Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dance With The Devil (2003)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Romance (Paranormal)
Plot Summary:
Zarek has lived for nine hundred years as a dark hunter. The dark hunters are soulless guardians of the human race, they are in the service of the Greek goddess Artemis. The dark hunters search out the daimons, a race that has turned to sucking the souls and blood of the human race so that they can stay alive for just a little while longer. The dark hunters are charged with the task of keeping the daimons from sucking the souls of helpless humans. It is a lonely life to be a dark hunter, the dark hunters are immortal but they are loners. They have squires that help them to function in the human world, since the dark hunters can't go out into the sunlight, they need someone to watch over them. Zarek is the exception, he was a whipping boy for the Romans during his life and the scars that were left from this experience were not just physical. Zarek is an extremely difficult person to get along with and it has been decided by the squires' council that it is time for Zarek to be taken care of, or in other words, it is time to kill him. Enter Astrid, a Greek goddess sent to judge the rouge dark hunters, it is her duty to find out if there is any good left in the dark hunter, any reason that they should be given a second chance. Slowly Astrid and Zarek fall in love and Astrid begins the task of trying to save Zarek. It is a difficult task because even Zarek feels that he is not worth saving. Astrid and Zarek must try to escape those that seek to kill Zarek, all while falling in love and trying to save innocent lives as well.
Geographical Setting: The book is set in several different places, most of the action takes place in Alaska but there are scenes that take place on Mount Olympus, home of the Greek Gods.
Time Period: Present day, in a slightly altered reality.
Series: Fourth in the Dark Hunter Series
Appeal Characteristics:
A quick read that is fun and fast paced. The book has all of the elements that make up a good romance, love, sex and humor. The story employs many different techniques to bring the reader to a place where they are thoroughly engaged in the story with the characters. The hero is hunky and manly and yet he has enough of the underdog in him that the reader feels empathy for him and is rooting for Zarek to overcome the bad guys and win the heart of Astrid.
Read-alikes: Lynsay Sands' Single White Vampire would be a good readalike give its inclusion of a fair amount of humor and vampire element. Katie MacAlister's A Girl's Guide to Vampires, like Kenyon's novel, contains humor and puts a different twist on vampires, calling them dark ones. It contains a little more of the sexual element. Christine Feehan's Dark Prince tells the tale of a vampire who is seeking his one true love. To be technical, the characters are not vampires, they are carpathians, which are slightly different from a vampire. Mary Janice Davidson's Undead and Unwed contains definite humorous elements, a vampire heroine, but a bit more sex and language than is in the Dark Hunter novels. Laurell K. Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures tells the tale of a heroine who is not a vampire, but instead a vampire slayer. Here the reader will find more of the horror element, but it does include a vampires that becomes a love interest.
Red Flags: Sex, violence, some language.
Fantasy Lover (2002)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Romance (Paranormal)
Plot Summary:
Julian of Macedon, a Spartan General from the Fourth Macedonian War, is cursed by the God
Priapus to be trapped in a book and serve the women who summon him as a sexual slave for
one month, never to know real love. Two thousand years later, therapist Grace Alexander
and her pagan friend Selena have a slumber party and summon the slave to solve Grace's
sexual frustrations. Grace only agrees because Selena's spells never works. So boy is
she surprised when a naked man turns up in her living room. But Grace refuses to treat
Julian as her property, and they discover that she may be the only woman who can free
him of his cursed book. SPOILER: On the last day of their month together, they
consummate their relationship and free Julian of the book, then Grace gets kidnapped
by a vengeful Priapus. Julian defeats him, and is reunited with his mother,
Aphrodite. Then Julian and Grace live happily ever after.
Geographical Setting: New Orleans
Time Period: Contemporary (2002)
Series: this is the prologue volume of the Dark Hunter Series
Appeal Characteristics:
Sherrilyn Kenyon appeals to readers who like contemporary paranormal romances with a
humorous tone, strong heroines, and strong heroes who aren't domineering. It will also
appeal to readers who like Greek Gods, and are interested in classical Greek and Roman
history. Though the focus is mostly on the relationship, there are overt themes of a
heroine being destined to save the hero. Sexual fantasies about the "perfect lover"
and the sexually servile man also predominate.
