For Calli, the colorful tattoos on her arm are a small way to fill the void in her mind. Several years earlier she had been in a terrible car accident that left her with a scar on her face and holes in her memory. A bad encounter with a former employee finds Calli in the arm of an unlikely hero,Nycholas, a Vesper and one who could hold the key to Calli’s memories. Somewhere between fear and desire, Calli cannot help but fall for (more…)

Vengeance Born, the excellent first installment in the Light Blade series, effectively draws the reader in with its opening sentence. The world of the series has two main components: the Na’Reish vampiric demons who enslave humans, and the humans, led and protected by Light Blade warriors, who worship a feminine deity they refer to as The Lady. When the story begins, Annika, a half human/half Na’Reish healer, goes to the dungeons to see to the wounds of a captured Light Blade warrior. (more…)

Frannie Pleasance comes across many odd individuals and situations in her line of work as proprietor of the Needful Creatures pet store (dealing in live animals, not clockworks), but she does not typically stumble upon unconscious men lying in the street–especially not any so closely resembling her dead brother. Her curiosity piqued, Frannie prods the man with her toe, at which time he jumps up and then immediately gets sick. When some approaching blud rats make the two realize they need to be moving on, Frannie tells the man (more…)

Dark Days, the stupendous sixth and final installment in the superb Black London series, grabs the reader by the throat with its opening scene and does not let go until its final satisfying page. Plagued by particularly disturbing visions, Jack Winter feels less than enthusiastic but not particularly surprised when Belial, the demon who previously held his soul and enjoyed torturing him, shows up. (more…)

Bruno DiCesare is enjoying Carnevale in Venice. This is the one week each year he can wander the streets freely, since everyone wears costumes and masks throughout during the wild festival. He is not the only unusual creature drawn to Carnevale, although he is one of a kind. Transformed centuries ago into a half-man, half-chimera, Bruno cherishes the change from his usual solitary existence. (more…)

Naomi thought that she was in love until her boyfriend, Mark, sells her soul to a demon. When sentenced to death, Naomi slips and falls 80 stories. Expecting to hit the pavement, she is shocked to be grabbed by something before she does. Now Naomi wants vengeance for her imprisonment and what she has turned into. (more…)

Sinner’s Heart, the terrific third and final installment in the exciting Hellraisers series, begins a few weeks after the events of book two. Bram Stirling, one of the two original Hellraisers remaining in service to the Dark One, finds himself seriously questioning his activities and the ultimate goals of the evil he has bound himself to. With former members Whit and Leo, along with Zora and Anne, fighting against (more…)

Southern Haunts: Spirits That Walk Among Us is a collection of sixteen stories containing ghosts centered in the South and Southwest. Be prepared to shiver with fear or laugh at the antics of some of these ghosts.

Sidney’s Cotton by Richard Parks is one of the stories that stuck with me. Sidney’s Cotton is a restaurant and nightclub run by David Summer. On a slow evening he is telling a renovation story to a pretty woman named Margaret. (more…)

Vampires Don’t Sparkle! is a collection of stories that have one thing in common: they all highlight the good old-fashioned vampire. The vampires here are evil, wicked, and glory in all the blood they can. There are no creatures that regret their existence, pine after mortals, or limit themselves to subsist on animal blood. These are the vampires of old, the vampires that make us humans crave the daylight and fear the darkness. Along with the twisted, fun, and Gothic darkness of these fifteen stories, a major highlight of (more…)

In true horror story form, Spook House begins with a boy, a girl and a car in the woods.

