"A magical world of vampires with a vengeance!"
Reviewed by Laura Brusuelas
Posted June 21, 2014
Romance Paranormal
Vampires really do have the same problems humans have in
this fun packed paranormal adventure of chaos and sorcery.
Gloria St. Clair, a centuries old vampire loves her life.
She loves her job at her vintage clothing shop, her
boyfriend, Jeremiah Campbell, who is also a centuries old
vampire. Of course, she also loves all her paranormal
friends that consist of other vampires, shape-shifters,
were-cats and werewolves. Gloria can't think of anything
she would like better than to spend all of her days in the
life she has made for herself, that is until her
boyfriend's past mistress starts to create enough chaos to
make her regret her "mediocre" life.
Gerry Bartlett shares with her readers a story of
unforgiveable trespasses and what a woman will do to make
sure that no other woman, not even one with the taboo
mystical powers of voodoo, can break the solid bond between
two lovers destined to be together. As icing to the cake,
knowing that Gloria St. Clair is a vampire just adds to the
suspense of turning page after page to find out what she
will do next but to find out that she is the daughter of
the Gods of Olympus, now that is a whole new intriguing
pocketful of adventure too!
What would you do to save the love of your life? How far
would you go? Would you interrupt the balance of life?
Would you fight off zombies? Would you risk your life in
favor of theirs? Gerry Bartlett shows us that Gloria St.
Clair knows that REAL VAMPIRES KNOW SIZE MATTERS when she
faces each arrow thrown at her to save the man she loves
before he disappears forever.
SUMMARY
In the latest novel from national bestselling author
Gerry Bartlett, curvaceous vampire Glory St. Clair has to
figure how to compete with the wiles of a witchy
woman...
Just when Glory has her life
semi–on track, a woman from her longtime lover Jeremiah
Campbell’s past steamrolls into town on a mission to win him
back. Normally Glory wouldn’t feel threatened by a mortal
with amorous intentions, but Jerry’s ex just happens to be a
beautiful voodoo priestess with evil spirits at her beck and
call—and a serious lack of conscience when it comes to
getting what she wants.
And then there’s Glory’s
family. After a lifetime of being MIA, Glory’s mom wants to
go on a mother-daughter bonding trip to Olympus, home of the
gods. And though Glory doesn’t trust her, her mother is
offering to help with her pesky voodoo-woman problem. But
with no guarantee of a return trip, can Glory dare leave
Jerry alone while she visits a place where her
less-than-perfect figure won’t be appreciated and time has
no meaning? But size and the bonds of time are the least of
her worries when love is on the line…
ExcerptWe’d been invaded.
You can do this. Suck it up. Attack. Use your powers.
Instead I leaped up on the sweater table, shaking and
screaming along with the mortals in the shop. No. Get down,
Gloriana St. Clair, and face the enemy.
Weapons, I needed weapons and I sure as hell wasn't using
my
fangs this time. I glanced around. The two women perched on
the chair next to the dressing room were no help. Their
shrieks could have broken glass. Three more women crouched
on the counter in front of the cash register. More mortals,
totally useless, though one swung an umbrella at the hoard.
Impressive compared to me.
I tossed a sweater at one. Stupid. Didn't even slow it
down.
I was a failure. A wimp. I couldn't quit shaking and
couldn't force myself to get off the table. If a god from
Olympus attacked, I’d be right in his face, toe to toe. Or
another vamp. Bring him on. But whoever had planned this had
found my weakness. I thought I heard one right there, on the
table, and moaned, horrified.
Mice! Dozens of them. Even Achilles had his heel thing.
Glory St. Clair has hers. I don’t like anything that’s
creepy or crawly. Now my reputation and the business I’d
built from nothing were in shreds along with my pride. Would
you shop where you saw mice? I’d have joined the stampede
for the door myself if there’d been time.
My clerk Lacy, a were-cat, was running around like a
starving woman at an all-you-can-eat buffet in kitty heaven.
She whipped past me with a smile on her face, making sounds
too gross to think about.
“Oh, God, there’s another one!” The brave soul on the
counter with the vintage umbrella slashed at the floor,
knocking a mouse toward the door. That got the logjam there
cleared with a chorus of screams.
I heard a smack near my feet. “Lacy, what the hell are
you
doing?” I gagged and realized I was going to have to whammy
every mortal in the place.
“Glory, relax. I’ve got this under control.” She held up
a
brown bag that rustled ominously. “There must be dozens of
them. I wonder who sent them? An early birthday present from
Mom?” She scrambled after a dark shadow that streaked across
the floor. “Naw. She knows a stunt like this could get me
fired.” She glanced at me.
