About Witches, Vampires and Beautiful Albinos

Image by Wonderlane via Flickr

I mean, it is time for my post dedicated to the Gothic Reading Challenge. This month with so much pain and sickness I didn't have time to write the post, although I kept on reading...I must say, I read some pretty amazing books this month, and I am going to tell you all about it. So, make yourselves confortable...

Here it goes...

First of all, I have to thank my bloggy - friend Simcha for recommending me Leanna Renee Hieber books: "The Strangely Beautiful Story of Miss Percy Parker" and "The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker". They are absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed reading them very much. Now, if you know me, you won't ask for a review. I don't like reviews, I simply read. And I don't want to spoil it for you. I am going to say only that the main character is a beautiful albino who sees ghosts and has to deal with love and a prophecy that threatens the world as we know it. The writing is so exquisite and rich and the characters are well built, to say nothing about the ghostly Victorian gothic atmosphere...Goodreads has everything about the books here. I cannot wait for the next books in the series...

Next, I made another amazing discovery, Deborah Harkness's "A Discovery of Witches". I am telling you, this book has everything I like in one: witches, vampires (and not the sparkly type), and a mysterious book.

Here it is what goodreads says about it:

"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

I hope I awakened your curiosity and you'll read the book. I am sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Speaking of vampires, I started reading Lynsay Sand's Argeneau Vampires series...I think I read the first four or five books. The first and second book were OK, then they got boring and I hope they'll get better because I think there are fifteen books in the series and I intend to read them all (call me stubborn, but I do like a challenge).

Now, I am not sure where does the theme of fallen angels belong...I am not sure it is 100% gothic, but it has the supernatural element, the prophecy...Anyhow, I read "Raziel" by Kristina Douglas and loved it. As always, I went to goodreads and brought this back for you:

Kristina Douglas’s sexy new series introduces a realm of fallen angels and ruthless demons, where an eternal rebellion is brewing . . . and one unsuspecting woman can change the fate of the Fallen forever.
She was just an ordinary mortal . . .

“You’re dead” is so not what Allie Watson wants to hear. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like the dark, angelically handsome man who ferried her to this strange, hidden land. The last thing she remembers is stepping off a curb in front of a crosstown bus. Now she’s surrounded by gorgeous fallen angels with an unsettling taste for blood—and they really don’t want her around. Not exactly how she pictured heaven.

. . . until death catapulted her into a seductive world she never imagined.

Raziel is unsure why he rescued Allie from hellfire against Uriel’s orders, but she stirs in him a longing he hasn't felt in centuries. Now the Fallen are bracing for the divine wrath brought by his disobedience, and they blame Allie for the ferocious Nephilim clawing at the kingdom’s shrouded gates. Facing impossible odds at every turn, the two must work together to survive. Raziel will do anything to defend his spirited lover against the forces of darkness—because Allie may be the Fallen’s only salvation.

I almost forgot...I read also Patricia Brigg's new novel in her Mercy Thompson series, "River Marked". Briggs is always a pleasant lecture and she is one of my favourite authors.

"An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River—one that her father’s people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help".(goodreads).

These were the books I liked. Unfortunately, I didn't like Jeaniene's Frost "This Side of the Grave" but I enjoyed "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" that is the second novel in her "Night Huntress World" series. Well, you win some...

As you may observe, I was pretty busy reading...What can I say? It is my escape from reality, a place where I fell good.

I hope you'll try some of the books I talked about...

Happy reading!