Delve into new worlds with these paranormal books!
Michael Thomas Ford delves back into his world of Jane Austen as a vampire in "Jane Vows Vengeance."
Jane Austen, now living as Jane Fairfax, is ready for her own happily ever after, but there's a few stumbling blocks. She's set to marry Walter Fletcher, despite the fact that he doesn't know who or what she really is and his mother, a former vampire slayer, does. Her soon-to-be mother-in-law has given her a year in which to give her a grandchild or get staked. And Lord Byron, her vampire maker, is still annoying. And the undead Charlotte Bronte is still lurking somewhere, wanting vengeance on Jane.
But when Walter gets the chance of a European trip for work and turning it into a destination wedding/honeymoon, Jane jumps at the chance and gets her friends and her mother-in-law on a plane. Everything's going well, until Jane's ex-husband, another vampire shows up and ruins the wedding. The next thing Jane knows, she's being framed for murdering one of Walter's co-workers and trying to track down a mystical vampire cure in order to save her marriage. But by the time some dark family secrets come to the light, will Jane and Walter's relationship be salvageable?
This fang-in-cheek book with its quirky sense of humor and enjoyable characters is a pleasing addition to the paranormal world. Ford's writing is a real treat.
"Jane Vows Vengeance" is published by Ballantine Books. It is $15 and 288 pages long.
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Look for a Q&A with Ford on my blog tomorrow!
New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire brings a new series of a monster hunter/ballroom dancer in "Discount Armageddon."
Verity Price comes from a legendary family of monster hunters. The Price family long ago belonged to a group of hunters, the Covenant of St. George, but when they started to question why they were killing innocent creatures, they broke with the Covenant and have been living in hiding, helping the monsters they used to chase and delivering justice to the ones that step out of line. Verity has been living in New York, doing triple duty fulfilling her dream as a ballroom dancer, working as a waitress at a "gentlemen's" club to pay the bills and policing the town's monsters by night. But when her hunt brings her into the path of a Covenant boy, Dominic De Luca, sparks fly. For Dominic just might be willing to believe that not all things that go bump in the dark are evil and while their paths cross on the hunt for a dragon, this might just be the beginning of something else entirely.
This is an early contender for my favorite book of the year. I enjoyed Verity and Dominic's chemistry, the creepy cast of characters that Verity comes in contact with, and the twist on the usual paranormal setting. I can't wait to see what's in store for Verity and her legendary family next!
"Discount Armageddon" is published by Daw. It is $7.99 and 344 pages long.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs returns to her spin-off series, Alpha and Omega with "Fair Game."
Calming Omega wolf, Anna, and her enforcer mate, Charles are back and after a deadly killer. When the werewolves decided to go public, it created a lot of problems for the packs, and Charles has been called upon to permanently punish those who before might have just received a warning. This is taking its toll on Charles - and only Anna will speak up about it. Finally, Charles' father decides to send Anna with her mate acting as bodyguard, to assist the FBI on a possible serial killer murder case. Two of the bodies found were werewolves, and they are hoping someone supernatural can bring in some insight. But with werewolves turning up dead, Anna may have just walked into something that even Charles can't save her from.
Charles and Anna are my favorite characters from Briggs' series, and its nice to see a happily married couple as the main characters and romantic interests. While they may have some rough patches, there is no denying their love, and they will always have each others' back. The mystery is a good one too, full of twists and turns and conspiracies.
"Fair Game" is published by Ace. It is $26.95 and is 293 pages long.
Come back March 12 to my blog for a Q&A with Briggs!
Contact Amy Phelps at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com
