Twilight Dreams

July 4, 2016
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.

July 1, 2016
Holly mistakes a vampire for a business associate and ends up on the run for her life.When Holly Parrish approaches Micah Ravenwood as a potential client in a bar, there's an instant attraction between the two. But a chance encounter causes Micah to flee from an older vampire, taking Holly with him for her safety. Micah, determined after a great loss never again to fall in love with a mortal woman, can't help his strong attachment to Holly, and Holly is having a difficult time resisting hers to him as well, even after being thrust into a world of blood, death, and telepathy. Author Ashley (Night's Surrender, 2015, etc.) is no stranger to paranormal romance, and this sequel to a years-old story follows the formula a bit too closely. There are some references to other popular vampire stories that might be tongue in cheek or might be earnest, and it's hard to tell which. Uneven character development provides yet another disappointment; while Micah's personality and motivation are relatively well-developed, Holly--while by no means flat--is so comparatively lacking that any cute blonde could have taken her place. She's nothing new or original. With the assistance of a supporting cast of intriguing characters (and some setup for a future novel in the series), Holly and Micah experience a cute but run-of-the-mill vampire romance.An afternoon's worth of readable, predictable entertainment.

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