A first-rate outing in a consistently enthralling series.
The fourth entry in Hardt’s (Undaunted, 2018, etc.) erotic supernatural saga finds a vampire struggling to control the darkness within himself as he and his human lover search for missing friends and family.
Lately, Dante Gabriel has felt a dark energy pursuing him, but he’s come to realize that he is that darkness. However, the ever present ghost of the vampire’s father, Julian, convinces him that he can learn to control his inner evil. Dante believes that his greatest asset in this task is Erin Hamilton, the woman he loves and with whom he shares a blood bond—one so strong that he may not be able to live without her, and vice versa. Dante regularly consumes Erin’s blood for his sustenance and their sexual gratification. Now, he begins experimenting with BDSM in the bedroom—a riding crop is involved—as a way to embrace his dark energy without allowing it to take over. Meanwhile, some of couple’s loved ones have gone missing, including Erin’s best friend, Lucy; Dante’s pregnant sister, Emilia; and his uncle (and Julian’s twin), Brae. Dante’s cousin, River, and Erin’s brother, Jay, who are partner detectives, aid in the couple’s search, but they believe that answers may be found in the seemingly untranslatable Vampyre Texts. Dante’s paternal grandfather, Bill, knows the book’s secrets, but he’s inexplicably mum, and finding another copy is an exhausting task. It’s soon apparent that the being who’s responsible for people going missing is also leading rogue vampires who’ve targeted Erin. That leader is likely the same female vampire who, for a decade, held Dante captive for unclear reasons. Hardt’s latest installment shows some definite character and plot evolution. Over the course of the series, Dante and Erin’s sex has progressively intensified, particularly in Dante’s aggressive demands. But this book has added new suspense, as there’s a strong possibility that he could lose control and hurt Erin (without her permission). Dante also shows frightening signs of an elitist mentality; for the first time, he may see vampires as superior to humans. The mystery proceeds well; the investigating group identifies at least one of the rogue vampires, and Erin finds a prime suspect for the vampire boss. Dante’s former captor has been an enigma since the series’ beginning; this time, the author treats her readers to a big reveal, although this is most certainly not the final series installment. Hardt also centers on her characters’ human traits, eschewing vampire conventions such as immortality and lethal sunlight, but her narrative makes sure to showcase other supernatural elements. Dante, for example, continues to gain new powers, and Julian possesses an ability that could have a serious impact on the world at large. As in preceding books, the plot maintains a brisk, steady momentum courtesy of Hardt’s condensed descriptions and rapid-fire dialogue. At one point, for instance, Dante equates Erin’s “irresistible” scent with a bevy of images and senses: “Dark coffee, dark chocolate, the richest, darkest blackberry, the richest, darkest Merlot.”
A first-rate outing in a consistently enthralling series.Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64263-085-5
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Waterhouse Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
Fans of smart horror will sink their teeth into this one.
Things are about to get bloody for a group of Charleston housewives.
In 1988, the scariest thing in former nurse Patricia Campbell’s life is showing up to book club, since she hasn’t read the book. It’s hard to get any reading done between raising two kids, Blue and Korey, picking up after her husband, Carter, a psychiatrist, and taking care of her live-in mother-in-law, Miss Mary, who seems to have dementia. It doesn’t help that the books chosen by the Literary Guild of Mt. Pleasant are just plain boring. But when fellow book-club member Kitty gives Patricia a gloriously trashy true-crime novel, Patricia is instantly hooked, and soon she’s attending a very different kind of book club with Kitty and her friends Grace, Slick, and Maryellen. She has a full plate at home, but Patricia values her new friendships and still longs for a bit of excitement. When James Harris moves in down the street, the women are intrigued. Who is this handsome night owl, and why does Miss Mary insist that she knows him? A series of horrific events stretches Patricia’s nerves and her Southern civility to the breaking point. (A skin-crawling scene involving a horde of rats is a standout.) She just knows James is up to no good, but getting anyone to believe her is a Sisyphean feat. After all, she’s just a housewife. Hendrix juxtaposes the hypnotic mundanity of suburbia (which has a few dark underpinnings of its own) against an insidious evil that has taken root in Patricia’s insular neighborhood. It’s gratifying to see her grow from someone who apologizes for apologizing to a fiercely brave woman determined to do the right thing—hopefully with the help of her friends. Hendrix (We Sold Our Souls, 2018, etc.) cleverly sprinkles in nods to well-established vampire lore, and the fact that he’s a master at conjuring heady 1990s nostalgia is just the icing on what is his best book yet.
Fans of smart horror will sink their teeth into this one.Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68369-143-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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