Maggie Shayne: WINGS IN THE NIGHT/TWILIGHT VAMPIRES

Author:  Maggie Shayne

Series:  WINGS IN THE NIGHT/TWILIGHT VAMPIRES 

Plot Type: Soul-Mate Romance (SMR) 

Ratings:  Violence—4; Sensuality—4; Humor—3

Titles in Reading Order: 

   Twilight Phantasies  (Tamara & Eric)

   Twilight Memories (Rhiannon & Roland)

   Twilight Illusions (Shannon & Damien—aka Gilgamesh)

    Born in Twilight (Angelica & Jameson)

    At Twilight (e-book novellas "Born in Twilight" [Angelica & Jameson] & "Beyond Twilight" [Cuyler & Ramsey])

    Two by Twilight (e-book novellas: "Run from Twilight" [Mary & Michael] & "Twilight Vows" [Rachel & Donovan]) 

    Twilight Hunger (Morgan & Dante)

    Embrace the Twilight (Sarafina & Willem)

    Edge of Twilight (Amber Lily—daughter of Angelica & Jameson—& Edge)

    Blue Twilight (Maxie & Lou)

    Prince of Twilight (Stormy & Vlad)

    Demon's Kiss (Vixen & Seth)

    Lover's Bite (Topaz & Jack)

    Angel's Pain (Briar & Reaper)

    Bloodline (Mira print, e-book, audiobook, 2009) (Lilith & Ethan)

    Twilight Prophecy (Lucy & James—aka J.W., son of Amber Lily & Edge) 

    "Vampires in Paradise" novella in Vacation with a Vampire anthology (Anna & Diego)

    Twilight Fulfilled (FINAL) (Brigit—daughter of Amber Lily & Edge—& Utana)  

NOTE:  Some of the early books are available only in e-book format or as used books, but they are gradually being republished as paperbacks by Mira. Titles are listed in the original reading order for the series as provided on the author's web site. Click HERE to view a WINGS IN THE NIGHT family tree on Shayne's web site. Click HERE to go to the WINGS IN THE NIGHT Facebook page.  

This post includes a very brief overview of the series world-building along with reviews of the final three novels: Bloodline, Twilight Prophecy, and Twilight Fulfilled. 

                    WORLD-BUILDING                    

      In this world, only the Chosen (humans who carry the Belladonna antigen in their blood) can be changed over to vampirism. Unfortunately, the Chosen also have relatively short life spans, with the antigen kicking in in their mid-thirties to slow down their bodily functions and eventually cause death. All vampires were Chosen back when they were human, and they are genetically programmed to protect all Chosen to the point of laying down their lives to save a Chosen. This series tells the SMR stories of various vampires and Chosen as they battle a variety of villains and find their HEA. The primary villains are rogue CIA agents from the Division of Paranormal Investigations (DPI) who try to brainwash the most powerful vamps and use them as assassins and mad scientists who capture, torture, and experiment on vampires and Chosen in order to replicate their various supernatural powers. One of the "scientists," Frank Stiles, seemingly has nine lives, as he continually gets caught, escapes, and strikes again in the next book.

                    BOOK 16:  Bloodline                    

     In Bloodline, Lilith and Ethan have spent their childhoods in an experimental program run by the DPI. DPI operatives kidnap Chosen children and train them to be vampire soldiers, brainwashing them into complete obedience. When Ethan and Lilith (both vampires by now) get together after escaping from the DPI farm, they must decide whether to escape for good or to go back and rescue the other captives. Complicating their efforts is Ethan’s brother, James, who may or may not be working against them. 

                    BOOK 17:  Twilight Prophecy                    

      As the story opens, archaeologist Lucy Lanfair is preparing to be interviewed on a network TV show about her translation of an ancient Sumerian tablet. As she waits in the Green Room with the another guest, he gives her a book that he claims contains proof that vampires exist. To the shock of everyone in the studio, that same man is shot and killed by mysterious Men in Black (MIB) just as he is going on camera for the interview. As Lucy attempts to escape from the carnage, she herself is shot by the MIB, but her life is saved by a gorgeous, angelic-looking man who later rescues her from her captors only to move her to a different kind of "prison." James (aka J.W.) Poe is the son of Amber Lily and Edge (Edge of Twilight) and the grandson of Angelica and Jameson (Born in Twilight). He and his twin sister, Brigit, are 1/4 human and 3/4 vampire, so they have a slightly different skill set than full vampires. The siblings have the usual vampiric super strength and speed, plus they can also day walk and eat regular food. Additionally, each twin has a special talent. James is a healer who can even resurrect the dead, and Brigit is a destroyer who can shoot explosive fire from her fingertips. They are, in fact, complete opposites—the light and the dark. Both are ambivalent about their gifts.

