It’s probably safe to say that vampires and werewolves have had their fair share of literary exposure over the years. Werewolves first appeared around 61 AD, in The Satyricon by Petronius. Vampires, at least in legend, had been around just as long, but not named or given attention in fiction until the early nineteenth century. But when it comes to paranormal creatures though, these guys are only the tip of the iceberg (and I’m not referring to Claudia Gray’s book with werewolves on the Titanic!) There are a myriad of other mythological beings out there that just might tickle your fancy or scare your pants off if you’ve decided it’s time for a change.

Myths and legends from the British isles have a history as long as those of the vampires and werewolves. Add to that a plethora of monsters, gods, and fantastical creatures, and the subject matter still has so much untapped potential that authors can use them easily while having the ability to create interesting, original twists. Everything from King Arthur to the Tuatha de Dannan has played out in fiction over the centuries. With each new series that features the Fae or pagan gods, it seems the lore is exposed more widely to readers.

[Dig deeper...]

Darynda Jones
Death, Doom, and Detention
St. Martin's Press / March 5, 2013/ $9.99 print, digital

In New York Times bestselling author Darynda Jones's Death, Doom and Detention, the normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.
Goodbye normal. Hello dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late?

Darynda Jones first entered the world of Young Adult with Death and the Girl Next Door; with Death, Doom, and Detention, she proves she belongs there. In the second book of the Darklight series, prophet Lorelei McAlister, her love, angel of death Jared, and her protector, nephilim Cameron, return to pick up where they left off, and barely come up for a breath in this fast-paced joy ride. Best of all, with much of the mythology established, the book is able to just get straight to the action.

[That's what we like to hear!...]

Jennifer Estep
Crimson Frost
Kensington / $9.95 print, $8.99 digital / December 24, 2012

For a moment, a face flashed before my eyes—the most hideous face I'd ever seen. No matter how hard I tried to forget what had happened, I saw him everywhere I went. It was Loki—the evil god that I'd helped set free against my will.

I should have known that my first official date with Logan Quinn was destined to end in disaster. If we'd gotten into a swordfight, or been ambushed by Reapers, I'd have been more prepared. But getting arrested mid-sip at the local coffee hangout? I didn't see that one coming. I've been accused of purposely helping the Reapers free Loki from his prison—and the person leading the charge against me is Linus Quinn, Logan's dad. The worst part is that pretty much everyone at Mythos Academy thinks I'm guilty. If I'm going to get out of this mess alive, I'll have to do it myself...

Poor Gwen Frost might have been hand-picked by the Greek goddess Nike to be her champion, but her life is far from blessed. Ever since she arrived at Mythos Academy, she's been in love with the sexy Spartan Logan Quinn, but her gift of psychometry has been a serious impediment to their developing relationship. When she touches him, she can see all his deep, dark secrets. Given Logan's traumatic past, being vulnerable terrified him, but now, in Jennifer Estep's Crimson Frost, he has finally opened up to Gwen, and they're able to go on a real date to a coffee shop like two normal teenagers.

[Enjoy it while you can, guys...]

Jacquelyn Frank
Forbidden
Random House / Oct. 30, 2012 / $7.99 print & digital

The unexpected happens in an instant. On her way to work, secretary Docia Waverley hurtles into a crashing crossroads, and she quickly begins to suspect that things will never be the same. Then, when a tall, blond, muscular stranger intervenes on her behalf, telling her it is his duty to protect her at all cost, what is just a feeling turns to proof positive. That is, as long as Docia’s savior doesn’t turn out to be a crazed kidnapper.

When Ram finds Docia, he has no doubt that she is his queen. But as this golden warrior sweeps in to protect her, he feels something more than body heat every time they touch. He is overwhelmed by a searing connection that goes deep into the twin souls inside him. A desire rises in him that is forbidden—this woman is his queen, the mate of his king, his leader, his best friend. And yet Docia is so vulnerable and attractive that she awakens a hunger in Ram that is undeniable, a carnal craving he cannot yield to . . . not without risking the very survival of the Bodywalkers.

In her new spinoff series, Jacquelyn Frank builds us a new World of Nightwalkers. These new Nightwalkers include Gargoyles, Djynn, Night Angels, and in this first story, she gives us Bodywalkers. When the ancient Egyptians were worshiping their Gods and practicing their art of preparing the dead for life eternal in the afterworld, they did not realize that this grab for eternal life would anger the God, Ra, and as a punishment, they would be eternally barred from heaven and their mummified bodies would tether them to the mortal world. Every time they die, they are returned to the Ether, a type of limbo, where they would wait until they were strong enough to Bodywalk again.

[That doesn't sound pleasant...]

