You know, I thought I was ready for romance. I thought that with my first historical I was ready to take on the Romance world; me against the odds, one man fighting the good fight, and all that. Well, folks, I had relied too strongly upon the talented Miss Chase and the roguish charm of Rupert, the hero in her Mr. Impossible.
There is another part of Romance. Far beyond fun romps in the Victorian Egypt, it’s the dark, seedy alley of Romance. It’s the part of town where upstanding, respectable people tuck their heads down and all but run through. One that is filled with vampires, demons, and various other things that go bump in the night. Oftentimes there is a very adult and sexy reason for the bumping, but there is bumping nonetheless, mark my words. This place is Paranormal Romance, and it changes you, people....
This go around I took on the 470 page Demon Moon by Meljean Brook. But, before I get down to the meat and potatoes of this whole thing, I want to take a moment and ask the ladies out there a question. Why is it that womb quivering is a sign of attraction? I mean, if any of my internal organs begin to quiver I am going to seek immediate medical attention. That’s dangerous, and it sounds very painful at that.
I digress. You came here to see what I have to say about Demon Moon. Compared to Mr. Impossible, the relationship between the hero and heroine took a much larger role than the overall plot. I get the feeling that this particular book was written FOR a woman. Now that may sound a little silly, but I feel like the sense of humor, some of the details pointed out to the reader, the overall voice of the novel, etc. were all specifically gendered in their point of view. I don’t want to come off as one of those guys (see the comments on my previous post for a link to who I mean). It was just like when I watched my first cricket game in college—there was a whole lot going on and though I could follow the important parts, I just didn’t understand the finer details, but that is okay, because I still had a ton of fun.
So with that all out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks: First off there was The Vampire, Colin Ames-Beaumont. This guy is tall, blonde, with a lean, athletic build. He’s confident and self-obsessed to the point of being borderline narcissistic. He’s my older brother. And like my brother, he wears on me after a time. Colin just ain’t my kind of guy. He’s too…fancy. I’m what Colin might refer to as a proletariat or plebeian. I like the less fine things in life. Going with my previous comparison of Rupert to a drinking buddy, Colin and I probably wouldn’t be seen in the same bars. His would most likely require a dress code, and mine would probably make fun of his pocket square. We just move in separate circles, but that’s okay because we both like Savi.
Savi, or Savitiri Murray is awesome. I enjoy her curiosity; I like the fact that she is smart, self-reliant, and knows her way around anime and video games. Savi is a girl I would date. She’s not quite as naïve as Mr. Impossible’s Daphne is, and I like that. She would do John McClain proud with her one liners. You can’t get better than “teleport a nuke in and blow the place to fuck-town!” It’s almost up to the “Yippee Kai-Yay…” level on the sheer awesomeness meter. And having a way with one liners is the key to any man’s heart, you can quote me on that.
Which brings us to the cover. I have finally gotten my first taste of the legendary tramp stamp, which was oddly satisfying, though I still have to get in my tattooed chest. I did have a problem that I can’t reconcile. In the story, Savi is described as having noticeably darker skin and a pronounced Indian heritage with short, spikey hair, yet on the cover we see a fair-skinned, long-haired brunette. Threw me off a bit.
Overall, the action and pacing pretty much makes Demon Moon a sexy urban fantasy, which I dig. There are some details that were fuzzy and some of the action was confused, but I feel that these issues come from how I am approaching the book, more of that ’being in the right mindset’ for it. I found myself more intrigued by Hugh and Lilith, mostly because Hugh seems more my speed. So far. I refuse to say that Romance is unrealistic escapism, which seems to be the go to argument for everyone else out there. I mean I am never going to: a) slay a dragon, b) run away with an incredibly hot alien princess, or c) kill Hitler and save the free world. Those things are beyond my abilities. I know this; I’d be crazy if I didn’t. But you know what? I still read those books. Hell, I’m also never going to storm the beaches of Normandy, ambush VC, or preform surgery, but I still read nonfiction. Folks should get off their high horse and shut their mouths. But that is just me.
I think if sub-genres were cities, so far I place historicals somewhere in western Europe, you know, Britain or France. Yes, those cities have their dark alleys, but for the most part it’s fun for the family. Have to put paranormal somehere in the New Orleans/New York area. It’s dirty, it’s fun, and you have to be sure to know where you stand or else you might not like were you’re going.
The floor is now open for recomendations for where I go from here—thoughts?
Christopher Morgan works for CriminalElement.com and HeroesandHeartbreakers.com. He lives in New York City, and wasn’t ready for REAL Romance.