     Getting back to Lucy...The vamps are just as interested in Lucy's translations as the DPI because the tablets contain a prophecy about the possible destruction of the vampire race. As the plot progresses, we learn that the vamps are searching for the location of a centuries-dead Sumerian king so that they can resurrect him and save their race. At first, Lucy isn't really up for this whole vampire thing—as you can well imagine—but when she and James begin to lust after one another, she changes her mind and steps up to the task. 

     Up until this point, I was fine with the story, but with the introduction of Utanapishtim  (aka Ziasudra, aka Noah, aka the first Immortal), the story started to fall apart for me. I can't really go into too much detail without spoiling the suspense, but let's just say that Utanapishtim is quite a character and that there are a number of inconsistencies in the way his character and his intellect are portrayed. It's the usual problem that occurs when an author bestows magical talents on a character and then isn't consistent as to how those talents manifest themselves. If, for example, a character can simply touch a book and immediately commit its entire contents, to memory why does he continue to speak in barely understandable Pidgin English? Why doesn't he pick up on the language just as quickly as he absorbs the contents of a book? Maybe someone should have handed him a grammar book with a pronunciation guide!

     The story ends with an HEA for Lucy and James (as we knew it would), but there are lots of loose ends regarding Utanapishtim and the prophecy, all of which will be dealt with in the next book. Also left hanging is the situation with the vigilante mortals who are burning down houses left and right in the belief that vampires are real and must be destroyed. In Twilight Fulfillment, Brigit, the destroyer, will be going after Utanapishtim (now nicknamed Utana) and meeting her true love along the way. 

                    BOOK 18:  Twilight Fulfilled                    

     Twilight Fulfilled resolves the story arc that began in the previous book and concludes the series. As the book begins, the small group of vampires who have survived both the vigilante attacks and Utana's fatal energy beams have gathered together to mourn their dead and plan Utana's destruction. The world now knows that vampires exist, and Utana is still on their trail so the future doesn't look good. They send Brigit (aka the Destroyer) after Utana when he turns up in Bangor, Maine, and murders a police squad that tries to capture him after he invades a restaurant. A second, related plot thread follows the actions of the dastardly Nash Gravenham-Bail, the evil DPI operative who is gathering up the Chosen—those mortals who have the Belladonna antigen—and imprisoning them in St. Dymphna, a gothic mansion that formerly housed a psychiatric hospital. After Brigit and Utana have their first violent encounter, which results in a draw, Utana meets up with Nash, who offers him a palatial home, gourmet meals, and plenty of dancing girls if Utana will just kill all of the vampires left in the world. Although Utana suspects Nash's motives, he goes along with Nash because they both have the same end goal. What Utana doesn't know is that Nash plans to kill him, too, after he kills the other vamps. 

     As the plot progresses, Brigit masquerades as one of the dancing girls to get inside Utana's luxurious mansion. She plans to take down Utana, but gradually the two begin to—Wait for it!—fall in love. Further action centers on Nash's plan to use the imprisoned Chosen at St. Dymphna as bait to lure the remaining vampires to that remote location. Then, Utana will kill them. Nash sets his plan in motion, and as Brigit and Utana take their own actions to counteract it, Utana reveals some shocking information to Brigit about her magical powers. As is true in many soul-mate romances, one of the lovers must make the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of the other, and in this case, to save the Chosen, as well. The epilogue has the small group of surviving vampires moving to Romania and the people of the U.S. believing that vampires are now extinct. 

     At the beginning of Twilight Fulfilled, I still didn't much like the character of Utana. After all, he has murdered a lot of innocent humans and vamps since his reawakening. Also, his cutesy grammatical errors continued to be annoying. When Brigit fell in love with him, it took me a few chapters to accept that she could overlook all those deaths and forgive him. But, by the end, the romance seemed right—a perfect way to end this venerable series.

     This is a classic paranormal romance series that Shayne has been writing for a long time. Don't be fooled by the publication dates. Many of these books were written in the early-to-mid 1990s and have been reissued in recent years. Shayne has definitely mastered the art of writing top-notch soul-mate romance. The characters have just enough complexity and angst to keep our interest, and the story arc adjusts seamlessly to the various victories and defeats on both sides. If you love  sexy paranormal romance, you'll enjoy this series.

Christina Dodd: THE CHOSEN ONES

Author:  Christina Dodd

Series:  THE CHOSEN ONES   
Plot Type:  SMR  

Ratings:  V3, S4, H3  

Publisher and Titles:
          Storm of Visions (9/2009)
          Storm of Shadows (10/2009)
          Chains of Ice (7/2010)
          Chains of Fire (9/2010)
          "Stone Angel"(e-novella, 6/2012)
          Wilder (8/2012) (FINAL BOOK)

     This blog post was revised and updated on 10/4/12 to include a review of the fifth and FINAL book in the series, Wilder. That review appears at the end of this post, following an overview of the series world-building. 

          WORLD-BUILDING          

     For those of you who haven't yet partaken of THE CHOSEN ONES, here is the mythology: Two groups square off in a battle for power: the Chosen and the Others. In both groups, each member was abandoned as an infant and adopted by an adult from one of the groups. Each has a special birthmark, and each develops some type of mental or physical power.  

