So, was I correct in being afraid to crack open this one? Kind of.

Isn’t life great? It’s never yes or no, or black or white. It’s all varying shades of ughhhh.

It began on page six, which was actually the second page of the story, when the head hopping first appeared. As a new writer I am hyper aware of the whole point of view controversy. Especially when I never really noticed it in her other works. On some pages it’s not just between the hero and heroine either. At times it seemed like every person in the scene had a sentence or two from their POV. In the acknowledgements, Sherrilyn thanks her editor for allowing her some liberties. I am guessing that head hopping is one of them.

If this is the first of the Dark/Were- hunter books you have picked up, put it back and go get something else.

This book also assumes a lot. It is assumed that you have read Night Embrace, Night Play, Seize the Night, Unleash the Night, Dream Chaser, One Silent Night and Acheron, not once but several times. (Luckily I had)

Bad Moon Rising is the story of Fang Kattalakis, a katagaria wolf, and what he went through while all of the other books were taking place. Characters, names and places pop up all the time that reference these other stories. I can only imagine what a newbie to this world would be thinking if this was their first introduction. Add to that a whole slew of new characters, species and dimensions are brought in to add to the confusion.

While it was interesting to see what Fang and Aimee (the bearswan he is in love with) had endured all that time, it was tedious. This story spans several years and the most current events begin on page 280 of a 340 page book. So the previous pages were mostly a more detailed back story.

Bad Moon Rising, I feel, is a novel for DH fans. It was satisfying to see Aimee and Fang finally together after all of these years, but as far as furthering the DH storyline, it didn’t do a whole lot. It was like more of an introduction of what could possibly happen in future books, as oppose to actually taking it down that road.

So, if you are a DH fan, read it. If not or if this is your first foray into the Dark-hunter world, put it down and go get Night Pleasures. Start there.

Bad Moon Rising is out and I have it in my hot little hands. But oddly enough, I am terrified to open it. The Dark-Hunter books are a “must buy” for me and I’ve loved the series ever since I read Winterborne and Dante Pontis slapped me with his sexy snarl from off the page.

I think my fear might have something to do with the -best-selling-author-bazillionth-in-the-series- cannot-maintain trend I have been seeing lately. There is a saying, “If you want to see examples of what not to write, read a best selling authors current release.” This is the eighteenth book in the series. It can’t possibly be as good as the other’s can it?

I will get over this silly fear and thoroughly enjoy Fang’s book. His story has been along time in coming.

For the record, I love the were’s and Vane is my favorite. Night Play might be considered the “fluffiest” in the series, but that man makes me howl at the moon.

Emma Holly returns to the upyr world in Kissing Midnight. Edmund Fitz Clare, older brother to Aimery (Catching Midnight), has adopted three children in 1930’s England in an effort to atone for his sins in the past. His daughter’s friend, Estelle, has been the object of his affection since he saved her at the age of fifteen. Now she has grown and their mutual desire can no longer be leashed.

Having enjoyed the other upyr novels, I was looking forward to this story, especially since it was set in a time period usually ignored in romantic literature. Emma Holly does an excellent job of bringing us into pre-WWII London. From the clothes, to the detail in Estelle’s apartment, it was very easy to picture the Fitz Clare’s environment. This is what Emma Holly does best; world building and sex scenes, which there are plenty of. If you have read any of her previous works, this should not come as a surprise. Each scene is very detailed, from start to finish, and not for the prim and proper. This is not a novel you would have casually out on your coffee table. I enjoyed Kissing Midnight, to a point. I feel as if I can’t express a true opinion of it, and I will explain why.

 Spoiler Alert- Spoiler Alert- Spoiler Alert- Spoiler Alert- Spoiler Alert- Spoiler Alert!

The story doesn’t end. Not one bit of it. And there is still a third in the series, (Saving Midnight.)  There are essentially three storylines in Kissing Midnight: The relationship between Edmund and Estelle. Adopted brother and sister, Ben and Sally are struggling with a mutual attraction. And the eldest Graham was sent on a mission to expose Edmund’s secrets. None of these storylines come to a conclusion, which leads me to one of my biggest literary pet peeves. I do not like to “have to” read a novel. If I choose to read a novel I want it to be because I chose to, not because I have to in order to find out what happens next.

There are two types of series. The ones where every novel is a stand alone story but share common characters or a story arc, and the ones where there is one central character and their story never finishes. In the second one, you have to continue reading book after book to find out what happens next. There are places for both, I just prefer the former. I probably will never read Charlene Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels because I know already that the story doesn’t end, yet. I have heard that it is a wonderful series, and I might enjoy it, but I have a lot going on in my life and trying to keep track of someone else’s trials and tribulations is not what I need to spend my time on. That is why I read in the first place, to get away from some of that.

Which is why I get really annoyed when a continuation happens in a series when I am not expecting it. All of the previous upyr stories had a beginning, middle and end, which was why I was thoroughly disappointed when two-thirds of the book in I realized I was going to “have to” read the next one to find out what happens. The same thing happened with Katie MacAlister ‘Dark Ones”. All of the previous ones ended, but not Zen and the Art of the Vampire. I had to read Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang to find out what happened to Kristoff and Pia. Even then, ZAV had some closure. Not so with Kissing Midnight. And I know the subtitle is The Fitz Clare Chronicles, which suggests a series. But couldn’t some part of the story have been finished? Not one storyline was wrapped up. It wasn’t as if it was extraordinarily long either. I don’t see why it could not have been one big book. I wouldn’t have minded.

So that is why I will reserve judgment until I read Breaking Midnight and Saving Midnight.  The funny thing is I try to read all of Emma Holly’s work and I would have probably read Breaking Midnight anyway. It’s the whole “have to” thing.                  