Aimee Laine
Hide and Seek
J. Taylor/March 5, 2012/pb $14.99, digital $5.99

Lie, cheat or steal, no one can catch Tripp Fox. Except one woman.

Lexi Shepherd’s knack for finding whatever is asked of her isn’t sheer luck. It’s a gift from the Greek god Zeus.

That Lexi doesn’t use her ability to search for “Mr. Right” comes from one of many personal rules she has set for herself. Number one is not to let fate dictate her future.

Falling in love with Tripp breaks all the others....

I have always been fascinated with Greek mythology. I can trace my fascination back to childhood and reading about Atalanta in Free To Be You and Me (I had the LP, too). My fascination continued to my years as a senior docent with the North Carolina Museum of Art, and my specialty in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. And is precisely why I love Aimee Laine’s Hide and Seek.

[So...it’s not all Greek to you?...]

USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog revealed today that Lothaire author Kresley Cole will be adding more fuel to the dystopian/apocalyptic YA craze with an upcoming series of her own, based on the mythology of the Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck.

According to the article, Cole’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, has also released the following description of the first book in The Arcana Chronicles, which is due out in October and entitled Poison Princess:

Poison Princess centers on 16-year-old Evangeline “Evie” Greene, a privileged teenager from Louisiana. When an apocalyptic event decimates her hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes the hallucinations she’d been having for the past year were actually visions of the future — and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens have been chosen to re-enact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side …

What do you think? Are you a YA reader anyway? If not, will you be making an exception for a new Kresley Cole series?

(The Magus Tarot card image from SpiderMum via Wikimedia Commons)

Immortals exist in Louisiana! And I can prove it.

Exhibit A: This photo, taken on Bourbon Street. We see an innocent bystander in the middle, accosted by what must be a drunken Libation Demoness swilling demon brew on the left—and a mesmerizingly gorgeous vampire on the right, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lothaire the Enemy of Old (or perhaps cover model sensation Paul Marron).

Note that the two beings on the sides are the only ones with changeable eyes. Clearly, the unfortunate guy in the middle is terrified, imitating what we can only surmise is an ancient vampiric “gang signal” in an attempt to placate his captors and escape being drained.

My understanding is that this poor bystander made it off Bourbon Street unscathed physically, but deeply emotionally scarred....

[Don’t stop now...]

A few minutes ago, urban fantasy author Kevin Hearne posted the cover for his upcoming release, Tricked, due out April 2012.

Here’s a bit more about the book, fourth in the Iron Druid Chronicles:

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Several H&H bloggers are big fans of the series. Have you checked it out? What do you think of the Tricked cover?

Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2) Jennifer Estep
Kensington, November 29, 2011, $7.99

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle...

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...

[Here’s hoping for a sexy training montage...]

As an Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance reader and reviewer, there are authors that I see everywhere; authors that everyone seems to talk about all the time. Each time yet another book release comes and goes from one of these authors I promise myself that before the next release happens I’ll finally read a book or three of the series. One such author is Sherrilyn Kenyon.

So, when I noticed how close I was to the upcoming release of Retribution, the latest addition to her Dark-Hunter series, I downloaded Fantasy Lover, the series prequel, to my ipad and set out to see what all the fuss was about, once and for all.

The prequel Fantasy Lover reads very chick-lit-esque, (a lot of fluff and very little stuff) with the protagonist summoning the hero from an ancient book to be her love slave until the “spell” wears off. Absolutely this book is about a girl and guy and the story about how the two became one, but I can see why the series took off from here. Even though it was a little too sweet at times for my taste, I was surprised with all the history that was provided for both the main characters, especially Julian the enslaved greek god, and the rich mythology throughout.

[More thoughts from a Dark-Hunter series first-timer...]

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series reveals a convoluted world filled with fantastic supernatural creatures whose ongoing war often bleeds into the human realm. Filled with suspense, intrugue, angst and humor, Ms. Kenyon manages to create a fairly realistic world that often has me giving the eye to people I’m not entirely sure of.

There are approximately 20 books in the series (not counting related books or novellas) composed of three main groups: the Dark-Hunters, the Were-Hunters, and the Dream-Hunters. As with any series, there are good guys and bad guys (and for a refresher on the good guys, read Natasha Carty’s article about Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Heroes and Heroines).

I often find myself  enamored with the villains of a series; even though any one of the characters in this series has a tendency towards violence, it’s the villains who often add that much-needed element to the storyline. In this world, the lines between the good and the bad are blurred. The villains are not all evil to the core, but rather evil in degrees. Most of them are merely doing what they need to do to survive amongst their brethren. The choices they make aren’t always right or acceptable, but—at times—they are understandable.

[Gotta love those shades of gray...]