Haunt Me by Megan Dorei

From the blurb:

Elise and Rose never had an easy past—they started out friends, but life and other women quickly got in the way. Then tragedy struck, and Elise's life is lost... until she reappears in Rose's home as a ghost, giving the two women one last chance to fix the wrongs between them in the hopes of being happy together in the next life.

Review:

A novella about two friends who are trying to repair a friendship and foster a romance they never had the opportunity to have... and one of them is now a ghost.

This is a sweet novella, navigating the hardships of early adulthood and all the hangups from high school that still linger and cause hurt.

Megan Dorei wonderfully depicts the history of the two women - Elise and Rose.  The long flash backs uncover an uneasy past of painful things said, poor decisions, and heartache.  The flash backs weave into the present narrative well.

I liked how this wasn't your average haunting, but much more relationship based.

A great read for a sleepy Sunday morning with a pot of English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea.

Trigger warning for suicide.

More Information:

Title: Haunt Me

Author: Megan Dorei

Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Length: Novella

Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Publishing Date:  23 Jan. 2013

Type: f/f

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The Demon Abraxas by Rachel Calish

From the blurb:
San Francisco after dark can be full of unusual sights, but the last thing Ana Khoury expects to stumble across is black-garbed figures carrying a body. Her call to 911 is interrupted by a blow to the head, plunging her into nothingness.

Sabel Young has long been attracted to the impetuous and alluring Ana, but her obedience to an ancient order of witches leaves her with few options for romance. When she realizes that Ana has been taken—and by whom—her very private life and Ana’s normal world collide.

Her orders are clear: Do not get involved with demons. But she can’t leave a woman with no magic in the hands of dark powers that will exploit her body and destroy her soul—especially Ana. With daring and luck she pulls Ana to safety.

At first it appears they have escaped dark magic unscathed. At first…

Review:

Set in modern day San Francisco, The Demon Abraxas tells a tale of demons, demon worshipers, witches, and the woman who gets caught in between it all - Ana Khoury.

I enjoyed the romance between Ana and witch Sabel Young.  They'd been flirting before everything changed, before there was a murder and before Ana got caught up in the demon's plot.  I love that Ana is not helpless nor is clinging onto Sabel for help.  She is fiercely independent and fiery, which makes her a great heroine for this book.

There's lots of juicy sexual tension between the two heroines.  They're also both very independent and strong willed, ensuring that many of the blocks that stand between them getting together are of their own making.

My favourite character was probably Lily, who is half human half demon and bisexual.  Her story was probably the one that drew me the most.  I loved the chapters told from her perspective.  I would have love to know more about her history, her life, and her work.

The demon Abraxas was also an excellent character in his own right.  A difficult thing to depict so well as he rarely is anything close to physical.  However, Rachel Calish brings him to life.

Lesbians? Check.  Bisexual? Check. Demons?  Check. Witches? Check.

A great f/f paranormal/fantasy romance.

More Information:

Title: The Demon Abraxas

Author: Rachel Calish

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/Romance
Length: Novel

Publisher: Bella Books

Publishing Date:  Oct. 2013

Type: f/f

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Windigo Thrall by Cate Culpepper

From the blurb:

“The Windigo has a heart of ice.” 

The legends of an ancient cannibal demon might have been enthralling, but they were folklore. To Jo and Becca, investigating reports of a Windigo is a lively scholarly exercise, and for Grady and Elena, it means a weekend at an idyllic mountain retreat. Only Pat and Maggie can draw on their Native roots to recognize a monster out of Algonquin myth, but only if they unlock the mystery of their shared past. Throw six volatile personalities into a snowbound cabin, beset by a blizzard, and stalked by a monster, and there’s no assurance they’ll survive the night with their sanity intact—or their lives.

Review:

There's nothing like an ancient cannibal demon to shake you to your core.  Make sure you are somewhere warm and safe when you read this.  Probably not best consumed in an isolated cabin in the middle of winter.

There's something perfect about a powerful myth that's tied to the land and its people.  There's also something irresistible about some good ol' fashion horror tropes.  Culpepper does both very well in Windigo Thrall, focusing on the psychological interplay between characters to manifest the monster - the Windigo - and other spiritual forces.

I enjoyed the stories of the six different women and their relationships.  I think my favourite character out of all of them is probably Pat, the Native American Park Ranger. She's stoic, but also has a rich history and I loved her and Maggie's story arcs the most.

The romance elements of this story are fascinating because there are three romances going on at once, two established (Grady and Elana, Jo and Becca) and one new (Pat and Maggie).  Culpepper masterfully juggles these three, making sure we spend time with each character and explore the dynamics of all three relationships as well as the non-romantic relationships that contribute to the volatile situation inside the cabin.

I would have loved for this book to have gone slightly more down the horror route.  Perhaps I'm accustomed to coming out of a good horror novel feeling kind of obliterated.  However, I recognise that the romantic happy ending would have been very difficult under such circumstances.

Lots of Stephen King references and influences which were really cool.

All in all, I enjoyed my time locked away with these six women in an isolated cabin being stalked by a cannibal demon.

More information:

Title: The Windigo Thrall
Author: Cate Culpepper
Length: Novel (64k)
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Publishing Date: Jan 2014
Type: f/f
Genre: Romance/Paranormal/Horror

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Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall

From the blurb: 

 First rule in this line of business: don’t sleep with the client.

My name’s Kate Kane, and when an eight-hundred-year-old vampire prince came to me with a case, I should have told her no. But I’ve always been a sucker for a femme fatale.

