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Aether Vitalis
Scent and Shadow: an Aether Vitalis Novel
No soulmates. No love triangles. No sparkles.
Madison, WI. 1999. When vampire Gabriel Chapel decides to take on a fledgling, he knows not just anyone will do. Newly-turned vampires kill at least one person a night for the first decade or so—a fate most humans could never adjust to.
For college student Amanda Bairns, nothing is more important than finally taking control of her life. But when Gabriel forces her to drink his blood, Amanda is pulled deeper and deeper into a supernatural underworld she never knew existed, where mages have their fingers in local government, shapeshifting faeries control infrastructure, and aether-rich ley lines attract a host of creatures welcome and unwelcome.
With the vampire’s blood coaxing her to become a murderer, Amanda has four weeks to discover which means more: her freedom and humanity, or the power Gabriel offers. But neither Gabriel nor Amanda realize Amanda is a pawn in a much bigger contest—one which could have lethal consequences not only for the two of them, but for the entire city. Contains violence, explicit sex.
Madison, WI. 1999. When vampire Gabriel Chapel decides to take on a fledgling, he knows not just anyone will do. Newly-turned vampires kill at least one person a night for the first decade or so—a fate most humans could never adjust to.
For college student Amanda Bairns, nothing is more important than finally taking control of her life. But when Gabriel forces her to drink his blood, Amanda is pulled deeper and deeper into a supernatural underworld she never knew existed, where mages have their fingers in local government, shapeshifting faeries control infrastructure, and aether-rich ley lines attract a host of creatures welcome and unwelcome.
With the vampire’s blood coaxing her to become a murderer, Amanda has four weeks to discover which means more: her freedom and humanity, or the power Gabriel offers. But neither Gabriel nor Amanda realize Amanda is a pawn in a much bigger contest—one which could have lethal consequences not only for the two of them, but for the entire city. Contains violence, explicit sex.
ebook
First published October 16, 2011
About the author
Mercy Loomis
58 books12 followersMercy Loomis grew up in a haunted house, and has had quite enough of ghosts for one lifetime, thank you. Though she now lives in a 150-year-old house, it is remarkably ghost-free. (That, or they’re staying on the down-low. She doesn’t care which.)
Mercy finished writing her first vampire novel when she was in middle school, and hasn’t stopped writing about them since. She loves stories about the paranormal because monsters are scary, but less scary than real people. Or at least less depressing.
Mercy graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison one class short of an accidental certificate in Folklore. She credits her love of mythology to her mom reading Greek myths as bedtime stories, and her love of fantastical adventure stories to watching cheesy movies with her dad. Her love of history (and coffee!) is completely her husband’s fault, but she doesn’t know who’s to blame for the fascination with physics.
She guesses that hanging out with Dad while he butchered deer also had an effect on her character, but exactly what effect, she leaves up to the reader.
See what Mercy’s up to and find links to her other work at www.mercyloomis.com.
Mercy finished writing her first vampire novel when she was in middle school, and hasn’t stopped writing about them since. She loves stories about the paranormal because monsters are scary, but less scary than real people. Or at least less depressing.
Mercy graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison one class short of an accidental certificate in Folklore. She credits her love of mythology to her mom reading Greek myths as bedtime stories, and her love of fantastical adventure stories to watching cheesy movies with her dad. Her love of history (and coffee!) is completely her husband’s fault, but she doesn’t know who’s to blame for the fascination with physics.
She guesses that hanging out with Dad while he butchered deer also had an effect on her character, but exactly what effect, she leaves up to the reader.
See what Mercy’s up to and find links to her other work at www.mercyloomis.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 28, 2014
4–Shockingly Good–stars
I'm shocked and somewhat alarmed that I actually liked this book. In fact, I couldn't put it down and stayed up all night reading it. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a paranormal romance, but mostly a vampire horror story. It's gory, violent, sexually explicit, and appalling at times. However, it's also slightly romantic, unique, fascinating, engrossing, provocative, and deliciously aberrant.
There were times the prose and plot felt slightly convoluted and I found myself having to pay close attention to what I was reading in order to fully comprehend what was happening. Other than that, and one horrific scene that troubled me immensely, this book captivated me and then left me satisfied with a twisted but good ending for our couple.
