cover image Succubus on Top

Succubus on Top

Richelle Mead, . . Kensington, $15 (340pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-1642-7

When a demon succubus falls for a mortal man, their relationship faces some sticky sweet obstacles in Mead's follow-up to her steamy 2006 paranormal debut, Succubus Blues . By day, shape-shifting beauty Letha, aka Georgina Kincaid, works at a Seattle bookstore; by night, in flagrante, she sucks the life energies of mortals. Her besotted bestselling writer boyfriend, Seth Mortenson, has agreed to a no-sex arrangement, and the “will they or won't they?” plot line grows tedious, as does Letha's character as the succubus with a heart of gold. Luckily, Mead provides cool side action when Letha's incubus pal, Bastien, enlists her help in taking down rabidly conservative radio host Dana Dailey. And bookstore co-worker Doug Sato finds his brushes with the demonic have some very pleasant side effects. It's hard to suspend disbelief, but this urban sextacular is a hoot. (Jan.)