Helpful Score: 2
Callie McFay has written a bestselling book about demon lovers in gothic literature and has been doing book tours, lectures and job interviews because of it. When she is brought to the quiet town of Fairwick, New York, to interview with Fairwick College, she does so with one foot out the door the whole time. Callie loves the big city and she and her boyfriend have plans. This little college and its town dont have what she thinks she wants. But then she spots an aging Victorian through the woods and the house calls to her. She soon finds herself accepting the job, willingly, and buying the house, happily. Its not long after that Callie discovers the tales she grew up on may not be just stories. The fairytales of her youth are coming to life.
It has been a while since I have felt myself so deeply invested in the story which characters have resonated so deeply with me. This isnt a romance or paranormal romance, it isnt a fantasy book, or a gothic story its all of them and then some. The Demon Lover has so many facets to it that to categorize it under one genre would limit its appeal and impact.
The story is filled with stunning imagery and it is a tale that not only entertains you, but completely captures you. I could see and feel everything that the author wrote about. I love stories that are so well written you can tune out the world around you completely. And that is what I did. From page one I was in Fairwick with Callie. I was with her while she taught her students, made her friends and discovered herself. I felt every emotion. It didnt have the ending that I had hoped for, but it ended perfectly for the story. I found myself so intensely invested with this story that I feel bereft now that it has ended. I hope this is the first of many books in a series. While Callies life is on hold in the literary world, waiting for her next chapter, I am right there with her. Juliet Dark has created a fantastic world and I cant wait for the next book, I want more!
Cherise Everhard, December 2011
It has been a while since I have felt myself so deeply invested in the story which characters have resonated so deeply with me. This isnt a romance or paranormal romance, it isnt a fantasy book, or a gothic story its all of them and then some. The Demon Lover has so many facets to it that to categorize it under one genre would limit its appeal and impact.
The story is filled with stunning imagery and it is a tale that not only entertains you, but completely captures you. I could see and feel everything that the author wrote about. I love stories that are so well written you can tune out the world around you completely. And that is what I did. From page one I was in Fairwick with Callie. I was with her while she taught her students, made her friends and discovered herself. I felt every emotion. It didnt have the ending that I had hoped for, but it ended perfectly for the story. I found myself so intensely invested with this story that I feel bereft now that it has ended. I hope this is the first of many books in a series. While Callies life is on hold in the literary world, waiting for her next chapter, I am right there with her. Juliet Dark has created a fantastic world and I cant wait for the next book, I want more!
Cherise Everhard, December 2011
Helpful Score: 2
I got an eGalley of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was a wonderful paranormal romance/mystery with a dark and gothic feel to it. A great book to read over the holidays, as it takes place during the winter months and really has a wintery vibe to it.
Callie McFay has been visited by a dark prince in her dreams since she was a child. When she moves to upstate New York to teach at a college there she is again visited by her dark prince, but this time the dreams are incredibly erotic (and disturbing) in nature. Still Callie is drawn to this sleepy town of Fairwick and soon finds herself buying a house there (without her boyfriend's knowlege). Callie soon finds out that there is more to Fairwick than she could have ever imagined and her dark prince is tied up to the other mysterious events that happen in this town.
This book is not really paranormal romance, it is more of a contemporary fantasy with a lot of mystery and some erotic scenes in it....it also has a very gothic overtone to it. The mystery is set up very slowly and the pace of the story is fairly deliberate.
I loved the writing style of this book; everything is described so beautifully that it is easy to imagine the scenery and to follow the mystery being woven. I loved the interesting characters and the way that the world of fairy was woven mysteriously throughout Fairwick's history.
I am going to be honest initially I was very turned off by the numerous erotic scenes in the beginning of the book; I was thinking seriously is this was the book is about?! But as the mystery started to unravel I was more and more intrigued by the world built here, was curious to unravel the mystery of the Honeysuckle House, and I fell in love with the Gothic wintery setting. I also really enjoyed all of the literary references throughout and the snippets of poetry woven through the story.
This is a deliberately paced book, if you don't like that then this isn't the book for you. The book starts with quite a bit of action and then goes through a tense lull where nothing much happens but, as the reader, you are just waiting for the next shoe to drop... I enjoyed it and thought it was well done, but I could see readers who like action-based novels being very frustrated with the pace. One of the "mysteries" in the story is very transparent...I was a bit disappointed that it took Callie so long to figure this out; still I think her blindness to this mystery was intentional and told the reader a lot about Callie's feelings and needs.
The book ends without much resolved, this is the first in a series so there is more to come. This is also not a happy, happy book....think Gothic romance...so things end as you might expect them to in that sort of genre. Additionally there are also some very graphic sex scenes in this book...so definitely for adults only.
Overall I ended up in love with this book. The beautiful writing and descriptions, the Gothic and wintry small town setting, and the wonderful weaving of fairy magic throughout all of this absolutely captured my imagination. I loved the literature references throughout as well. This is a very deliberately paced book, there are lulls while the tension builds but not much happens. One of the mysteries is also very transparent...so not the most surprising plot. Still I loved the writing and loved how it captured my imagination; I loved the dark and Gothic feel to it...it was very different from most of the paranormal that is out there. If you love dark Gothic romance with a touch of supernatural then this is the book for you. If you have trouble with very deliberately paced books then you may want to look elsewhere. I will definitely be reading future books in this series.
Callie McFay has been visited by a dark prince in her dreams since she was a child. When she moves to upstate New York to teach at a college there she is again visited by her dark prince, but this time the dreams are incredibly erotic (and disturbing) in nature. Still Callie is drawn to this sleepy town of Fairwick and soon finds herself buying a house there (without her boyfriend's knowlege). Callie soon finds out that there is more to Fairwick than she could have ever imagined and her dark prince is tied up to the other mysterious events that happen in this town.
