The Demoness of Waking Dreams, by Stephanie Chong - Review

Image downloaded from stephaniechong.com

Information: 
Title: The Demoness of Waking Dreams
Author: Stephanie Chong
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Mira
Series Name: Company of Angels
Reviewing: Mass Market Paperback, provided by publicist in return for a fair review

Why I Read It 
I received the book from a publicist that I have an ongoing working relationship with, and was intrigued by the premise.

The Short Answer
Wow, I LOVE this author.  The narrative is flawless; it just flows beautifully and pulls you along, smooth as a Venetian gondolier.  I love the exotic setting of Venice; the elegant, old world facade and the competing undercurrent of decay and vice. 

Series Handicap: 
I give it a two of five.  This is book 2 of the series and there are some references to a backstory between Luciana and the hero of the first book. I haven't read the first one and I thought there was enough information to fully follow the story at hand, but the backstory of some of the other characters is definitely a factor for Luciana. I will be going back and reading book 1 for sure; it sounds delicious. 


The Premise
This is an Angels and Demons mythology, infused with old-world Catholicism.  It reminded me a little bit of Meljean Brook's Demon Angel, since it also featured a female demon and a male angel. While Brook's mythology had some complex series arcs going on, this story seemed very focused on the two protagonists, set into seemingly irreconcilable conflict.

Whenever I read paranormal fiction about immortal characters, I'm always interested to see how the author handles the concepts of danger and harm - it's kind of hard to build suspense if there is no potential for significant physical harm, not to mention that if you eliminate pain, you logically eliminate pleasure too, which can make executing a romance kind of tricky.  Chong's approach, for the angels at least, is that the general rank and file, which our hero belongs to, remain essentially corporeal, needing food, sleep, and at least recuperation time from physical damage.  They also experience pain and pleasure.

Similarly, I love when an author can bring something new to the treatment of the sexual elements in a romance -- and no, I'm not talking about exotic positions or toys or fetishes.  (Though I'm not saying those are bad things...)  Sex is always a part of romantic love, but it may or may not be all that important to a particular story, or character, or plot.

In Demoness, corporeal love plays an important role.  It underpins the entire dialog between good and evil, sin and divinity.  Luciana's fall from grace involved sex and seduction; her ongoing tribute to the Prince of Darkness is accomplished through the seduction of the innocent (or close enough...)

In that moment, he knew the absolute and utter rightness of sexual connection, of the pure and unadulterated pleasure of it, a celebration of the divine. Demoness or not, she was still essentially a part of the divine, irrespective of who or what she thought she was.

"A celebration of the divine."  Yeah.  I love that.  Our culture is too filled with messages about the "sins of the flesh," and sex-positive literature is very often scrupulously separated from any kind of commentary about faith.  This book is the exception, and I find that very refreshing.

I give this new (to me) author a strong recommend.

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Postscript
As you may have noticed, the blog has been pretty quiet.  I actually received this book quite some time ago, before the release date.  (Sometimes I find it hard to write up a review for a book I really REALLY like, because I have to figure out how to do it justice.  I need to get a little more up close and personal with the Nike motto).

So anyway, to help motivate me to get this post finished, I got my hands on the first book of the series, Where Angels Fear to Tread.  This book introduces Luciana, and to be totally honest, she is much creepier and more horrible in the first book.  I might not have been as willing to see her redeemed in the second book if I had read them in order.  The horror is not terribly graphic, but it's pretty... well... horrible.

I liked the second book better for a couple of reasons: 1) I think a bad-girl/good-boy story is much fresher than the inverse, which has been done SO many times; 2) I found Luciana's voice to be way more interesting than Serena's; and 3) I just like Venice as a setting so much more than Las Vegas.  It may also be a case of a new author hitting her stride with a second book. I didn't have any particular problems with the writing, per se, in WAFTT.  The story overall was just a bit less compelling to me.

Around the Blogosphere
Rabid Reads (oo, new-to-me blog!)
Book Chick City (she makes a good point about the way the book ends which I have not addressed here)
Dear Author
Heroes and Heartbreakers

Crave, by JR Ward -- Deep Thoughts

Not a Review
I'm working back up to doing actual reviews.  For now, I really just have a topic I want to muse on, which is this:

I think JR Ward is a hellluva storyteller in the paranormal space.

However, I do NOT like her writing about the metaphysical.

