Ratings Overall: 9 Sensuality: 9 Paranormal Element: 9

This is an Official Review by a contemporary Romance Writer Official Reviewer

Review for Demon Night
Author: Meljean Brook
Date of Review: 01/22/08
Reviewed by: MKanbi

Reviewer Comments: Every new day is one more that bartender Charlie Newcomb has survived. But that survival is put into perilous danger one night as she is hunted by people with…fangs? Vampires, she knows they were, even though the thought is hard to wrap around her mind. But to her rescue comes a man with a familiar voice who in his wake leaves behind a lone white feather. That man is Ethan McCabe, Charlie’s next door neighbor, but more importantly her protector, The Guardian sent to keep Charlie safe. For Ethan knows that the vampires who came after Charlie are really after her sister Jane, a scientist currently working on a revolution that will help their race, and will use Charlie to get what they want. And even though Ethan’s objective is clear, he cannot help but begin to feel more for Charlie as the two of them race against the clock before the demon night arrives.

“Demon Night” is Meljean Brook’s continuation of her popular The Guardians series. In a world where demons, angels, and vampires exist among the human race, we find these otherworldly beings locked in the age old fight of good against evil. Yet in Brook’s world, it is not so clear who is on which side. Early on, we learn Charlie was traumatized as a child and because of that trauma, I find her insistence on moving forward, even after this whole new world has been revealed to her, much more a courageous feat as it would be easy for someone to shut down when faced with the challenges that she has been thrown in her life and even the challenges she faces in this novel (which I won’t give away, but you will understand once having read it for yourself). Yet with the very sexy Ethan

I found this novel to be great on many levels. The paranormal world created by Brook is vastly different from others I have read before in that we find characters like demons and angels, though fighting on different sides, becoming attracted to one another. There is also a level of danger which adds in an on the edge of your seat aspect to the story, pulling you in from start to the last page. In “Demon Night” the chemistry between Charlie and Ethan sizzles even before the two meet face to face, as they begin a friendship through the wall that separates their outdoor balconies. As the novel progresses, the reasons for them not becoming involved become more defined, but neither one of them can deny their attraction to the other, which provides for another struggle in the book. Darkly sensual is the best way to describe the pairing between these two as their passion is hot, hot, hot! So in the end, the reader gets a story that is rich in paranormal content as well as off the charts with its character chemistry.

Going into reading this novel, I was not sure that I would be able to keep up as I had no experience with this wonderfully complex new world that Meljean Brook has created. But I found “Demon Night” did a good job as a standalone novel in providing enough background to carry the reader throughout the book, though I will definitely be going back to read the beginning of the series. Both Charlie and Ethan are not characters I will soon forget as they truly had some obstacles to overcome before they could have their Happily Ever After. If you enjoy novels that are both dark and sexy, then you will definitely want to pick up your own copy of Meljean Brook’s “Demon Night” when it hits the store shelves!