“She’d be right.” I didn’t want to know what had made
that
streak on her cheek. Lacy was a natural beauty, red hair,
porcelain skin. She dressed in the vintage clothes we sold
here and looked like a model in them. Tonight the seventies
bell bottoms and tie-dyed tee were taking a beating.
“Well, not Mom. These are the pet store variety. Feeders.
For snakes, that sort of thing. Someone brought them in
here. Planted them. There goes another one.” She dove and
disappeared under a dress rack.
I heard a crash and a mannequin bit the dust. The women
who’d been balanced on the chair had made a run for the door
but were tangled up in a dress display.
“My God! My God! Get it off of me!” Loud sobs then the
sounds of my mannequin being used as a sledge hammer.
Obviously I had to suck it up or we’d have mass hysteria on
our hands.
“Ladies, please, calm down.” At least I wore boots as I
jumped in front of them, staring into first a pair of brown
eyes, then blue. I had them mesmerized in a second. “You are
fine, the store is fine. There are no mice, just a little
game we’re playing with discount coupons.” I shivered as a
mouse ran by and I kicked it toward Lacy. “Here’s a 25% off
coupon for your next visit. We’re closing for some minor
repairs. Mugs and Muffins next door has great coffee if you
want to wait. We’ll reopen in about thirty minutes.” I
snatched coupons from behind the counter then tugged them
both to the door, dodging even more mice. These things had
been planted. I had a feeling I knew who’d done it.
I got those two women out then went back for the three
hugging their knees near the register. Ignoring Lacy’s crows
of triumph as she claimed more victims, I got the last
customers whammied and out of the shop, coupons in hand.
Finally, I hopped on the counter myself and waited for Lacy
to finish.
“Whew. That was amazing. I bagged at least three dozen.”
Lacy grinned, her mouth smudged with something I didn’t want
to think about. “Whoever pulled this stunt must have cleaned
out a pet supply store.” She stapled the wiggling bag closed
then pulled out a wet wipe from the container under the
counter and cleaned off her hands and face. Lacy glanced at
me. “You okay?”
“Not really.” I sighed. “Had your dinner break?”
“Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I got a little carried away.
I
need to clean up the floor too.” She laughed. “Hey, I’m a
predator. Think how you’d act if someone came in and offered
you that negative blood type you love.”
“I get it.” I swallowed, not sure I wasn't going to hurl.
“Thanks. You saved the shop.”
“No problem. But I can sniff out a mouse a mile away.”
She
wiggled her nose. “They weren't here yesterday. I wonder
who…”
The phone rang before I could answer her. “Vintage Vamps’
Emporium, the best store on Austin’s Sixth Street.”
“Really? Is it? I heard it just closed.” The female voice
was full of satisfaction. “Mice infestation.
Disgusting.”
“Who is this?” I jumped off the counter, pretty sure I
already knew.
“Is this the owner? Gloriana St. Clair?”
“Yes. And is this the woman who thinks she can win
Jeremiah
Campbell back? Mel?”
“How did you like my little gift?” There was a throaty
chuckle. “Did you scream? Of course you did.”
I bit my lip, refusing to answer. Had she been in here?
Seen
me make a fool of myself? Damn it, if I’d known… What could
I have done differently? Dematerialized and damn the
consequences.
“Give him up, Gloriana. Or I’ll run you out of business.
Leave town and leave him to me. It’s the smart play.” The
line went dead.
I stared at the receiver, tempted to throw the cordless
across the room. “Are you kidding me?”
“What?” Lacy had a mop in her hand. “Who was it?”
“A woman Jerry used to be with.” I carefully set the
phone
back where it belonged. Killing it wouldn't help. It was the
woman I wanted to tear into pieces. “Clean up and I’ll
reopen. I’m not going to let that bitch ruin my
business.”
“It’ll take a minute.” Lacy didn’t move. “Tell me about
this
woman. Mr. Blade has an old flame? What’s going on? She sent
in the mice?” She dipped the mop into a bucket of sudsy
water that reeked of pine cleaner. “I might want to write
her a thank you note.”
“If you do, send it from the unemployment line.” I shook
my
head. There was no reason to take my bad mood out on Lacy.
“Sorry. I know you’re kidding. Jerry knew her in Miami,
thought it was ancient history. But the woman doesn’t see it
that way. You know he’s been having issues with his hotel
there, making trips to deal with them. It’s been her,
causing trouble, trying to get his attention. Now she’s
brought her game here and found out I’m the competition. She
wants Jerry back and thinks running me out of business and
out of town will do it. This was just her latest trick. I’m
surprised she didn’t use magic.” I quit breathing. I hated
that pine smell.
