Cynthia Eden: A Vampire's Christmas Carol

It's kinda spooky to write this since Eden gave her readers a free e-book for Christmas but I already had a post for that day which means I'm writing this post one frickin' year in advance. Merry Christmas from the past and present and future!

But it matches the book's tone because it was written based on Dickens's idea of three Christmas visitors who want to redeem a person. 

This time, we have a vampire who accidentally caused death of his loved one and turned into a crooked avenger. It's not like he kills innocent people, or wait... how can he be so sure? Being someone's judge, jury and executioner may alter the way he sees the world. His not-so-dead-as-we-thought beloved tries to sacrifice everything she has once she learns of his future. 

So, through three people (I use this term loosely since I don't want to tell you about all the supernatural shocks you are gonna get) he is shown his past, can glimpse what he has become and scarily enough sees what the fate may have for him in stock if he doesn't change. Well, that's the whole point of those visitors. To torture him what he already knows and to scare him away from his fate.

But will love be enough to redeem one soul? Will the sacrifices made be enough to help? Just read and you will see. I mean, it's a short Christmas read, do you really think this piece will crush your emotions, destroy your Christmas mood, and make you stop reading vampire romance? ;-)=

GENRE: Christmas Romance

FANGS OUT: Well, if you like that magical time around Christmas, it's for you!
FANGS RETRACTING: I'm not a fan of "magical" Christmas time.
TOTAL SCORE:

Cynthia Eden: Bound by Blood

I'm so into e-books these holidays. They are so easy to carry around in big numbers (I bought Eden's 4 in 1 pack about vampires, of course) and you don't have to explain to anybody what you are reading if there is an akwardly semi-naked hot dude on the cover. 

So, this was just a short story (about 70 pages on my PocketBook) which meant I didn't expect much but on the other hand the teasers were promising - like who would resist the never-ending war of vampires and werewolves who have to unite in order to face their mutual demon enemy?! Cool, huh? 

Well, the story was fast-paced, to the point, and with a lot of action. A little bit stalkerish background to the romance part for my liking but it at least covered the shaky ground on which most love-you-forever stories stand - it gave the reader feeling that the love grew and didn't just happen instantly. At least in one half of the couple. 

I just wish there was more on the folklore. The short stories never give you enough basic information on the creatures they deal with which is for some a plus but a minus for the others. I prefer to know a lot about my vampires before I plunge into their world. The same goes for the plot. The twists were awesome had they been elaborated on more. I really see a novel potential here.

GENRE: It's labeled Paranormal Romance. But where is the build-up?

FANGS OUT: action
FANGS RETRACTING: not enough information
TOTAL SCORE: