October's Paranormal romance characterfest with Liz Strange and giveaway !

Welcome to Characterfest

Characterfest is a month long event where you’ll find a different character interviews written by the author each day. Each interview has a giveaway(s) make sure the giveaway is open to you and if so add a comment or question along with your email. I will close all giveaways at the end of the week and add the winners to the winners post on that Tuesday. Odds are if you won you’ll be hearing from me.

One thing I will ask is if you could please twitter or hit the facebook likes button on the post so that others can see the interview. I want to get these authors out to as much as I can and you’re my go between in this event.

I hope you enjoy each interview and please try to make it here each day to find out whom or what’s next. If this goes as planned I will be hosting this next year. 

Interview: Giovanni (The Dark Kiss trilogy)

1. Please tell us a little bit about your background.

My full name is Giovanni Alejandro Ruiz y Castillo, and I was born in Catalonia, Spain, in 1712 to a moderately wealthy family. I had a traditional upbringing, belonged to the Catholic church and had many brothers and sisters. When I came of age I moved on to France to study art.

2. How did you become a vampire?

While in France I unknowingly attracted the attention of a very old vampire. One night, after a secret meeting with a young woman I had fallen in love with, he came to me. I had no idea what he was, and he took me with no warning and no chance to make the choice for myself. He left me soon after.

3. I’ve heard about your recent ordeals with the Desmarais, can you give me some details?

Ah, the Desmarais. It was one of their own that I had fallen in love with as a mortal man, a young, sweet girl named Seraphine. Because of the terrible circumstances of my change I was left without guidance and was at first unable to control my blood lust. I killed her and her brother, acts that started a centuries old vendetta against me and other vampire-kind. After three hundred years, and many advances in their knowledge of vampires, the Desmarais caught up with me. Instead of killing me though, they kept me for two years, starving me and torturing me. I was saved by accident when Rachel and her friends came to destroy the group, finding me in one of their compounds.

I am much better now, but will never fully recover from everything I went through.

4. There have been many rumors, but could you give an inside scoop into what happened with Harshika?

Harshika, Mother of all Immortals, called her offspring together recently. She was not happy with how the race as a whole was acting, and tried to force us to submit to her ways under threat of destruction. I cannot give away too much of what happened, but I will say that the threat has been averted and immortal kind have come through the ordeal the better for it.

5. What are you feelings about the current state of vampire kind?

I am pleased that we are making strides to get past the old ways of suspicion and solidarity. I think as a group we are stronger.

6. Anything else you’d like to add?

Don’t believe everything you read or are told, much has been made up and exaggerated over the years.  Some of us are really quite lovely—others are not.

Liz is offering 2- a copy of Born of Blood and Retribution and The Embrace of Life and Death, for giveaway. These are eBooks so international is welcome. Please leave a comment or question to Liz or her character Giovinni, along with your email.

Review Born of Blood and Retribution by Liz Strange

Title: Born of Blood and Retribution (Dark Kiss Trilogy #3)
Author: Liz Strange
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: eBook, 175 pgs
Release Date: July 26, 2011
The world’s first vampire has come calling – and she isn’t happy.

After the brutal showdown with the Demarais and the reunion with Giovanni, Rachel is looking for nothing more than some peace and quiet. Harshika, the world’s first vampire, has other ideas. She's not pleased with the immortal race as a whole, finding them weak and too “human”. When called before her, the immortals are given an ultimatum: Submit to Harshika as her subjects or die.Now Rachel and
her old friends must join with new allies to discover Harshika’s weakness…hopefully in time to gain freedom for them all.

WARNING: Violence, sexual encounters with the undead.


Rating -

Sexual -

My Review:

What a great story line! It reminds me a little bit of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned with the first vampire making herself known to her "children" because she is unhappy with what some have done and must be punished (read: killed) while one stands out as an obsession with plans to keep that vampire as a 'pet' forever. As similar as the plots are, the stories are very different.

While this is not really a paranormal romance, it is a paranormal love story, actually a few love stories. The difference? The couples are already together when the story begin and their love is tested throughout all the drama. It is also the story of a young romance which is torn apart and turned into something very ugly by revenge, hatred and perceived betrayal.

There is a very brutal beating scene when Rachael does something to anger the 4000+ year old Harshika. Good thing she's a vampire or she would have never survived the first 5 minutes.

There are a few very violent forced sexual scenes but they are not too graphic in detail however the author is still able to successfully portray the emotional horror of the scenes. There is also a quick and light m/m scene.

This is the third in the Dark Kiss Trilogy but if you haven't read the rest of the series, you won't be lost. There are past events that are mentioned or explained as necessary but that just made me want to read the first two, not need to in order to understand what was going on here.

I enjoyed this story and I think fans of vampire, urban fantasy and even paranormal romance genres will like this.

Warning Spoiler Alert!!!
For paranormal romance fans, there is a HEA ending for several of the couples.

Review The Embrace of Life and Death by Liz Strange

Title: The Embrace of Life and Death (A Dark Kiss Tale)
Author: Liz Strange
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Paperback, 220 pgs
Release Date: June 3, 2011
Author Website


Kieran is a hundred-and-twenty-year-old immortal, originally hailing from the harsh, famine-stricken life of 1880s Ireland. He has surpassed death and thrived, gaining wealth, power and knowledge. Azrael is the angel of death, but his mission is far from ominous. He is the protector of the grief-stricken and the champion of lost souls. The two are polar opposites in mission and nature, yet are inexplicably drawn to one another. The Supreme One sees all, and when he discovers the truth about the relationship he is enraged. Their commitment to be together must be stronger than his determination to keep them apart.