“If she were a mere mortal, this would be a non-starter.
Unfortunately, she’s a voodoo priestess, Lacy, with some
nasty tricks up her sleeve. Have you seen anyone in here who
looks like she might be into that stuff?”
“Voodoo? Don’t know. How do they look? Would she be
wearing
a caftan and a turban, have a scary vibe? Carry around a
bottle of Love Potion number nine?” Lacy shook her head and
began mopping. “That would be too easy, Glo.”
“You’re right. All I know is that Jerry says she’s
beautiful,” I made a face, “with dark skin, black hair and
unusual gray green eyes.”
“Bet you loved that description.” Lacy leaned against the
mop. “You know her name? I’ll watch for her credit
card.”
“Good idea. Melisandra Du Monde.” I sighed. “Of course
she’s
beautiful. I need more info on her. I’m calling Jer right
now. This mouse thing is just her latest in the war on
Glory.”
“Latest? What else has she done?”
“There have been a few accidents.” I headed over to turn
on
the ceiling fans to air the place out and dry the floors
faster. “I realize now that they were her work. Remember, I
told you that big shelf in the back room fell on me?”
“You think that was voodoo?” Lacy’s eyes widened. “Crap.
Maybe we should get out the Holy Water again.”
I smiled. “Couldn’t hurt. But that loaded shelf sure did.
It
weighed a ton and went over for no reason that I could see.
Luckily I have good reflexes and dove under the table back
there to avoid the worst of it.” I had actually broken my
arm but it had healed with a good night’s sleep and lots of
synthetic blood.
“That woman’s crazy if she thinks you’ll just give up
your
business after a few setbacks. We’ve gone through plenty
before, even been firebombed. But we reopened, better than
ever. And you and Mr. Blade have gone through a lot. Yet you
two have been together for hundreds of years.” Lacy finished
and headed back to the storeroom. “I’d better take my to-go
bag and scoot. Shift’s over. Will you be okay until the
night crew gets here?”
“Sure. I expect Megan in a little while. Please get that
bag
out of here. Are you sure all the mice are gone?” I righted
the mannequin and straightened her dress.
Lacy sniffed. “All clear. Open the doors. We’re good to go.
And be careful. If she really wants Mr. Blade back, she’ll
go for you harder next time.”
“I’d like to see her try. A mortal? Bring it on.” I
headed
for the door, surprised that most of the customers had stuck
around. But we were close to Halloween and my shop had great
vintage clothing and costumes. I flipped the lock.
“Come in, everyone. We’re having a sale. All furs, twenty
percent off.” That got a reaction, especially since we were
having a cold spell. The crowd surged inside. I couldn’t
believe I had actually laughed about the crazy woman who’d
sworn to get Jeremy Blade back as her lover. A voodoo
priestess? Okay, maybe I could buy that. Though I’d never
actually seen her, I’d smelled the evil spirits she carried
with her.
But I could deal with evil. I’d even fought Lucifer and won.
You’d think a mortal would be easy compared to him. Right?
Wrong. First, Luc and I were both fairly reasonable people.
Who knew? But the angel of darkness actually admired my
spunk. Melisandra didn’t admire anything about me. She just
wanted me gone. In her warped world view I was an annoying
speed bump on her fast track to bliss with Jerry.
Obviously she thought that once I was out of the way he
would realize she was the one for him. She’d tuned out when
he’d told her to take a hike. He had even changed his
address and name to get away from her. Mel wanted Jerry and
would do anything to get him, even if it meant chaining him
in a mausoleum somewhere until he felt the love. I shuddered
just thinking about it.
Of course picturing Jerry as a victim was ridiculous. My
guy
was strong, an ancient vampire. But I was more than a little
aggravated that he’d hooked up with a voodoo queen in the
first place. What had he been thinking? More accurately,
what had he been thinking with? Men.
Despite his faults, I loved him. And I wasn’t about to
quit
seeing Jerry. Jeremiah Campbell aka Jeremy Blade and I had
been through way too much lately for me to call a halt while
Mel moved in on him. Instead, I was going to show her just
how not scared I was after her little trick
What do you think about this review?
Comments
1 comment posted.
Re: A magical world of vampires with a vengeance!
BIG fan of Gerry Barlett and cannot wait to bite into reading
this book!
(Sharon DiPrima 6:01pm June 22, 2014)
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