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John the
Deliverer is set in small-town River Bend, Ohio. Nothing unusual ever
happens
in River Bend; it's staid, upstanding citizens would never allow it.
Madison
Woods is a homegrown neon girl determined to fit into this pastel
society. She
had once been considered a rebel, dated all the wrong boys. A heartless
comment
from her teacher in high school stating that she would never amount to
anything
had her leaving town determined to make or break. Now she's back,
somewhat a
local legend, as she is now a famous horror writer. Yes, vampire
fiction is
considered horror within these small parameters.
John Raven
has been sent by a vampire Clutch that is holding his brother, Eric
hostage, to
check Maddie out and determine where she has acquired all of her
knowledge of
vampires. She must be privy to privileged information. No human
imagination
could come so close to the heart of vampire tradition. Raven is
surprised at
the strong urges he has when he sees her from afar. He has to grab her
and make
her his.
How can
Raven keep Maddie safe in his arms without endangering Eric? There are
other
factors at work behind the scenes here. Raven and his brother are not
really
Clutch-less vampires as they have presented themselves. They are of the
Unkindness. Elite vampires who are sworn to destroy wild vampire
Clutches.
Maddie too feels the pull to the savagely handsome, dark stranger. He
both frightens
and arouses her. She has sworn off bad boys in an effort to fit in. Can
she
deny herself the pleasure of this ultimate bad boy, especially one who
is the
personification of the vampire lover in her novel?
It is not
explained clearly what the Unkindness is, nor if the Raven's are
vampires or
just have vampire powers. At least not early enough in the book to make
a
difference. This tugs at the back of your mind throughout the story,
the not
knowing. Other than this minor technicality, John the
Deliverer was is excellent foray into vampire
fiction. The immediate heat between Maddie and John is unexpected, but
delicious. John is the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. The fact
that Maddie
is trying so hard to fit into to her small-town life, to the extent
that she
strips her own personality bare is interesting. John's dilemma - saving
his
brother or saving a woman, who was fast becoming very important to him,
pulls
at your heartstrings. All in all this debut novel of the Raven Series
was a
satisfying read. Ms. Neeley took an age-old theme and made it her own.
I can
tell that John the Deliverer
is going to be one that I will read again and again.
Reviewed by Joletta Hill
for The
Road to Romance
November 29, 2004
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