Review - Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor

A new review has been posted on the website for Dreamdark:Blackbringer by Laini Taylor. This is the first installment in the Dreamdark series.

http://darquereviews.com/12612/162512.html

You can also visit the author's page:
http://darquereviews.com/14912/162701.html

Please feel free to share any comments on this book here on the blog post. :)

Kimberly Swan, DarqueReviews.com

Review - Ghost Ocean by S. M. Peters

New review posted on the website for Ghost Ocean by S. M. Peters. This is the same author who wrote Whitechapel Gods.

http://darquereviews.com/12612/149333.html

Please feel free to leave any comments for Ghost Ocean here on this blog post. :)

Review - Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge

New review posted on the website for Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge. This is the first novel in the Black London series.

http://darquereviews.com/12612/149396.html

Please feel free to leave any comments on Street Magic here on the blog post. :)

Insatiable Desire by Rita Herron

Insatiable Desire
The Demonborn, Book 1
Rita Herron
Forever Books
August 26, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-446-19947-6

From the back cover:
Can she dare to trust her heart…

Plagued by graphic visions and the desperate cries of murder victims, psychic Clarissa King will do anything to stop the brutal killer targeting her hometown--even work alongside the dangerously sexy FBI agent who thinks she's a fraud. He's the one man who sparks a hunger she never imagined possible--and the one man she should fear...

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When his soul belongs to the dark?

Vincent Valtrez knows how to get inside a serial killer's mind. But with a dangerous past and a secret to keep, he wants nothing to do with this gorgeous psychic--especially since just the thought of her luscious body ignites a dark, irrepressible desire he's determined to keep at bay. When the killer they seek turns out to be demonic and otherworldly, Vincent learns his connection to the murderer is more than just hunter and prey. Will the darkness inside Vincent claim him...or will he save Clarissa--and himself--from the evil that threatens them both?
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My thoughts:
Clarissa King’s psychic abilities have brought her the truth about recent deaths in her small Tennessee town. Originally believed to be accidental deaths, the reality of what’s going comes to her for the ghostly visits of the victims. Driven to make thinks right and stop the evil, she’s fortunate that their local law enforcement believes in the gift that has been passed on through the generations to Clarissa. Help from the FBI arrives in the form of a man who once experienced his own share of darkness in the otherwise quiet town. She once knew and cared for a young Vincent, and now his presence brings conflicting emotions for Clarissa.

Special Agent Vincent Valtrez was less than thrilled to be put on the serial murder case in his old hometown. Twenty years after losing both of his parents, he fights his own darkness each day. It’s an evil that threatens to win because of a long dead demon of a father, something dark that’s growing stronger and drawing Vincent in. He hadn’t counted on seeing Clarissa again, or for feeling the need to protect her. Vincent has his own strict conduct when it comes to women, and he was determined not to allow her to break through that wall he has carefully erected through the years.

This is the first book in The Demonborn series and reunites Clarissa, a psychic, with Vincent, the son of a Dark Lord and an Angel of Light. Ms. Herron blends an entertaining dark fantasy with paranormal romance in the battle of good and evil. Insatiable Desire scratches the surface of the Demonborn world through Vincent’s tortured background and Pan, an evil minion with his own agenda. I hope to see more presence of the dark fantasy in future releases. This installment should appeal more to the fans of paranormal romance. Dark Hunger, the next story of the Demonborn, is currently scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.

To learn more about Ms. Herron and her books, please visit her website: Here

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

Cluck: Murder Most Fowl by Eric D. Knapp

Cluck: Murder Most Fowl
Eric D. Knapp
Book Surge
December 10, 2007
ISBN# 978-1-4196-8264-3

A rooster hatches and begins his life on a farm. While he’s larger, stronger and more intelligent than the rest, he doesn’t know what fate has in store for him. He connects with Helena, a hen that has hatched at the same time. They become favorites of the farmer, and he treats them just a bit better than the rest. When the rooster dies, he suddenly finds himself alive again, or undead as the facts may be. The zombie rooster evolves from the pleasant soul he was, to the Rooster King who now has an army of rotting zombie chickens to do his bidding.