Too Deep For Me
I'll credit one particular element of Crave for making that distinction gel for me -- and it applies to the Black Dagger Brotherhood books as well as the Fallen Angels.

The wings, like him and Eddie and Adrian, were neither there nor not there, real nor unreal, tangible nor intangible.

They just were.

Honestly? That's just weak. I have the same issues in the BDB books with the Omega's tampering with time and with Darius's reincarnation into a being that had to have been born before Darius died. 

Furthermore, a fair amount of Jim's character development and scene-setting for future series story arcs are predicated on the corporeal nature of these immortals, including the arch-angels:

Nigel, as with the others, neither lived nor breathed; he simply was. And the food was the same, neither necessary nor extant-- as was the landscape and all that the four of them did to pass their eternity. But the trappings of a gracious life were of value. Indeed, the quarters that he shared with Colin were well kitted-out and the sojourns they took therein were not for any sleep necessity but for recharging of a different kind.

War was exhausting, its burdens ne'er-ending, and at times, one needed physical succor.

Now, the WARDen can build her world any way she wants to, but the thing is, I'm just not feelin' it, to use the vernacular. You can't say in one sentence that the  physical doesn't matter and then in the next say, oh well, but it helps.  I don't get it.  Why would one need "physical succor" if one doesn't need oxygen or food or, hey, the laws of physics?

And the coyness of the reference to Colin and Nigel's relationship really turned me off.  If you're gonna go there, let's just spit it out, shall we?

OH! and can I just say: the fake what-what-old-chap dialog/narration around the archangels SUCKETH MIGHTILY, YEA VERILY HUZZAH. (of course I can.  See? I just did.)

OK, I Guess It Actually Is a Review
Ward's writing and pacing and male characters keep me turning pages, they honestly do.  And Jim is promising, aside from the metaphysical problem.  I liked his engagement with Devina's victim and in general I'm liking his character development.

As for the romance, it's vintage Ward, in both good and bad ways.  Grier and Isaac had good chemistry and an interesting non-supernatural storyline.  But I pretty much felt like the characters were a rehash: poor sad little blond princess, who is so so very good and smart and pretty and good all the way to her patrician blue-blooded bones finds such unexpected, unseemly happiness with the earthy passionate badass damaged Taurus desperately seeking redemption.

All up?  Not that great.

Covet, by JR Ward - Review

Finally.
I know, I know. Inertia has its claws in me. I'm reading a ton, honest, but finding it real work to sit down and do the reviews. So Covet has been out for almost two weeks; I finished it over a week ago. Yeah, finally.

Divided Loyalty
First off, if you don't like the direction Ward has been going with the BDB series, I'd recommend you skip it.

However, if you're good with a somewhat divided focus for the sake of the ongoing series arc, I think it's good news. The new premise feels fresh--don't know about you but I was getting kind of tired of the lessers. Ward's whys and wherefores of demon possession have an original spin while borrowing perhaps more heavily from traditional medieval Catholic lore than some of the current trendy demon-based UF.

I'm trying to think of another series that has a strong romantic focus on individual couples (as romance does) while also keeping a constant, catalyst character in the forefront (as UF does), and not coming up with anything comparable. The closest I can think of is Meljean Brook's Michael, but he's not directly involved in the protagonists' relationships the way Ward's character is. I'm guessing that Kenyon's Acheron might be similar, but I'm only going on buzz -- haven't read them myself.

Anyway, I'm finding it promising how deliberately the structure has been created-- I think it's a bit harder to take when that third-party role evolves through the series and risks feeling like shark-jumping. And it's a risk, because it breaks form-- some readers have complained that the focus is too divided, which I can understand. I'm reserving judgment about that because I did find both stories interesting with satisfying arcs, and the teaser for Jim's continuing story is compelling. Though some of the information about Jim's former life skirts the line between teasing and frustrating.

The new series is also set in Caldwell, NY, which I enjoy. I like having "insider" info, and find the cameos from Trez, Detective de la Cruz and Phury entertaining BUT if you haven't read the BDB first and don't want to, you won't lose any comprehension.

It's the End of the World As We Know It
I think Ward is taking herself-- or this series-- a little less seriously than the BDB, and it's good. She's always been able to write humor and absurdity into her books, especially in dialog, but I think a lot of what happens to Jim is pretty tongue-in-cheek. It might even tempt you into eye-roll territory (cricket-playing angels? a fortress castle = heaven? divine assistance via television messaging?) but it worked OK for me and was effective, if slightly silly, imagery.

