Last Kiss Goodnight

November 26, 2012
Confusing world-building mars the launch of bestseller Showalter’s Otherworld Assassins series, in which a bewildering variety of aliens have taken refuge on Earth. Deaf, kindhearted Vika Lukas tries to protect the otherworlders captured by her father, Jecis, who runs a nightmarish zoo. When Solomon Judah, an Allorian employed by a shadowy government agency, is kidnapped, Vika cares for him as she does the other victims of Jecis’s cruel ambitions. Torn between two other-dimensional entities—one that seeks to protect him, one that urges him to embrace his innate violence—Solo first vows to kill Vika once he escapes, but she refuses to be intimidated by his brutish nature or Jecis’s sadism, and Solo begins to fall in love with her. Readers who enjoy a Beauty and the Beast tale with a truly despicable villain may appreciate this story, but they will need to get through the florid prose and some overlong scenes of brutality. Agent: Deidre Knight, the Knight Agency.

November 15, 2012
When otherworlder Solomon Judah wakes up as a main attraction in an evil circus, his first thought is to escape and kill everyone involved in running the place. That is, until he meets Vika, the owner's daughter. She should be his enemy, but somehow every instinct tells him she's his soul mate--and salvation. An attack on a secret Black Ops unit renders agent Solo Judah incarcerated in a dark menagerie run by Jecis, an adherent to the black arts. Jecis has no regard for human or otherworldly life, and he rules his circus with a ruthless iron fist. As the primary caretaker for the interplanetary captives, Jecis' daughter Vika wants nothing more than to release her charges safely and disappear herself, but the reach and savagery of her father's power is insurmountable. When she tried once before, her father killed the escapees and beat her until she was deaf. She's not sure why she's drawn to newcomer Solo, but the more she watches and interacts with him, the tighter their bond becomes--until Jecis decides to use it against them. For once, his brutishness misfires. He's underestimated Solo's strength and Vika's fierceness and the overarching spiritual principle that good always conquers evil in the end. The launch of Otherworld Assassins, a new paranormal romance series from author Showalter, this book is a roller-coaster ride of a story, with plot twists aplenty and character arcs that draw you in with visceral force. The fervency of the romance is a little sudden, and the brutality can be hard to traverse, but Showalter is a strong storyteller and a convincing writer who uses conflict to great effect. A slightly overhanded "good vs. evil" spiritual message--complete with biblical phrases introducing each chapter--might be a little off-putting to some, but ultimately, it doesn't negatively impact the overall success of the book, and for readers with a similar mindset, it is an interesting fusion of paranormal concepts and metaphysical tenets. A fast-paced, intense paranormal romance that offers original, dynamic characters, vivid, compelling worldbuilding and a powerful "love prevails" narrative.

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January 1, 2013
One minute Solomon is wrapping up a briefing on a new assignment, and the next an explosion knocks him unconscious. He wakes to find himself a prisoner in a circus sideshow along with others born on other planets or their earthborn offspring. Vika is the owner's daughter, the head keeper, and the most breathtaking woman Solomon has ever seen. He thinks her kindness toward the captives is just an act, but he grows to learn her compassion runs to her core. Her father, however, is the real deal when it comes to being a psychopath. It will take all of Solomon's strength and heart to get them out alive. Showalter kicks off her new Otherworld Assassin series, addressing her signature themes: inner darkness, inner light, and the battles between good and evil waged both between people and within individuals' souls. Solomon and Vika are almost more allegorical tropes than flesh-and-blood characters, and they may not grab the imaginations of readers new to Showalter. But her fans will be eager to follow her into new adventures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)