Dark Needs at Nights Edge by Kresley Cole

Straight in chapter 1, the heroine is poignantly murdered by an obsessive admirer. And becomes a ghost fated to haunt her former home forever. So what does she do? She shows all the signs of falling in love with the hero, who gives out all the signs of being a violent total nutcase. Talk about repeating relationship cycles!

Whatever. This is an excellent story of two doomed lovers basically. There is a great build-up to a tragic climax. And inbetween, the author's usual trademark frivolous diversions into shopping and entertainment. In one scene the heroine eats the most enormous amount of food imaginable. Another author trademark is that she is surprisingly good at depicting the horror of violent deeds. Her Immortals should get some guns though. They do just as much damage as swords.

I actually cried when the heroine, Neomie, gets killed for the second time. Even though I fully knew that somehow there would definitely be a HEA.

I thought the first in the series was just too lightweight but this book has much tighter plotting and proper characterisation.

As urban mythology Immortals After Dark is now absolutely miles better than either BDB and the Night Breed series, both of which relentlessly continue their sad downward slide towards boring mediocrity.

Anyway. Very enjoyable. But alas. Also instantly forgettable. Which is the big drawback with many urban fantasies. That's why I usually avoid them. The novel is also completely formulaic in that many of the peripheral characters are either leads from previous books in the series or being set up to be the hero in future entries to the cannon. Blatantly mercenary. Still. Needs must.

Nauti Boy by Lora Leigh

This is the novel that put me off reading romances for months....basically it's vile and stupid but like all this author's books it has some nice ideas around the beginning of the story.

Like. None of the young people in the book have to worry about getting a job. And that's it for me.

So. Let's discuss the vileness.

The main couple are step-brother and sister. Though not blood related. How does that make their relationship acceptable?? They grew up together. Even worse. Much later in the book, the hero's father wishes he'd married the heroine's mother much earlier in his life because then the heroine and hero would really be bro and sis. And it would seem the Dad was involved in a 3some with the heroine's mom and her first, now deceased, hubby. So, I think, the poor heroine really never had a chance to have a normal (safe) relationship.

Ok. The heroine has a violent anonymous stalker who has unsuccessfully attacked her in the past. And she has never done it before anyway. Why on earth would she attracted to the idea of a 3some with her beau and his 2 friends?? That was just a complete nonsense. So common of so much erotica.

Now the stupidity. Very standard for a lot of recent romances. Much is written about that the hero and his budds are highly capable marines who go all out to protect the heroine from her killer stalker. So how come the one bad guy who is actually a no-account weed manages to outsmart the 3 nautis consistently throughout the book?

I have to say I did read this novel from beginning to end. I did not find it boring. It was probably the character of Kelly that kept me involved. I think she's attracted to taking safe risks. But she makes the correct decision in the end. Or rather. Any perversions the hero wants her to get involved in will occur in other later books.