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Divine #2
Divine Madness
DUST, DANGER...
Down a dirt road that might have been a relic from the days of Cortez, Seraphina Sandoval fled her past. She was not often afraid, and never witout reason. But someone in her position could trust no one---not even the sublime stranger she met on her way. The Comte de St. Germain had been beautiful. Lucifer had been, too.
AND THE DARKEST DESIRE
No, Seraphina could ill afford to trust. When the Dark Man had found her in Paris, she'd been someone else, and she had bartered her soul not realizing the manner of its collection. All good things come to an end, and she had spent centuries on the run. She and her cat had ended here: Mexico-an arid land of tequila, ancient rites and vampires; and in the arms of a man with a past more bizarre than her own, a man whose eyes vowed joyous oblivion. It would be madness to trust, to accept, to believe in a union for the ages, but she had only moments to decide: leave, or take the ride Fate offered. She'd always been one for a ride.
DEVINE MADNESS.
Down a dirt road that might have been a relic from the days of Cortez, Seraphina Sandoval fled her past. She was not often afraid, and never witout reason. But someone in her position could trust no one---not even the sublime stranger she met on her way. The Comte de St. Germain had been beautiful. Lucifer had been, too.
AND THE DARKEST DESIRE
No, Seraphina could ill afford to trust. When the Dark Man had found her in Paris, she'd been someone else, and she had bartered her soul not realizing the manner of its collection. All good things come to an end, and she had spent centuries on the run. She and her cat had ended here: Mexico-an arid land of tequila, ancient rites and vampires; and in the arms of a man with a past more bizarre than her own, a man whose eyes vowed joyous oblivion. It would be madness to trust, to accept, to believe in a union for the ages, but she had only moments to decide: leave, or take the ride Fate offered. She'd always been one for a ride.
DEVINE MADNESS.
323 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Jackson
168 books183 followersMelanie, an award-winning author of more than fifty novels, stories and poems lives with her writer husband in the California Gold Country with their cat (also a writer who has a page on myspace) and their dog (who is hoping to get a page on facebook as soon as she masters typing). Melanie likes gardening but hates the deer who also like her garden, and she volunteers at a local animal shelter.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 18, 2019
I continue to strongly dislike zombie/ghoul books, but that being said, l enjoyed this book as much as the first. I loved that the story-telling switched halfway through from the heroine to the hero...it gave a comical side to the story at times, that relieved the worry over zombie & ghoul attacks for me immensely...and the cat was a very cool character as well! These books are, so far, quite different from anything l have read before, but l am truly hooked on the series, and will start the third book immediately. Recommend to anyone who can let their imagination soar, and who aren't bothered about the grosser paranormal characters out there!
did-not-finish
August 8, 2019After 58 pages, this was not sparking the slightest bit of interest. Time to move on to another book.
December 18, 2024
On the run from the evil son of her evil maker, the heroine is desperate for a way to summon the lightning that will mean her rebirth. Her enemy, a powerful and terrible creature, has controlled the storms so that the heroine is without the St Elms fire that will kill her but resurrect her immortal once again. With him hot on her heals, she seeks out the aid of a powerful and dangerous God who creates vampires from women who die in childbirth but before she can reach this being, she encounters the hero.
He is a beautiful man and has kind eyes, the sort of kindness she has not received in some time. She can tell that he is not human but what he truly is remains a mystery to her. Even though he shows her a spark and convinces her he could help her in her quest for rebirth, she refrains from asking him. She doesn't wish to endanger him or drag him any further into her problems. So.. so goes to the cave and summons the Aztec God of death. The creature before her is unsurprisingly cruel and unhelpful. She knew it was a risk to come to him but she had no other choice. Now she will be sacrificed and turned into a dead servant to his temple.
Only, she is stunned when the hero appears. He makes a request of the creature he calls father. His mother was taken by the God and turned into a servant but the hero survived and in turn became a vampire through her. He's battled his compulsions and thirst for so long and has until now managed to stop himself from killing. But his time of innocence is over.