Rating -

Sexual -

My Review:

What an interesting and inventive storyline! With vampires, high level angels, the Supreme One, aliens, time/reality travel, a skirmish and a strong enduring love, what's not to like in this paranormal romance? Don't let the 3 of 5 on the content rating scale create prejudice in your mind. I did enjoy this story quite a bit. What it takes to move from a 3 to a 4 or a 4 to a 5 can be such small degrees and totally arbitrary and subjective. And this review is not the place for that discussion, just please don't dismiss the book due to the 3 rating.

This is a stand alone story based on Strange's The Dark Kiss Trilogy. Not having read this series, I was glad to find that it really reads as a stand alone.

The first half of the book is told from Kiernan's first person point of view. In the second half we get Azrael's and Daniel's first person point of views in addition to Kiernan's.

Kiernan is your typical vampire; he takes the lives of those he feeds upon, he never wants for entertainment or sex and when he wants to be alone, he simply leaves. He takes the friendship he has with his roommate and best friend, Daniel, for granted. Upon meeting Azrael, Kiernan finds himself intrigued and drawn to him in a most unusual way. Finds himself lusting after Azrael in between visits which are few and far between. Kiernan has never been with a man and this actually turns him on more.

Azrael, the Angel of Death -- a huge and powerful angel, is perplexed by Kiernan. He doesn't understand what it is that makes Kiernan different from other vampires and needs to know. Azrael finds he cannot do his duty; he cannot destroy Kiernan. Being an angel, Azrael does not think in terms of male/female. He stuns Kiernan when he confesses that he has fallen in love with him.

The Supreme One, Azrael's boss, is not a nice, benevolent being. He simply cannot understand how there can be love between an angel and a vampire. He strips Azrael of his wings and powers and sends him to Kiernan in the hopes that he will change his mind. When this doesn't work, the Supreme One takes Kiernan on a Scrooge-like trip into the past to try to convince him he would have been better off not becoming a vampire. He actually leaves him in the "what might have been" reality in the past as a human.

Even though this is a m/m romance with a little bit of m/f interaction, the sexual interludes are what I consider tame. There is very little descriptive action, other than the kissing which is detailed. The rest is mostly glossed over including most of the few oral portions. Instead of the sex, love is the focus of most of the encounters. In fact if it was strictly m/f, I'd rate it a 2 of 4 on the sexual rating scale but because of the m/m, it has to carry a 4. This is not a criticism, only an attempt to assuage or alleviate the "ick" factor some may have with m/m sex. Don't let that be a concern here, read this good, sweet story to see all the obstacles true love can overcome.

Review: A Second Chance At Forever by Liz Strange

A Second Chance At Forever
Liz Strange

http://www.lizstrange.com

Paranormal Romance
Review Requested

Forever is a long time to live without love. After enduring a sequence of tragic events, Rachel is forced to start over without her beloved Giovanni. Relocation to San Francisco with vampires Eli and Charles is the second chance at life she feels she needs. With the help of immortal allies, Rachel, Eli and Charles initiate a brutal showdown with the Desmarais, avenging Giovanni-s death and removing the threat to all vampire kind.But after making the most unexpected discovery, she knows lines have been crossed and things may never be that same for any of them.








MY REVIEW AND SEXUAL RATING:

Love, devotion, loyalty, and friendship is what you will find in this story. What a very good follow up from the first book My Lover Eternal in this series. In the first book Rachel lost her one and only love Giovanni. Now in this second book life must go on and as Rachel finds comfort in Eli’s arms she still finds herself unable to give her heart truly to him or anyone because of her love for Giovanni.

Charles, Giovanni’s maker takes care of Rachel and Eli and protects them as he gathers other vampires together to take out the Desmaraias, the ones who killed Giovanni. The story develops from the gathering.

All the vampire characters gathered were fantastic and I loved their backgrounds. I loved how they all found a deep friendship amongst each other. The interaction between them was exciting and sometimes even humorous.

The romance erotic scenes between Rachel and Eli were steamy but not erotically descriptive and I was hoping Liz Strange would have taken that step of writing to a further point.

Overall, the story was very enjoyable with a shocking and surprising find in the end. Let’s just say, Rachel and Eli had their true loves in the end. I do have to say however is that I am glad Liz Strange added two male lovers to this story. Good Read.

Review My Love Eternal by Liz Strange

My Love Eternal
Author Liz Strange
Author's Web site: http://www.lizstrange.com

Paranormal Romance
Requested Review

Blood, sex and eternal life… What more could a girl ask for?

Tall, dark, and sexy, as well as fabulously wealthy, Giovanni is everything a girl could ask for in a lover. There’s only one catch. He’s been undead for more than three hundred years. When Rachel is drawn into Giovanni’s world, she learns that the rules of human existence mean nothing in the world of vampires. This, however, is a fair price to pay for a love that will last forever.

Hunted by the Desmarais family, who carry a centuries-old vendetta, Rachel and Giovanni travel to the ends of the earth in order to stay one step ahead. Can their love survive, or will their eternity together end?

Content Warning: Violence, sexual encounters with the undead