     Here is the legend that forms the basis for the series (quotation taken from the introduction to Chains of Fire): "Long ago, when the world was young...a gorgeous and vain woman abandoned her children, a boy and a girl—twins with hideous birthmarks—to the river and the forest to meet their deaths. Instead, they became the first of the Abandoned Ones, gifted with abilities that could save the world...or end it. The boy was marked with a sinister tattoo and given the gift of fire, and he gathered others around him with similar gifts to become the Chosen Ones—seven men and women who became a powerful force of light in a dark world. The girl had the mark of an eye on the palm of her hand and became a seer. She turned to the devil, gathering six other gifted ones to her. They became the Others, bringing darkness and death to the world. The Chosen Ones and the Others have fought for centuries for the hearts and souls of the Abandoned Ones. That battle goes on today...in New York City and around the world." For more on the Chosen legend, click HERE. For brief biographies of the cast of characters, click HERE. For summaries of all of the books in the series, click HERE—each has a link to an excerpt.
 

     The Chosen are the good guys; the Others fight for the devil. Each book tells one Chosen couple's love story as they fight against the Others and fall in love along the way. A major series theme is the power of love, since a prophecy foreseen in book one decrees that the Chosen will not win until all seven find their true loves. 

Here are the happy couples, book by book:
  >  Storm of Visions:  Caleb D'Angelo (bodyguard) & Jacqueline Vargha (Chosen—seer)

   >  Storm of Shadows:  Aaron Eagle (Chosen—shadow invisibility) & Rosamund Hall (historian)

   >  Chains of Ice:  John Powell (Chosen—strength and power) & Genny Valente (sees hidden talents)

   >  Chains of Fire:  Samuel Faa (Chosen—mind controller) & Isabelle Mason (Chosen—healer)

   >  Wilder:  Aleksandr Wilder (Chosen—shape shifter) & Charisma Fangorn (Chosen—hears earth song) 

     I recommend the series highly, and I urge you to read Dodd's DARKNESS CHOSEN stories as well. Dodd definitely has a skilled hand when it comes to writing paranormal romances.

          BOOK 5:  Wilder          

     After a break of nearly two years, Dodd has returned to write a cataclysmic finale to this series. In the previous book (Chains of Fire), one of the long-standing love-hate relationships (Samuel Faa, mind controller and Isabelle Mason, healer and pain absorber) was FINALLY consummated, to the great satisfaction of readers who had followed their stormy passion from the very beginning of the series. With Sam and Isabelle's romance resolved, that leaves only two of the Chosen without mates: Aleksandr Wilder and Charisma Fangorn. 

     Aleksandr is a member of the Wilder family from Dodd's DARKNESS CHOSEN series, and at the end of Chains of Fire, he appeared to be heading for some major trouble. Back in book 1, Aleksandr was added to the Chosen at the last minute because of his family connections, even though he apparently has no magical talents. At the end of the previous book, we last saw him on the steps of City Hall where he was on his way to marry a mysterious woman who raised all sorts of alarms with readers—but not with Aleksandr, who was totally under her seductive power. 

     As this book opens, it is twenty months later and Charisma is lost deep in the tunnels under New York City. These tunnels are very dangerous because they are connected to the mouth of hell and are full of dangerous demons. When those demons attack Charisma, a tall, furry, bestial creature appears out of nowhere to fight them off and save her life. As she recovers from the demon poison in her system, Charisma gets to know and love the monstrous man, who calls himself Guardian and spends his time protecting the homeless (aka the "Belows") who live in the tunnels. Of course, the reader knows exactly who the Guardian really is—all you have to do is read the back-cover blurb if you can't figure it out on your own. The Guardian remembers nothing of his life before he woke up in the tunnels twenty months ago (hint, hint). So...what we have here is basically a Beauty and the Beast knock-off. A secondary story thread follows the Chosen as they attempt to retrieve a magical feather that will help them win their final battle with the series villain, the demon-possessed Osgood. 

     The plot follows Aleksandr and Charisma as they fall in love in their magically warded cave deep in the earth under the city. Aleksandr fights to regain his memories, while Charisma fights off the musical call of Mother Earth to go even deeper underground to an uncertain future. 

     Although the action plot is quite serious and very dangerous, it also has its humorous moments. For example, one way that Aleksandr fights off the demons is to sing Broadway songs at the top of his lungs. The demons always gibber in horror and break into panicked retreat when he sings--especially when he warbles "Climb Every Mountain." The dialogue between Charisma and Aleksandr and among the Chosen in general is full of sarcastic gibes and one-liners. 

     Even though this book relies on the too-familiar Beauty and the Beast fable for its love story, it succeeds because of its well-drawn characters and its compelling action and suspense. This book, like its predecessors, plays into the theme of love and redemption that streams through the entire series.