Candle Bay

Rating:
Summary: Bite me, Julian!
Review: Amanda Pearce has heard the call of Candle Bay for many years. In fact, so ingrained is the old Californian coastal resort in her psyche, it almost feels as if she has lived a separate life there. But perhaps what she feels about Candle Bay is more than mere conjecture, for Candle Bay, amidst its shadowy shroud of mist, fantastical gardens and lurid history, also conceals a darker secret: it is home to the Darlings, a family of beautiful, passionate vampires.

Amanda has taken a job there as night concierge, a decision she is quite happy with. For unlike most people, Amanda likes the threatening presence of the old resort and surrounding graveyard. More to the point, she likes Stephen Darling, unaware that Stephen--like the other members of his clan: sister Natasha, Uncle "Ori" Orion, and the rambunctious twins Juicy Lucy and Poison Ivy--is a vampire trying to coexist with the human populace that frequents the old hotel, and who act as hosts to the midnight-munching bloodsuckers. But Amanda's timing may or may not be perfect. For in coming to Candle Bay, she has unwittingly (and unknowingly) set an ancient prophecy in motion.

Also among the undead is the disarming, melt-in-your-mouth [] Julian Valentyn, who has brought his infamous "bloodberry" juice with him and plans on unleashing it on the Darling Clan under the guise of a magical "elixir" while he goes about his own mysterious agenda. Julian is irrepressibly taken by Amanda, who, according to his personal beliefs, is the Woman of his legend--one piece of an ancient set of signs that signal the return of the Father, who created all vampires on earth. And in the midst of all this madness are the Dantes, an opposing Clan who desire nothing more than the total annihilation of the Darling Clan and ultimate possession of Julian's elixir. For the Dantes and the Darlings, a war is brewing, and the body count is about to go up, up, up--if, that is, Julian, through his machinations, does not destroy both Clans first.

Despite these very gothic affectations, Candle Bay is written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Everything including the antisocial, evil-cheerleader-esque twins, the moblike workings of the Darling Clan, the rat-eating renfieldish Aardvark, and the use of ice cubes in shorts to tame down errant manhoods (!!!) is played for laughs as well as screams, a rare combination in horror--and particularly *vampire*--fiction. The end result is something very near to an old Hammer vampire film (on a Young Frankenstein fix)--blood, sex, intrigue, plus a bloody dash of humor to grease the wheels of the plot.

Tamara Thorne has scoped out a dark, deep niche for herself in the horror genre. She is a well-loved storyteller and her work continues to draw in more and more readers all the time. For most authors, walking the tightrope between horror and black comedy is a tough job; for Tamara it comes naturally. Candle Bay has all the stuff of a sexy horror comedy film and would be right at home on the big screen--a tale in the same "vein" of Once Bitten, Innocent Blood and Love at First Bite. Highly recommended!

Karen Koehler,
Author of Slayer, Slayer: Black Miracles and Scarabus

Rating:
Summary: A Hotel Full of Amazing and Eccentric Vampires
Review: Amanda Pearce takes a job as night concierge at the Candle Bay Hotel, home of the Darling family. For reasons she dosen't understand, she's been drawn to the hotel for years. The hotel is nestled on fog-shrouded cliffs, is spooky and legends abound about its secret tunnels and the ghosts that dwell there, but none of this phases Amanda, in fact she revels in it. Working at the hotel is a dream come true for her and she quickly falls in love with the handsome Stephen Darling.

The rest of the eccentric Darling family consists of beautiful, but headstrong Natasha, the evil twins Juicy Lucy and Poison Ivy, the stoic Ivor, and Uncle "Ori" Orion, who adores Mob mystique so much that he pretends he's the Godfather. Unknown to Amanda the whole family are vampires, the guests don't know it either, though they usually are the Darlings' meals-just enough at dinner time to subsist on, followed by hypnosis. What a sweet set-up for a family of vampires!

Wait! There's more. Among the undead is the devilish handsome and very mysterious Julian, who believes Amanda is the women legend has said would be his. He introduces the Darlings to his magic elixir which keeps them constantly hungry and craving live blood. And there is still more, much more in this original and very fresh vampire tale. Ms. Thorne is a witty and a crafty writer that will have you enthralled and leave you satisfied. Maybe she'll even scare you a bit in this book that is a sure fire treat for readers of all genres.

Andy Raven, Raving United Fan

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: Candle Bay is an awesome book. From the moment I cracked the spine open I have been enthralled in this story of lust, love,and revenge. Ms. Thorne tells a tantilating tale that will leave you dying for more. I suggest this book to anybody who is ready for a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Hurray for this novel of lust and greed and VAMPIRES! This latest from Tamara Thorne solidifies me as a true fan! I have read all of her books and beg for more! This story has great and fun characters and the atmosphere is mesmerizing! If you have not delved into the world of Tamara Thorne, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Anyone for a Bloody Mary?

Rating:
Summary: Sink your teeth into this!
Review: I finished this book in two days. Tamara Thorne is one of the few authors who can mix horror and humor without watering down either. The focus of the plot is a mafia style war between two families of vampires. There is also a dash of romance and quite a bit of sex, but don't worry-this is not a typical 'vampire romance', expect plently of gore and gothic atmosphere. Highly recommended for fans of Laurell Hamilton. A vampire novel with plenty of juice!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book!!!
Review: I have heard many good things about Candle Bay, and everything I heard about it was right on the money. This is an outstanding book!

