cover image Twilight Dreams

Twilight Dreams

Amanda Ashley. Zebra, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4248-8

Ashley’s sequel to As Twilight Falls is a tender paranormal romance exploring love and family ties, and it’s tinged with intrigue and vengeance. After meeting in a southern California bar, grieving vampire Micah Ravenwood and vivacious, logical investment broker Holly Parrish revel in their mesmerizing attraction to each other. When Micah senses imminent danger from a revenge-seeking vampire, he whisks Holly to the ghost town of Morgan Creek, Wyo., putting their relationship in crisis: Holly’s world is turned upside down when she learns that Micah is a vampire, and she’s now the only human living with three vampires in the abandoned town. Heartfelt discussions regarding Holly’s mixed feelings about vampires (curiosity, fascination, revulsion), and Micah’s family troubles and lust for Holly, lead to a compromise that’s upended when Holly is kidnapped. The only way to save her may be to turn her. A cliff-hanger ending nicely sets up the next book. Though not quite as engaging as some of Ashley’s other work, this portrait of new love is sweet and endearing. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (Sept.)