It always goes the same way. You move too fast, you get in too deep, and before you know it, someone winds up dead. Last time it was my partner. This time it could be me. Yesterday a werewolf was murdered outside the Velvet, the night-time playground of one of the most powerful vampires in England. Now half the monsters in London are at each other’s throats, and the other half are trying to get in my pants. The Witch Queen will protect her own, the wolves are out for vengeance, and the vampires are out for, y’know, blood.

I’ve got a killer on the loose, a war on the horizon, and a scotch on the rocks. It’s going to be an interesting day.

Review:

I laughed out loud, or as the kids say "lolled", lots throughout this book.  At one point my partner came to make sure I wasn't having conniptions. 

Kate Kane is a Paranormal Investigator in London.  She smokes and drinks heavily.  In this first novel, she is hired by an eight-hundred-year-old vampire prince, Julian Saint-Germain, to investigate the murder of a werewolf outside one of Julian's clubs.

The vampire prince, a female vampire to Kate's surprise, is of course smoking hot.  Things naturally get complicated when Kate feels herself wanting to violate the first rule of being a PI - don't sleep with the client. 

The blurb makes it sound like there's a lot going on - vampires, werewolves, witches - but Alexis Hall does a great job of not making it a mess.  It was logical and easy to follow despite the large cast of players. 

Kate's sense of humour is right up my alley - it's black, self-deprecating, and sweary, which combined with the pure fantastical nature of the novel adds a high degree of levity.  For example, there is a scene in a sewer and Kate is admiring the Victorian construction:

"The Victorians might have been a bunch of mass-murdering, misogynistic fuckheads, but they sure knew how to build a shit pipe."

The romance between Kate Kane and Julian Saint-Germain is good.  We get a lot of detail about Kate's internal struggles, her past failures and mistakes, and we do find out a lot about Julian's pre-vamp days, which is pretty cool.  However, this novel is predominately driven by the external narrative of monsters picking people off. Because monsters.

Hands down the funniest book I've read this year.  Yes, I know it's only January.

Do not read this book if you don't like gore, profanity or lesbian sex.

Do read this book if you do like the above.

You should follow Alexis Hall on Twitter: @quicunquevult

And check out his blog: Quicunque Vult 

More Information:

Title: Iron & Velvet
Author: Alexis Hall
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Publishing Date: 16 Dec, 2013
Length: Novel (77k)
Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Type: f/f

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Review: Wild by Meghan O'Brien

From the blurb:

The only thing that frightens shapeshifter Selene Rhodes more than the full moon is the idea of falling in love.

Selene Rhodes has lived her whole life with a terrible secret: not only can she take the form of any animal at will, but once a month the full moon transforms her into a fierce wolf-creature without a human conscience. Managing her condition means living by a strict routine, and more importantly, abstaining from intimate relationships with human beings. Selene is convinced that love and friendship can only bring her pain.

Forensic pathologist Eve Thomas is well-acquainted with the pain of romantic love. Swearing off relationships after having her heart broken by a cheating ex, Eve throws herself into her work: catching murderers. When Selene comes to her aid after an attack by a masked man in Golden Gate Park, Eve is shocked by how powerfully she is drawn to her mysterious savior.

Shaken by her own feelings for Eve, Selene is even more terrified to realize she isn’t even close to being the scariest monster stalking San Francisco. There is someone out in the city who is killing for pleasure, and his next target is the one woman he thinks might be able to stop him: Eve.

Review:

HOT. Okay, there's way more to discuss, but that's the core message.

This urban fantasy meets lesbian romance is pretty damn scorching. The serial killer on the loose story-line, although hardly unique, is handled well and provided an excellent conceit for the meeting of and initiation of the relationship between Selene and Eve.  They seem to have a mysterious and empathic connection which binds them.

The shifting viewpoints between Selene, Eve, and Kevin are also handled well. I'm usually not a fan of shifting points of view in a novel, but O'Brien does a really great job of making sure she spends enough time in each point of view and it doesn't feel at all jumpy. In fact, as the story lines of Selene and Eve converge, the more streamlined it becomes. The only times I felt it jumped a little was when we were pulled out of the Selene and Eve dynamic to find out what Kevin, the serial killer, was up to.

The plot and subplots are woven together skillfully. The romance, the secrets, the history of the two women are teased out throughout the book in such a way that made me really care about Selene and Eve. The dynamic between Selene and Eve is gripping and thrilling. It's made even more tense and awkward with Eve's ex-girlfriend, Jac, being around.

The stand out element for me is the explosively hot sex scenes. Wow. These are phenomenal expositions of both detail and emotive feeling. O'Brien does a most excellent job of writing sex scenes dripping with sexiness, passion, emotion, and character. Colour me super impressed.

A couple of loose ends bugged me throughout the book.

Selene and Eve's empathic connection is never explained. I understand that this fits in with the theme that not all things can be explained, but there seems to be little reason for a sudden instant emotive connection between the two, which starts precisely when Eve is in mortal danger. I would have like to have seen at least a couple of suggestions as to why that's the case. The empathic relationship is pretty key to the plot, so I'm left a little unsatisfied with the ambiguity.

The other thing that I found a little incredulous (no, not the shapeshifter!) was the fact that Eve never gets curious enough to look at Selene's second bedroom. The second bedroom sports a metal table and restraints to keep Selene from going on a rampage during the full moon.  Eve's an inquisitive person and it seems really weird that she never opens that door. Convenient for the story, but a little out of character.

Other than that, I really LOVED this novel. Selene was particularly interesting. I kinda wish that O'Brien would write a sequel as I would love to spend more time with these characters.

Highly recommended if you like urban fantasy, serial killer stories and earth-shattering hot lesbian sex.

Title: Wild
Author: Meghan O'Brien
Publishing Date: June, 2011
Length: Novel (100k)
Genre: Urban fantasy/Romance
Type: f/f

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