Tempted Champions

Rating:
Summary: This is a champion!
Review: As a big fan of Spike, I bought "Tempted Champions" because I knew my favorite vampire was in it, but honestly, I wasn't expecting much gratification. What a pleasant surprise, though - not only did Spike's portrayal is correct, interesting and amusing, but also the plot is excellent.

Set in BtVS season 5 (after "Forever" and before "Intervention"), two storylines run in parallel - the new Big Bad in town, Celina, is after Buffy, and wants the Slayer dead; and D'Hoffryn pays a visit to Anya, offering her an indecent proposal.

The Spike's bits are very enjoyable; he is in love with Buffy - which the author beautifully acknowledges:

"...he had a chip in his head that kept him behaving like a good little monster, and a chunk out of his cold, dead heart that he'd given to buffy... whether she wanted it or not."

Spike helps the Scoobies willingly, without losing his snarky-ness, of course. He even is given some happiness, when he has the opportunity of being with a lady; the consequences of his date are very... let's say, entertaining - not exactly for him, but for us, readers!

"He felt like it'd been years since Drusilla or anyone else had truly paid attention to his stories, and now he had this exquisitely lovely creature on his arm, and she seemed so, well... normal. "

No spuffiness, at all, and some ancient Buffy and Angel love, but so well written that I don't have any complaint - even being a die hard Spike/Buffy fan.

The characters created for the book - Celina as well as the disgusting Dunphy, or the former Iroquoi warriors turned demons - are great, I liked to read about each one of them, I didn't have the thought "they're just taking time from the main characters" for a second. The storyline was really appalling - the "temptation" theme is an element of the hero's journey, after all.

In "Tempted Champions", Buffy is the hero who doesn't want anybody else fighting her fights, and feeling all alone, has to face a huge temptation. Plus, we have Angel (who came from Los Angeles to help), Xander, Giles, Willow, Tara and Dawn to complete the picture. The three girls have a very nice time together, when performing a blessing at the Magic Box; the guys (Giles and Xander), along with Spike, form a good team; the humans don't exactly love the vampire (and vice versa), but they manage to accomplish their task without much problem.

And Anya. In light of all we know now (after May 2003), her story is totally heartbreaking. We see the ex-demon trying hard to adapt herself in this world of mortals, and fighting the temptation of returning to be an immortal Vengeance Demon again. Anya's dilemma is such a poignant moment - while D'Hoffryn tells her that as a human she will end up dying "like a bug", she thinks that as a demon, she won't manage to live without love, without Xander. And then you feel like crying, remembering "Hell's Bells" and "Chosen", and knowing Anya's tragic fate.

Rating:
Summary: Buffy the Slayer vampire
Review: Celina the new vampire in Sunnydale has only one thing in mind,killing Buffy. Celina first trys to get Buffy's address from Anya. And she is not very nice about it. In fact Anya is so shaken up by the encounter, that when D'Hoffryn shows up with a once in a lifetime offer Anya jumps for joy.
At first Buffy doesn't think Celina is so tough even with warings from Angel. Untlil she discover she's a Slayer vampire from 1527. Will Buffy drive a stake though this cold Slayer's heart or will she become the next Slayer vampire? I thought the book didn't really hit the mark of the chacters. They were just a tad off. It had a good concept but the way it turned out was kind of disappointing. However the fight scences were great. And reading a novel set in season five was refreshing. The book wasn't Immortal, or The Book of Fours. But it was a hell of a lot better then Return to Chaos, or Resurrecting Ravana.

Rating:
Summary: Yvonne rocks!
Review: Good story, great Spike bits, a recommended read. Yvonne is a phenomenal writer who can really get the voices of the show down without overdoing it, unlike another "Buffy" author that I won't point out by name.

Rating:
Summary: Cassia Marsilka 1527A.D.
Review: I found this book very imaginitive. Not only that but descriptive, intelligent, and captivating. The last chapter really demonstrated the characters ultimate desires, desicions, and choices. This literature is appealing to the young and the old even if your not a fan of the show. Overall it was a well written peice, it only got four stars because the plot was jumpy and the characters were somewhat out of place.
I'm a vascuous tramp with low self-esteem, but I know a good book.
A

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I found this book very interesting. To think that a slayer could be turned! I think that this book make a lot of Buffy fans think a lot of questions. What if Angel had turned Buffy? What would she be like? How would she live? What would happen to all the people she had saved? What would become of her friends? Would she still be a hero? Read this book and then think about these questions. Can you find out the answers?

Rating:
Summary: found it lacking...
Review: I read the description of this book and could not wait to get my hands on it, Buffy & Angel, a turned Slayer, I mean that is exciting stuff. Well except for the fact that the relationhip between Buffy and Angel really takes a BIG backseat in this to finding out about the Vampire Slayer Vampire. There was SO much more that could have been done, it just doesn't reach its full potential.

If you are picking this book because of the Buffy & Angel connection there are a few sweet moments, but I mostly felt cheated. If you are a Major Anya fan on the other hand this book is so for you!

Rating:
Summary: This is the book!
Review: Okay to start, not the best written novel, nor the best historical one(Ex-No Glory, Gunn or Angels dealings with Darla or the b/a meeting of forever) but other than that, the plot was interesting, and had very good character anaylis, but reading this right after seeing "Hells Bells" made me cry cause Anya is not with Xander and we have no idea what her answer to D'Hoffryn is as of this moment. If you want to now how Buffy and Angel deprived a girl can get... I got this late Thursday night, read it every spare moment in high school classes on Friday took my 4 hour week re-engerizing nap, and finshed it that night. While the B/A scenes are scarce they're there, I recommend this to you even if you hate the buffy/angel relationship. Had some good scooby/intereaction, and some Buffy introspect, taking a interesting turn on what a vampire slayer vampire might be like, I had after all alaways wondered.

