Carmen Dominique Taxer

This was a bit of an odd book for me the beginning was slow and confusing and overly detailed. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with overly detailed, it doesn't mean that it was bad writing, it's just not something I enjoy. For example J.R.R. Tolkien is a very famous and very liked author, yet I have never been able to get through more than a few chapters of any of his books(reading, I haven't tried audiobooks yet). After those first few chapters in the beginning the book drops the overt detailing and really picks up and moves at a much faster speed. I grew to really like the story and it's characters. However the epilogue kind of ruined the book for me, I feel that the book was much better without it. I don't know if the author wrote it because they didn't realize they were going to be able to write a sequel at the time or not, but it seems that way. I think that most epilogues are a chance for the author to tie everything in the story up into a nice neat little bow. This epilogue however raised more questions than answers for me and left the questions I did have unanswered. Before the epilogue I wanted to read the sequel... now not so much.

I received this book free through Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review.… (mer)

Ready all your bats and cobwebs! This was a spooky gothic vampire read perfect for Halloween! Lovely, eloquent writing, a haunting mood, with delicious turns of phrase. I ate up the mystery and way we’re left shivering with anticipation for what is coming. Liza is sent to boarding school in New Babylon and quickly begins to suspect something is quite wrong. Creepy nightmares. Old stories of death and witchcraft. Spiders and catacombs. A doodle she does of a spider in class that completely freaks everyone out.

But everything at her school is very hush hush and even though Liza’s gotten the hint there’s something off about her family that no one wants to say, she can’t seem to get any real answers, even as she is continually plagued by terrible nightmares. The intensity really built as we approached the end and Liza finally finds out the truth. The atmosphere is so well done with the lanterns and spiders and knives and I love that these vampires are super evil and scary. This was a great dark gothic tale to give you the shivers for Halloween.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
… (mer)

Liza and her friends are back at St. Catalina’s Academy, haunted by strange ghosts. Lightning storms and torrential rain create a super-creepy mood. The slumbering prince continues to draw female students to him. This is a dark, wonderfully delightful gothic vampire tale full of scenes that will make you shiver with their poetry, flowers that bloom only at night, sketches that foretell doom, great snark in scene between boarding school students, and so much more. I devoured author Carmen Dominique Taxer's lyrical writing.

And the catacombs, ah the catacombs! I was on the edge of my seat during the last half of this as Liza tries to get to Everly, discovering the influence of the ruby amulet, waking up in the hospital, being drugged, and the scenes with Seth/the Prince had a creepy/seductive “Phantom of the Opera” feel where Liza is our innocent Christine and both wants to escape even though she can’t help but be drawn to his power. The blood drinking scene gave me the shivers. And now it’s Liza who needs to be saved… This was such a perfect read for right before Halloween!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
… (mer)

Nightfall on New Babylon by Carmen Dominque Taxer and Richard T Wheeler is told from multiple character viewpoints. At times I found it confusing trying to remember who was who and what’s happening to them, but I do love my vampire stories, so I read on and I’m glad I did.

Things started falling into place. Characters are being exposed for who they truly are. Horrors arise and they are not only the vampire kind.

The women seem to pay the biggest price. As I learn more about the four main characters, I find their lives tragic and frightening. There is more going on than meets the eye and the ending set me up for wanting to know what comes next.

The setting seems like the time of Jack the Ripper in England, but I could visualize the street and ruins of Italy too.

Cliffhanger ending that hooked me.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Nightfall of New Babylon by Carmen Dominque Taxer and Richard T Wheeler.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mer)