The Entity Within

May 13, 2013
Zoe Adams and her grandmother Irma are both witches. Shunned by their Boston coven, they take refuge in Chicago’s “Vamptown” (introduced in Sleeping with the Entity), a sort of vampire gated community with cameras in every house and a funeral home that’s a convenient source of blood. Damon Thornheart, a vampire who hunts demons, was once betrayed by a witch and now hates them all, which gives him and Zoe plenty of chances to glower and gripe when they’re not lusting after each other or making out. When Irma accidentally opens the Book of Darkness, demons are loosed on Vamptown, and Damon has his hands full. Attempts at topical humor, such as Googling spells or demons singing The Phantom of the Opera in the tunnels under Vamptown, can’t save this paranormal from a morass of clichés and clumsy prose. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

June 15, 2013

In Sleeping with the Entity, the last thing bar-and-grill owner and head of his local vamp clan Nick St. George wants is a new business attracting humans--and attention--to his carefully protected, under-the-radar Chicago neighborhood. Baker extraordinaire and the daughter of the local mortician Daniella Delaney decides to open Heavenly Cupcakes under Nick's very nose and is totally unaffected by his never-fail mental attempts to persuade her to leave. Soon Nick realizes the tempting Daniella is more than she seems--and trouble just waiting to happen. Vamp clan rivalry adds a street-gang edge, and the profusion of cleverly named cupcakes (e.g., blood red velvet) injects a sweet, whimsical touch to this inventive romp that brilliantly combines the current appeal of vampires, cupcakes, and tight-knit communities. A complex, quirky, magical world readers will want to revisit.

Expelled from their Boston coven when her grandmother Irma creates a riot by exposing a popular motivational speaker as a charlatan, librarian-turned-soap-maker Zoe Adams and Irma head to Chicago at the invitation of Irma's old friend Nick St. George. Unfortunately, witches, even gorgeous ones like Zoe, aren't welcomed by everyone in Vamptown in The Entity Within, especially not by the suspicious but sexy security chief demon hunter Damon Thornheart. Zoe just wants peace and quiet, not trouble--and then Irma accidentally unleashes a hoard of vengeful demons. Left with the mess, Zoe must now deal with a vindictive demon as well as a furious and conflicted Damon. Witches and demons add dimension to Devon's fanciful paranormal world. VERDICT Devon's delicious new takes on the popular vampire theme are delectable. An award-winning author who also writes contemporary romance under another name, Devon lives near Chicago.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Witches and vampires are like oil and water. If Damon Thornheart needs any further proof of that axiom, he can simply point to Zoe Adams and her grandmother, Irma. The two witches had been in Chicago's Vamptown less than 24 hours when Irma inadvertently released a quartet of demons from an old spell book. As Vamptown's head of security and resident demon hunter, Damon immediately sets about tracking down the demons. Getting rid of these denizens of hell would be, however, a whole lot easier if Damon wasn't constantly being distracted by the surprisingly sexy Zoe. In the second entry, after Sleeping with the Entity (2013), in her new paranormal series, Devon (pseudonym of Cathie Linz) lightens up the traditionally dark vampire romance with zingy humor, quirky characters, and plenty of potent sexual chemistry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)