Review: Where Demons Fear to Tread by Stephanie Chong

Book description:
Harlequin MIRA

(August 23, 2011)

368 pages

$7.99

ISBN: 978-0778312475

Fledgling guardian angel and yoga teacher Serena St. Clair dares enter Devil’s Paradise nightclub on a mission – to retrieve the wayward Hollywood “It Boy” she’s assigned to protect. But she’s ambushed by the club’s owner, Archdemon Julian Ascher. The most powerful demonic entity in Los Angeles, Julian is handsome as sin, a master of temptation who loves nothing more than corrupting pleasure-seeking humans. He won’t release the lost soul Serena is supposed to guard. Unless she accepts his dangerous wager…

After the disastrous way his human life ended, Julian vowed that no woman would get the better of him again. Yet this sexy-sweet angel, smelling of fresh ocean air and happiness, triggers centuries-old feelings. Now, their high-stakes game of seduction, where angels fall from grace and where demons fear to tread, will lead them either to an eternity in hell…or a deliciously hot heaven.

Review:

The heroine, Serena, was such an innocent, naive and generous at heart, so you would think that being a guardian angel might be difficult for her because she lacked experience. Not so. It is her innate goodness that allows her to see past the demon to the real man inside, to the place that Julian hid his truth. At times her innocence would wear thin and then she'd toss out these little zingers, like an f-bomb during a particularly naughty interlude. It was these times that I could see her spirit and could see why Julian was so attracted to her in the first place. He was able to see past her angel to the real woman inside, the one that died too young and missed her fair share of fun and adventure. They need each other, yin and yang.

Julian plays the quintessential tragic hero, only with a clever twist...he actually enjoys his life, full of sin and temptation, well, most of the time. Serena really takes him back a notch or two, making him wish for things he thought were well out of reach for an archdemon. Julian is sex on a stick and surprisingly, once Serena entered the equation that sexiness was amplified. These two are hot, hot, hot, and the chemistry is off the charts.

I really liked this take on angels and demons, and would definitely read this author again. I thought the premise of angels and demons competing for souls corporate style, with meetings and set guidelines, was a really fun way to go. The secondary characters were just as good as the main, and the fact that the book really centered around 4 or 5 people made the events flow nicely and kept everything easy to remember.  Arielle, the main angel in L.A. was your typical cryptic angel, doling out advice in veiled riddles and roundabout answers. Like Yoda. Corbin, a very powerful demon rival ruled Vegas like a mob boss and his bedmate Luciana was a cruel demon with a penchant for poison. All this was set in two cities, both ripe with possibilities, L.A. and Vegas, which I thought was an excellent choice to showcase a demon and angel fall for each other. Sexy, steamy and wicked good fun!


Author Website:
http://stephaniechong.com/

Fallen is out now! And other readerly news

Michele's latest Nocturne is out now!!

Description:

Wanting to be a part of mankind, the angel fell—losing his halo, the prize that held his earthbound soul. Now Cooper must retrieve it. But wherever the Fallen walk, a Sinistari demon intent with slaying one is not far behind. Cooper knows he must be wary of this demon. But his first encounter with her leaves him curiously hungering for more...

 

To reclaim her own soul, Pyxion must kill an angel. Not just any angel, but one who's fallen to earth and taken on an irresistible, seductive human form. She never expected that she would feel an attraction for the man she hunted—or that she might need his help. When faced with a powerful mutual threat, she and Cooper form an alliance. But as the danger heightens, so does the passion...and if they give in, all could be lost.

You can get your copy of Fallen at all the usual locations, or click here to be directed to the Nocturne website for all information pertaining to Harlequin books, including current releases.

More cool stuff 

*Marta Acosta has put her Scottish romance, Wolfish in Sheep's Clothing, up on Smashwords for only 99 cents!  This story originally appeared in The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance which came out last February. Click here to get your ebook copy. 

 *Game of Thrones is set to debut on HBO beginning April 17th and I'm really looking forward to this adaptation, and what an excellent way to pass time while waiting for True Blood to begin. I haven't finished the book yet because Flyboy is hogging it at the moment, but I plan on being ready before episode one airs. Anybody else interested in this show? 

