Forever vampire book discussion

Welcome back to the Bite Club Book Club!! 

Okay, now that everybody has read the book it's time to grab a spot on our cozy couch so we can all talk about our favorite parts! I have put together a few discussion topics, but as usual, we can talk about anything and everything pertaining to Forever Vampire.  

Discussion Topic #1:

Lyric and Vail are two very different people with dynamic personalities and some pretty intense family issues. Vail has grown up believing that his parents did not want him and Lyric has a mother that wants her too much, even if it isn't for the best reason. Vail has a serious addiction that he continues to deny, and he works hard at thumbing his nose at anyone and everyone. His tough attitude is a disguise that he wears so that people can't see his true emotions. Lyric is a vibrant, intelligent, beautiful woman that struggles with her obligations to her family and her need to be free. However, it is her compassion and ability to care that makes her the person she is. On the surface they might not seem like the perfect couple but it only takes a few chapters to realize that these two were made for each other. They are yin and yang. Lyric is steady and she balances out Vail's larger than life persona. Vail helps Lyric embrace her inner diva while she helps him embrace his true vampire nature. Both teach each other about communication, honesty and love. I enjoyed these two more than I thought I would!

What about you? What do you think about Vail and Lyric? Good couple? 

Discussion Topic #2:

Vail isn't exactly your typical romantic hero. He's an addict. I wondered right from the start what it was about his heritage that made him so prone to addiction because it involved so much more than just ichor. One early chapter mentions his sensory addiction to touch~ metal buttons, cool marble, velvety satin~ Vail wants to runs his fingers through it all. Such things might not harm him in any tangible way but they can provide some insight into his personality. However, it is his addiction to ichor that really proves dangerous. His normally strong mind was reduced to the dust he inhaled and the ichor he ingested.

Why do you think Vail continued to deny his addiction, and his inner vampire, once he was banished? How did his daddy issues play into the addiction? Why do you think he allowed Lyric to help him overcome his problem? 

Discussion Topic #3:

All the books that fit in the Beautiful Creatures world are filled with a rich and creative lore and I thought we might take a moment to talk about some of our favorite bits from Forever Vampire. 

*When a mortal wanted to see a faery they smeared an herbal ointment around their eyes.

*Vampires do not see their reflection, but it goes beyond the traditional lore and explains it more like the invisible man, with bodyless clothing. 

*Himself is the devil and no vampire ever invoked is name 3 times unless they wanted to deal with Hell.

*Wild roses, when planted by a witch, were excellent vampire deterrents.

What were some of your favorite pieces of lore from this book?

 Discussion Topic #4:

Now let's move on to our favorite scenes! I can't tell you the page number of this passage because I was reading on my Kindle and the book was chosen before the page number conversion happened, but the location is 2995-3002. I like this scene because of the simplicity~ the emotions are primal and raw. Real and beautiful.

A fierce gentleness held her captive. At her neck he mastered her. At her breast he teased and tasted her. At her lips, he now kissed her, the taste of her blood on his tongue. She devoured his need, his urgent want and desire. It was all she desired.

What scenes did you like best? Or even worst?

I hope you enjoyed Forever Vampire as much as I did. Vail surprised me in a totally good way and once again, the Beautiful Creatures impressed and entertained. Stop by later in the week when I showcase Beautiful Creatures and Club Scarlet.

we have a change in schedule

We were supposed to have a discussion today about Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and while it seems that I have forgotten, I assure you I have not. We seem to be slightly food poisoned around here, curse you fast food, and I have been cast in the role of nursemaid. So our discussion will be held next week, December 13th. Sorry for the delay and I hope to hear from you on Monday.

Cheers!

Dracula discussion pt. 2

1. We mentioned yesterday that some of us could not separate the book from the movie. I will always envision Dracula as Gary Oldman from the 1992 movie, which happens to be one of my all time favorites- more romantic and less scary than some of the previously made movies. How does Jonathon describe Count Dracula in the beginning of the book? Does this differ from how you see the character of Dracula? 

2. Let's talk about Renfield a little bit. I think he is one of the better characters in the book and more developed than some of the other people. His antics also add a bit of relief from some of the more serious scenes and overtones in the book. What are your thoughts on Renfield? Do you think he was crazy or just reacting to something that seemed impossible? 

3. Mina and Lucy represent two versions of the Victorian woman (as seen by the masculine perspective). How are Mina and Lucy different? How are they the same? Which character did you like the most and why?

4. How do the main characters (Jonathon, Mina, Lucy, Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Dracula, Morris and Arthur) change during the course of the book? What changes surprised you the most? Or did you find the book to be predictable in some ways?

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula is filled with memorable lines. Some of my favorites are:

Chapter 2- We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things.

Chapter 4- The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me; with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.

Chapter 11- The blood is the life! 

Chapter 14- Faith:... that faculty which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.

Chapter 14- You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold; but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.

Chapter 23- My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine - my creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed.

What are some of your favorite lines or memorable scenes from the book? 

