A spirited and compulsively readable paranormal-romance series entry.
A fantasy romance featuring two superpowered lovers in Victorian-era England.
This new installment in Sumner’s League of Lords series takes a secondary character from its predecessor, The Lady Is Trouble (2020), and puts him center stage. In 1855, Finn Alexander, the adopted son of a viscount, has the paranormal ability to read people’s minds, and he’s set up a gambling den that’s become wildly popular among the well-to-do. But his special talent comes with a price, as his mind is constantly filled with the background noise of others’ thoughts. This, in part, leads to his deep interest in the engaged Lady Victoria Hamilton, whose own powers allow her to erase people’s short-term memories and block others’ powers from working. He experiences the latter power firsthand, and the experience is a first for him: “Added to the bizarre circumstance of not being able to read her, being close to her obscured his ability to read others, like she’d dimmed the flame on the gaslamp of his mind, leaving only his thoughts to contend with.” Finn finds himself truly intrigued by her on multiple levels, and he soon introduces her to a clandestine group of similarly superpowered men and women. As in the previous volume, Sumner seamlessly blends gaslight-era fantasy and conventional historical romance. She also perfectly incorporates detailed supernatural elements into her well-researched setting. Her two central characters are compelling and believably damaged; each comes from a radically different segment of society, and each finds themselves in a relationship that they weren’t expecting. Finn, in particular, is a highly rewarding fictional creation—a well-drawn combination of roguery and vulnerability. Readers may be initially drawn to the book for its exciting paranormal aspects, but they’ll stay for the electric dialogue between Finn and Victoria, which includes plenty of comic banter. (Those expecting X-Men–style superheroics, though, won’t find it here.) Overall, it’s a sparkling addition to this promising series.
A spirited and compulsively readable paranormal-romance series entry.Pub Date: May 23, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
This comedic take on the vampire romance has one too many moving parts.
When a hotel manager gets dropped into the world of her favorite book series, everything she thinks she knows about its so-called villain is flipped upside-down.
Tess Rosenbloom hasn’t had much of a life recently. Working the night shift at a Brooklyn hotel helps her manage the chronic insomnia she’s been dealing with ever since a traumatic experience caused her to drop out of grad school. The only escape she’s had through her biggest ups and downs are her favorite vampire books from the Blood Feud series, which she’s reread so often she has entire passages committed to memory. While it’s fun for Tess to playfully subscribe to the long-running theory among online fans that the island where Blood Feud takes place is real, she knows better than to take it too seriously. That all changes when Octavia Yoo, one of the vampires from the island, shows up at the hotel, knowing Tess’ name and begging for her help. Soon, Tess finds herself on the isle, surrounded by vampires and feeling way out of her depth—especially once she learns that Callum, Octavia’s twin and the supposed villain of the series, might actually be the good guy. As Tess spends more time with Callum, every preconceived notion she has about his character is turned on its head. Armed with new knowledge, Tess fights to bring Octavia back to the island where she belongs, even as bigger evils lurk. Meanwhile, who is August Lirio, the pseudonymous author of the Blood Feud books, and how could they have gotten the details so wrong? Stayman-London’s first venture into the paranormal is paired with a dash of comedy for an injection of fun into a normally serious subgenre. That said, the plot does introduce heavier elements, such as the traumatic event in Tess’ past, which creates a disjointed tone at pivotal moments. Also, spending time on a romance for Octavia back in New York detracts from the central story, when each couple could have easily received their own book.
This comedic take on the vampire romance has one too many moving parts.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593729120
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dial Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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