Title: Love is DarknessSeries: The Valerie Dearborn Trilogy, Book 1
Author: Caroline Hanson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 322
Book Description: Valerie Dearborn wants a cotton candy life, but it’s more like a puffer fish: pointy, unusual, and—if not prepared exactly right—deadly.
In London for graduate school, Val knows she's finally free. Her father and ex-almost-boyfriend are back in California and she's out of the Vampire hunting biz for good. Or is she?
She draws the attention of Lucas, a 1600 year old Vampire, and King to his kind. He’s also wicked hot. As golden as Lucifer, and just as tempting, he makes Valerie an offer she can't refuse— help him find out if the Others (Empaths, Fey and Werewolves) still exist or he'll stop protecting those she loves.
Lucas tells her that Empaths were a Vampire’s biggest weakness before going extinct hundreds of years ago. While the Fey or a Werewolf might kill a Vampire, an Empath could enslave them, seducing or harming with emotions at will. The one detail he leaves out? Valerie is an Empath.
And after 1600 years of an emotionless existence, Lucas wants Valerie like a recovering alcoholic wants a wine cooler.
Can she keep those she loves alive, stop Lucas from munching on her, survive a fanged revolution and still find a way to have that boring, normal life she’s always wanted? Probably not, but boy is she gonna try!
This is a full length novel and contains adult content.
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All Valerie wanted was a normal life. Raised by her father to be a vampire hunter, she had always known that as soon as she was old enough she would leaving that life of death and danger behind. Starting over on her own is not as easy as she thought it would be, and running from her past is next to impossible.
I really like Valerie as a protagonist. She does not come from a perfect little world where everything is rose colored and happy. Her whole life has revolved around death and fear, and her survival instinct tells her to run from the vampires, not to them. As a survival instinct she has learned to keep people at arm's length and to use her attitude to hide her true feelings.
The story starts 15 years in the past and slowly brings us up to present day. I enjoyed the way the author brought out the details of the story and the interactions between the characters. With each scene you could feel the tension between Valerie and Jack, and once Lucas enters the picture everything gets kicked up a notch. I am looking forward to the next book in this series to see where the story goes.
I really like Valerie as a protagonist. She does not come from a perfect little world where everything is rose colored and happy. Her whole life has revolved around death and fear, and her survival instinct tells her to run from the vampires, not to them. As a survival instinct she has learned to keep people at arm's length and to use her attitude to hide her true feelings.
The story starts 15 years in the past and slowly brings us up to present day. I enjoyed the way the author brought out the details of the story and the interactions between the characters. With each scene you could feel the tension between Valerie and Jack, and once Lucas enters the picture everything gets kicked up a notch. I am looking forward to the next book in this series to see where the story goes.
Q & A with Caroline Hanson
Q: Tell us a little bit about your main characters.
A: I read a lot of romances and a lot of urban fantasy. I got really sick of the kick-butt heroine who was super tough and beyond gorgeous. I just couldn't relate to that. My character Valerie is relatable. She's insecure, she's thrust into a situation she doesn't want and when she gets the attention of a super hot and deadly vampire, she doesn't really know what the hell to do.
And then there are the boys-- Lucas is the vampire. He is super cold, super powerful and uber hot. He's been bored for centuries and Valerie is an empath, she can make him FEEL emotions and he is not sure if that's a good idea, or if he should just kill her and save some time.
Jack is her other love interest, and he's a good guy who is motivated by revenge. Valerie has always been in love with him...not that it's gotten her anywhere.
Q: What was your favorite scene to write?
A: That's a really hard question to answer! l I don't really remember what I liked writing, so much as what was a bastard to write. I can tell you that one! I suppose it's a mild spoiler, but I had spent a lot of time establishing Lucas as a suave vampire who would be awesome in bed. So when it came time for him to perform, he couldn't just do an insert and repeat. And that was vaguely terrifying. I think I was a little in awe of him too. I just kept thinking 'what does this guy do in bed?' I can't tell you how many times I wrote that scene. But I was very happy with the way it came out. You could say it had a happy ending ;) I think it was twenty pages or something ridiculous.
Q: What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
A: Like every mom, I have several jobs and not enough of them are paid. If I'm really lucky I get to write til school gets out. 8-3 with nothing but me and my computer...that's awesome. I usually get 2-3 hour blocks instead. Dishes and laundry do not do themselves. I know that for a fact!
Q: How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
A: Uhm, that's like a therapy question ;) The short answer is that I'm an only child and I spent A LOT of time by myself, in my room, reading romance novels and listening to depressing music. I want to KNOW the men I write and have other people fall in love with them. I want them to be dark and f*$%ed up. I think my books are basically all romance and any plot that's there is to further the character's internal growth or expose the character somehow. They're gonna earn their HEA, dammit!
Q: If you could be any character from your book, who would you be and why?
A: My characters go through a lot of drama, so I don't know how much fun that'd be. But Val gets to have great sex and is torn between two men which is fun. The almost dying is less so.
Q: What do you do to unwind and relax?
A: I'm a big TV person. I love to get obsessed with shows. The Walking Dead and Vampire Diaries are up there, as well as Scandal and Survivor.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: I'm going to Comic-Con in July. Does that count? It's as crowded as a third world country and filled with alien/monster look-a-likes.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: The newest JR Ward. It's m/m which is awesome and I've been waiting for it FOREVER!
About the Author:
Caroline Hanson grew up in California and moved to London in order to dance and go to
After becoming an attorney she had two children and now tries to parent, read, write and play tennis. She's heard rumors that other mothers clean and cook but is trying valiantly to keep those rumors from reaching her family.
Caroline grew up listening to Brit pop and reading about vampires. As a teenager her favorite authors were Anne Rice and Jude Deveraux. Now she loves Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Laura Kinsale, Lisa Kleypas, Loretta Chase, Nalini Singh and JR Ward--that's the short list.
In terms of TV she's big into Game of Thrones, anything by Mr. Whedon, Ms. Plec or Ms. Rhimes because she likes a love story-- the more messed up and disastrous the better!
Her books have been on various Bestseller lists and she loves to hear from fans so long as they understand that Lucas is not real, she can't hook them up, and he CERTAINLY isn't chained to her bed.
Website: http://carolinehanson.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/carolinehanson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caroline-Hanson/205847429481635
Twitter: Caroline_Hanson
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Another vampire Diaries fan, yay! What's not to love about those brothers. Congratulations on your book - good luck!
ReplyDeleteThe book looks very good. I can't wait to read it! Good luck!
ReplyDelete