Book Review: The Wolf Gift

The Wolf Gift
Author: Anne Rice
Published: Knopf, February 2012
Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Thriller
Rating: 4/5

Last summer, I embarked on my second journey of reading vampire novels. As much as I hate to admit it, The Twilight Saga was my first taste of vampire fiction. While I knew about Anne Rice's famous Vampire Chronicles (who doesn't?) I had never once picked them up. Long story short, after reading the first few pages of Interview with a Vampire Rice had gained a new fan. One day, at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku, I saw the eyes of a wolf staring back at me from the cover of a paperback. The Wolf Gift came home with me that day.

Rueban Golding is a reporter on a assignment to write about the Nideck mansion on the rugged coast of Northern California. As he makes his way through the great mansion and all its treasures he begins to see the house as his fate. Being in that mansion will change his fate. A chance encounter will alter his body, his understanding, his relationships, and the existence he has called reality. Rueban seeks salvation in his soul as he attempts to find a balance between man and wolf. He has been given The Wolf Gift.

Rice touches on the human instinct to survive and protect, even if it means murder. While Rueban is a werewolf when he kills Rice bridges the link between animal and human. Somewhere, in modern civilization, man has lost the instincts that once helped to govern our lives. Or, is it buried somewhere, deep in the the humanity we have developed with civilization?

Readers will taste the setting of Rueban's world with with the eloquent prose Rice has once more rendered with her detailed descriptions. Rueban is a character that you can imagine standing beside you as you read the pages of his story. For those who revel in the legend and lore of the werewolf this is a novel that you must read.

(Book #5 for 2013)

Book Reviews: Island of Icarus & Lone Star

Island of Icarus
Author: Christine Danse
Published: Carina Press, November 2010
Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction/Homosexual Erotica, Novella
Rating: 4//5

Sometimes I like to read a smutty romance novel. When I read this type of book I am simply looking for a fun, quick read that doesn't involve much of my brain power to understand the story.  I read this novella and enjoyed its steaminess. Or was it the body heart from all the other passengers I was feeling?

Johnathon has not been the same since his fiancee left him. At the suggestion of his colleague he decides to head to the Galapagos Islands for some scholarly research. After his ship wrecks he finds himself on a deserted island except for the man name Marcus who saves him. Marcus is a mechanical engineer who thrives in his solitary lifestyle but welcomes Johnathon with open arms. Both men are about to rediscover the flame that draws one person to another in a place that only they can call paradise.

The most pleasure I got from this book was getting to know the two main characters as their relationship developed. Both Johnathon and Marcus are incredibly well-developed characters who touched my heart in their own way as the story progressed. The sex scenes were written in a soft, tender manner that will have fans of this pairing going "aww" inside their head.

Though I will probably never reread this novella I know it is a story I shall remember for the rest of my life.

Lone Star
Author: Josh Lanyon
Published: Carina Press, December 2011
Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction/Homosexual Erotica, Novella
Rating: 4/5

Mitch Evans is at a crossroads in his life when he discovers his lover with someone else. Not sure what to do, he leaves New York and heads down to rural Texas to take care of his deceased father's estate. The last person he expects to meet is his former lover, Web, after he crashes his rental car. Though Mitch is a successful ballet dancer he has never filled the void that Web left in his heart. Now, will they be able to heal old wounds and come together again in the unlikeliest of circumstances?

Lanyon is an expressive writer who correlates scene and character very well together. Her setting and characters reflect each other and simultaneously change together in small moments as the story moves on. For all those looking for a sweet, Texan romance story this is just the novella for you.

 (Books #3-4 for 2013)

Book Review: Destined

Destined
Author: Jessie Harell
Published: Mae Day Publishing, May 2011
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology, Romance
Rating: 3/5

One of my friends is obsessed with Greek mythology. She cannot acquire enough books about the Gods and Goddesses and their stories. A year ago, she helped to rekindle my childhood interest in mythology and I decided to buy a novel retelling one of the myths. That is how I ended up reading Destined by Jessie Harell in two days during my train commutes.

Psyche is the most beautiful young woman in Greece. She is visited by Aphrodite and has suitors clamoring to get a view of her sitting by her window. Soon, she begins to learn she is much more than a beautiful princess. When Aphrodite proposes Psyche marry her arrogant son, Eros, both youths are shocked and disgusted. Psyche will suffer the wrath of Aphrodite and the loving deception of Eros. How will she survive this growing trepidation called love?

The most pleasant part about this novel was the way Harell portrayed some of the gods. While Hera is normally presented as a vengeful, jealous wife in his novel she is shown as a woman whose actions come from her hurt. Aphrodite while just as ruthless, cunning and jealous as legend has her shows a tender, maternal side for her son.

What I found most distracting and displeasing about this novel was the language usage. Harell littered her novel with modern day phrases that pulls her reader out of the book. Her choice of language makes the setting and time period of the novel less believable. She did a great disservice to herself as a writer and to her readers.

No one will catch me rereading this book but I would still recommend it to fans of Greek Mythology looking for a simple, pleasant, rainy afternoon read.

(Book #2 for 2013)