To save the heroine's life, he offers to turn her and in the process appease his father and take his place as a true vampire. But the heroine has other ideas. She plans to take her punishment for summoning the God and accept the venom of the vampire but in return, she plans to have the hero struck by lightning and become an immortal creature like herself. Their plan is a success but just barely. In the process, they bond more deeply than either of them could have imagined.
From that moment, the hero's life was hers whether she knew it or not. He will help her with her quest to kill the one tracking her as well as the God who betrayed them both. On their journey, they kill the zombies summoned to kill them all the while falling into a very complex yet comfortable relationship. Until the final battle where they must fight to the death to live.
Once again this author has created a very bizarre yet enchanting novel so unlike any other paranormal romance I have read. She takes the mythology and warps it into something unique and far more disturbing. Take for instants the vampire myth. She has created the story so that the vampire is an undead creature birthed from a god of death with no fangs but rather a stinger on their tongue which they use to drink blood. To make a vampire does not involve the exchange of blood but rather the vampire injecting venom into the victims spinal cord.
The heroine herself is one of Frankenstein's monsters and needs lightning every so often to extend her immortal life. She is described as a young girl barely out of adolescence with a petite body and a high intelligence.
The storyline was once again oddly paced and had my head spinning like a twilight zero episode but it was interesting enough. What this author has in imagination and while it makes for a wacko story, it's enough to snap the reader from the routine of a normal paranormal romance. This pairing had an interesting relationship that while romantic was not lovey dovey. In fact, I don't believe they actually confessed their love for each other by the end and if they did if was no not mushy. This didn't take away from the fact that they trusted one another and relied on one another 100%.
He is a beautiful man and has kind eyes, the sort of kindness she has not received in some time. She can tell that he is not human but what he truly is remains a mystery to her. Even though he shows her a spark and convinces her he could help her in her quest for rebirth, she refrains from asking him. She doesn't wish to endanger him or drag him any further into her problems. So.. so goes to the cave and summons the Aztec God of death. The creature before her is unsurprisingly cruel and unhelpful. She knew it was a risk to come to him but she had no other choice. Now she will be sacrificed and turned into a dead servant to his temple.
Only, she is stunned when the hero appears. He makes a request of the creature he calls father. His mother was taken by the God and turned into a servant but the hero survived and in turn became a vampire through her. He's battled his compulsions and thirst for so long and has until now managed to stop himself from killing. But his time of innocence is over.
To save the heroine's life, he offers to turn her and in the process appease his father and take his place as a true vampire. But the heroine has other ideas. She plans to take her punishment for summoning the God and accept the venom of the vampire but in return, she plans to have the hero struck by lightning and become an immortal creature like herself. Their plan is a success but just barely. In the process, they bond more deeply than either of them could have imagined.
From that moment, the hero's life was hers whether she knew it or not. He will help her with her quest to kill the one tracking her as well as the God who betrayed them both. On their journey, they kill the zombies summoned to kill them all the while falling into a very complex yet comfortable relationship. Until the final battle where they must fight to the death to live.
Once again this author has created a very bizarre yet enchanting novel so unlike any other paranormal romance I have read. She takes the mythology and warps it into something unique and far more disturbing. Take for instants the vampire myth. She has created the story so that the vampire is an undead creature birthed from a god of death with no fangs but rather a stinger on their tongue which they use to drink blood. To make a vampire does not involve the exchange of blood but rather the vampire injecting venom into the victims spinal cord.
The heroine herself is one of Frankenstein's monsters and needs lightning every so often to extend her immortal life. She is described as a young girl barely out of adolescence with a petite body and a high intelligence.
The storyline was once again oddly paced and had my head spinning like a twilight zero episode but it was interesting enough. What this author has in imagination and while it makes for a wacko story, it's enough to snap the reader from the routine of a normal paranormal romance. This pairing had an interesting relationship that while romantic was not lovey dovey. In fact, I don't believe they actually confessed their love for each other by the end and if they did if was no not mushy. This didn't take away from the fact that they trusted one another and relied on one another 100%.
