If you've been watching my sidebar then you know: today is a JR Ward release day! Not a full novel, sadly, but-- and here's the real reason that December is Anthology month for me -- a novella in the anthology Dead After Dark "headlined" by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Also contributing are Susan Squires and Dianna Love. I don't know who they are. I haven't read their bits yet. I headed straight for The Story of Son, because hello? obsessed.I have trouble getting into a lot of short stories, but this one pulled me right in. It definitely reads like a longer book. The hero in this story is everything a BDB fan could want -- tortured, honorable, and with the equipment and stamina of a horse. What's not to like? Claire's character was awfully close to Jane, the heroine from Lover Unbound, which I've noticed about a lot of the Jessica Bird books as well.
The story is set up such that none of the characters know anything about the world of the vampires as we know it, which puts us fans in the interesting position of perhaps knowing more about what's going on than the characters do. It also has the advantage of not spoilering *anything* about the BDB series. I think it's a more fun, better read if you have read the other books, but because of this plot device, it's not really necessary. In fact, I'd be really interested to hear from readers of this story who haven't read the books. If there are any left.
Like a lot of short stories & novellas, this one is pretty thin on plot -- I think it's more of a love story, a vignette of two characters, who they are apart and together, and the chemistry they generate. Ward has a handful of "Slice of Life" scenes on her website -- this piece is a bit reminiscent of those.
I really adore the character of Michael and could easily see him playing a part in future BDB books. Ward certainly doesn't lack for characters to turn to and he probably doesn't need his own full-length book, but dang, I'd love to see him in the Brotherhood. He would fit right in.
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ps, do I need to tell you that the hero is a vampire? He is. She isn't. Go read it.
2 comments:
Duh, it didn't even dawn on me that that there was a BDB story in this antho. Don't know what I was thinkin' when I saw JR Ward's name and it didn't register. Thanx for waking me up to reality this morning. I need this book now.
What an odd JR Ward direction to have that story where nobody knows about the BDB world. So wild. Uh, I'm with you, shorts thin on plots. But today on my blog I asked for rec for the anthology to read!!
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