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Crimson Moon
Nicole has found herself in quite the predicament. As an unwanted child left to abusive relatives herself, she doesn’t quite know what to do when she is presented with young Shelby. Shelby, missing since the night of her parents’ brutal murder, has stumbled upon Nicole. Their pairing is an odd one but at the same time destined to have occurred. Longing for her parents and her Uncle Tee, hurting, lost, and hungry, Shelby does the only thing she knows how–she eats. Her need to feed, however, is like nothing Nicole has ever experienced–Nicole herself is Shelby’s sustenance.
Crimson Moon is the third in a series by Georgiana Fields. The Dhampir are the focus of Fields’s work and provide readers with a whole new cast of characters who by far outweigh any vampire novel I have ever read. Their shapeshifting abilities and the way in which they can sense one another’s life forces makes for a truly engaging read. Shelby and her extended family are standout characters with a closeness most families would envy.
One of the most striking elements of Nicole’s character development is the way she regards Tristan’s behavior toward Shelby. Nicole is at a loss on how family could and should behave. She has never received love in any form or fashion. At the hands of what little family she has, Nicole has endured unimaginable abuse. Her attempts to start over have been thwarted, and she can’t possibly relate to the display of love she sees being shown to Shelby. After seeing her “family,” readers will deeply feel Nicole’s yearning for true affection when she observes Tristan and Shelby.
As with Fields’s first book in the series, Crimson Dreams, readers will find intense action sequences, bloodthirsty characters, and breathtaking moments. Right out of the gate, Fields grabs readers’ attention with a chaotic and heart-wrenching scene between Shelby and her parents. Readers will know what four-year-old Shelby can’t possibly understand as she makes her frantic, yet forced, escape on her own. Fields knows how to pull in readers and keep them invested from cover to cover.
Having devoured Crimson Dreams, I was eager to follow the saga and was not disappointed. Fields builds on the scene set in the first book and succeeds in keeping the momentum going. I highly recommend Fields’s books to those interested in branching out of the vampire genre. There is much to be gained by exploring the world of the Dhampir according to Georgiana Fields.
Pages: 318 | ASIN: B07KQFCX3J
Crimson Dreams
Rose has not lived the easiest of lives and doesn’t exactly have too many people who will miss her when she’s gone. When she is presented with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to England to restore a Victorian era home, she doesn’t immediately jump at the chance due to her own plethora of misgivings and fears. Vaughn, the homeowner, is a convincing individual, indeed, and coerces Rose into making the trip. His motives, however, aren’t what Rose assumes, though his intentions may just have a far-reaching impact on Rose’s life. Once the two reach Vaughn’s home, Rose’s life is no longer her own, and the world as she thought she knew it is forever changed.
Crimson Dreams, by Georgiana Fields, is the story of one woman’s introduction to the world of the Dhampir. The time-traveling Vaughn plays an important role in Rose’s transformation from unsuspecting designer to Dhampir sidekick and part-time detective. The two make a perfect team, and the sexual tension between them is both palpable and handled tastefully by the author.
Vampire stories are among my favorites, and I am always more than critical of details and plot holes. Fields, however, is one author to be commended and followed closely. She has set up quite the scenario with Rose’s leap from modern day to the year 1900. The inclusion of Jack the Ripper and the current onslaught of killings in modern day Atlanta is timely and keeps the two dimensions flawlessly linked. Rose makes the ideal partner for Vaughn as he goes about assisting Scotland Yard in finding the killer.
Fields writes some of the most memorable and relatable secondary characters. It is easy for such characters to get lost in a plot so involved, but she has managed to involve Sara and Aileen in parallel plots that both hold readers’ interest and keep them invested in their stories. Good writers know how to do this; excellent writers actually get it done. Fields has mastered it.
One element that always seems to lack in many vampire stories is that of emotion. Fields’s book, however, is brimming with second-guessing, empathetic moments, and remorse and regret. Vaughn is unlike any other character in this genre. He is somehow more human in his emotions than most I know. Fields has blended a vast array of powerful emotions into a fictional character and succeeded in creating a story for the ages.