If you're looking for a unique paranormal romance that's more along the lines of a traditional vampire horror story, with a sexy, frightening, but compelling anti-hero, and a genuine, strong-willed, and likable heroine, this book might work for you.
Note: Read Jess the Romanceaholic's review. She does a great job explaining this books premise.
WARNING: There is a horrific and graphic scene in this book where a woman is brutally raped and killed (I skipped reading most of that scene). Please be cautious while reading this book. It is very graphic!
I'm shocked and somewhat alarmed that I actually liked this book. In fact, I couldn't put it down and stayed up all night reading it. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a paranormal romance, but mostly a vampire horror story. It's gory, violent, sexually explicit, and appalling at times. However, it's also slightly romantic, unique, fascinating, engrossing, provocative, and deliciously aberrant.
There were times the prose and plot felt slightly convoluted and I found myself having to pay close attention to what I was reading in order to fully comprehend what was happening. Other than that, and one horrific scene that troubled me immensely, this book captivated me and then left me satisfied with a twisted but good ending for our couple.
If you're looking for a unique paranormal romance that's more along the lines of a traditional vampire horror story, with a sexy, frightening, but compelling anti-hero, and a genuine, strong-willed, and likable heroine, this book might work for you.
Note: Read Jess the Romanceaholic's review. She does a great job explaining this books premise.
WARNING: There is a horrific and graphic scene in this book where a woman is brutally raped and killed (I skipped reading most of that scene). Please be cautious while reading this book. It is very graphic!
November 22, 2011
This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.com.
Expected Release Date: October 17, 2011 (Available Now!)
Publisher: Self Published
Author’s Website: http://mercyloomis.com/
My Source for This Book: Gift
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
Madison, WI, 1999.
College student Amanda Bairns is finally about to take control of her own life. Getting her degree and finally getting out from under her mother’s thumb should mean this is one of the happiest times in her life. But when Gabriel, a friend from school, turns out to be a psychotic vampire intent on making her his newest fledgling, her dreams of the future turn into a nightmare filled with blood, mind control, violent sex, and murder. With the transformation incomplete, Gabriel promises Amanda one month to choose between the seductive power of vampirism or the frail weakness of being human prey. Four weeks seems like a small enough time to hold onto her humanity, but with each passing day, the new seductive powers she’s discovering, the physical changes, and the blood lust thrumming in her veins all become harder to ignore.
Amanda’s transformation is not their only concern, however, when it becomes apparent that there are outside forces whose interest in Gabriel’s newest fledgling could mean a major shift in power not only in the city of Madison, but in the supernatural community as a whole.
This book was a bit of an adventure for me. You see, it’s not what I would call a “traditional” romance. Instead, it’s more of a horror novel with romantic elements, which I admit threw me off a bit. However, if you approach this story as less of a romance and more of a sexy horror story, I think that you will get the full effect of the novel.
Even though I do tend to prefer traditional romances, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Gabriel was sexy and terrifying, and Amanda was so incredibly real that I couldn’t help but love her. She, as like most people, preferred to think of herself as someone who would never even be tempted to abuse or harm another human being, but as her transformation progressed, she quickly realized the intoxicating abilities of pure, unadulterated power. This, more than the blood and gore, was probably one of the scariest things about this novel — the idea that it doesn’t require a sociopath to start thinking of other humans as beneath you once you get a taste of real power.
While there was one scene that troubled me greatly, the overall story captivated me from the very beginning and wouldn’t let me go. The ending was absolutely fantastic despite being perhaps a bit unexpected, and I would recommend it for any fan vampires who are actually scary rather than sparkly*.
A very solid 4/5 Stars
*For the record, I am a Twihard, so that was not a bashing of Twilight fans lol
Expected Release Date: October 17, 2011 (Available Now!)
Publisher: Self Published
Author’s Website: http://mercyloomis.com/
My Source for This Book: Gift
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
Madison, WI, 1999.
College student Amanda Bairns is finally about to take control of her own life. Getting her degree and finally getting out from under her mother’s thumb should mean this is one of the happiest times in her life. But when Gabriel, a friend from school, turns out to be a psychotic vampire intent on making her his newest fledgling, her dreams of the future turn into a nightmare filled with blood, mind control, violent sex, and murder. With the transformation incomplete, Gabriel promises Amanda one month to choose between the seductive power of vampirism or the frail weakness of being human prey. Four weeks seems like a small enough time to hold onto her humanity, but with each passing day, the new seductive powers she’s discovering, the physical changes, and the blood lust thrumming in her veins all become harder to ignore.
Amanda’s transformation is not their only concern, however, when it becomes apparent that there are outside forces whose interest in Gabriel’s newest fledgling could mean a major shift in power not only in the city of Madison, but in the supernatural community as a whole.
This book was a bit of an adventure for me. You see, it’s not what I would call a “traditional” romance. Instead, it’s more of a horror novel with romantic elements, which I admit threw me off a bit. However, if you approach this story as less of a romance and more of a sexy horror story, I think that you will get the full effect of the novel.
Even though I do tend to prefer traditional romances, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Gabriel was sexy and terrifying, and Amanda was so incredibly real that I couldn’t help but love her. She, as like most people, preferred to think of herself as someone who would never even be tempted to abuse or harm another human being, but as her transformation progressed, she quickly realized the intoxicating abilities of pure, unadulterated power. This, more than the blood and gore, was probably one of the scariest things about this novel — the idea that it doesn’t require a sociopath to start thinking of other humans as beneath you once you get a taste of real power.
While there was one scene that troubled me greatly, the overall story captivated me from the very beginning and wouldn’t let me go. The ending was absolutely fantastic despite being perhaps a bit unexpected, and I would recommend it for any fan vampires who are actually scary rather than sparkly*.
A very solid 4/5 Stars
*For the record, I am a Twihard, so that was not a bashing of Twilight fans lol
February 20, 2014
~~~ 2.5 STARS OR 5.5/10 ~~~
It's very refreshing reading about vampires that act like vampires. I admit, when Twilight came out I was a huge fan and read all the books in the series. Then, like following like, many vampire novels followed the same trend of the repentant, animal eating vegetarian that has feelings and moments of acute humanity. There's of course nothing wrong with that. But vampires by definition are predators, MEANT to hunt and devour humans. This is what I miss, so I try to find vamp books that stay true to the essential predator. If there's a love story involved...then sign me up! Because everyone, including monsters fall in love.
This book definitely stayed true to the essence of the vampire. Gabriel was an unrepentant, violent and elusive being. I wouldn't call him Sociopathic because he's a vampire and vampires by their nature are not moral or altruistic beings. So really referring to them as sociopaths is using a human deprived moniker to label a species unlike humans to the extreme in their habits.
But Gabriel has set his sights on university student Amanda Bairns. She senses eyes on her, she feels someone watching but little does she know the horror of what awaits. Gabriel wants to turn Amanda, but before he does, she has to undergo a series of intrinsic battles ultimately resulting in taking a life. Only then will she turn. But in the meantime, he introduces her to his life and the intricacies of becoming 'other'.
There was violence here, and when Gabriel takes Amanda for the first time, he was ruthless. But I didn't find this story or Gabriel to be over-the-top in the horror category. He was vicious, yes. He was completely lacking in moralistic behavior or caring behavior towards humans. But I didn't find him abhorrent. There were many times I thought things were a little too mellow.
This was also more of an examination into the slow and sure progression of Amanda's humanity into that of a monsters. While at first she rebelled against taking blood or hurting someone, she slowly came to see things from a vampires pov. Her body and mind were changing and although she tried to deny it, she couldn't ignore it completely. I guess that's why this was a 3 star read for me. I wanted a juicier story rather than the focus being on someone's transformation.
Sure, there were other sub-plots and maybe as the series progresses we'd see them expand, but things between Gabe and Amanda were the main focus.
This world also featured other supernatural beings as well as vampire hunters, so that was good. But in the end I wanted MORE. There were some gutting scenes but not enough for me to love this book. On a side note, The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, is a fantastic pnr that gives you an exciting and true to nature vamp series.
It's very refreshing reading about vampires that act like vampires. I admit, when Twilight came out I was a huge fan and read all the books in the series. Then, like following like, many vampire novels followed the same trend of the repentant, animal eating vegetarian that has feelings and moments of acute humanity. There's of course nothing wrong with that. But vampires by definition are predators, MEANT to hunt and devour humans. This is what I miss, so I try to find vamp books that stay true to the essential predator. If there's a love story involved...then sign me up! Because everyone, including monsters fall in love.
