Taste the Dark: Elwood Legacy, Book 1, by Nicola Rose

Book Review: Taste the Dark: Elwood Legacy Book 1

By Nicola Rose

4 Stars

Paranormal Romance. Erotica.

I couldn’t help but love the Elwood boys! Can’t wait for more.

One reckless girl and two vampire brothers – battling forces of love over lust, and light over dark…

Jess

I killed my parents. I didn’t mean to, I don’t think. I can’t really remember.

I can’t remember much from the years that followed either, other than an endless stream of bad decisions, generally involving alcohol, drugs and bad boys. My new job in a new town signified a turning point – time to sort myself out.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the 6ft package of brooding, inked-up perfection who started stalking me. And don’t even mention the equally hot brother crawling around under my skin…

They radiate danger, it flows around them like a seductive spell; and danger is my favourite word.

Zac

I was doing a pretty good job at balancing on the fine line between light and dark, blurring the edges and living in the grey. But then dead vampires started piling up around me and the Bael gave me a ticking countdown to fix it.

Now she’s arrived. Four seconds – the moment I saw her – that’s how long it took to know that she’d simultaneously bring heaven and hell to my door. I don’t even know what she is, but I know I crave her.

Falling for a human girl has left me teetering on the verge of collapse. This could be just the ammo my brother needs to nudge me over the edge and into oblivion.

Taste the Dark is a full-length paranormal romance/urban fantasy, intended for adult audiences. It contains coarse language and explicit steamy scenes. Expect a lot of heat and a little darkness, because romance isn’t always sweet.

Book one in the Elwood Legacy series.

Every aspect of this book, I was a fan. The setting of a secluded spring break town, the firefighter profession of Jess, the dichotomy of the Elwood brothers, and of course, the love-triangle that’s reminiscent of the Vampire Diaries, only with a darker setting that makes it an even greater ride. I even liked that I didn’t like the main character. Her self-destructive tendencies and willful behavior bordering on suicidal was sometimes like watching a train-wreck. I just couldn’t look away, even while my insides cringed.

Steamy and sexy, I was pulled along by the antics of Jess and the reactions of Zac to those img_0202antics. Playing a dangerous game she can’t help but continue, I found the girl infuriating, while also understanding that she was perfect for those who found her so enticing. Whether she would eventually relax or drive them to madness, caused the pages to move in a blur. *wicked grin*

I’m a fan of the “I should, I shouldn’t” pull of characters who know better but can’t help themselves. Taste the Dark gives so much of that I was in heaven. I found myself moving back and forth between what I hoped would happen. The pages couldn’t turn fast enough so I could find out what camp Ms. Rose would leave us in. I wasn’t disappointed, though I couldn’t have been, when any option was one I’d hoped for at some point 😉

So many secondary plots interweaving with the story, this was the perfect “Book One.” There’s so much more to tell. So much more to know. I’m looking forward to Book 2…

Happy Reading 🙂

Find more of my Book Reviews at StealingShade.com and CMMartens.com

A Shining in the Shadows, Book 2 of The Gabriel Davenport Series, by Beverley Lee

Book Review

A Shining in the Shadows: The Gabriel Davenport Series, Book 2, by Beverley Lee

4.5 Stars

Fiction. Thriller. Horror. Suspense. Dark Fantasy.

Pulls you in and when it’s over, you need more.

Menacing dark fantasy and paranormal suspense combine in the second book of this reader acclaimed supernatural series (Gabriel Davenport) from British author Beverley Lee

Gabriel Davenport has been remade from darkness. Now, he must adapt to survive .

In a small seaside town, Gabriel’s maker unwittingly takes his wards into the throes of a deadly new game. There are rumblings on The Bloodvyne, the mental web of linked vampire consciousness. Whispers about a cleansing, about the ruling council hunting vampires with impure blood.

Gabriel finds himself thrust into a new nightmare, where the hunter becomes the hunted. When his maker is taken, he must battle to untangle the mystifying clues laid out in an uncovered labyrinth to find the only creature strong enough to fight against those that hunt his new-found family.

Gaze long into the darkness, and you’ll find old vampire foes out for revenge, new ones with their own agenda, and a witch who holds the key. But just who is the monster in the middle?

The Making of Gabriel Davenport was a fantastic opening to this series and in A Shining in the Shadows that world we were introduced to explodes. With beautiful style, Beverley Lee takes us through the night of a seaside town, throwing us, along with her heroes, through the muck with no idea what way is best to turn.

A difficult thing to accomplish, book 2 far surpassed book 1, as far as I was concerned. shadowsComplete with depth of plot and equally deep characters, Shining is a book lover of all styles will enjoy. A master storyteller, Ms. Lee is a champion of drizzling just enough at perfectly timed intervals to keep you turning pages, never lost, but never clear on what is about to happen to create a perfectly crafted story.

Well balanced between suspense and horror, Ms. Lee’s use of the genre term “Dark” is classic, of which I was a great fan. No need for flashy scenes of violence or gore to move us along; this is a tale full of story the reader will devour.

A Shining in the Shadows brought me back to the days when I was an avid Anne Rice reader, stuck on tales of Lestat and the psychology of what it meant to be a powerful immortal, before the more romantic versions of vampire stories graced the shelves. I felt right at home with this book and can’t wait for more from Ms. Lee. There’s so much more to learn about Gabriel’s new world and those he shares with it.