Winterblaze

By: Kristen Callihan

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

Length: 14 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Once blissfully in love...

Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy's secrets are revealed, leaving Winston's trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do anything to win back his affections....

Their relationship is now put to the ultimate test.

Winston Lane soon regains his physical strength but his face and heart still bear the scars of the vicious attack. Drawn into the darkest depths of London, Winston must fight an evil demon that wants to take away the last hope of reconciliation with his wife. As a former police inspector, Winston has intelligence and logic on his side. But it will take the strength of Poppy's love for him to defeat the forces that threaten to tear them apart.

©2013 Kristen Callihan (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"Top Pick! 4 1/2 Stars! Like moths to a flame, readers will be drawn to the flickering Firelight and get entangled in the first of the Dark London series. Combining Stephen King's Carrie and Beauty and the Beast, Callihan crafts a taut tale filled with sexual tension. This is one of the finest debuts of the season." ( RT Book Reviews on Firelight

"Compulsively readable...a compelling Victorian paranormal with heart and soul." ( Publishers Weekly on Firelight)

Amazing Sequel!!!

Winterblaze is more than a book. It's an emotional adventure into a highly addictive paranormal world starring two well-crafted characters who command every scene, complete with a stellar supporting cast who leave a mark of their own.

The Narrater Moira Quirk gives life to the story with her wonderful seductive voice.

The novel and the narrator left me wanting more of the Darkest London stories, and that’s how I want every book I read to end.

Marriage, Secrets and Demons

The oldest Ellis sister, Poppy, and her husband of 15 years, Win, have been estranged as a result of the secrets each is keeping from the other, but also due to the guilt they feel as a result of the choices they each made in the past. One of them has sold their soul to a demon so they could be together, but now it's time to pay up. Ms. Callahan writes the interaction between these characters so well that it feels like a real marriage. These are two very strong and stubborn individuals who are deeply in love with each other, but who have no illusions about the obstacles they'll have to overcome in order to have a future together.

For me, this was an unusual book for the PR genre, mainly because we very rarely see the story of an established married couple struggling in their marriage within a supernatural context. I thought it was very well done. Moira Quirk was good, as usual, and this book is one I will listen to it again.

All three books in this series fit together beautifully, but if I have one complaint it's that the three sisters don't come together to help each other when one of them gets in trouble. The author stays within the industry standard that each book deals with different main characters, and the previously introduced characters, however related, are only peripheral to the story. I think this standard is getting a bit tired, and this book would have benefited by having all the sisters get together to battle the baddies. (Otherwise, what's the point of their special powers?) I kept waiting for Miranda to come in and burn the place down, but nope. No love.

I don't know if there will be another book or not, but if there is another I wish it would allow all the characters to work together. This is one of those books I'd love to join a discussion group to talk about.



NOTE to PR fans: There is a great new series (Night Prowler) by J. T. Geissinger, currently available on Amazon, but not yet on Audible. Give it a look. It's pretty amazing.

These Books Keep Getting Better

Poppy and Win what a pair. The epitomy of a proper cultured Victorian couple with secret lives - and when it blows up, fireworks or should I say snowstorms. Poppy won't let anything stop her - even pregnancy. Win nearly pulls his hair out because of it. The trick to thwart the demon was inspired. It was great to see the sister's and their respective husbands come together, burying old hurts and form a support system. Book 4 is Talent's story, I hope there are more - possibly for the sister's lost brother. Moira Quirk was fantastic as usual she really brings the era to life.

5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!

The DARKEST LONDON series just gets better and better! Author Kristen Callihan is at the top of her game in WINTERBLAZE, an exciting, sensual, imaginative story that will sweep you away to a world unlike any other.

The paranormal Victorian-era world of the DARKEST LONDON expands by leaps and bounds in WINTERBLAZE, so I recommend reading the first two books in the series -- FIRELIGHT and MOONGLOW -- before reading WINTERBLAZE. There are new supernatural creatures to be discovered, paranormal politics to be played and a host of surprises that are sure to have you avidly turning the pages of WINTERBLAZE. Again, I'm afraid I'll have to be vague to avoid giving away any of the fantastic twists and turns in WINTERBLAZE. Suffice it to say that you will NOT want to miss this book.

WINTERBLAZE is a phenomenal romance that I highly recommend. Kristen Callihan is an author to watch -- it's clear she's a master at her craft. I foresee many, many more spellbinding stories coming from her and I, for one, cannot wait to read them!
Moira Quirk was outstanding as the narrator.

Devil’s Bargain

Another solid entry. The steampunk aspect finally comes out to play here, with purple glasses that see demons, mechanical arms, and lightning guns. And yet I still yearn for better painting of this alternate Victorian London world. There’s also a steep drop in fleshing out anyone other than the main pair, or those who will become main pairs in future books.

