Our keeper books: 'The Darkest Night,' 'Rev It Up,' 'Phantom'
Today's featured authors: Dianne Duvall, author of Night Unbound; Mandy Baxter, author of One Night More; and Amanda Ashley, author of Beauty's Beast. They're sharing three of their favorite keeper books.
Dianne Duvall, author of Night Unbound
Books on my keeper shelves:
I have been a huge lover of paranormal romance ever since I picked up my very first vampire romance when I was a teenager. I simply can't resist the clinging-to-the-edge-of-your-seat action scenes, powerful preternatural beings and steamy romance the genre contains. Sometimes it's dark. Sometimes it's light. Sometimes it's both. So it suits my every mood. And the fantastical nature of paranormal romance takes readers out of this world and into another with no limits, providing endless possibilities for introducing new material.
• One of my favorite books in the genre, and a perfect example of this, is Gena Showalter's The Darkest Night. This wasn't just the first book in her Lords of the Underworld series, it was the first romance novel I had ever read that featured a hero who was possessed by a demon. I admit I was curious to see how the author would make that work ... and I ended up devouring every page.
• Laurann Dohner's Fury is another favorite. The first book in her New Species series, it introduced a cast of characters I immediately adored. This one also featured a tortured hero (the product of scientists splicing human and animal DNA), and began by painting the heroine into a corner she couldn't escape without earning the hero's wrath. It gripped me from page one and left me eager for the next installment.
• As much as I love paranormal romance, I have to mention Stephen King's The Stand. Everyone who knows me is well aware that I'm a big fan of Stephen King. He has such a unique voice as an author that his books appeal to both the reader and the writer in me. Every time I pick one up, I know I'm going to learn something new about writing and be thoroughly entertained at the same time. The Stand has everything I enjoy in the horror genre — action, a classic good-vs.-evil storyline, a journey that is alternately dark, funny, creepy or tragic — and includes romance and some happily-ever-afters. In short, it has it all.
Here's the blurb about Night Unbound:
Dianne Duvall's Immortal Guardians protect humanity from unspeakable horrors—but their hearts are as fragile as any mortal's…
For centuries, Lisette d'Alençon has been a warrior against the dark. She fights alongside her brothers and comrades. But when the dreams start coming, she can't bear to confess them to the Immortal Guardians' command. Dreams of a dark-haired man with soft eyes and brutal wounds, a man her heart aches for—and a man she knows has been declared a traitor.
Zach is an exile, a loner. He won't defend himself against false accusations or grovel to those who should have faith in him. But he'll damn sure defend the woman who kept him sane against a plague of super-vamps that seems to have appeared from nowhere. The Guardians will blame him, and that will make Lisette suspect, too. With life, death and eternity on the line, who can they really trust?
Find out more at www.dianneduvall.com.
Mandy Baxter, author of One Night More
Books on my keeper shelf:
The hubs says he's going to build me a detached office someday. Mostly so he can move my stockpile of books. When I love a book, I usually buy two copies. A reader copy and a shelf copy. Of course, now I just buy an e-book and a shelf copy, but I still have hard copy doubles of my very favorites. Some of my top unputdownable, re-readable, double copy keepers are:
• The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. He's the king of historical fiction in my opinion. Every time I read the line, "Once upon a time in a land that was called Britain, these things happened." I get chills. And this book isn't just about kings, kingdoms, and wars. The Winter King features strong female characters and more than a few romantic plot threads including his unique take on the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Romance in King Arthur's court? Swoon!
• Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole. Anything by Cole is a keeper in my opinion and my shelves are stocked with her books. Of her Immortals After Dark series, this is my all-time favorite so far. Regin is such a feisty heroine and Declan is O-M-G yum! The chemistry between them is intense and the pages practically catch fire from the heat of her sex scenes. And did I mention that Declan is Irish? And that Cole writes him with a toe-curling accent? It's a book I tend to pick up and thumb through at least every couple of months.
• Rev It Up by Julie Ann Walker. Sexy military men? Check. Covert missions steeped in excitement and danger? Check. Strong heroines who give the heroes a run for their money? Check. Sex scenes that smolder on the pages? Oh, yeah. We get all of the testosterone-fueled alpha male goodness with a sensitive edge in Jake "The Snake" Sommers. Back for the woman he loves and willing to do anything to protect her, I can't help but let out a wistful sigh or 10 when I'm wrapped up in one of Walker's BKI novels.
Here's the blurb about One Night More:
Savvy, hard-riding, rule-breaking — they'll go anywhere and do anything it takes to protect and serve. But this U.S. Marshal has just met his match — and playing for keeps is one sizzling game …
Getting saved from disaster by a handsome stranger — Harper Allen has no problem with that. But when he leaves without a word or a clue as to his real identity, the newbie reporter writes it off as the best one-night stand she'll ever have. Until a year later, when Harper comes face to face with the man assigned to hide her from a senator's killer …
Galen Kelly hasn't forgotten a single sensual minute of his night with Harper … or that she betrayed him. With the FBI also on their trail, he's got to pretend he's never met her or risk both their lives. But as danger closes in, Galen may not be able to protect himself from taking the biggest risk of all …
Find out more at mandy-baxter.com.
Amanda Ashley, author of Beauty's Beast
My three favorite books:
• At the top of my list is Phantom by Susan Kay. I love tortured heroes. I love men in masks (Arrow, The Lone Ranger, Zorro) and capes (Superman, Batman, Dracula, Thor). So it's only natural that would become a huge fan of the play Phantom of the Opera, which I've seen over 25 times, so when Kay's book came out, I couldn't wait to read it. She added so much depth and emotion to the story and to the character of the Phantom. It also added layers to the back story, so that the reader understood the Phantom's actions more clearly. The book just really touched me and made me love and sympathize with the character of the Phantom even more.
• Another favorite of mine is Night Magic by Charlotte Vale Allen. It's very similar to the story of the Phantom of the Opera, but is also reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast (another favorite play of mine). Like the Phantom, this hero is also disfigured and hides from the world. However, unlike the Phantom of the Opera, who loves in vain, Allen's hero finds a love that lasts.
• Another favorite of mine is The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory. The hero, Luke, is another tortured hero, sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. The heroine, Sarah, who has always lived in her sister's shadow, has resigned herself to being an old maid at 25. The love that grows between these characters is beautiful and tender. The Rainbow Season is a story of love and redemption, and the characters and the story stayed with me long after I closed the book. Like all my keepers, I've read it more than once, and it touches me every time.
Here's the blurb about Beauty's Beast:
Beauty
Fair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can save her is a lord so infamous that some say he is the son of the Devil himself …
And the Beast
Erik Trevayne is called the Demon Lord of Hawksbridge Castle, but few know of the curse he lives under. Or the terrifying changes slowly gnawing away at his humanity. When he weds her, all he wants of Kristine is a son. But when he beds her, a wild hope is born — that love that can tame even the most monstrous of beasts ...
Find out more at www.amandaashley.net.