Dead By Dusk

Rating:
Summary: Dead before dusk
Review: After being upset that this wouldnt be released around october like all the other books, I waited until january and got the book when i first spotted it... And i just dont think i can read any more of her vampire series... They just get worse as each one comes out... I am a big fan of shannon drake aka heather graham but her books have been lacking lately... This latest book just had nothing that i could sink my teeth into... The story line was weak and the characters didnt grip my heart like past books... Maybe the next one will be better but i wont be rushing out to buy it...

Rating:
Summary: Lacks a good story line.
Review: After looking forward to Shannon Drake's newest novel, I was very disappointed. The story isn't well told and the story line is weak. To make up for this Drake continually writes about sexual dreams and fantasies of her characters.
Drake's first 3 novels on vampires were 5 star books. These are: "Beneath a Blood Red Moon", "When Darkness Falls" and "Deep Midnight".
I wish she would go back to her historical novels. I really love her as a author but I believe she is running out of vampire stories.


Rating:
Summary: A fantastic paranormal romance
Review: Chicago Park Street Players comedy club owner Grant Peterson and his manager Stephanie Cahill were having quite an affair until the night he screamed out another woman's name while suffering through a nightmare. She never explained to Grant why she dropped their romance and ultimately quit working for him. Her cousin Reggie brought her to Naples, Italy to run her comedy club there.

Grant is an avid amateur archeologist enjoying the Discovery Channel as a passion. He has come to South Italy on a dig unaware that Stephanie is nearby. As a murder occurs and a member of Stephanie's staff vanishes, she and Grant work together to try to uncover what is going on. Soon their proximity rekindles their passion, but neither knows that evil is in the air and coincidence is not what brought this couple back together.

DEAD BY DUSK is Shannon Drake at her best as she cleverly blends a fine amateur sleuth with a delightful romance inside a fabulous horror venue. The story line is action packed and filled with twists that take the reader from a broken Midwest love story to a foreign who-done-it to a second chance at love and to a confrontation with a vampire and devil dogs (these are not cake). The lead couple is a delightful pairing and the secondary cast either is old friends bringing alive Italy or malevolence at its evilest. Fans of Ms. Drake will appreciate the cleverly disguising of her subplots so that the audience never knows where she will take them next with this suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Sadly Not One Of Her Better Efforts!
Review: Shannon Drake was one of the original authors that I read when I began to explore the sub-genre of vampire fiction. I came to this genre with the belief that a storyline based on a vampire could ever be as good or as engrossing as something Ann Rice could create. As a result I was a "snob" when it came to picking authors I'd even bother with. The first three stories in Ms. Drake's vampire series were amazing. I loved the characters, the storyline, and even the way she worked the legend of the vampire. The past three efforts though have left a lot to be desired and sadly this newest effort is no different.

What is wrong with this read you ask? Although this story had a lot of potential and some old friends from past books make an appearance this was not enough to save the story in my opinion. Stephanie and Grant had the potential of being great romantic leads. This story opens with them already having had a past relationship that ended...somewhat poorly. They both still care about each other but things started to change and Grant was slowly becoming someone that Stephanie began to almost...fear. Now they both wind up in a remote Italian village under different circumstances but the end result is the same. They are together again and when people start to turn up ravaged and brutally murdered they find themselves working together to come to an understanding and hopefully stop whatever or whoever is set on murdering people.

Ms. Drake is without a doubt a very talented author and one that I normally enjoy reading. The problem with this read was she used the concept of "dreams" and "visions" to express too many important parts of the story. By doing this the reader could be left confused and frustrated. This reader was in any event. The storyline was not as strong as it could have been and although the characters were varied and many, few stayed with this reader after the final page was finished. If you are in the market for a strong vampire romance I highly suggest that you pick up one of her first efforts as they are worthy of five star ratings. This read was okay, not earth shaking, or one that I would recommend if you are either a) new to Ms. Drake, or b)looking for a new vampire legend. Truly I picked this book up out of loyalty to this author and because I have read all of the previous titles in her vampire series. Perhaps I'll be more discriminating next time around.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com