This book is not really paranormal romance, it is more of a contemporary fantasy with a lot of mystery and some erotic scenes in it....it also has a very gothic overtone to it. The mystery is set up very slowly and the pace of the story is fairly deliberate.
I loved the writing style of this book; everything is described so beautifully that it is easy to imagine the scenery and to follow the mystery being woven. I loved the interesting characters and the way that the world of fairy was woven mysteriously throughout Fairwick's history.
I am going to be honest initially I was very turned off by the numerous erotic scenes in the beginning of the book; I was thinking seriously is this was the book is about?! But as the mystery started to unravel I was more and more intrigued by the world built here, was curious to unravel the mystery of the Honeysuckle House, and I fell in love with the Gothic wintery setting. I also really enjoyed all of the literary references throughout and the snippets of poetry woven through the story.
This is a deliberately paced book, if you don't like that then this isn't the book for you. The book starts with quite a bit of action and then goes through a tense lull where nothing much happens but, as the reader, you are just waiting for the next shoe to drop... I enjoyed it and thought it was well done, but I could see readers who like action-based novels being very frustrated with the pace. One of the "mysteries" in the story is very transparent...I was a bit disappointed that it took Callie so long to figure this out; still I think her blindness to this mystery was intentional and told the reader a lot about Callie's feelings and needs.
The book ends without much resolved, this is the first in a series so there is more to come. This is also not a happy, happy book....think Gothic romance...so things end as you might expect them to in that sort of genre. Additionally there are also some very graphic sex scenes in this book...so definitely for adults only.
Overall I ended up in love with this book. The beautiful writing and descriptions, the Gothic and wintry small town setting, and the wonderful weaving of fairy magic throughout all of this absolutely captured my imagination. I loved the literature references throughout as well. This is a very deliberately paced book, there are lulls while the tension builds but not much happens. One of the mysteries is also very transparent...so not the most surprising plot. Still I loved the writing and loved how it captured my imagination; I loved the dark and Gothic feel to it...it was very different from most of the paranormal that is out there. If you love dark Gothic romance with a touch of supernatural then this is the book for you. If you have trouble with very deliberately paced books then you may want to look elsewhere. I will definitely be reading future books in this series.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved the start of this book. The author really sucked me into this story of a dream lover and the corresponding manuscripts by the previous owner of the mysterious house. I loved the story of how our heroine lost her parents and a dream prince came to her and told her fairy tales.
And then he was gone. Vanquished because he could literally suck the life from her, then the story seems to ramble on for a couple of hundred pages before we realize his back. Yeah! Well not so much.
The demon lover returns in the guise of a replacement professor. In my humble opinion he was really well disguised. This guy wrote poetry and baked??? Hero's don't bake. Well at least mine don't.
The author threw in a whole bunch of side characters that could be stories in the next book, or they may be useless fluff. Much as I hate to say it, I don't plan to find out.
And then he was gone. Vanquished because he could literally suck the life from her, then the story seems to ramble on for a couple of hundred pages before we realize his back. Yeah! Well not so much.
The demon lover returns in the guise of a replacement professor. In my humble opinion he was really well disguised. This guy wrote poetry and baked??? Hero's don't bake. Well at least mine don't.
The author threw in a whole bunch of side characters that could be stories in the next book, or they may be useless fluff. Much as I hate to say it, I don't plan to find out.
Helpful Score: 1
When I started reading this book I thought I had mistakenly gotten my hands on an erotica story (not generally what I like in a novel), but this story turned out to be so much more than it first appeared to be.
Callie McFay moves to an isolated town in New York state to teach folklore at Fairwick, an exclusive college. Orphaned as a child, she was raised by a cold grandmother who wasn't happy with Callie's choice of colleges to teach in. This was Callie's first teaching job out of grad school and she's a bit surprised when she gets an immediate offer from the college. Meanwhile, she is immediately drawn to the abandoned Victorian home across the street from the bed and breakfast that she's staying in during her first visit for the interview. What lies behind the door of that house and the surrounding woods begin a mystery that is revealed in layers through the course of this novel.
Juliet Dark has created an enthralling story told in first point of view person from the perspective of our main character. The beauty of the use of first person viewpoint in this story is that we only know what Callie knows, which isn't a whole lot at the beginning, and that serves to enhance the mystery and suspense of the story. Dark gave her the name Cailleach McFay (Callie for short) - the symbolism was not lost on this reader, but McFay was a bit heavy handed with symbolism with this name, particularly the McFay part. Still, on the whole, less a couple jarring ambiguities, this was a very well told story that had me reading into the wee hours of the morning.
Callie McFay moves to an isolated town in New York state to teach folklore at Fairwick, an exclusive college. Orphaned as a child, she was raised by a cold grandmother who wasn't happy with Callie's choice of colleges to teach in. This was Callie's first teaching job out of grad school and she's a bit surprised when she gets an immediate offer from the college. Meanwhile, she is immediately drawn to the abandoned Victorian home across the street from the bed and breakfast that she's staying in during her first visit for the interview. What lies behind the door of that house and the surrounding woods begin a mystery that is revealed in layers through the course of this novel.
Juliet Dark has created an enthralling story told in first point of view person from the perspective of our main character. The beauty of the use of first person viewpoint in this story is that we only know what Callie knows, which isn't a whole lot at the beginning, and that serves to enhance the mystery and suspense of the story. Dark gave her the name Cailleach McFay (Callie for short) - the symbolism was not lost on this reader, but McFay was a bit heavy handed with symbolism with this name, particularly the McFay part. Still, on the whole, less a couple jarring ambiguities, this was a very well told story that had me reading into the wee hours of the morning.
