Beyond the Pale (The Darkwing Chronicles, Book 1) (Bk. 1) (ISBN 0451215648)

Disappointing:
I had high hopes for this novel as I am somewhat of a paranormal romance addict. There were just to many problems with this book I hardly know where to start. First of all it took almost 60 pages before the main character and her `love interest' meet. Not to mention that the male lead is not likeable in the least. The author seems to have delusions of Anne Rice grandiosity, even mentioning some of Anne's characters (Lestat and Louis) as potentially existing alongside her characters. This novel puts me in the mind of a failed science fiction novel. The intimate scenes seem like they were stuck in after word as an afterthought, to find a market for a boring, bland and uninteresting story. The dialog was awful at best, the so called `romance' barely exists and anyone who reads romance novels on a regular basis is going to be very disappointed in how this book ends. The worst part is that it's almost like they took a longer novel and arbitrarily chopped it into sections to to be able to sell it in multiple books (i.e. you would have to buy the entire series to see how it ends). My next stop with this book is the used book store, were I plan on trading it in for a book that is worth reading. If you are looking for a great paranormal romance writer look for Kresley Cole, Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, or Angela Knight as they are not the disappointment this book was.

vampire spies:
Beyond the Pale is marketed as paranormal romance, though the romance isn't the main point. Instead, it's about vampire spies. It has humor, angst, quirky family members, serious spy suspense, and a hint of a love triangle. I should have loved this, but it was just a little too uneven. Hopefully in the next book, it'll fit together better.

Luke warm:
This is a thriller, conspiracy theory, black-ops type of book. Daphne is recruited into a top secret FBI type of agency known as Darkwing. What make this book a little different from other vampire books is that the female lead character (Daphne) actual feels the downside of immortality. She feels sadden from the loss of friends and lovers she has had in the past. When she has a chance to either "turn" or watch one more loved one pass away, she intervenes. This decision creates a conflict that is not solved in this book. I really didn't start liking this book until the characters J and Darius where introduced. Darius is sexy and mysterious and J (Daphne's boss) is intriguing and you can't help but wonder if something might eventually develop between him and Daphne in future books. But I'm still rooting for Darius. For me, the book was slow placed. Even though I am not very enthusiastic with this book, I will give the second book a try because some of the subplots and storylines seem promising.

I Love this Series, It is great Fun:
I found this series and read the books one right after the other and found them to be great fun and just delightful. Sure it is fantasy, vampire spies, but that was half the fun. Some of the theme of the book was also very serious as well. Starting out in book one, Daphne is a vampire and the governement gives her a choice to spy for them or to be terminated. Daphne can speak 13 languages, has a genius IQ and has been living for nearly 500 years. On her first mission she teams up with two other vampires and she has to get close to a shady arms dealer. However someone is tracking her and he is a spy, but he is also a vampire hunter, he doesn't know that Daphne is a vampire. The vampires in this series turn into giant beautiful bats with wings but keep their human faces. Lots of romance in this first book as Daphne falls in love with the vampire slayer Darius. A very busy ending for this book and I loved it. I moved right on to the second book in the series Past Redemption

Beyond the Pale:
Beyond the Pale was not what I anticipated however it was an exciting and good read.