Read-alikes:
If you enjoyed Sharrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, you may also enjoy her Dance
with the Devil, fourth in the Dark Hunter series. Zarek is a 900 year old exiled
Roman slave with deep scars who is saved by the Goddess sent to judge him. It contains
the same sensuous and humorous paranormal storytelling readers expect from Kenyon. If
you are looking for more humorous paranormal romances, try A Girl's Guide to Vampires
by Katie McAlister. Two librarians stop over in the Czech Republic while attending a
book fair, where they meet an author who is secretly a vampire. You may also enjoy
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a movie and spin-off tv series that alternates
between humorous and serious, about the adventures and relationships of a teenaged
vampire-slayer. If you're willing to take your romance as subplot, you may enjoy
Tanya Huff's Summon the Keeper. Clair, a keeper - the magical equivalent of a
Haz Mat agent - is called to seal a hole into Hell, and must choose between a sexy
ghost and her charming new employee. The story is upbeat and features a different take
on the Greek Gods featured in Kenyon's writing. Readers who want something more serious
and enjoy Julian's low-key alpha male tendencies may enjoy Karen Marie Moning's The
Immortal Highlander, about a member of the Fae who looses his powers and becomes
invisible. He must rely on the only human woman who can see him and convince the Fae
Queen to restore him. Readers who enjoy the deeply troubled outsider hero may also
enjoy reading Ronda Thompson's Call of the Moon, about a man bitten by a werewolf
who goes in search of a cure, and teams up with a woman from a tribe dedicated to
hunting werewolves.
Red Flags:
Fantasy Lover ranks "Hot" on the All About Romance Sensuality Scale, contains some
violence, and possibly disturbing flashbacks of war. Themes of psychological trauma are
low-key, but present.
Seize the Night (2005)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Romance (Supernatural/Vampire)
Plot Summary:
Tabitha Devereaux is a sassy vampire hunter in New Orleans. She first meets Valerius when she accidentally stabs him as she's fighting Daimons. Valerius is an immortal Dark-Hunter, also pledged to rid New Orleans of Daimons. Valerius is also the sworn enemy of Tabitha's brother-in-law Kyrian. Valerius's grandfather killed Kyrian and Kyrian holds a grudge. Even though Tabitha knows that she and Valerius can't be together, she's attracted to him. She nurses his wounds and they end up falling for each other. When Kyrian finds out that Tabitha is seeing Valerius, he's angry, but a huge attack on Tabitha's family brings them all together to fight and everyone ends up letting go of their grudges. Tabitha and Valerius get married and continue to have lots of hot sex for the rest of their days.
Geographical Setting: New Orleans
Time Period: Present Day (2005)
Series: 10th in the Dark-Hunter series
Appeal Characteristics:
A major appeal characteristic is the supernatural element of the book. Not only are there vampires ("Daimons"), there are gods & goddesses, demons, and human-animal shape-shifters. There's a strong mythological element- the Dark-Hunters are created by Artemis and she pops in now and again. There are also a lot of endearing and quirky characters- Tabitha's roommate is a transvestite named Marla and she has a voodoo priestess sister. Most of these characters are quite peripheral, but they do add an interesting backdrop to the main action. The level of sensuality is another appeal characteristic. It's hot! The tone provides another appeal characteristic. Kenyon's tone in this book is fairly literary, with a complicated storyline involving lots of characters and back story. There are a lot of mythological creatures to keep track of and Tabitha herself is a fairly academic character (she has a Master's in ancient civilizations and she speaks Latin and several other languages). Another possible appeal characteristic is the New Orleans setting. The city is mentioned fairly often, as well as some of the stereotypical characters from that region (a Cajun, a voodoo priestess, etc.).
Read-alikes:
Fans of Seize the Night will want to check out the other books in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series. The first book is Fantasy Lover and it continues with an anthology called Tapestry (which includes a novella by Kenyon that continues the Dark-Hunter series) before going back to full-length books in Night Pleasures.
Fans of the supernatural elements and complex storylines may also like Christine Feehan's Carpathian series. The first book is Dark Prince in which American psychic Raven Whitney escapes to the Carpathian mountains to find some peace and quiet, but ends up finding a prince in desperate need. Most of Feehan's books have a "hot" rating from All About Romance. Another author along this vein (ha ha) is Laurell K. Hamilton with her Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. This series also incorporates many different kind of creatures and features Anita Blake, a vampire hunter who resists the vampire Jean-Claude even though he's fascinated with her. The first book is Guilty Pleasures. Hamilton's books range from warm to burning on All About Romance, so this may be something to watch out for. Fans who enjoyed the contemporary New Orleans setting as well as the fantastic elements may
enjoy Your Wish is My Command by Donna Kauffman. Jamie Sullivan doesn't believe in happy endings, until she discovers the genii Sebastien, a former pirate, hidden in her attic. This book is slightly tamer than Seize the Night, with a warm rating. Readers who liked the paranormal aspects and strong characters may also like Susan Krinard's werewolf series (the first is Price of Wolves). Joelle finds unexpected love with Luke, one of the last werewolves left. Most of Krinard's books have a warm rating. Cheri Scotch's wereworf trilogy may also appeal (especially since it's set in New Orleans). In the first book, The Werewolf's Kiss, Sylvie must choose between her debutante life or joining her love and becoming a werewolf.
Red Flags: "Hot" sensuality rating on All About Romance, some violence but nothing terribly graphic
|top|
|