Arnold is born to parents who are amazed by his intelligence. While most children would take years to learn the basics, Arnie swiftly masters them. When he starts seeing auras and souls, his mother sends him to Father Beaumont who recognizes his gift for what it is. He soon shuffles Arnie off to The Order in France where his talents can be utilized. Once there, he has a mentor who eventually passes on The Charge to him. There are other members of The Order, but Arnie finds himself with the knowledge and the responsibility for fighting the evil chickens.

After years of fighting to stay alive against the foul chickens that have invaded his farm house, Bobby Garfundephelt is slowly going crazy as he does his best to avoid the traps and ambushes the chickens set for him. Arnie’s appearance could mean his survival of the horror he’s been through, or it could mean something else entirely.

From the supernatural life of a rooster, to the paranormal talents of a boy, Cluck: Murder Most Fowl is beyond anything you might imagine when you pick up this book. Mr. Knapp entertains readers with a well-written and detailed world that has many twists, turns and horrors to experience along the way. While zombie chickens may not be at the top of your list of interests, the bizarre nature of this story will keep readers turning the pages to see where it will lead. It’s an unusual tale that falls more on the light side of horror than anything else, and it’s one that anyone who reads it won’t soon forget.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters

Whitechapel Gods
S.M. Peters
ROC
February 5, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-451-46193-3

Effectively separated from the rest of London by a wall, the residents of Whitechapel have launched an attack on those who hold them captive. Grandfather Clock and Mama Engine think of themselves as gods, and rule with deadly force. Through their ever present minions they’ll destroy anyone who attempts to stand in their way.

Family and friends are catching an ailment that changes them into something mechanical that leaves little of their human form behind. Those who fought and survived the former Uprising have gathered, planned and created weapons to aid in their new attack. A devoted few will see it through to the end, at any cost. With a third god on the rise, these brave men and women are Whitechapel’s only hope of survival.

Whitechapel Gods is a dark fantasy set in a sinister version of Victorian London. The citizens of Whitechapel have had all they’re going to take of the mechanical monsters who have imprisoned them. Win or lose, they’re prepared to fight. With a well-formed world and intriguing characters, S.M. Peters pens an impressive tale. Thoroughly dark, often creepy and carefully detailed, Whitechapel Gods will keep fantasy readers engaged to the final showdown.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

Fangland by John Marks

Fangland
John Marks
Penguin Books
January 29, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-14-311253-2

As an associate producer for the television news show, ‘The Hour’, Evangeline Harker is given the job of traveling to Romania to meet with an Eastern European criminal figure, Ion Torgu. Soon after her arrival Evangeline mysteriously disappears with little trace. Her associates believe her dead, but her father and the fiancé she left behind hold on to the hope that evidence will be found to the contrary.

Back at the offices in New York, accusations fly over who’s to blame for sending the young unaccompanied Evangeline to what may have been her death. As one of the staff is fired, another dies of an unexplained virus, one suffers from guilt, and a growing darkness descends on those working on the show.

The discovery of Evangeline in a Transylvanian monastery comes as both a shock and relief to those who care about her and she’s soon reunited with her family and coworkers. Trailing further death and destruction in her wake, Evangeline’s perception of right and wrong has shifted. The barriers between the living and the dead are dissolving, and there may be no one left to save them.

Fangland is an unnervingly creepy story that’s telling is pieced together from personal emails, journals and other surviving notes from the staff of ‘The Hour’. When Evangeline Harker left for Romania she was a happily engaged woman looking forward to a bright future, but the woman who returned was darkness personified. They say that authors should write what they know, and this author has done just that. By using his experience at a television news show to form the backbone of his story, Mr. Marks lends a sense of reality to an otherwise dark vampire tale. The well-built plot and wonderful detail will leave a lasting impression, and the realistic setting may leave readers jumping at shadows.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews