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Virgin Special Sharon Maria Bidwell |
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Publisher: Release Date: Genres: ISBN: Bookmark Rating: Reviewed by Review Posted:
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I was already a big fan of this series. Now, reading the newest stories (I also reviewed UNICORN this month), I have to say it just keeps getting better, with stories of greater range and deeper emotion. In this series, a number of different authors contribute and all of the stories proceed from the same premise – Cody, the owner of DEL FANTASMA, plays matchmaker. He sets people up by giving the hero or heroine a special drink that he concocts behind the bar. The drink predicts what each person wants. Sometimes he see the matches coming and sometimes patrons come to him. This particular addition from Sharon Maria Bidwell begins from a place of grinding pain. Seth and Hannah have lost their third – Edward. Without Edward, each of them continues to exist, but that’s about it. They can’t figure out how to live, but neither is willing to let go and leave the other alone. James understands alone. He too is grieving for a lost love. Elaine died and left him shattered. Since he has no one left, he is willing to take that final step and let go of his existence. But Cody won’t let James die, because he knows that James will be the third for Seth and Hannah. There are just a few problems to overcome. Not just grief. There’s also fear. Seth and Hannah are vampires and James is a human. And despite being in love, James has never made love - he is a virgin. Taking on two lovers, one of them male, is daunting to say the least. For me, the heart of VIRGIN SPECIAL was Seth. Cranky, irascible, moody and brooding. Hardly the hero, eh? Yeah, he is. He made me think of a young Heathcliff, with fangs. He loved Hannah from the moment he first met her, while she was still human. And what Hannah wants, Seth makes sure that Hannah gets. That doesn’t mean that Seth welcomes James with open arms. Far from it. Making friends with Seth is kind of like making friends with a tiger – a really moody tiger with great big fangs. In order for the trio to bond, Seth has to learn to love James and then convince him that he doesn’t want to die. This is a hard place for Seth to be – he would give up everything, including his own existence, to see Hannah happy. Ultimately, Hannah provides the place of serenity for both Seth and James. But she is the one who has to bring them together in the first place. No small feat, since they all have to fight off the paralysis of long time grief. Bless her heart, Hannah decides to live again and brings the men with her, until she has to step back to let them build their own relationship distinct from her. James is so innocent and so broken. He waited for his love, but she died before they could enter into a physical relationship. When the chance for a physical relationship comes along, he has to choose: live and love and risk pain again, or simply give up and die. And his choice wasn’t clear until almost the last moment. I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this book. Pick one of the earlier books and get a feel for the world of DEL FANTASMA. But you HAVE to read this book. It’s been a while since I felt so good about seeing my fictional friends get their happily ever after. I was smiling through my tears.
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