Book Review: The Demon Lover (Fairwick Chronicles #1) by Juliet Dark aka Carol Goodman

The Demon Lover is different than what I usually read. There was something about the cover that fascinated me, totally pulled me in. I had to read it. It looked Gothic and mysterious. Here's an excerpt and description...

I gasped . . . or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn't draw breath. . . . His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked in my breath and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie's lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature - which is why she finds herself at Fairwick's renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover - an incubus - and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He's not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult - banishing this demon lover from her heart.
 
Now, while there are erotic elements, they're sparse and tastefully done. The language is rather poetic and literary in it's sensibility. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It really takes the reader to another place, another world. The author excels at world building. The reader is encompassed in this magical, mysterious and sometimes, scary place. The demon lover/incubus was scary, sexy, pitiful, sad...all the above. There were a number of supernatural creatures embedded in the story. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but I'm looking forward to the sequel to find out what happens to this rather creepy, but spicy love affair. I don't think the demon lover is going to go away without a fight. There's a character I suspect is going to give him competition, but I may be wrong. I can't wait to find out!

The Demon Lover releases December 27, 2012 by Ballentine Books

Toodles!