Wardisms, and The Very Long Book
You'll find the voicing familiar, as both Jim and Vin sound very much like any given Black Dagger Brother, perhaps V, if I had to pick one. (Vin also gets premonitions about people's deaths, and he is NEVER WRONG-- coincidence?) The weird tendency to add an "ie" to the end of words like "freshie" for a "fresh drink" is still in here but toned down a bit (thankfullie) and O'Donovan? just for you? not a "shitkicker" boot in sight. (I was watching.)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of The Very Long Book. This is probably a requirement for a reader to enjoy this book-- if you merely tolerate long books only when the complex plot and characterization absolutely require it, you might pass this by. If this were Ward's first book, I would dare to say an editor might have been a bit more, um, editorial on this page count. As Mandi* astutely points out in her review, there are a couple of subplots that are not especially pertinent or, um, logical. At least one of them might become clearer as we get to know Jim's sidekicks in future books though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Bottom Line
I think just overall I have lowered expectations from JR Ward these days. I'm happy to see the last two Ward books rise above the barrel-bottom-scraping of Lover Enshrined, but I've stopped expecting to get that heart-stopping OH MY GOD reaction I got with the first few BDB books. Maybe it was the novelty of the formula, and it just only works so many times. If it happens again, that'll just be a fabulous bonus.

In the meantime, I'm still a loyal reader. If I gave ratings, it would probably be something like a B+ for Covet-- good solid read, but not knock-your-socks-off, and I'll be reading the next one. Rumored title is Crave.

Honestly though? I don't think Ward is going to remain a Hardback Author for me. I might be hitting the library or waiting for Lover Mine to come out in paperback.

Around the Web:
*Smexy Books
Smokin' Hot Books
Darque Reviews
Dear Author (Brrr. Cold.)
Bibliophilic
I Heart Book Gossip
... and as always, if you've reviewed Covet and I've missed it, please feel free to leave your link in comments!

Disclosure: Purchased.

Next Up From JR Ward:

Lover Mine, John Matthew's story

More Angels? A Tidbit

At a local author event today, Stella Cameron spoke briefly about her next series called "Court of Angels," inspired by a real place in New Orleans, where the series is set.

Apparently, the series involves a paranormal race who live underground, and while they can be found anywhere, New Orleans is their idea of paradise. Anyway, she didn't say whether or not actual angels are involved, but a girl can hope.


.

Angels and Demons

Ciara thinks the next big thing in romance is steampunk.

I'm a little less cutting edge than that. My predictive powers are weak at best--witness my manufacturing degree, ca 1988 (should've minored in Chinese), and my MBA, ca 1993 -- talk about trend busters! But I think I may have identified a mini-trend already in progress. I'm clearly way better at that.

So while vampires and shifters have been the big story for the last few years, I'm thinking that demons and angels are the next--OK, current-- big wave in paranormal fiction, whether romance, UF, or horror.

Kim Harrison's Hollows series kicked off in April 2004 with some scary-ass demons. I'm only on book 2 so I can't say if they end up being a love interest/hero but at the moment? not. But it could go that way.

While I was a little lukewarm on Jenna Black's vampire world, I really like her Morgan Kingsley series, kicking off with Devil Inside back in November of 2007. Her demon is both sexy and seriously scary. I think she will somehow end up with him romantically (maybe she already has; I'm not caught up yet even though the latest is waiting in my TBR pile!) So, he's kind of a hero, but like Facebook says, It's Complicated.

So romances, with demons as the hero, I didn't start noticing until more recently. The first one I saw was Christine Warren's The Demon You Know, from May of 2007, and Rule is seriously yummy. But demons are only one of a whole pantheon of paranormals in Warren's world, and not the most prevalent.

Then I found Meljean Brook, whose Guardian series features angels most prominently, and a demon as the series' first heroine. Though Brook is kicking off a new steampunk series shortly, the Guardians are continuing-- hot off the presses is the cover for Demon Forged, tentatively due out in October of this year. We haven't gotten a demon hero yet; they're almost by definition bad/evil, but I have to admit I'm intrigued by the demon who plagues Charlie Newcomb and her sister in Demon Night. Since Charlie's sister opts to keep Sammael around, I have to wonder why... coughcoughnovella!cough maybe?