This book definitely stayed true to the essence of the vampire. Gabriel was an unrepentant, violent and elusive being. I wouldn't call him Sociopathic because he's a vampire and vampires by their nature are not moral or altruistic beings. So really referring to them as sociopaths is using a human deprived moniker to label a species unlike humans to the extreme in their habits.
But Gabriel has set his sights on university student Amanda Bairns. She senses eyes on her, she feels someone watching but little does she know the horror of what awaits. Gabriel wants to turn Amanda, but before he does, she has to undergo a series of intrinsic battles ultimately resulting in taking a life. Only then will she turn. But in the meantime, he introduces her to his life and the intricacies of becoming 'other'.
There was violence here, and when Gabriel takes Amanda for the first time, he was ruthless. But I didn't find this story or Gabriel to be over-the-top in the horror category. He was vicious, yes. He was completely lacking in moralistic behavior or caring behavior towards humans. But I didn't find him abhorrent. There were many times I thought things were a little too mellow.
This was also more of an examination into the slow and sure progression of Amanda's humanity into that of a monsters. While at first she rebelled against taking blood or hurting someone, she slowly came to see things from a vampires pov. Her body and mind were changing and although she tried to deny it, she couldn't ignore it completely. I guess that's why this was a 3 star read for me. I wanted a juicier story rather than the focus being on someone's transformation.
Sure, there were other sub-plots and maybe as the series progresses we'd see them expand, but things between Gabe and Amanda were the main focus.
This world also featured other supernatural beings as well as vampire hunters, so that was good. But in the end I wanted MORE. There were some gutting scenes but not enough for me to love this book. On a side note, The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, is a fantastic pnr that gives you an exciting and true to nature vamp series.
October 26, 2012
4 1\2
This is the story of a sociopath. This is the story of a serial killer. This is the story of a monster.
All of the phrases above are true. All of the phrases above are true for one or the other of the 2 leading characters.
This is a dark, dark book, almost a parody of a romance. There are no heroes and heroines here. If you think what I said is bad, you are wrong. This is not criticism, it's a praise.
But if you like puppies and flowers and sunny HEAs, stay well clear of Scent and Shadow. There's no HEA here, well, not for the world at least. For those two, if they survive each other, maybe.
If you think you might like twisted and wrong and weird, try it. But remember you need a strong stomach and a stronger love for women of steel, who do everything they can to avoid bowing to one man.
Not for the faint of heart, as I said, but if you dare...
This is the story of a sociopath. This is the story of a serial killer. This is the story of a monster.
All of the phrases above are true. All of the phrases above are true for one or the other of the 2 leading characters.
This is a dark, dark book, almost a parody of a romance. There are no heroes and heroines here. If you think what I said is bad, you are wrong. This is not criticism, it's a praise.
But if you like puppies and flowers and sunny HEAs, stay well clear of Scent and Shadow. There's no HEA here, well, not for the world at least. For those two, if they survive each other, maybe.
If you think you might like twisted and wrong and weird, try it. But remember you need a strong stomach and a stronger love for women of steel, who do everything they can to avoid bowing to one man.
Not for the faint of heart, as I said, but if you dare...
July 8, 2019
"4 out of 5 stars! Dark, exotic, and intriguing are just some of the words I would use to describe this unique take on a paranormal novel. Before I read this book I took what this book was called an 'urban paranormal' as to mean 'paranormal romance,' why I don't really know, but ..."
Read more of this review and TWO TEASERS here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/feasted-on-scent-and-shadow-by-mercy.html
Read more of this review and TWO TEASERS here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/feasted-on-scent-and-shadow-by-mercy.html
December 1, 2011
Totally enjoyed this book! I'm going to be looking for more by Mercy Loomis :))
January 22, 2012
I totally enjoyed this book! It's refreshingly different from any of the paranormal stuff I've been reading. I will positively be looking for more books by Mercy Loomis!
Want to Read
March 6, 2022This sounds dark 🤔
August 11, 2015
It was very interesting to read. I liked it a lot for the fact that it wasn't all sunshine and rosy hearts. However, if a book is going to be more about the horror and gruesome side of vampirism, I wish the heroine committed to the dark side sooner. Loved the ending. Wish it would've happened earlier in the book. No real complaints, really fun read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews