Review: The Angel Stone by Juliet Dark

The Fairwick Chronicles has come to an end with The Angel Stone. I hate to see Callie go but after 3 books I'm beat. Anyone who is interested in reading this book should read the first two The Demon Lover and The Water Witch. Juliet Dark does supply readers with ample background information but it's really necessary to go discover it all first-hand and not in the abridged version provided in this novel. With that being said let's move on to my thoughts... yes!

Juliet Dark begins The Angel Stone a few months later from where the plot ended in The Water Witch. Those who have followed the series know that Callie's incubus has been killed after becoming human briefly. Duncan Laird, the evil wizard of the 9th order, and his nephilim, have taken over the Fairwick College and have big plans for the student body. Callie and the others left in Fairwick after the door was closed, devise a plan to take back their school as well as their lives. This is the goal at least until Callie finds another guy...

Callie must be the hottest woman on earth because she gets laid constantly. Sorry to be so brash but she's really romping it up and when she isn't she's dreaming about it. That was the most annoying aspect of The Water Witch. Lucky me (insert sarcasm here) Juliet Dark continued to keep up with that bizarre limbido of Callie's. I needed to get that gripe off my chest and move on to the good.

Juliet Dark's writing is still top-notch with this novel. I feel like I've escaped to another dimension every time I pick up a Fairwick Chronicle book. The setting is well described with a supporting cast of characters worth getting to know throughout the 3 books in this series. 

Overall, I am saddened that my time with Callie is over but I am still relieved. It's so tiring that Callie finds any reason to let a hot piece of tail distract her from saving Fairwick. I have enjoyed this journey and has made me a fan of the fantasy romance genre. I recommend The Angel Stone to anyone who's read the other two first, and lives for the romance in a fantastical world.  ****

Review of The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed this book. The Water Witch is the second novel in the Fairwick Chronicles and by far the most exciting. Given how well written The Demon Lover is, I had high hopes for The Water Witch as well. Dark/Goodman does not skip out on any opportunity to paint a vivid picture of the enchanted town of Fairwick. The imajery and attention to even minor details just enhances the experience of reading this book. I find my self lost in Fairwick as well as Faerie with every turning page.

The town of Fairwick is being threatened by the Grove. A group of powerful witches that Callie and her grandmother belong to. This group of witches are hellbent on closing the door to Faerie. The dangers of closing the door will be a loss of Aelvesgold which is a necessary source for the fey and witches of Fairwick. So the fey of Fairwick are faced with deciding whether or not to stay in Fairwick or return to their home in Faerie. For many of the fey, this depletion of Aelvesgold means their race. Callie, being a doorkeeper is in the position of being able to help her friends in Fairwick by keeping the door open.

When the novel begins, it's a few months later from where The Demon Lover left off. It's becoming apparent to Callie that if she wants to go up against the Grove, she needs to enlist the help of someone who can help her summon her magical powers. Enter Duncan Laird. Of course he's handsome, dreamy, and whenever he's around things get a little hot between the two. And now we find my major issue with this novel.

I understand that this book is primarily a romance novel and a lot of the romantic preludes help in tying together some loose ends in the climax. I felt that our little sex-kitten Callie is doing/getting WAY too much. I'm no prude but this girl gets luckier than Hugh Hefner. It is almost distracting where and when Dark decides to place the sex or sexual innuendos in this novel. Don't get me wrong, the sexy scenes are vivid and all too well described. I just didn't think there would be so many. I thought once she banished her incubus Liam, she wouldn't have so many... um... hookups.

In conclusion, this novel leaves us with a great cliffhanger and I can't wait to continue this journey with The Hallowed Door. I must advise that anyone reading this novel before reading The Demon Lover should stop. I can appreciate The Water Witch so much more because I get to see the growth in strength and resolve in our heroine Callie.  The Water Witch is a must-read for lovers of paranormal romance and fantasy enthusiasts. Dark/Goodman is extremely gifted and I can say I am a fan. ****

The Water Witch Runs Deeps

I expected that at 60% in this book, I would be singing it's praise to the high heavens given the high standard The Demon Lover set for its successor. I mean, c'mon... The Demon Lover was atmospheric, enticingly vivid, picturesque, absolutely engaging, and all the things that set standards for fantasy/romance books that will follow. The Water Witch is just as well-written and even more fast-paced. It goes even deeper into conflicts between the Grove and Fairwick. I love all that the pulling of either way Callie could go in her alliance. My only main drawback for this novel is its ever-present eroticism.

The Demon Lover had it's fair share of beautifully written erotic prose encased in a surreal gothic feel. This novel on the other hand tends to overdo it. We understand that Callie is falling in love with the incubus Liam but does she really need to dream about the sex-life they could be having moments after they've already engaged in intercourse in Faerie? I don't know and maybe I'm being nit-picky but I really feel that her magic training is more interesting than her lovelife. I'm interested in finding out where the second half of this enchanting novel will lead because it remains well-written, atmospheric, and engrossing. I can't wait to findout what side Callie takes and how it will all unfold.

