Witch Way - MaryJanice Davidson
Salem, Massachusetts - Present Day

Rhea Goodman has just learned that she is the latest addition to a long line of witch hunters. Tradition holds that the eldest Goodman of each generation must kill the current de Mere witch. Oh, and she will be killed as well. Beginning with the original Salem witch trials, Goodmans have been trying to end the de Mere lineage. So far, they just keep turning up on time. Rhea has been training with weapons her entire life thinking that her parents, Flower and Power, were simply revolutionary hippies. She accepts her fate gracefully, but dang, she really just wanted to be a poet. When the witch shows up at their home, two years early, Rhea shoots him in the backside with a crossbow.

Chris Mere is a witch. However, he hunts demons to help save human lives, and he really thinks that the tradition of being murdered by Goodmans sucks. Deciding to reason with the Goodmans to find a way to escape tradition, Chris ends up with an arrow in his bum. To make matters worse, he writhes on the ground in pain because he can't make a rhyme to heal himself. Why does his magic have to depend on the ability to rhyme? It must be a cosmic joke. His second trip to the Goodmans doesn't end up any better, and to top it off, his would-be murderer is a poet and the most beautiful woman he has ever set eyes on.

Witch Way has vibrant characters, verbal (and physical) sparring, and wonderful humor to drive this story of tradition run amuck.

Street Corners and Halos - Catherine Spangler
Dallas, Texas - Present Day

Rachel Stryker is a prostitute and a vampire. Of course, she uses a mind glamour to make the men who pay her believe that she has fulfilled their greatest fantasy rather than perform the physical act. It pays the bills and provides her with the necessary blood to survive, and that is all that Rachel wants or needs. Having survived the Dachau concentration camp by being raped repeatedly by the vampire who turned her, she fears that any emotional connection she makes will end in death. Having lost her entire family so young, Rachel is certain that she can't survive any more pain. She chooses to simply exist...alone...forever.

Gabriel Anthony is an angel on a mission. Having watched Rachel simply exist for so long, he has chosen her as his project. Gabriel wants to give her the meaningful life that she was denied by what happened in Germany. The life that God wants her to have, even if Rachel doesn't believe in Her any longer. The problem is that Rachel must choose to let him help her, and she is fighting him every step of the way. Will Gabriel be strong enough to convince her to let him try? And will Rachel be strong enough to trust in Gabriel's love, ethereal and human, to give forever a new meaning?

A tale of the destructive power of severe trauma, Street Corners and Halos also shows the strength and healing that comes from true, deep emotion. Gabriel and Rachel run the gamut from laughter to despair to love in this gently told tale woven with an undercurrent of longing.

The Demon's Angel - Emma Holly
Northland - Victorian Era

Dr. Khira Forette is a Yama geneticist. Her new project, creating a true chimera through genetic manipulation, will make -- or break -- her career. When she is given the go-ahead to proceed, Khira must choose a human from Avvar to use as her test subject. As she enters a seedy pub and finds a man standing, hat off, preening for her, she feels a rush of desire that unnerves her. As she instructs the guards with her to 'acquire' him, Khira worries that her test subject is going to be a problem that could get both of them killed. The Yama do not feel, or reward, strong emotion. Khira is determined to succeed in her experiment; therefore, she has to find a way to stop the desire he creates in her. That would have been easier to do if the guards hadn't used an aphrodisiac kicker along with another drug to subdue him.

Harry Wirth, King of the Costermongers, grew up an orphan in a workhouse. He has worked hard his entire life to build his business, earn respect, and buy a new three-story home in a comfortable neighborhood. Harry knows it is own fault that he isn't happy, that what he has isn't enough. But he has a gaping hole in his heart that even one true friend might ease. When he is kidnapped out of one his old haunts by the Yama woman and given a dose of something that makes his lust rage out of control, he isn't as upset as he should be. Harry knows the Yama don't feel emotions, but that is definitely desire he is seeing in the Yama demon's eyes. He can help her out with her project if she will just keep touching him as if he matters.

The Demon's Angel is a new addition to the author's alternate Victorian universe, the fantasy Demon series. Emotional awakening in the two unsuspecting protagonists is the highlight of this erotically charged tale.

Angel and the Hellraiser - Vickie Taylor
Las Nueces, New Mexico - Present Day

Zane Halvorson believes in living life to its fullest every second of each day. No one knows better how quickly it can shift or be taken away. When Zane finds himself sinking to the bottom of a lake during an air show stunt gone bad, he is accepting of his imminent death. He's been tempting fate with every chance he gets, so why does it make him so angry to find an angel in the lake with him ready to take his soul to heaven? As he shouts at her that he doesn’t want to be saved, Zane finds himself jetting toward the surface and life. And if he is given another chance at life, he is not going to change one thing about it. Zane likes pushing the boundaries and letting children, especially, know that anything is possible.

She is an angel sent by God to collect the soul of the crazy stuntman. When Zane rejects her and his death, she is immediately forced into human form and becomes Rosemary D'Amica, a photographer for the Las Nueces Times. Rosemary knows that she can be forced into human form at any time, but she avoids it whenever possible. Rosie can't stand the light, noise, and sensations that surround humans. Why would anyone fight against the chance to leave this life? Since she is compelled to save Zane's life, Rosie must figure out what her mission is now. She tries to get him to stop taking risks, but he is adamant that he will not change. In fact, Zane is showing her that living life at full speed can be exhilarating.

Angel and the Hellraiser is tale that reminds us of the importance of empathy and acceptance. A sweet tale of opposites attract and match.

DEMON'S DELIGHT is filled with the yin and yang of preconception versus reality. These paranormal tales are spun out of prejudices, both personal and external, and then woven into acceptance and understanding that leads to love. The stories are four very different styles including humorous, tragic, and sci-fi. They also encompass varying degrees of romance ranging from gentle passion, Angel and the Hellraiser; to steamy romance, Street Corners and Halos and Witch Way; to the erotic, The Demon's Angel. The short story form works fine here by keeping the focus on the main characters, creating well-developed protagonists with honest motivations. For those who enjoy the gray area of what defines goodness or badness, DEMON'S DELIGHT definitely delivers.

Jennell