Kissing Midnight

Nobody likes to be told they have to, especially when it comes to a book.

Actually, what this should be called is what I have read. It wouldn’t make much sense to give my opinion on something I haven’t experienced in the fullest. I also wouldn’t necessarily consider this a review, just one point of view out of many.

Witch Fury is the fourth and final installment in the Elemental Witches series. In this one, earth witch Theo has liberated several kidnapped witches and a suspected warlock, Serafina. Serafina had only recently learned about her power as fire witch upon her kidnapping and must now rely on the coven, and the dark, mysterious and brooding Theo, to  teach her about her new life. She also needs their protection from a demon who is harboring not even remotely pure thoughts about her. I don’t want to give away much more of the plot because ultimately I want you to read it yourself.  That is the goal right? Going to the store,  holding the book in your hands and imagine sitting down and giving up some of your time to read about the exploits of others. I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience by blabbing too much about it here.

I have read all of the series and what I like about what Anya has done is make each book separate. And not just in a ’stand on its own’ way either. Sometimes in a series the author repetes a story line in each book, but just changes the character’s name. The situation they find themselves in maybe different, but the relationship between the main couple is the same as the previous book and the one before that. In this series, each hero and herione have their own issues, so I am actually compelled to read the entire story and not skip every fourth word. There are some bits of predicabilty, but it’s managable because you know that in a romance, even if the hero is being a bit mentally slow on the uptake, he will catch a clue at some point because there must be a happily ever after.

What I also enjoyed about the book was that the world they lived in was painted in vivid and precise detail that enabled me to create a mental picture that I was easily able to carry from not only scene to scene, but book to book as well. If you are looking for some carnage, there are some action scenes that aren’t too difficult to follow. But is does kind of sag in the middle as most books tend to do. Thankfully the action picked up when it needed to and I felt like I wanted to finish the book because I liked it and not because I was just trying to get through it.

There are some rather descriptive sex scenes sprinkled throughout, and I call them sex scenes because love doesn’t enter the picture until later on. This one does run along a darker edge then the others, but having read other works by Anya Bast, I know it was not as explicit as it could have been. There is a lot of description during foreplay and even during the act itself, however when it comes to the all out climactic climax, it kind of peters out, literally. If a writer spends a page on foreplay where they describe exaclty how her nipples tasted, and then when the all consuming, earth shattering, orgasm approaches, and I’m given something along the lines of, he pushed inside her with a groan and collapsed, throughly spent, I feel slightly cheated. My sister calls sex scenes “the plot killing parts of the story” and to a point she is right. I like them because it can bring the couple closer together or drive them apart. If you are dragging me into their bedroom, give me something to make it worth the time spent away from the rest of the story. And if the story is only about sex, then it really better be worth my time.

Will I ever read Witch Fury again? I don’t think so, but I did enjoy it. If you are looking for a good magic story where elements of real and fantasy are woven together, I would definately recommend the entire series. You do not have to start with Witch Fire (the first one) but it does enrich the rest of the series. There is a short story about Micah that takes place after this one that I did not know about until I went on her sight. It was a pleasent surprise that I wish could have been a longer novel. But something is better than nothing.

If you have read this book, let me know what you thought.

This is my first dip into the gianormous icy pond that is cyberspace.

Welcome to my site. This is the start of what I hope will be a successful writing career. I guess ‘hope’ is too passive so I will say what WILL BE a successful writing career. I create contemporary and paranormal romances.

On this site I will discuss what I love about writing, reading and other topics that pertain to what I am writing and reading. Of course I may occassionally veer off onto other topics, but I’ll try to maintain focus and not get too carried away with the importance of my own opinion.

So before I talk about what I write, I will tell you what I look for as a reader. I love to lose myself in the characater, hence why I enjoy romance novels. My life isn’t too exciting ,so where else can I become a vampire slayer, a high-power executive looking for release with a little bdms play, or lost royalty who has to rescue herself and the bad guys from danger, except in the pages of a book. I’ve read just about every genre of romance there is and I do have my favorites. I remember reading as a teenager a Shilouette Shadows vampire novel by Maggie Shayne. It was the first ‘paranormal’ romance novel I remember seeing on the shelves and I loved it. Years went by as I I lost my literary way and when I returned, the paranormal world had exploded. Lucky for us! What I love best about paranormals is the the couple is fighting something besides themselves or each other. Only so many pages can be devoted to why the heroes are hiding their true feelings for each other when their lives are in danger from the soul-sucking necormancer who is trying to infect the entire population with mind controling devices so that he can rule the world. I read to get away from real life relationship hang-ups. Not to vicariously live someone elses.

Besides paramormals, I enjoy any story with a strong hero and an equally strong, if not stronger, heronine. What I look for in a hero is the same as what I look for in real life. A man who can take care of anything and everything, if the heroine wants him to. Not because she is unable to take care of herself. This is what I hope to bring to my writing. A strong man who can recognize a good thing when he sees it and not let it go. Of course, there will be conflict. Otherwise, what’s the point? But I want them to be smart characters who are clever and witty, because I enjoy clever and witty. As I’ve said before, if I don’t want to write it, why would anyone want to read it? Same thing applies in reverse, if I don’t want to read it, why would I write it?

Here’s to the beginning of my journey from pencil and paper (yes I do primarily write in long hand) to a published novel. Where I go from this first blog post to twenty or thirty years from now when I send my thoughts directly to you from the computer chip that is embedded in my brain. How does that sound? Would you like to subscribe to Anna’s brain?

Well, I guess if you’re reading this, you already have.