Rating:
Summary: Cassia the Vampire Vampire Slayer
Review: One of the better plots in the Buffy books, thematically rich and well-realized, but problematic.

The new Big Bad in town is someone both Angel and Spike have faced before, and barely survived. Angel met her in 1950s Nebraska, Spike in a bordello over a hundred years ago. They know she's one nasty piece of work, and a vampire to boot. What they don't know is that she was once Cassia, a Slayer.

Navarro does a fine job writing the characters, and gives a fair share of time to each one. Most of the characters face a major temptation in the course of the story, and of course pass their tests.

The biggest problem with the book is the same that has plagued the series for the last couple of years: too much attention divided equally among too many characters, putting Buffy in the back seat on her own show (or in her own book, as it were). Time that would be better devoted to examining the two adversarial Slayers' relationship and motivations is cut short. The buildup to the final confrontation is greatly diminished as a result, as is the payoff, which comes too abruptly.

More time should have been spent on the central temptations and conflicts in the story - namely, Buffy's to succumb to vampire immortality in order that she may enjoy a relationship with Angel, and Spike's to join Cassia's ranks and put his obsession with Buffy behind him forever. Instead, that time is given to the subplot of Anya being offered her former place as a vengeance demon instead of living out a mortal life and love with Xander - which is a nice bit of character exploration, but diffuses where the central focus should be.

Buffy fans will certainly enjoy this one, but newbies to the series might want to take on one of the stronger titles first.

Rating:
Summary: When Is A Slayer Not Quite a Slayer?
Review: One of the pleasures of the latest efforts in the Buffy novel series is that she has been allowed to grow up a bit and start to deal with the range of issues that confronted her before the fifth season's spectacular ending. This is a different Buffy, one who has had to make some tough choices and live with them. No longer so lighthearted and flip she is finding that strength and reflexes are not enough by themselves to meet her responsibilities. She must look inside to find the sources of her own wisdom. As such I find her developing into an even more interesting character then she has been in the past.

The occasion for conflict is the appearance of a new vampire in Sunnydale. Celina, who apparently dislikes both humans and vampires, is intent cutting a swath through the ranks of both. But her real target is obvious from the start, Celina wants to take a slayer as a trophy, and may very well have the stuff to do it. After nearly doing away with Xander and Anya trying to track down Buffy, Celina tries for a less subtle approach and takes on Buffy directly. This ends in a near disaster - for Buffy, and the chase is on. But who exactly is the hunter and who is the prey?

Buffy, Giles, Willow, and even Spike start to search for the key to Celina. Even Angel becomes involved when he recognizes Celina as the vampire that very nearly killed him before he came to Sunnydale. Buffy, who still loves him, only reluctantly accepts both his warnings and his offer of help. Spike too, realizes he has met Celina before and his new found loyalty to Buffy will be sorely tested before the book is over. When the truth about Celina is finally revealed, Buffy faces the fact that the price of this confrontation may be far worse than death.

One of the surprises of this story is an extended focus on Anya, who finds that she must decide again whether it is better to be human or a demon, and Xander who must face the reality of his own feelings for his quirky lover. Anya, who up until now has been a bit of a cipher with a unique ability to say the wrong thing, really does come alive in the dilemma between love and immortality. 'Tempted Champions' tests her relationship just as it adds new dimension to the relationship between Buffy and Angel. Nor is Dawn left out of the picture. Everyone pitches in to help in a struggle which, in the end, must be Buffy's alone.

Yvonne Navarro has already demonstrated strong writing skills in 'Paleo' and the two volume 'Willow Files.' 'Tempted Champions' continues to demonstrate her power in the more serious side of Buffy fiction. Dialogue, plot, and characters flow naturally in this new effort. Navarro is beginning to look beyond media novels, and the wise reader will keep an eye on her.

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner! A Vamped Slayer? Interesting....
Review: Someone is itching for a fight with the slayer. Who may you ask? Well, a long forgotten slayer whom the journals of the Watchers record as being dead way back in Greece, 1527. Or so as they thought.
Cassia the vampire slayer has become a victim of the very thing she was sworn to kill...a bloodthirsty vampire. Angry and hateful since that fateful day on the coast of Greece so long ago, Cassia has changed her name and look dozens of times, but not her mission...killing. Everyone and anything that gets in her way.
The goal right now? Kill the present slayer who is reputed to be the best and strongest...Buffy....
Twice as strong as a slayer and extremely skilled, Cassia, or shall we call her by her new name, Celina the vampire slayer vampire, has met up with some of the slayer's friends in the past...namely Angel and Spike.
The key to Buffy's survival is the knowledge they both have of her, but is it too late? But, is Celina too good for Buffy? Narrowly escaping her wrath once back in 1960, Angel is fearful for Buffy and Spike doesn't tell a better tale of the vamped slayer.
Adding to the pressure of the ultimate fight, tension is all around the trio, Angel's unability to be with his one and only love, Buffy's realization that they cannot be together and Spike struggling to come to terms with being in love with the slayer and knowing her heart belongs to Angel.
Not only is there the vamped slayer causing havock and the love triangle pulsing around them, but now Anaya has been revisited by her old boss...D'Hoffryn. He wants her back...
Will Anaya return to vengeance or remain on this mortal plane to die eventually, but with love? Will Buffy let the lure of eternal life and of its rewards of being with Angel once again sway her to turn to her dark side as did Celina?

Extremely charged and exciting, this book should've been an episode. Fitted somewhere in the beginning of the 5th Season after Joyce's death and before most of the trouble with the Hellgod Glory and the Key Dawn. This writer really captures the true essence of the characters and the problems that they faced that season.
Tracy Talley~@