Beneath a Waning Moon: A Duo of Gothic Romances
Elizabeth Hunter, Grace Draven
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Book Description:
Two delightfully dark tales of Gothic romance from Elizabeth Hunter and Grace Draven.
In A VERY PROPER MONSTER, Josephine Shaw spends long nights filling the pages of her Gothic stories with the fantastic and the macabre, unaware that the suitor her father has arranged is one of the dark creatures she’s always dreamed. For Tom Dargin, courting an ailing spinster was only one duty in a long life of service to his sire. But after he meets the curious Miss Shaw, will Tom become the seducer or the seduced? Can a love fated to end in tragedy survive a looming grave?
In GASLIGHT HADES, Nathaniel Gordon walks two worlds—that of the living and the dead. Barely human, he's earned the reputation of a Bonekeeper, the scourge of grave robbers. He believes his old life over, until one dreary burial he meets the woman he once loved and almost married. Lenore Kenward stands at her father’s grave, begging the protection of the mysterious guardian, not knowing he is her lost love. Resolved to keep his distance, Nathaniel is forced to abandon his plan and accompany Lenore on a journey into the mouth of Hell where sea meets sky, and the abominations that exist beyond its barrier wait to destroy them.
In A VERY PROPER MONSTER, Josephine Shaw spends long nights filling the pages of her Gothic stories with the fantastic and the macabre, unaware that the suitor her father has arranged is one of the dark creatures she’s always dreamed. For Tom Dargin, courting an ailing spinster was only one duty in a long life of service to his sire. But after he meets the curious Miss Shaw, will Tom become the seducer or the seduced? Can a love fated to end in tragedy survive a looming grave?
In GASLIGHT HADES, Nathaniel Gordon walks two worlds—that of the living and the dead. Barely human, he's earned the reputation of a Bonekeeper, the scourge of grave robbers. He believes his old life over, until one dreary burial he meets the woman he once loved and almost married. Lenore Kenward stands at her father’s grave, begging the protection of the mysterious guardian, not knowing he is her lost love. Resolved to keep his distance, Nathaniel is forced to abandon his plan and accompany Lenore on a journey into the mouth of Hell where sea meets sky, and the abominations that exist beyond its barrier wait to destroy them.
Review:
A VERY PROPER MONSTER
Ms. Hunter never disappoints and I love reading her stories, especially those set in her Elemental World, that I suspect will always remain a favorite of mine to revisit. This world is bursting with complex, vivid characters, who are at times eccentric, romantic, brave and all those other things that we always yearn our heroes (and heroines) to be. So it's no surprise that I found A Very Proper Monster and its characters - Josie and Tom - exactly perfect. We've met both of them in Ms. Hunter's recent full novel, The Scarlet Deep, and here, they get to play the lead in their own love story, which is touching and sweet, if only a tad too quick, that must be the fault of the novella format. Nevertheless, I loved learning more about Josie and Tom, and I quite enjoyed Ms. Hunter's exploration of historical genre - in fact, I now demand more historical stories!
As I mentioned above, this novella is part of the larger Elemental World series, but can be enjoyed as a standalone or a first foray into Ms. Hunter's wonderful world of elemental vampires, because, trust me - you wouldn't want to stop just here! Highly recommended.
GASLIGHT HADES
Now, after finishing A Very Proper Monster and craving more of the same I was a tad hesitant to dive into Gaslight Hades. But, knowing how Ms. Draven time and again pulls me in with her works - I gave it a go. I have to admit, Gaslight Hades got off to a slow start but quickly gained speed and I barely noticed how I've raced through the pages to the end. The novella format felt both short and surprisingly longer than intended (in a good way!) - Ms. Draven manages to masterfully make it feel like a full-fledged, well developed story with complex characters, an intricate new world, and surprising steampunk elements that were so elegantly woven-in. I savored the idea of the Guardians, the Gothic feel of the story, the steampunk airships and frightful battles at the Redan (you'll have to read to find all about it!) Also highly recommended.
Happy reading!
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And don’t forget to check out other works by these authors:
And don’t forget to check out other works by these authors:
Elizabeth Hunter's Books
Grace Draven's Books
Hey! I'm so happy to see you! :) It's been a while.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) It's definitely been a while. I'm not really back blogging though, but I thought I might casually post here and there from time to time, when I have time.
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