*And since I mentioned True Blood I thought it might be nice to take a look at my favorite blonde vampire. Like I need an excuse.

*I've been slacking on the Being Human posts, extra time has not been plentiful of late, but I will put up a 2 week recap this weekend, along with some cool tech news that I've been meaning to share.

*The President's Vampire comes out on April 28th!! Only 29 days and my patient waiting will come to an end. Maybe I need one of those counter thingies to demonstrate my barely contained excitement. Sometimes I am such a dork. Seriously, I have been waiting for this book since I turned the final page in Blood Oath, which happens to be one of the best books to come out in recent memory and was actually one of my early reviews. Christopher Farnsworth has a really cool website so stop by and check it out. And read these books!!!!

Guest: Karalynn Lee with contest

Hey, Biters!  I'm excited to introduce you to author Karalynn Lee today.  She's got a novella out with Carina Press, DEMON'S FALL, and I really enjoyed the read.  It's about angels and demons, and her world is amazing, and I love, love LOVE the cover.  We reviewed the story here.  She'll give away an electronic copy to one lucky commenter, so show her some love in the comments!  [Winner announced Sunday.]  Without further ado, here's Karalynn.

Unexpected angels

I once figured that I would never write a story about angels, since the angel trend these days tends to occur in paranormal books set in contemporary-ish settings.  I can only seem to write fantasy and science fiction that doesn't hold even a hint of the modern world.  But then I started thinking of entire fantasy series with their own take on angels:

Sharon Shinn's Samaria is a world where angels control the weather with their unearthly voices.  They've grown arrogant at the apex of society, and some women have become angel-seekers, hoping to share an angel's bed and bear his child in order to share that luxury.  Shinn likes to explore the intersection between angels and normal folk, often with strong-minded women who don't, in fact, want anything to do with angels.

The Saga of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., introduces "angels" who come from the stars via spacecraft to crash on a populated world where order and chaos manifest as powers.  They adapt to this low-tech planet and establish a matriarchal society whose effects reverberate across the realms and through centuries -- and those women are damn good with a sword.

Meredith Ann Pierce's angels are actually darkangels who gather souls at the bidding of a witch and yet manage to captivate all the same.  Ariel, a slave, is abducted by one of them to serve the darkangels' doomed brides.  I was continually thrilled by the inventiveness of The Darkangel Trilogy, from sailing upon a sea of dust to the gathering of gargoyles.

Even the computer game Planescape: Torment has a caged angel -- "one who soars on the wings of morning and with his hands, is the architect of horizons."  (Mmm.)  So you never know where you'll find an interesting angel.

Yes, one showed up in my writing as well.  Mine finds herself in the marketplace of Hell, sold to a demon who at first considers her a curiosity.  She's startled that he's not the utter bastard she expected all demons to be, while he becomes entangled in the quest that brought her to that forsaken place.  They learn that there's more at stake than a girl's soul, or even their own hearts.

If you like fairy tales, Biblical prophecy with a twist, and demons who aren't one-dimensionally evil along with your angels, you may want to give Demon's Fall a try.  You can read an excerpt at my website <http://karalynnlee.com/demons_fall_excerpt?ref=biteclub> .

Tell me about your favorite angels, or just drop a note!  One commenter will win a copy of Demon’s Fall.
---

You can find more of Karalynn's writing at her website, karalynnlee.com.  Her latest release, Demon's Fall, is available as an electronic novella from Carina Press.

She was an angel at the gates of Hell.

When Kenan, an incubus, finds a caged angel for sale in the Hellsgate marketplace, he sees her as a challenge. Certain that his skills in seduction will work as well on a heavenly creature as they do on mortal women, he buys Jahel, intent on having her soul as a novelty in his collection.

Knowing he must gain Jahel's trust if she is to come to his bed willingly, Kenan treats her more as his guest than as his slave. When she reveals what brought her to the mouth of Hell in the first place -- retrieving the soul of a young girl she was guarding -- he even offers to help her complete her mission.

Though he has promised Jahel freedom, Kenan soon realizes she has captured his heart instead. And as their passion for one another grows, they find themselves caught in a struggle between Heaven and Hell, one that will lead them to the very edge of the apocalypse...