Humpday Hello to Elisabeth Staab

Howdy Humpday humpers! Hope you are surviving and thriving, despite the looming end of the year/end of the world/holiday push....you have made it through another week - down hill slide and it's all good. 

This weekend kicks off the Ndulgent bloggers holiday season tradition extraordinaire: Cookiepalooza V!  Four bloggers, one day, 12 different cookie recipes, 80 dozen cookies to divide and share with each other....now that's using our noodles!  

To celebrate our success and lack of homicidal ideation - I say celebrate a little early with some delish eye candy (calorie free and more than welcome on our thighs *gasp*)   Once you have wiped off the drool - check out another awesome kickoff - a new dark fantasy series by a new BFF, found oddly enough in a DC airport (literally, we met her in the airport en route to a conference)!

King of Darkness, Elisabeth Staab, 

Sourcebooks, February 2012

ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA…

Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human—although, drifting among the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons’ blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the king of vampires this party girl’s life turns dark and dangerous.

BUT TIME’S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF VAMPIRES…

Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate has gotten it seriously wrong…

EXCERPT:

“Jesus, T. What is this place?”

Thad Morgan scanned the sparse industrial interior of the massive warehouse turned dance club. From just inside the doorway, he passed his preternatural vision over the writhing crowd of humans. Most of the populace bounced in time to bass-heavy techno music, stopping only to grope their nearest neighbor. Some gazed upward in awe at a raised platform of fire-eaters, and still more worshipped at a DJ stand opposite the entrance as if it were an altar. A scrolling sign overhead announced something called the Crystal Method. The humans partied with abandon and apparently little regard for their eardrums.

“I think they call it a rave,” Thad murmured to his friend.

And apparently at 3:00 a.m., the night was still young for the party kids in Orlando.

Thad’s hands clenched and released. How were they going to do this? The club was friggin’ huge and packed to the gills, from the crowded floor full of scantily clad dancers with glow sticks to the teeming balconies where couples and even groups were involved in more intimate acts such as massage and… whatnot. It was hard to fathom how in the hell they were going to find the female they were looking for in this place.

Already overheated, Thad pushed up the sleeves of his leather jacket and fingered the scar on his forearm, tracing slowly over the two intersecting lines that flared into a Y at each end, like a crude Armenian cross. The small patch of skin was even hotter than the rest of him and throbbed in time with the pounding electronic music that was drilling a hole in his skull. He could almost swear the scar was glowing, but the haze of laser lights and cigarette smoke made it tough to be certain.

“She’s in here, Lee. I can feel it,” he said tightly...

BUY LINKS:     Amazon     B&N.com    Sourcebooks

REVIEW:

A new take on the vampire mythos - King of Darkness hits hard with a dark and gritty yet sexy edge.   From the moment King Thad and his closest warrior Lee walk into the seedy Orlando club on a quest to fulfill the Oracle's prophecy to find the king's mate, Staab grabs her readers and drags them into the world of the Yavn. The sassy Isabel fascinates and frustrates the king bent on finding the mate that will help him become the leader his people need.  Their chemistry radiates off the page, taunting the reader with the highs and lows of two powerful people who fight their way to love. 

Even more enticing are Staab's secondary characters - the friends, family and allies of Thad and Isabel. The simultaneous plot line with Anton the wizard and Tyra the king's warrior sister helps spin a web that keeps a reader stuck!  Well written and well crafted, this author debut shines in all its elements: clever dialogue, elements of humor, magic and mystery, sexy alpha males and smart mouthed heroines.  Small details make this paranormal thrill ride "something new", a rare find in this genre.  

No matter if you love urban fantasy with steamy sex or paranormal romance with kickass warriors fighting the big bad evil, the Chronicles of Yavn debut King of Darkness deserves a first look! And even more exciting, Prince of Power, Anton and Tyra's story, book two of the Chronicles of Yavn, is scheduled to release January 2013! 

RATING: Five Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries and a big tin of Ndulgent Christmas cookies to go!