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Beneath A Christmas Moon
Eden Robins
Ariana Dupre
Karen McCullough
Cerridwen Press
December 2007
ISBN#: 9781419913280
Paranormal
Please visit Eden Robins' website
Please visit Ariana Dupre's website
Please visit Karen McCullough's
website
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Synopsis:
Lander's Moon by
Eden Robins
Free spirited healer, Selena Alvarez, has a thing for trying to save bad
boys. Unfortunately, having to escape from a very violent one in the middle
of a wicked snow storm, and being saved by a enormous beast isn't exactly
how she imagined spending her Christmas vacation. Lander Paletsos, the
legendary Nemean Lion, is an immortal with an attitude. Cursed to walk the
day as a human and prowl the night as a giant lion, he never expects to find
an injured woman lost in his territory during a blizzard. Snow bound in
Lander's castle in the woods, neither wild beast nor brave beauty are
prepared for the hot attraction that ignites between them.
Paradise Designs by
Ariana Dupré
Tara Simms is determined to create a new beginning for herself this holiday
season. She's purchased a new condo on Miami Beach in the ultra chic
Paradise Designs Resort and Spa where there is no chance of paranormal
activity. She's left the paranormal at her last apartment but still fights
the whispers that have always been part of her life. She refuses to accept
the psychic abilities that run in her family and blocks the whispers. She's
looking for a new man and thinks that David Blake, the lead realtor at the
high-rise, is a good prospect. David quickly sends her best laid plans on a
roller coaster ride when he tells Tara that Paradise Designs is haunted. An
unsolved murder, construction workers who swear they've seen a ghost and a
newscast featuring the Haunted Hi-Rise confirm her worst fears. When Tara
sees the spirit of a woman enter her condo she freaks out. David offers his
protection and his apartment. Together Tara and David must solve the murder
and help the spirit into the light. By facing the paranormal and her psychic
abilities, will Tara find a new beginning filled with love?
A Vampire's Christmas Carol
by Karen McCullough
Can Christmas Eve be any more fun? On her way home, Carol Prescott's car
slides into a ditch in a deserted area with no cell phone signal. The only
available shelter is already occupied—by a vampire. To Michael Carpenter,
Carol is the bait in a trap. In an effort to hold onto his soul, Michael has
resisted the urge to drink human blood for almost a century. Now he hovers
between human and vampire. If he doesn't drink human blood before the night
ends, he'll die. He's desperately thirsty, but Michael has seen the soulless
monsters vampires are and he prefers death. Carol is pure temptation to him,
the Christmas present from hell—or heaven.
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SRR GRADE: B+
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As the first story in the
Beneath the Christmas Moon anthology, Lander's Moon by Eden
Robins is somewhat unusual for a romance story in that the theme centers on
a pretty serious topic like domestic violence. The author handles that
aspect of the story very well, showing sensitivity in not describing the
violence itself as much as its impact on the main character. Selena Alvarez
is a strong, capable young woman who recognizes and seeks to correct her
mistake. Lander Paletsos is the new love interest she encounters in the
woods while fleeing her ex-boyfriend. Lander has his own issues; he is
cursed to live his life as a lion at night, an immortal shape-shifting
demigod. The chemistry between the two characters was very intense and
beautifully written however; it was sometimes overshadowed by combining the
two strong themes of domestic violence and the shape-shifter's curse.
In the next tale, poor Tara
Simms moves into Paradise Designs Resort & Spas Condos hoping for a change
and ending up with a ghost, a murder mystery, but more fortunately for her,
a new love interest in David Parker. Paradise Designs by Ariana Dupre
was a little slow at the beginning however, inserting the threat to both
Tara and the ghost, Lisa, added the needed suspense to keep the reader's
attention through the end of the story. Ms. Dupre did a wonderful job with
the secondary characters. Her writing style is very quick and witty: she
makes excellent use of snappy dialogue to keep the pace flowing, using humor
to keep the story from becoming too morbid. I enjoyed this story by its
conclusion, and would certainly read other works by the author in the
future.
Although Karen McCullough's
Vampire's Christmas Carol may have come last in this anthology it was
the most memorable of the three: a true "Beauty and the Beast" tale
featuring a vampire and a human. Carol Prescott, has an accident and is
forced to spend the night at the home of Michael Carpenter. Unknown to
Carol, this is Michael's last night: all he wants is to retain his dignity
and die with some vestage of his fading humanity. They ultimately spend the
time telling their life stories and getting to know each other while at the
same time keeping Michael from succumbing to his vampiric nature. It is a
wonderful story, beautifully written, made more poignant by the clock
ticking on the time the characters have together. I highly recommend
Vampire's Christmas Carol, and will certainly look for other selections
from this author in the future.
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| ~Reviewed by Mickey |
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