*Thank you to everyone that came by and commented during the discussion. This book club is for all that enjoy reading paranormal books and the Dracula Event marks the anniversary of our first year in the blogosphere. I would love to hear what books you would like to see featured, what changes you would like to see in the book club format, and what seems to be working well. This blog wouldn't be possible without you! Without your feedback and comments, well, I'm just talking to myself. And I don't even want to know what that says about my mental well-being:)

Dracula discussion pt.1

I hope you have all read your copy of Dracula...we might have a test later. Okay, probably not, but I really would like to hear your opinions on this classic tale.  One thing I have noticed while putting this event together is that not many people seem to be overjoyed at the thought of reading the original book. I'll use an email between Michele and I springboard this discussion:

Michele: Seriously, though?  Rereading Dracula is a little...boring.  :-)  It was great the first time through, but now I'm like, a whole half a chapter dedicated to the ship tossing on the waves?  And please, Lucy can be whiny.  And Dracula has so little actual page time.  But while a bit boring, it is fascinating as well, so am glad to be reading it again.

Anna: Dracula isn't the most entertaining book, at least for me. I read it because Stoker was unique to his time and he offers great insight into that age. And his writing style was different. Honestly, I tend to think of Stoker's book as more of a stepping stone for other great writers. Just look at how many authors pick up where Dracula left off, or tell the story from another character.

I'll add to that conversation now and say that Dracula is an excellent historical book and can be quite useful as a glimpse into a different time, but that the style and tone of writing definitely takes getting used to. The pacing is slow and many of the descriptions are drawn out and lack the excitement that modern books are full of. And Michele was right on target when she said Lucy can be whiny! 

That being said, Stoker did something that many authors attempt but fail to achieve..he created a character that endures. Nobody expected a vampire to be a central character in popular fiction, let alone one that would continue to fascinate people for over 100 years. Count Dracula may not have been the first vampire to grace the page, but he certainly helped shape the mythology.

So tell me...were you intimidated by the classic novel status? Are you put off by all the hype? Or do you just prefer to keep to the movies for your Dracula fix?


And on a completely different note, Michele and I have been reading different version of the book and her copy has some really cool old maps. I thought I'd share them with you 1) to get your take on the inclusion of illustrations in historical fiction, 2) because it's fascinating to follow these maps as the story progresses, and 3) it's interesting to see how the region changed from then to now.

Do any of you have a copy of Dracula with maps? Are they different from the ones in Michele's book?

Dracula's Castle is circled in red. [Note: these maps were scanned from THE ANNOTATED DRACULA, copyright 1975 by Leonard Wolf]

Let's talk! What are your impressions of Bram Stoker's Dracula? Was the writing style difficult to follow? Or did you maybe like the journal styled format? What characters did you like best/worst? Did you learn anything new about Victorian England?

Discussion: I'll Be Slaying You by Cynthia Eden

DQ 1:

Doing movie quotes every couple of weeks has got me to thinking about my favorite lines (and scenes) from the books I'm reading, and one of the reasons I love reading Cynthia Eden is because of the wit and sarcasm. Here are just a few lines from I'll Be Slaying You--

*Should have seen that one coming. You just couldn't trust killers these days. (Simon, pg 13)

*Some women collected figurines, Dee- Instruments of Death. (Simon, pg 99)

*"Um, yeah? Well, here's a tip. Flowers work well. They say, 'Hi, here's a present.' Fire, ummm, not so much." (Dee, pg 144)

*"I'll f&^%ing love you forever." Bald. Flat. No hesitancy. Just stating a fact. (This is part of a great, and pivotal, scene beginning on page 229.)

So what were some of your favorite lines and/or scenes? Did you like the sarcasm and dialogue? How did you feel about Dee and Simon as a couple?

DQ 2:

Creating vampire lore is one way that an author can showcase creativity and make their world unique. Some of the highpoints for me were--

*Dying (quoted from page 56): When vamps were staked they didn't age or shrivel or explode into dust. Their bodies stiffened, hardened immediately so that when an ME looked later, the TOD was never right. Their skin whitened, not slowly turning ashy and yellow like a human's. No, the skin drained of color until the flesh was the starkest of whites, and the drain was nearly instantaneous.

*Weakness to fire (from page 148): Many folktales include a weakness to fire but Eden went so far as to explain that vampire skin burns too quickly. I imagined parchment paper.

*The Link (quoted from page 105-6): A Born Master took a victim, and formed a psychic connection with his prey. But if the Master turned that Prey into the Taken, and the new vampire took another victim, the Born Master's connection would trickle into the new prey, and keep trickling down through every blood exchange. Like freaking tentacles, reaching out for minds and spirits. 

I love when an author includes all the rich details and really makes the vampire world new and exciting. It also helps when the explanations aren't boring, which wasn't a problem here at all.

What areas of the vampire lore did you like? How important are the explanations?

DQ 3:

Jason Pak created the Night Watch Agency as a bounty hunting business that deals with Other. His hunters include a variety of 'races'- Dee is human, Zane is half-demon, Jude is shifter, and charmers are also on hand. Night Watch also works with local law enforcement in secret- Tony knows that Others exist. 

Which of these secondary characters would you like to know more about? Jude has his mate but it appears that Zane and Catalina have some unfinished business. Pak is a mystery and I'd love to know what female is capable of snaring him. Bet the sparks really fly then!

DQ 4:

This is the curiosity section of our questions. Do names affect how you feel about the characters? Do you prefer realistic names, like Simon and Dee, or would you rather names like Grim? Do you like to know why the author chose names?

The sex scenes in this book were super hot and managed to fit in well with the story. How would you rate them- Too graphic? Tame?

For more information about this or any other Eden title, please visit her website.

Jude's story can be found in Eternal Hunter.













And Zane's story will be told in Eternal Flame which comes out on my November 30th (my birthday)