Amanda Pearce comes to work at a hotel. Little does she know that she's in the middle of a feud. Now, this is no normal fued, oh no. This is a feud between two families that are vampires. Someone plays "joke" on Amanda then she's sucked into the middle, with no way out. She has to figure who she can trust, and who she can't. This is a short summary of the books. If I say more, I'll be giving things away, and I don't want to do that to the read.

The characters that Tamara creates are incredible, just incredible. My two favorites are Costal Eddie (he has a pretty small part, but I loved him) and The Twins. I **loved** The Twins, they're a complete riot. If you love vampire fiction, you have got to love The Twins.

Tamara's writing styly will keep the reader glued to the page. She does this with wonderful plot twists, crisp dialouge, and characters that you just can't help to care about. The good guys, are good, and you have to love the bad guys.

If you like your fiction in the vampire relm, then you have to run, not walk to your nearest bookseller and get your hands on a copy of this book. I promise you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book!!!
Review: I have heard many good things about Candle Bay, and everything I heard about it was right on the money. This is an outstanding book!

Amanda Pearce comes to work at a hotel. Little does she know that she's in the middle of a feud. Now, this is no normal fued, oh no. This is a feud between two families that are vampires. Someone plays "joke" on Amanda then she's sucked into the middle, with no way out. She has to figure who she can trust, and who she can't. This is a short summary of the books. If I say more, I'll be giving things away, and I don't want to do that to the read.

The characters that Tamara creates are incredible, just incredible. My two favorites are Costal Eddie (he has a pretty small part, but I loved him) and The Twins. I **loved** The Twins, they're a complete riot. If you love vampire fiction, you have got to love The Twins.

Tamara's writing styly will keep the reader glued to the page. She does this with wonderful plot twists, crisp dialouge, and characters that you just can't help to care about. The good guys, are good, and you have to love the bad guys.

If you like your fiction in the vampire relm, then you have to run, not walk to your nearest bookseller and get your hands on a copy of this book. I promise you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful page-turner!!
Review: I picked up Candle Bay early one morning and didn't put it down, not once, until I had finished it about 9 hours later. It was wonderful! Candle Bay is the first book I have read by Tamara Thorne and now I'm itching to get my hands on more of her work!

This book has it all! A fresh and interesting social structure for the Vampires, and very surprising and unique origins!! A vivid, beautiful, yet haunting setting. Wonderful characters, both human and vampire ... dangerous, shocking, quirky, intriguing, sexy, and lovable. There's also action, betrayal, mystery, secrets, love, lust, humor, thrills, and even a surprising bit of good old magic!

The story grabs you from the first page and just gets better and better as you are sucked into the fued between the Darlings and the Dantes, the history of the Cadle Bay hotel, and the dangerous secrets that are hidden in the ancient catacombs beneath it. Definitely a page-turner! I highly recommend this book and am very grateful to the friend who recommended it, and gave it to me as a birthday gift!

My only quibble is that even though things were wrapped up in the end, it felt a little too abrubt. However, it leaves certain things wide open for a sequel, so maybe this was intentional. Candle Bay can be read as a stand-alone, but a continuation of the story would most certainly be icing on the cake! I'm not going to give anything away, but if you read this book you will understand what I mean and find yourself begging for more!

Rating:
Summary: Not what I hoped it would be
Review: Some of the reviews of Candle Bay I read compared it to work by Laurell K Hamilton. I agree that Thorne was influenced by Hamilton's style, and employs some similar horror/sex shock techniques. But Candle Bay reminded me more of some Ann Rice vampire tales. That's not necessarily a good thing.

I enjoyed Candle Bay overall and I think the plot is entertaining, if a bit convoluted at times (Julian is running so many schemes it's a bit amazing he can keep them all straight!). The main vampire characters - Julian and the Darling family vamps - are well-explained, well-defined and interesting throughout. The twins got on my nerves but I think they were supposed to.

Amanda -- the MAIN human character and unknowing catalyst for the brewing vampire war -- is the main thing about Candle Bay that really disappointed me. Amanda is a very thinly-based character; you have very little interaction with her beyong her reacting to the other characters (and Candle Bay itself). I never had a strong sense of who she was, or where she came from. There was nothing that convinced me she was special enough, interesting enough or dazzling enough for two vampires (and two generations of vamps!) to fight over. Anita Blake she is not.

The book ends with a cliffhanger, so I assume we will see more of the Darling clan and their potential new vamp member, Amanda. I hope she's a more interesting vampire than she was human in Candle Bay.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: This book provides a new view on vampires. In this book there is not only one type of vampire, but two; trueborns, and human vampires. Trueborns are the original vampires, born being a vampire. Human vampires are what we normally think of vampires being, born through an exchange of blood from a vampire to a human.

In the little town of Candle Bay, the Candle Bay resort is owned by a family of human vampires called the Darlings. When the new assistant concierge, Amanda Pearce, arrives at the hotel she feels as if she was drawn there, and maybe she was, but more importantly she was drawn into the middle of a blood war between the Darlings and there nemesises the Dantes. Other than the fact that the Darlings nearly destroyed the Dantes years ago, the Dantes also want a powerful and useful potion possessed by the Darling. A war begins, and Amanda is in the middle of it. Before she knows it she finds herself playing an important role in an age old trueblood story that, if it comes to be true, will kill her and all she loves.

Despite this interesting story plot I feel that the book was not very well written(much like my review!:)), it also tends to be a little dry at times, so while I would suggest reading this I would also say that it will not win any awards.