Sheri Foster reluctantly waits behind while her boyfriend, Jeff, proves his manliness by going into the Fuller Farm. The Farm was home to Sam Fuller, who reportedly killed an entire family in the town of Harmony back in 1947. Legend says Fuller’s subsequent “accidental” death was a matter of karma and retribution. Since Old Man Fuller’s death, stories about the abandoned Fuller Farm grow each year, tempting man and boy alike to brave its horrors. (more…)

Demon’s Bride, the fabulous second installment in the gripping Hellraisers series, grabs the reader immediately and refuses to let go for the duration of the novel. In the London of 1763, Anne Hartfield, the daughter of an impoverished baron, finds herself married to Leo Bailey, an extremely rich merchant from humble beginnings. Seeking a way into aristocratic circles for business and personal reasons, Leo decides that the quickest entry will come through marriage, and Anne’s penniless state bothers him not at all. For her part, Anne feels quite a bit of trepidation, given that her new husband displays an imposing presence — or so it seems to her, anyway — but she also finds herself intrigued by him. (more…)

The Sons of Anubis (The Jackals) and the Daughters of Isis (The Witches) have always worked together in harmony, but now it seems the Witches are killing the Jackals. The Jackals plan on kidnapping a witch out of necessity since the some of the Jackals have become ill to the point of death, and some even dying. They need a witch, and the one they chose is not an ordinary witch. Tia is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, but she feels weak, since she shows no outstanding powers that she should.
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Blood Trade, the splendid sixth full-length installment in the fabulous Jane Yellowrock series, begins a few months after the events at the end of the previous book. Jane comes to the realization that she may well be depressed, given that by having accused Rick of trying to kill her, she may have put an unmovable wedge between them forever. Or it could be because Bruiser, someone she considered a friend, held her down while Leo fed from her (though he was controlled by another at the time). (more…)

Rising Darkness is the first a new series by Thea Harrison that has a different vibe than her Elder Races novels. Mary has dreams that keep her awake, she feels different and alone, and is going crazy hearing voices on the wind. When her ex-husband insists Mary go to a doctor for the problems, she decides to skip it and drives off, unknowingly saving her own life. It is this decision that propels her towards Michael — a man she feels connected to, and who finally explains who she is and what that means for both of them. (more…)

Eager to begin working on her new winery account, public relations pro Zoey Potter is astonished to find that the owner, Andre Maras, is none other than a sexy almost-one-night stand that she cannot seem to stop thinking about. Andre brings something out in Zoey she thought died with her husband, but she is not sure she is willing to make herself that vulnerable ever again.

Aside from that situation, there is something different about this winery and all of the people there. Zoey knows that Andre is not being honest about the reasons for the public relations campaign, but does not understand what he could be hiding. Andre Maras is not just a winery owner–he is a centuries old vampire exiled from his homeland and wasting away. (more…)

Light in a Dark World is a fantastic collection of short stories that center on The Destrati, their interactions with humans, and their special relationship with Kail The Betrayer. Kail is more than your average vampire, or, as he prefers, lost soul. That is all vampires are — silly mortals who traded their souls to Lucifer that are now doomed to walk the earth. Kail did not trade his soul, though, it was stolen and he wants it back. (more…)

Rebecca is about to turn seventeen. She lives with her Gram who suffers from early-onset dementia. Rebecca does everything for her Gram, and also has to go to school, worry that Gram might set the house on fire, or something worse, as she hides the fact that she is the caregiver, not just a teen. (more…)

Blood and Magick, the terrific third installment in the exciting Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter series, begins with Deacon, Tiff, Kat, and Larson all having dinner together at a nice restaurant. When Deacon cuts into his highly-anticipated dessert, a sour stench fills the air, and, as can be expected for our hero, all hell breaks loose. After an explosion of glass and debris knocks everyone down, Deacon checks on Tiff, sending her to look for Kat and Larson. Despite a big surprise regarding Larson, Deacon’s attention immediately gets drawn to the large hole blown in the wall. (more…)

Dr. Cam Kalamos and Ellie Russo are back in the exciting third installment of Erin Kellison’s Shadow Touch series. Shadow Hunt begins with tragedy striking the Segue Institute. Cam and Ellie now have to enter the lions den, the most powerful of the Mage Houses, to find the mage responsible and exact retribution. (more…)

On her graduation day from high school, Grace finds out the hard way that she is the daughter of the legendary Pandora, from the Greek myths—when a deadly and beautiful woman tries to kill her. She is saved in the nick of time by her Aunt Phoenix and a gorgeous young man, and then dragged on an impromptu road trip. It turns out that her guardian, Phoenix, is actually a centuries-old faerie, who has been entrusted with protecting Pandora since her mother died. (more…)