The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

I just finished The Demon Lover and as I promised, I'm jumping right into The Water Witch. Hopefully this begins where the last book left off. Callie, although a little too trusting at times for my liking, is a great heroine. Dark/Goodman really has developed her well. This enchanted town is interesting as well and I can't wait to find out who wins in whatever battles are coming.

Synopsis:  After casting out a dark spirit, Callie McFay, a professor of gothic literature, has at last restored a semblance of calm to her rambling Victorian house. But in the nearby thicket of the Honeysuckle Forest, and in the currents of the rushing Undine River, more trouble is stirring. . . .


The enchanted town of Fairwick’s dazzling mix of mythical creatures has come under siege from the Grove: a sinister group of witches determined to banish the fey back to their ancestral land. With factions turning on one another, all are cruelly forced to take sides. Callie’s grandmother, a prominent Grove member, demands her granddaughter’s compliance, but half-witch/half-fey Callie can hardly betray her friends and colleagues at the college.

To stave off disaster, Callie enlists Duncan Laird, an alluring seductive academic who cultivates her vast magical potential, but to what end? Deeply conflicted, Callie struggles to save her beloved Fairwick, dangerously pushing her extraordinary powers to the limit—risking all, even the needs of her own passionate heart.

Review of Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

I must admit when I first saw the cover of The Demon Lover, I was completely under the impression that it was just another poorly written YA take on the Twighlight series. I am pleased to say I was very wrong and I guess that's why they say never judge a book by it's cover.  Judging a book by it's cover may keep me from reading a gem of a novel and getting the opportunity to open the doors to a genre of literature I've never really delved in before.

The overview of this novel is that Callie Mcfay is a young author who comes to Fairwick with the intent of landing a job as a professor of folklore and gothic literature. Fairwick is a small town that harbors secrets that Callie is unaware of until she is confronted by the incubus that appears in what she thinks are extremely vivid dreams. Suffice it to say, her incubus is not a member of the band I love that sings one of my favorite songs "Dig". Callie's incubus wants to be freed from the borderlands and the only way he can do this is by draining the life from her. Clearly if someone drains your life away you'd end up pretty dead. This is not good.

What I love most about this novel is that it is superbly written. It is vividly atmospheric and believeable. Although purely fantastical, Dark/Goodman has made me want to believe in fairies, demons, gnomes, vampires, ganconers, and everything else folklore. An even stronger testament to the writing style of this novel is that I want to believe there are sleepy towns, secret societies, magical professionals, and even an IMPIA- Institute of Magical Professionals Internal Affairs department.

Back to our leading lady Callie, the novel is written from her point of view but it does not hinder in any way the character development. Although Callie's meets more people and getting to know them in Fairwick, the reader is grows to care about them as she does. Callie is a well developed heroine, although she makes bad decisions at times, there needs to be conflicts. Of course the conflict comes in her budding romance(um...sex) life. But it's no surprise since the dawn of time and in the earliest written books, love and romance come hand in hand with sacrifice.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this novel and found that I will never judge a book by its cover. I've become acquainted with folklore on a level I never have before and am open to reading more novels of this nature. I only fear I wouldn't know where to start. This novel is a great mixture of romance, fantasy, mystery, paranormal, and magic. I look forward to reading the next book in the Fairwick chronicles. Callie is developing into a heroine I can really root for once she fully realizes her potential. ****

Progress on The Demon Lover

I regret to say I haven't finished reading The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark/Carol Goodman. I planned on doing absolutely nothing this weekend and that's exactly what I did. I will finish the novel by the end of today and the review will come shortly. Just a recap of my thoughts so far are that I am enjoying this book. It has a very mystical and surreal quality. The vivd imagery and characters really brings this story to life. Each page gives the feeling of actually being in the small town of Fairwick complete with mythical creatures and folklore. I look forward to continuing this journey with Callie McFay and the rest of the demons, witches, and fairies.

The Demon I Love

The Demon Lover so far, is a great literary gem full of mysticism, superb imagery, and magic. At 50%, the fantasy is so hard to tear away from. Carol Goodman has managed to make something worth reading out of a genre full of Twilight and other young adult books that pollute it's atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, the narrator Callie McFay is so descriptive that I feel like I am seeing all that she sees with my own eyes. Goodman draws the picture for the reader and entices us to see exactly what she wants us to see. Small details such as a house's wainscotting color or large details such as the shadow of the incubi are not left out. I hope this novel remains this good and doesn't veer away into the why did  I waste my time category. As I said in an earlier post, I will be reading The Water Witch next which directly follows The Demon Lover.

Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

I begin my day by announcing that I'm reading Demon Lover by Juliet Dark/Carol Goodman. Juliet Dark is Carol Goodman's pen name. Fancy schmancy... J/K. Actually this novel has gotten rave reviews from a lot of my friends on Goodreads.com.  I really value the opinion of my Goodreads friends, even if they differ from my own. The exchange of ideas is what makes reading fun and exciting. Reading is a different experience for all who enjoy it and engulf themselves in the fictional (nonfictional) world. This novel seems to cover a host of genre's  such as paranormal, romance, and fantasy. If that proves true this read will not be my normal suspense/thriller set. I look forward to this being a great novel. Once I am done with The Demon Lover, I will begin next week with The Water Witch which is next in the Fairwick series.

Synopsis: Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.


But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.