About the same time, I was burning through Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark, and let me just say that Cade Woede can eat crackers in my bed any ol' time.

Larissa Ione debuted her popular "Demonica" series last June with demon heroes. She has a big following but I have to admit I'm not that into them, so no telling if angels will make an appearance. If they do, you won't hear it here first, but you can keep an eye on Literary Escapism -- Jackie always has the scoop.

But wait, there's more.

Nalini Singh, author of the Psy/Changeling series, launches her new Guild Hunter series on March 3 with Angels' Blood. For a sneak peek, an e-novella called "Angels' Pawn" set in the same world will be available tomorrow (check Nalini's site for the right link). Isn't that a gorgeous cover? I love the platinum-blond hair.

And finally (that I know of), last Halloween, J.R. Ward somewhat unofficially announced (read down in the comments) her new series starting off this October, which she describes thusly:

COVET: A Novel of the Fallen Angels is the first of the books and let’s just say it’s all about angels and Harleys and evil and redemption. The tag line’s Destiny’s a witch and then you die… but love always brings you back.

She goes on: So far as I’m aware, the hero of the whole series is a guy named Jim Crane who’s a carpenter and it’s all about him going up against the devil (who’s a very hot brunette, btw) with the help of his two partners, a scruffy dog and his bad attitude. There are other heros who come in along the way and there is a love story in every book. Things may change as I get into the writing, but the bare bones are set and I can’t wait to get started!

Now, I confess, this description kind of gives me bad flashbacks to studying The Red Badge of Courage in sophomore English class with Mrs. Harris in her fluorescent blue eyeshadow, bludgeoning us all about the heads and shoulders with the allegory: "Notice his initials are Jayyyyyy.... Ceeeeeeee...and he sacrifices himself.... What other important historical figure do we know with the initials Jayyyyyy.... Ceeeeeee... ?"

Later on her forum, Ward says that the name Crane was an error and the name is actually Jim Heron. I don't know if she changed her mind or if "Crane" came out instead of Heron because Stephen Crane's analogies got beaten into her by an English teacher with fluorescent blue eyeshadow too or what... but in any event, "Heron" just strikes me as a little weird. Is it an homage to Stephen Crane? It probably wouldn't bug me if I hadn't seen Crane first, but now it's just going to be "Jim Long-Legged-Bird; Heron/Crane/Flamingo etc" in my mind and will probably distract me every time I see it.

Not that I overthink things or anything.

But Ward has me by the short little fan-girl hairs so I will certainly read the first one, and assuming it's better than Phury's book, probably the second one as well. As always, you can keep an eye on my sidebar for the countdown to the next JR Ward book.

Did I miss any good angel/devil series? Chime in!
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angel/devil image used with permission, courtesy of Mark Stivers.

Meljean Brook – Two Novellas – Review

Wild Thing and Hot Spell both contain novellas in Brook’s Guardian universe. I had to double-check the page count on both of them, because in each case there was absolutely a whole story packed into barely 100 pages. Vivid characters, compelling plot, and just enough of her amazing world to tide over the fans between releases.

Compared to a full length book, novellas usually lack something; I mean, there’s a reason for those other two or three hundred pages – character development, intricate plotting— something has to give. Not these. Sure, the plots don’t have quite as many twists and turns, but they’ll still engage you and they don’t have that wrapped-up-pat, oh-crap-I’m-out-of-page-count feel of a lot of novellas. The other signature move of Brook’s that is left out of the novellas is the way each full-length book adds new branches of the mythology in her world-building—which is perfectly appropriate for a short.

I honestly can’t speak to whether these shorts stand alone if you aren’t already reading the series. But does that matter? Are there really paranormal romance fans out there who haven’t fallen in love with the Guardians? If there are, I can only imagine that either of these two novellas would prompt such an under-rock dweller to run out and acquire by hook, crook, or library card the rest of the series. I will say, though, that being late to the party with Falling For Anthony did leave me slightly lost in parts of Colin’s story, Demon Moon; and Demon Bound contains references to events in Paradise. So fans should consider the novellas required reading, not extra credit.