It is not often that I want to immediately reread a book, but Fields has grabbed my attention, focused it with laser-like accuracy on her characters, and hypnotized me with her unique and engaging plot. An absolute must-read for anyone who even thinks they enjoy a good vampire story.
Pages: 452 | ASIN: B07GQBW359
It Had Power
Angelina Kerner Author Interview
The Scented Bones follows a young forensic anthropologist thrown into the middle of a feud between vampires and werewolves. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling story?
The Godfather by Mario Puzo. When I was in college, taking an English class, most essays and books were boring until the professor chose his book. The book inspired discussions and gained attention of the students. It had power and I wanted to have similar power over my readers with my writing.
This book has been in the works for more than 5 years. It has gone through 5 drafts, including Angel being a university student and main character to be Rayne and not Gage. However, that draft seemed to read more like about street gangs and so I worked hard to make it more like mafia families.
The Scented book is the first in the series and in every book I’ll introduce more characters and families. Hopefully, my books will inspire readers to read more and even try their hand at writing.
Angel is an intriguing character that I enjoyed following. What were some themes you wanted to capture in her character?
I didn’t want her to be perfect. I wanted her to be smart but timid. Serious but with surprising funny moments. I wanted her to tread carefully when it comes to relationships and focus on the job. But, what I wanted to show was how she looked at magic. Of how she was afraid of what she was and what she could do.
I enjoyed the backstory and mythology embedded in this world between the vampires and werewolves. What were some sources of inspiration that helped you create this world?
Most inspiration came from the characters themselves. Originally all characters were mundanes and as the book progressed into the paranormal, the characters became their other selves. When I was re writing them, I was thinking that if they weren’t paranormal born, how would they shift if bitten? How would they act if they were born?
I tried staying away from other paranormal books about vampires and werewolves to keep my characters original.
Where will the next book in The Svabodina Case Files pick up and when will it be available?
The next book will pick up a couple of weeks after the last scene in The Scented Bones with a new case. The new case will involve a serial killer.
At the moment, I have about 20 chapters written. I’m going back to editing these chapters before finishing the book because I have to add information to the already written ones in order to write the scenes with the actual killer. It is a lot of work and I have a chapter summary file that I go back to for each chapter. I’m tracking dates, character appearances, etc.
I’m not sure when it will be out, hopefully next year. The Scented Bones has been republished by a publisher! So, I’ll work closely with the publisher for book 2 as well. It’s super exciting! Book 2 is titled – The Puzzle of Bones.
Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
![The Scented Bones: The Svabodina Case Files by [Kerner, Angelina]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sv4HsgrFL._SY346_.jpg)
Angel Svabodina is a rookie forensic anthropologist, enjoying the beginning of her new career. That joy comes crashing down when she figures out the skeleton she’s working on is not human and then it vanishes.
She throws herself fully into the case without thinking about the parties involved, a psychopomp associate, and paranormal mafia families made up of vampires and werewolves—or the consequences.
When she sees there’s no avoiding the inevitable, Angel has to suck it up and work with the werewolves to solve the case but can she trust them?
Werewolves and witches are in a centuries-old feud, but that doesn’t stop the shivers running down her spine from one wolf in particular. Rights and wrongs become blurred, as she is tormented by her past and accepting who she truly is while searching for the skeleton. What’s more, nothing comes for free, including information. To get what she needs from the werewolf don, Angel has to meet with the fae queen. Can she meet her without repercussions and solve the case?
The Return of Ka-Ron the Knight – Trailer
When Dark Ships invade the skies over the “Nown” World, the invaders bring with them horrendous terrors for which no one is prepared to face. As entire villages begin to disappear, the world enters a new Dark Age. King Jatel and Queen Karen join forces once again with their friends and awaken ancient magic, giving them their only chance at freedom. Amid war, vampires, dragons, and widespread genocide, the “Nown” World welcomes the glorious return of the most valiant warrior it’s ever known!