July 31, 2013
���Reading this book was like watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The beginning is fabulous, and half-way through everything changes, leaving you to puzzle out whether the second half of the story was written/directed by the same person responsible for the first part. In the case of DIVINE MADNESS, I absolutely adored Ninon's story. But as soon as the focus changed from Ninon to Miguel, I was bored out of my skull. There were other problems, too, like the fact that the book has no ending. No resolution is given, nothing even remotely satisfying in terms of a final battle against some pretty evil bad guys. A word of warning for those with weak stomachs: this is a horror novel, first and foremost. The romance is very much a background element here, while the gore and guts take top billing. I probably would have gotten more out of the characterization if I'd known who Ninon de Lanclos was as a historical figure, but since I'm not much of a history buff, my lack of familiarity with her can probably be excused. Still, I'm giving this book fairly high marks simply because the first half is of the novel is utterly enthralling. (B)
June 21, 2015
I couldn't finish this. By chapter four the characters were already contradicting themselves; a protagonists that is supposed to be brilliant and fearless is constantly afraid and not particularly smart. Instead of dialogue, the majority of the book seems to be the protagonist talking to herself and high level descriptions of action. It's very frustrating being told everything that's supposed to be happening without ever getting a sense of the action. The short bit of dialogue that does exist is not well crafted, doesn't flow like speech, and doesn't make any sense in the context of the characters. Perhaps this is why there's so little of it.
I can't think of any audience for which this book might be appropriate. After chapter 2 I was hoping that the story might start to take shape despite the shoddy writing, but it only got worse from there. The author even seems to change writing styles a few times by Chapter 4. As much as I hate writing negative reviews about anything, it's rare that I find a book I can't finish. Not even worth the one star rating.
I can't think of any audience for which this book might be appropriate. After chapter 2 I was hoping that the story might start to take shape despite the shoddy writing, but it only got worse from there. The author even seems to change writing styles a few times by Chapter 4. As much as I hate writing negative reviews about anything, it's rare that I find a book I can't finish. Not even worth the one star rating.
Read
August 28, 2008Allow me to clarify. I found this book in the lobby of the hotel and am reading it until I make a trip to the bookstore.
That being said, this is the worst book I have ever read. And I mean it this time. On the bus, I would rather sit and stare at the stinky bum across from me than read this book. How it was even published is beyond me.
I see this classified as a "Paranormal Romance." More like paranormal disaster. Vampires? Bloodlust? A water demon named Smoking Mirror? Melanie Jackson should be imprisoned for raping me of my time and the brain power it took to comprehend the utter stupidity of this novel.
That being said, this is the worst book I have ever read. And I mean it this time. On the bus, I would rather sit and stare at the stinky bum across from me than read this book. How it was even published is beyond me.
I see this classified as a "Paranormal Romance." More like paranormal disaster. Vampires? Bloodlust? A water demon named Smoking Mirror? Melanie Jackson should be imprisoned for raping me of my time and the brain power it took to comprehend the utter stupidity of this novel.
May 4, 2009
Some good ideas for character backgrounds which were original and refreshing. However, the actual plot was pretty formulaic, and the narrative person changes 180° halfway through the book.
This being my first Melanie Jackson book, I'm not sure if this is her style or just a poor decision on this particular novel. Reading some of the blurbs in the back of the book, I'm curious about her other work, so I may give her another shot in the future. However, this isn't a book I'd recommend anyone seek out to read.
This being my first Melanie Jackson book, I'm not sure if this is her style or just a poor decision on this particular novel. Reading some of the blurbs in the back of the book, I'm curious about her other work, so I may give her another shot in the future. However, this isn't a book I'd recommend anyone seek out to read.
February 28, 2011
Absolutely loved it
February 6, 2013
sucks, cause this book had a lot of potential. Too much run on internal monologue.
June 7, 2013
This almost got a 2 star rating. But once the Miguel character and the action kicked in it became more enjoyable. Good concept but some of the execution is iffy.
November 1, 2013
I wanted to like this book but I just didn't really like Seraphina. The mythology kept me reading, though.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews