I love novellas. It’s all I’ve had time for lately, and I have great respect for them. Being someone that can’t possibly keep something brief, I really admire a writer who can develop plausible characters and an engaging story within a small amount of space.
I came across Zoe Winter’s work while looking for something brief and entertaining to read. I wanted something light and easy to digest. I’m an avid reader of elaborate prose, but lately I haven’t had the patience for it.
The title and the cover were what drew me in (I love felines), and the fact that it was labeled as a Paranormal Romance.
Therians have never been my thing. I lean more towards vampires, witches and ghosts. I know if it had been about werewolves, I wouldn’t have even given it a shot (and would have surely regretted it, given the third installment— Mated— focuses on werewolves, and it was one I really enjoyed).
“For centuries cat therians have sought shelter with magic users, giving rise to tales of the cat as the witch’s familiar.”
That was the phrase that drew me in.
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Zoe Winter’s ‘Blood Lust’ Anthology is made up of three novellas that feed off of each other and its cast of characters. The anthology is our introduction into the world of the Preternaturals, and it’s the first book in the Preternatural’s series.
The first installment is Kept, followed by Claimed, which overlaps with the final scenes of Kept, and finally, Mated, which takes place after the events in Claimed. Though one could read them out of order, there is wisdom in reading them in order for things to make better sense.
Kept
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As a cat therian (shifter), Greta’s blood is already sought-after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. For centuries cat therians have sought shelter with magic users, giving rise to tales of the cat as the witch’s familiar. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer who is the only person strong enough to protect her.
Claimed
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For a vampire, Anthony isn’t a picky eater, but he’s drawn to Charlee’s bloodmore than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he’s denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he’s made.
Mated
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Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being “kindred.” She’s forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she’s abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.
* * *
I’m not going to give a play by play of what each novella was about. One can find play-by-plays in any Amazon review. My interest lies on the literary quality and my overall impression of the writer’s story-telling as a debuting independent author in the Paranormal Romance genre.
Winter’s writing is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. She has a very solid and confident command of her writing. Her voice is very distinct and authoritative. Her style is ‘to the point’ and minimalistic. It’s assertive, sassy, snarky, and humorous, incorporating just the right amount of irony and sarcasm without it being irksome.
There’s a sensual quality to her writing; always an unobtrusive hum of eroticism that permeates actions and descriptions, rising and falling at the appropriate moments, that truly reflect the alluring nature of her preternatural characters.
Her scenes are short and blunt, as are the transitions, which coupled with the style of her writing makes her novellas easy and fast to read. There is no wasted time on elaborate description. She delivers enough information to give the reader an idea, then lets him fill in the blanks.
The Blood Lust anthology is one big tease of more to come. Hints and allusions to more complex supernatural elements give the impression that what we’re being shown is only the tip of the iceberg.
The writing is so imposing, the reader can’t help but submit to it— right off the bat it presents the idea of a parallel preternatural world, and the reader can’t object or second-guess.
The story-telling grips the reader almost immediately and keeps the spell going through all those rich little details that promise a well-thought out and more complex cosmology. It doesn’t bother to ask the reader to suspend his sense of disbelief, he’s forced to bottom to it regardless until the turn of the last page.
All three novellas are romance-oriented, but they bring along with them the thrills of action, mystery and suspense. The coupling scenes are subtle, tastefully written, and teases in themselves.
The complex power dynamics were something I found very thrilling. Winters focuses on Type A characters for her heroines and heroes, yet those levels of dominance and assertiveness vary from dynamic to dynamic.
It’s a power play for every couple. The women are put in positions of vulnerability yet they seem awkward in those roles, because they simply don’t fit them. There’s a pattern of male dominance and female submission, yet the word ‘submission’ is inappropriate to use in that context— the females are very strong, they simply prefer the male to take charge.
The men vary in their levels of detachment (Anthony is cold, while Cole is warm and gentle) but the bottom line is that despite all their macho act, they have a soft spot for the women they love. Winter’s men are ‘real’ men, as the phrase goes, in the sense that they never force themselves onto the women. There’s always a power struggle, but the men never win by force. They earn the more dominant role in the dynamic by working for it.
The pattern that could sum up each novella would be: Girl is put in a vulnerable situation, has to resort to the main guy for help, they’re both reluctant, both begin to develop feelings for each other, but due to the brief amount of time they’ve been involved with each other they continue to battle it. There’s a misunderstanding or something leads the girl to be put in an even more vulnerable position that results in her needing to be rescued. The two main characters resolve their difference, and they get together.
The curious thing about it, is the way it’s carried out. Winters has a knack for action and suspense. You’ll already predict the ending, yet her use of suspense will keep you unsure and turning every single page until you’ve made sure. She makes it so that it’s not even about the main characters getting together, but rather about how they get there, and she always makes it exciting and interesting.
I can’t decide which novella was my favorite, but I know I became very fond of two characters. The main males in Claimed and Mated.
Winters makes a social commentary with each character and each story. Anthony, the morally ambiguous main character in Claimed, along with the realm of the vampires has a lot of potential for it, and that’s perhaps, the reason why I grew to like him so much.
Here we have a vampire with no qualms about being what he is. The sardonic embodiment of the brooding vegetarian vampire in Greggory, one of the vampires in Claimed made Winter’s stance of vampirism very clear— she has no pity for the self-hating, submissive sort. Her vampires are bad, they’re unapologetic about it, yet somehow we like them.
As for what I got out of reading these three novellas, that would be my newfound respect for therians and werewolves. Despite leaning more towards the vampires, Cole Riley, the hero from Mated grew on me.
Here we have a budding independent author building a name for herself. If Blood Lust is to serve as any reference, one can be sure the rest of her work will be of even greater quality.
I look forward to it.
Wow. This is quite possibly one of the best reviews I’ve ever gotten. What is so great about it for me is that I know from what you’re saying that you’re getting “exactly” what I’ve hoped readers pick up on.
You’re commenting on the dom/sub subtext that doesn’t go into “overt kink.” And it doesn’t because I think that would alienate a large portion of readers who aren’t into the overt kink. But I’m glad that for some readers the subtext I’m writing is coming through.
And especially appreciated is your mention of the overall sensuality. Some have complained that the sex isn’t graphic, which I understand everybody has diff tastes, and that’s okay. But it makes me wonder if they’re seeing the sensuality that is supposed to be oozing through the whole thing, or they just don’t care.
I think some people want to be beaten over the head with their sex scenes, and I’ve just never liked that as a reader, so I don’t deliver it as a writer. But it’s probably one of the things I’m most self-conscious about, so it’s good to hear something positive about it from a reader.
Also thanks on the part about the description line of Kept that pulled you in. I was really hesitant about that. It was a rewrite from an earlier version and i wasn’t sure whether or not it as a good blurb.
Ugh. Typos in my post. It’s obvious I don’t have an editor on retainer following me around on the Internet while I post comments on blogs. It might be better if I did.
And especially appreciated is your mention of the overall sensuality. Some have complained that the sex isn’t graphic, which I understand everybody has diff tastes, and that’s okay. But it makes me wonder if they’re seeing the sensuality that is supposed to be oozing through the whole thing, or they just don’t care.
+1