Although Falling For Anthony (Hot Spell) contains references to how Colin was changed, it is the story of his sister and the Guardian she falls for, and explains Colin's connection to the Ramsdell family. I was actually kind of perplexed by the weird sex scene in the beginning of the story. I didn’t understand Emily’s motivations and I’m not sure I ever really did get a grip on them. The first couple chapters read a little bit like a full length novel that had been stripped down hard. I confess I didn’t start to love the story until after Anthony’s transformation.

Now, Paradise… Brook totally has her novella groove on here. Lucas, a self-sacrificing carpenter who bleeds to save humanity – no wait, that’s not quite right… but yes, Lucas is a bit of a Christ figure in this story. Fortunately, he gets a much happier ending with an angel for a consort-- which seems appropriate somehow; that is, if it’s not too weird and blasphemous to find a Christ figure extremely sexy and heroic. I really enjoyed the build-up of tension between these two characters: Lucas’ reluctance to take help from anyone; Selah’s internal struggle with her resentment of the Guardians who ascended, leaving Earth vulnerable and the remaining Guardians with a monumental task – there’s a lot going on here but it never feels rushed or confused. Once again, Brook plays with the notion of free will on multiple levels, adding hope to her dark world of demons and nosferatu, and substance to a genre that is too often dismissed as fluff.

One last note – Brook has a third novella in the collection “First Blood,” released this past August, which I somehow missed. Following my own advice, I’m going to need to pick this up one way or another.

Coming up next: Brook has a short in the upcoming Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance, due out in April of 2009, and the next Guardian book is tentatively titled Demon Forged, featuring Elena, the foul-tempered Guardian with a talent for metal-working. Hopefully we’ll see than in 2009 as well, but I’m not seeing a scheduled release date as yet. Also, if you’re like me and reluctant to shell out $14 for your reading fix, there is more good news: Wild Thing is being re-released in mass-market format next month. Between the double-whammy of Paradise and Marjorie Liu's Hunter Kiss, this was perhaps my favorite anthology of the whole bunch.

Hot Spell – Anthology Review

Hot Spell contains stories from Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, Shiloh Walker, and Meljean Brook. Ever since I realized that I was missing some very critical information about Brook’s vampire Colin, I’ve been watching for this one. It’s a couple of years old now, though, so I had to order it from Amazon.

The first entry is from Emma Holly. Remember when I told you that I thought the historical world needed her more than the paranormal world does? Hmmm, I think I was right. This particular story just isn’t up my alley, although the right basics are there. You have a repressed noblewoman, a sexually super-charged “peasant” guy; subtle power exchanges in both directions, lush sensual writing, a decent mini-plot wrapping up with a love-will-conquer-all interracial romance… I dunno. I think the hero just didn’t do it for me. The paranormal, other-world element gives Holly some room to play, and I can see that the layer of creativity kind of juices up the story… but for me, it just didn’t work. I think this is a case where it’s just preference on my part.

Secondly, is my second Breed short story from Lora Leigh. Question for the hard-core fans: do the men all have “eatable lips”? Or is there some kind of streak of cannibalism in the mates they choose? I ask because so far the Leigh heroes are 4 for 4 with eatable lips. Personally I think that’s kind of weird. The first time, I thought, ooo, I kinda like that...By the fourth book I was waiting for it. Which, you know, isn’t right.

Other than that though, I actually liked this little story quite a bit more than the other one, and so far it might be my favorite Lora Leigh. (I’ve read two of the SEALs books and two Breed short stories). The Tarek character was definitely more likeable than Saban but I’m still having a little trouble with the mates-for-life premise.

Blood Kiss from Shiloh Walker cracked me up with the Romeo and Juliet references. Not a subtle lady, Ms Walker, with her Roman Montgomery and Julianna Capiet. The duo bob and weave through the politics of the two powerful but feuding families, and since it's a vampire spin, there's that sort of dying-but-not-really-dying bit, too. This is a romance, so there is a happy ending, and I was a little disappointed that no one had occasion to swear a pox on both their houses, but I suppose it would be boring to follow the formula too closely. Final note: very intrigued by the character of Mikhail. Adding Shiloh Walker to my 2009 authors if for no other reason than I need to read that story.

Review for “Falling for Anthony” coming up separately….

This little collection definitely rates high on the creativity scale, so if you’re looking for something a little different, this could fit the bill. Which for me, also makes it a little hit-or-miss by individual stories. I suspect this is a big YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

Have you reviewed Hot Spell on your blog? Feel free to post a link in comments or hit up Mr. Linky in the Antholopalooza intro post.