Claire de Lune

By Christine Johnson
Simon Pulse

Claire de Lune, Christine Johnson’s debut novel, is a good, but not standout, addition to werewolf lit. The simple way that this twist on werewolf lore is presented will make it a quick and satisfying read to ardent werewolf lovers, though it will have a tougher time winning the hearts of others.

In Claire de Lune, Johnson introduces us to a different type of paranormal world, in which only females can be werewolves. It’s not a feminist book, per se, but the dynamic that this sets up allows Claire to grow into a strong and self-reliant girl/werewolf. Here, it’s the girl protecting the boy, not the usual other way around.

Having a girl be the strength in a relationship would be a great story, but the book never fully lives up to its potential. Outside of Claire, I found the characters difficult to get to know, most of them only fitting roles expected to appear in a paranormal romance: the tensions among the werewolf group members, the love interest’s villainous father, the head-butting mother. I never found myself fully immersed in Claire’s family dynamics, with her mother’s Type A “bad parent” personality and their rather inconsequential au pair (who’s more a red herring than a useful character). All of Matthew’s father’s supposedly malevolent machinations and campaign against werewolves remained in the distant background and never fully took on immediacy.

I guess I’m just extra cynical when it comes to paranormal romances nowadays: it’s going to take a lot to make something stand out for me. Claire de Lune never reaches that point, but I have no doubt that it will find its audience as scores of werewolf lovers prowl the shelves for something equally supernatural and romantic after watching Twilight for the twenty-eighth time.

Review by Steph Su Reads

Forbidden Passion

By Rita Herron
Forever

Forbidden Passion is a paranormal romance centered around the relationship of Dr. Marlena Bender and Sheriff Dante Valtrez. Set in the small Southern town of Mysteria, the book begins with Marlena returning home to confront her troubled past. Twenty years before, Marlena witnessed the gruesome deaths of her mother and sister at the hands of two men in the woods. She was saved by Dante, then a local teenager.

Haunted by the events of that day, Marlena has pursued a career as a scientist, studying the genetic reasons for violent behavior. Dante, too, is haunted by that day, but for different reasons. He knows the truth about the attack on Marlena’s family: they weren’t attacked by men at all, but by a pack of demons; a pack that Dante himself used to be a part of. Ashamed of his dark past, Dante has devoted his life to protecting the citizens of Mysteria from the demonic forces that prey on them. Despite Dante’s resolve to stay away from Marlena, the two are thrown back into each other’s lives when a serial killer begins stalking Marlena, leaving her tokens from his victims.

This is the third, and I would presume final, book in Rita Herron’s Demonborn series. It’s your typical paranormal romance: the two main characters fight their mutual attraction to each other for half the book before finally succumbing to temptation. There are a lot of demon-related killings, as well as a prophecy and a high-stakes “good versus evil” showdown. Herron keeps the action coming at a pretty fast pace, so even though Forbidden Passion isn’t revolutionary, it isn’t boring either.

The book revolves mainly around the mystery/thriller aspect of the plot, throwing in bits of sexual tension here and there. This makes it a good read for those who prefer their romance novels to be driven by story instead of sex. In the end, Forbidden Passion was able to hold my interest for the duration of the book, but it wasn’t good enough for me to want to read the other books in the series.

Review by Victoria Kroeger