Forgotten by the Sun
Amika is a senior in high school, looking forward to graduating and being done with high school. She is the run of the mill kid, not in with the cool kids, not the kid that gets picked on. Everything is status quo, till the Welkins family arrive. Soon Amika, and her friends Nikki and Andrew, become friends with Rhayne, Quade, Damien and Trinity, as well as their “aunt” Suzanne. But Amika finds out that the family is not as it seems, they’re actually vampires. Dating and falling in love with Rhayne introduces Amika to the fact there are multiple worlds that coexist on different planes. From these worlds different creatures like demons can enter the human world and cause trouble. How can Amika and Rhayne develop a relationship being so different? Can Amika understand the unique situation that Rhayne and his family are in?
When I started reading this novel, my first thought was oh, another vampire book. Oh, look this family shows up out of nowhere and they are amazingly attractive. However, after this introduction to the Wilkins family, the similarities to other teen romance vampire novels ends. I was pleasantly surprised to find unique character makeups, a completely different plot structure than I usually see with teen romance or vampire stories. Celeste Eismann has developed a world where vampires and other paranormal figures exists but the twists, she puts into it with Forgotten by the Sun makes her novel unique. This is also the first in a series, so I’m interested to see where the next book takes readers.
The is a relationship between Nikki, Andrew, and Amika is similar to what you would find in close knit friends. Nikki and Andrew are always at each other and Amika is the peacemaker. This sets up the story for how Amika ends up interacting with characters later in the novel. Amika wants to help, she wants to fix things. It is in her nature to go out and ignore her own well-being. Amika is a very complex character and the foreshadowing in the novel indicates she is going to do important things in later books.
Rhayne and his family are interesting, and we get some of their back stories of how they became vampires and where they’re from. They also have their own quarks, especially Quade. I suspect some of the internal conflicts that are eluded to will take center stage in later novels. Overall this novel felt like an introduction to a bigger series that is yet to come. You meet all the key players and get some background, but the novel ends just as the real excitement begins.
Pages: 1543955282 | ISBN: 1543955282
Chasing The Red Queen
![Chasing the Red Queen by [Glista, Karen]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51tYUIzz1LL.jpg)
Chasing the Red Queen opens with the recently turned 18-year-old Donja, a self-proclaimed goth who is uprooted from the normalcy of teenage life. Her mother remarries, giving Donja a new home, a new father and a new stepsister. What starts out as an angsty teens tribulations quickly shifts to darker elements as violent murders begin to hit close to home. New characters emerge, friendships are made, and lovers unite exposing a history of supernatural elements and family secrets Donja never expected.
Karen Glista offers an urban fantasy with a dash of crime, horror and steamy romance all set to the backdrop of vampire lore. A perfect weekend read for those favoring the genre. The author also provides new components to these otherwise over told stories with well researched historical content and fleshed out explanations for the mystical aspects. The mix of first nation cultural and detailed locational history give a fresh twist to this vampire romance which kept me intrigued to the very end.
I found Donja to be likable as the main character. Although the constant reminder of her gothic reputation is repeated one too many times, otherwise her emotional response and reactions are believable throughout the story. I adored the character development between Donja and her stepsister Makayla, from beginning to end they share a bond that unites them through a roller-coaster of emotional events.
Unlike Donja, where she shines in the first half of the book, her counterpart Torin unfolds as the main player towards the end of the book. Once Torin takes center stage I found myself more invested in his story and the account of his mysterious past as well as that of his kind.
I felt that the timeline was a little vague; how much time did everything take, was it days, hours, weeks? I also felt that their were quick leaps in character changes (ie. Frankie, I didn’t know what was happening to him until it was already over). These are the only minor things holding the book back.
However, the story surprised me with well thought out action scenes and gritty dialog. While some secondary characters faded into the background a few shown through and had my full attention. Chasing the Red Queen is a quick read with an equally fast-paced plot, yet will still give the reader enough time to establish a connection to the story, characters and paranormal features.
