is most unashamedly a paranormal romance novel. I usually never read romance novels, but the plot, as depicted in the blurb for this book, intrigued me. I was most certainly NOT disappointed!

Two weeks before their wedding, Remy’s fiancé, Joshua, hurts her physically. Although he doesn’t know why, he is changing and not for the better. Joshua hates himself for what he’s done. As he changes, so do both his state of mind and his perceptions. He disappears a few days before the wedding.

After a brief descent into an emotional breakdown, Remy heeds advice from her identical twin, Becky, to fight for Joshua. She finds a diary which leads her to believe something strange happened to her fiancé and suspects it was something he had no say in. She resolves to find him, and sets off on a long, lonely journey around the country. As the days turn into weeks, then months, she has to fight through emotional turmoil and find an inner strength just to keep going. Strange things begin to happen to Remy and she questions her sanity.

Cullen takes you into the minds and the eyes of her characters. Her descriptions are thick with visuals and layered with emotion. Joshua is sexy and compelling even though he is not always likeable, but he is a vampire so there you go. His coven is the same way. Samir, his maker is loving and caring for his ‘children’ and they in turn adore him. As individuals they are inherently selfish and uncaring of anyone but their own society, and Cullen portrays this well.

This story is as much about Remy coming to terms with the way her life has been changed and learning who she is as much as it is her search for Joshua. It is also a story about Joshua learning how to live his new life, which is well drawn and drew me in.

She portrays Joshua’s society very clearly, introducing the various factions and power struggles well, and shows how Remy becomes a central element in the vampires’ internecine battles. The unforeseen changes which occur in Remy's life are also depicted well.

I admit I found the author's style of heavy descriptions a bit daunting at first, but I quickly got into the swing of things. I really enjoyed the story and cared about the characters; so much so I couldn't put the book down until I'd finished it. Cullen tells this story in two parallel threads, which I most definitely liked. You get a good view of both Joshua and Remy as they experience their lives through this crisis and other crises which loom.

I give it a solid four stars for an original plot, interesting characters and a unique delivery! The book is clearly a set up for a second book, which I am looking forward to and will definitely buy.  I recommend it for those who read and enjoy a good paranormal romance novel. Carlie M.A. Cullen is an author to watch!

 

 

Dark Lover, J.R. Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Quite honestly, if I had not been able to get this for the Kindle, I would never have read it, simply because the cover is so embarassingly romance-novel-like and I would never have picked it up. Dark Lover can only be described as an urban fantasy, although it is also listed as paranormal-romance. I very rarely read romance novels, as usually they don’t interest me. However, I had a friend who had read this and LOVED it, so I thought why not take a little trip to the darkside and check out a romance novel. I am very glad I did. This is NOT your Mama's Romance Novel! This is about big, bad vampires and the completely separate society that they exist to protect. I warn you now; there is a great deal of profanity and some graphic sexual content in this novel.

The story begins in a nightclub. Darius, a vampire and high-ranking member of the ‘Black Dagger Brotherhood’ asks a personal favor of Wrath, his leader and King. Darius wants his friend to help his unacknowledged half-human daughter, Beth, through the transition that all vampires go through at the age of 25. Wrath and indeed ALL of the Brothers has a bad attitude, being somewhat xenophobic, and refuses Darius’ request. Wrath is the only pure-blooded vampire left in the world, and Darius believes that if his daughter drinks Wrath’s blood during her transition, she will survive it and then he will be able to acknowledge her.

Unfortunately, Darius is killed in a car-bomb explosion as he leaves the nightclub. Wrath then makes the decision to find Darius’s daughter and honor his friend’s last request. Wrath is an interesting character. He refuses to acknowledge his birthright and rule the vampires as king for personal reasons. He is also known as ‘the Blind King’ as he is blind, but one would never know that upon meeting him. Ward describes him as having a ‘cruel mouth’, and his appearance inspires terror in all who see him. All of the Brotherhood are big, well over 6’5” and skilled in the martial arts.

Vampires were created by the ‘Scribe Virgin’, and The Brotherhood exists to fight the strange once-human cult that preys on them, ‘The Lessening Society’. Lessers are the dregs of human society, always men, who have been altered by ‘the Omega’ and are used to hunt vampires. They are somewhat dead, no longer sexually capable, and smell like baby-powder. Lessers are also formidable enemies of the vampire society, and they are responsible for the death of Darius. In Ward’s world, vampires do not drink human blood; they drink the blood of other vampires.

Their society is very rigidly constructed, and the rituals of their religion are central to it. Worship of the Scribe Virgin who takes a personal interest in their lives is the underpinning of their culture. She represents their God, and The Omega represents their Evil.

The battles that the Brotherhood fight against the Lessers are graphic and not for the weak of stomach. The equally important battles between Wrath and his Brothers as they try to convince him to rule their society as he was born to are really well done, and the characters of the Brotherhood themselves are quite clearly drawn. Each male is an individual, with demons of his own to fight.

The story of Wrath and Beth sucked me in and refused to let me go. If you are looking for a big, broad adventure with a certain amount of adult content this is the book for you!