EBON CITY

A supernatural romance brimming with passion and action.

Featherstone’s first novel is a lively addition to the vampire-romance genre. Main character Angela is a girl with unique abilities. Not only is she an “empath” capable of emulating the feelings of anyone within close proximity, but she also can start fires with her mind and has visions of the future in her dreams. Though Angela has never told anyone about these powers, a man, whom she recognizes from her visions, named Ezekiel walks into her life and introduces her to an underground world that has been hidden in plain sight for almost a thousand years. Like most supernatural romance novels, this one lures readers by establishing the characters of Angela and Ezekiel as star-crossed lovers, born to be together. Ezekiel saves Angela’s life on more than one occasion, and Angela, in turn, saves Ezekiel from his cold, guilt-ridden existence. But as soon as the lovers get to know each other, dark forces begin to coalesce around them, and it’s going to take more than just passion to get Ezekiel and Angela out of danger. Action scenes are often paired with flashbacks to Ezekiel’s past, which helps give readers much needed context, even if they’re itching to see how present conflicts resolve themselves. Though this novel occasionally resorts to some of the clichéd pitfalls that readers have come to expect from the supernatural romance genre (woman in danger, a vampire who only feeds on “bad guys”), readers who appreciate a romance tale flush with emotion, as well as some climactic action scenes, will find a lot to like.

Not a groundbreaker in vamp love stories but entertaining nonetheless.