Book Description from Twilight Phantasies by Maggie Shayne:
In two centuries of living death, Eric Marquand had never once cried out against the cruel fate that had condemned him to walk forever in shadow. But then, he found the woman he knew was his chosen one--and understood that to possess her was to destroy her...
Tamara Dey trembled at the aura of dread and despair that enshrouded this creature of the night. And yet, against all reason, she saw clearly that her destiny was eternally entwined with his, and that she must know--even welcome--the terror and the splendor of the vampire's kiss...
For centuries, loneliness has haunted them from dusk till dawn. Yet now, from out of the darkness, shines the light of eternal life...eternal love.
First, I call this a throwback book review because I have read this book a few times. However, I have just finished it again for a very good reason. Maggie Shayne has returned to writing about her vampires in a new sequel series called Twilight Reborn. I will actually put a link to Maggie Shayne's website on the bottom of this page so you can see the new one for yourself. However, when I re-read something I haven't reviewed on this blog, I will make sure to write one. So, later you will see the rest of the reviews on her other books. Though I will be doing a special review soon on Twilight Guardians.
First, I will admit that Maggie Shayne is one of my favorite authors. She is someone I do look up to as an author myself. So, I can't say that I am surprised by my findings of this book because the truth is that I knew I would love it. However, I can describe why I love Twilight Phantasies so much. Before I go into the review, I will state the only worry I had was that as time passed, it might have lost some of its original beauty. That is not the case. It is still a gorgeous collection of words. Maggie Shayne does really well at descriptions. She can make you see what you are reading and the way she describes scenes is almost poetic. Twilight Phantasies shows her early career and she only gets better. The romance between Tamara and Eric has everything it should. There are plenty of chivalrous actions, warm embraces and hot kisses. However, there is also action and danger because there is a force called DPI that is out to eradicate all vampires and they are ruthless.
Now, I will go into the characters. The first is Eric Marquand. He's sweet and kind but has a bit of a temper. He's also lonely and willing to sacrifice himself for those he loves and of course, he's tall, dark and handsome. Then, there is Tamara. She is sweet but tough. She is naive but in a way you can understand. She will fight to the death for those she loves which is a good thing. I am always happy to see a woman who is not always the damsel in distress. I think she saves Eric as much as he saves her. There is also Eric's sire, Roland. I have a confession...I love Roland. He's yummy. I hope I'm allowed to say that. He's tough and protective. He knows how to melt your heart with his words and he's just...YUMMY. There is also Jamey. He's just a boy but brave and stubborn. I love brave and stubborn people but Jamey is also smart. I loved his character right away. He was a welcome edition to the story. In other words, he wasn't just thrown in there to fill pages. He was an active part of the story. Now, I'm to the great evil...DPI. There are two main characters in this book from the DPI but I'm afraid I'll ruin the story if I step too much into their personalities and I don't want to give away too much but I will say the DPI evil in this book is shiver worthy. Anyways, everyone should read this book...Except for children. There is definitely some naughtiness that is not for their eyes or minds.
My Rating: 5 (Of course)
Book Cover Rating: 3 (It's pretty but it doesn't match the characters.)
As promised, here is the link to Maggie Shayne's website: http://maggieshayne.com/
I do hope you will visit her page. I think you will love her too!!
