My Review of Dying Valentine by Calvin Demmer

This was an interesting, short read in the horror genre, as the title may suggest.  I found it both interesting and creative, if not a little confusing. But I believe the confusion was intentional--as in a sort-of red herring here and there--and while it did leave me a little befuddled, it certainly wasn't a bad read or a waste of the thirty minutes or so it took to read.

My dying Valentine, sweet bloody Valentine....

The story opens with our main character, Daniel, on his way to meet his girlfriend's parents. Unfortunately, he is involved in an accident on the way, striking a pedestrian, and through some bizarre twists and turns, he ends up back at his house with the victim (she seems to be fine) who does what all strange women who have just been hit by a car do--takes off her clothes and demands money
Of course, Daniel loves his girlfriend and isn't tempted by this apparently psychotic speed bump, but things go from bad to worse when his girlfriend actually shows up at his house.
Daniel does what every cool dude might do and introduces his girlfriend to the weird woman from the road--and then leaves. I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say it involves a blood bath. No really.
I will say that I absolutely did not see the ending coming--or even the few steps leading to the ending, for that matter. I was really thrown off by a few things that happened, and they didn't make sense at all, which, as I said, I believe was intentional. At least that's the theory I'm going with! There was a lot of intentional misdirection.
This is a very short read--only 25 pages according to Amazon--and it's only 99 cents. It will likely leave you shaking your head, which isn't a bad thing. It's definitely not like anything I've read before!
You can find Dying Valentine here, but you don't have to wait until February to read it!

My Review of The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard

Y'all, I did it! I finally found a book I really liked! It's been sooo long since I read a good one, a book that mad me think about it while I wasn't reading it, one that made me wonder what would happen next, where the characters stick with you and have you longing for the next installment. I'm so glad I found this book! I was beginning to lose faith in my ability to pick a good one!

The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard is enthralling!

The Defiled and the Second Son is science fiction,  a genre I don't typically select, but this one seemed interesting to me from the description, and it honestly seemed a bit more like a paranormal romance storyline--with aliens instead of vampires or werewolves.
Elan is a high school teacher who lives a pretty boring life until her new gardner, an extremely attractive stranger recommended to her by a neighbor, begins to hit on her. She is shocked and suspicious. And just when she begins to consider exploring her options with River, two other attractive men show up in her life and let her know of their interest in her as well.
It isn't long before Elan discovers she's actually been identified by an alien race as a precious commodity, a woman pure of heart who can be used to help repopulate their devastated planet. The only problem is that these aliens are on two different sides of a very real war. The Defiled, the dark side of the race, are willing to break all of the rules to claim Elan as their own, while the Legitimates must follow all of the rules and find a way to enlighten Elan so that she can recognize her own strength. Soon, Elan finds herself in a dangerous position as the two sides battle over her, and she isn't sure who to trust.
This was a great read for several reasons. The characters are real and engaging. The dialogue is great, the descriptions are poignant, and the plot moves quickly and keeps the reader driving forward. I found this book to be both creative and relatable. While it is similar to some of the paranormal romance novels I have read, the fact that we are talking about aliens makes it unique. Likewise, the thought that went into each of the characters, particularly the 11 Legitimate brothers, is impressive. I am very hopeful that Leonard continues this series and we can find out what happens to the third son when he comes to Earth to look for his soulmate.
The book references Twilight a few times, and I think if you enjoyed that series, you will like this one as well, though, in my opinion, this book is better written as far as the prose and word choice are concerned. You can read my slightly different five star review on Amazon here, and please check out The Defiled and the Second Son by BJ Leonard here. The current price is $2.99.