This installment features Poppy and Winston and a second chance romance. When their marriage broke upon the reveal of her double life as a monster hunter, I was hoping for some Mr. & Mrs. Smith fireworks. After all, the author excels at pairing alpha men with equally alpha women amid battling secrets and twisted mysteries. Unfortunately, the explosion-to-emotion ratio falls heavily on the emotion side; too much brooding and not enough venting.

Mz. Callihan’s gift for upending tropes continues, with a fresh take on vampires and a secret society chock full of strong, smart women. However, for a series that passes the Bechdel test, I am disappointed that, three books in, there is still no lady-Avengers moment where all the fiery femmes assemble to kick monster-A. As much as I enjoy the romance side of these books, I really wish the author would lean further into the paranormal adventure side.

Final random observations: The nooky is more frequent, but also more traditional regency fare.
The occasional Fwords continue. At 1.5x, Moira Quirk’s narrations still amazes.

Not like book 1. I really enjoyed the first book in this series but this one was a hot mess. Disjointed story with thin plot.

Not like book 1. I really enjoyed the first book in this series but this one was a hot mess. Disjointed story with thin plot.

it was ok

i found myself dazing off and not really paying attention a few times during this book

Onward!

After barely surviving a werewolf attack and feeling betrayed by his wife's secrets, Winston takes a holiday to Paris to pull himself together. Feeling lost, he knows he must return and find out the whole truth of Poppy's other life.

While Winston and Poppy try to work things out between them, a demon is on the hunt and he's looking for Winston. It seems that Winston has secrets of his own and it's coming out in the open now. There's always a price to pay when bargaining with the devil.

I really enjoy this series. It has that HR-PNR combo that I love. Another thing that I really like is that you get a good mix of Supes, not just vamps and werewolves. And steamy sex scenes- Bonus!

I'm really looking forward to the next book and fully expect to enjoy each one in the series. Onward!

She Does It All

Any additional comments?

Poppy, running a bookstore? No....well, yes. But she also turns out to be the person that's running things in Darkest London. Very cool to see a powerful woman, in charge of a secret organization, working out problems with the husband as they take on demons! And she does it all very well. Great love story and Poppy turns out to be a kick-ass heroine when she's not selling books. Love this series!

Third in the series

Setting is 1880's England, with flashbacks to 1869.
There was a sort of prequel to this as part of the wrap up in book 2, though the cliff-hanger nature of it didn't keep me on tenterhooks. But, hey, this one was on sale!
The reason I wasn't all that excited about this book was the heroine. She was dour and just not a lovable kind of woman, at least in the first two books. The hero in the first two books was sort of a non-entity that was meant to move things along. This book fleshes them out in such a way that you get to know them better, so you'll probably like them better.
The heroine is the eldest sister of the two in the previous books. Her character was there to provide explanation and some back story. Anyway, she runs a bookstore and has been happily married to the hero for 14 years. The hero is the very serious police inspector who was involved peripherally in books 1 and 2.
I guess I should have mentioned that in the world Ms Callihan built, most people don't know about paranormals, and there is an organization on the paranormal side that endeavors to keep it that way.
At the end of book 2, our hero is shocked to find out that his wife has paranormal powers, and that she is involved in that secret paranormal organization, so he leaves her.
The plot in this book revolves around how our heroine and hero deal with the change in their relationship, and the demon who is coming for the hero's soul. How does he get out of that contract he signed back in 1869, when he can't remember doing so? How does he deal with his wife being a kind of kick-butt action woman?
There's more introspection in this book than the others, though they have their share too. I think there's more angst in this one, but the growth of these two people is ultimately satisfying. The other part of the story about demon hunting is a puzzle you want to solve, and that solution is believable in that world.
I think the best thing about this book are the secondary characters and the cliff-hanger. This book was definitely worth the time and money. Moira Quirk continues as narrator and does a great job.

Stand out characters...

Lots has been said already so I will keep it short. I enjoyed it, though for reasons I cannot pinpoint I did not enjoy it as much as the previous two books. Maybe there was not enough antag interaction, maybe I got sea sick from the up and downs from the relationship, I don't know, but what I will say, I love K.C's characters, there's not any that are mediocre they ALL stand out. Set in the Victorian era, with it's dark undertones and pithy humour, the series is a keeper.

Best historical paranormal romance saga

I LOVE KRISTEN CALLIHAN

This is the latest in her Darkest London series begun in Firelight and followed by Moonglow (all on audible). If you haven't listened to them then why the hell not. They are the best thing in the world of Romance right now. I want every single one of her heroes and I cannot wait for the next instalment.