Pages: 277 | ASIN: B079KJFJW8
The Visitor – Trailer
“WR. Park’s novel OVERLAY reminded me of Robert Ludlum at his best.” – New York Times bestselling author Jon Land
An intriguing tale of a sinister female vampire who schemes a world dominated by vampires with the aid of vampires scattered throughout the globe. Can the CIA ‘Vampire Hunter Team’ led by a sympathetic vampire annihilate the covey before they infiltrate world-wide governments?
Suddenly, wide-eyed, they stared at their chief. In less time than it took for a twig to snap, sounds of the jungle ceased: bird whistles, monkey chatter, and insect noises of every description. Even the angry growl of a jaguar was quieted mid-roar.
As the strange-shaped craft vanished, sounds of the jungle crashed down around them, assaulting honed senses as suddenly as they had ended. Jaguar finished its roar. Insects bit. It was as though time had stood still for a matter of minutes. It would be the talk in all villages for months to come–as natives living on the rim of the impenetrable canopied jungle across the piranha-infested river–attempted to survive ‘The Visitor.’
A World Much Darker
T.L. Bailey Author Interview
The Dark Age Chronicles is a genre-crossing novel with elements of a fantasy, horror, and adventure as well. Did you start writing with this in mind, or did this happen organically as you were writing?
Well, I knew that I wanted to have the book set in the time of pirates. I saw “Treasure Island” when I was twelve years old and after that I was in love with pirate movies. I watched every Earl Flynn movie I could, or anything pirate related. It wasn’t until I was older that I wanted to take that aspect of the dark ages, of how we treat one another, and introduce a world much darker, more sinister. Growing up I watched sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies and I think I always knew I would combine them if I could. My love for shows like, “Charmed”, “Walking Dead”, “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, and “Supernatural” helped me want to combine the genre as I got older.
What was the initial idea behind this story and how did that transform as you were writing the novel?
I know this is going to sound so lame but I had a dream when I was twelve about this girl standing on a dock at night in a storm overlooking three tall ships. In the dream she was so sad and she seemed distressed. I woke up and have never got that image out of my mind. That was the day the story started to develop in my head…the day Eve was born. It wasn’t easy because as I grew up so did my character and I found ideas along my life that I wanted Eve to experience. I also had to develop a writing technique that I didn’t have at twelve. I actually had a file that I would place ideas in until the day came to actually start writing it. When it did, well, the book was transformed to new ideas as I wrote.
Eve is an interesting character that I thought was well developed. What were some driving ideals behind her character development?
I wanted a character that was in the world but felt alienated as well. Giving her pale skin, unusual red hair, and a mark on her hand in the dark ages was like signing her death warrant. To have to be born with that stigmata helped set up the story line for Eve’s fears, and her long for social acceptance. Because of the lack of love she has been shown from Randall Cambridge, her grandfather, she feels like she is evil. Children often always blame themselves when adults do things, and Eve is no different. She even still tries to believe if she does what he wants she will win his love someday. Even though she is beaten down, she has an inner strength that won’t let her give up. I wanted a character that had to struggle with should I help these people even though they watched me get abused and didn’t help me? It would be hard for anyone to do that. I wanted to take her down that path and find out the answers.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be published?
The Dark Age Chronicles has four books total in the series and are all out on Amazon.com paper back or Kindle and I am currently writing a new novel called Portals.
The Dark Age Chronicles books in order: Eve of Darkness, Eve of the Hunters, Eve of Destruction and Eve of Battle.
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In 1717 it was a time of darkness,where stations kept to their own and people struggled to survive. A time where pirates still roamed the seas, slavery was suffered and ignorance reigned supreme. But there is coming a greater darkness that man can’t hope to fight A darkness that will consume every soul on earth. One young girl named Eve, born with a mark on her hand, outcast and abused, learns that she is the chosen one that must stop the rising evil. The last of a known race who protected the world, she must fight a horde of demonic hell hounds, demons, and her worst fears. Together with six others, she must learn to use powers she never knew she had if she ever hopes to defeat Nyx…. the most powerful Necromancer ever born.
LITERARY TITAN 