Title: Dance With Me, My Lovely
Author: Jaye Roycraft
Published in September 2007 by ImaJinn Books
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1-933417-29-5
He was a master of the night, dark, seductive, and the Friday Night starring act at the nightclub called The Pony Express. The women fawned all over him, there could be no doubt about that, and as Cate Greenbush watched, he called to her. Her body heated in response, and yet there was something about the man as he prowled the stage. The movement was elegant, smooth, and he reminded Cate of a great cat, a predator ready to strike. She knew men like him, controlled, dominant, and arrogant. They were not a part of her world and she wondered how in the heck she let her friend Merri drag her into a place like this. It was not that she found the exotic dancers repulsive, or ugly. They wouldn't be in the business if they were, but this was not want Cate wanted, it was for Merri. She knows Merri meant well, but the kind of men found at a pace like this weren't the forever kind. Men especially the one on stage now, with his long lean strength, and the total confidence of a superior male. He was fluid grace, Cate could admit that much and not bat an eyelash, but he was not the one to fill her empty places, nor were any of the others she had seen on stage that night. Men left her fast enough when they found out about her abilities, about her practice. They wanted nothing to do with her.
The last man on stage that Friday night, the club’s headliner Lucius Santangelo, was sex-on-a-stick, and although definitely hot, but he was not for her. There was a haunted feeling around him, and even though he appeared to be looking into her eyes, dancing for her alone, it was not possible. Now the spirit she had seen around him, that was in her realm, and yet the spirit was troubled and she was pleading with Cate. The spirit was focused on the dancer, was he a victim or her murderer? His body was tall, lean, his dance fluid and filled with strength, beauty and a vibrant energy of a more subtle kind. He not only danced, but he was the dance, and that made all the difference. He was the total package male, the strong and sleek protector, the embodiment of sophistication, the personification of lust, and the wanton desire of every woman's dream and so much more. His very spirit called to her, dance with me, but that was her imagination. His kind of man was never forced to stoop so low as to look at an odd someone like Cate, a lesson taught to her by experience. She should forget him and resolved to do so, but when he showed up on her doorstep asking for help, she almost shut the door in his face. Sanity ruled, and though she had no idea what kind of help he needed, but she could at least listen.
Garran Lux was at his wits end. His beast was giving him problems, and he has no close friends, any acquaintances were long gone, and his life style was insular to say the least. His maker was gone, long turned to dust, and there were no others he trusted. It was the beast’s nature to kill, the human’s nature to rein in the beast, but his was getting out of control. As a dance master, control was everything, and as a vampire, control was imperative. Something had shifted in him, and it was not a good thing because it made his beast edgy, and it yearned for release. To release the beast would be to kill, to draw attention to what he was, and to ignite panic, and hunters, and his life would be a shambles if that happened. There were doctors, psychiatrist and psychologists, but they would want tests, needles, discovery so no help there. Frustration mounted, and finally he was ready to snap. Was it fate or chance, or just blind luck that made him toss the phone book, he never would know, but when he spied the section on Alternative Medicine, and the small ad for Catelyn Greenbush, Ph.D., Shamanic Practitioner, Spiritual Healing, Soul Retrieval, his course was set.
The only thing Garran was sure of at this point was his own uncertainty in the situation, and yet he never expected the sight that met him at the doctor’s door. Catelyn, the redhead’s name is Catelyn. It was hard getting past that flush of renewed desire, the feeling of hunger for her as his beast awakened, but Garran has the determination, the will, and he is desperate to keep the beast within leashed. He is not sure if he can or should tell her all, he is uncertain as to her reaction, however, the woman in front of him is all business, and he is forced to keep his mind in the present. The quandary is can he keep his hands off her, and even if he can manage that, can she help him. There are many questions he has faced before, and when he allows it, his thoughts travel back to when he was relatively young and foolish, back to the love he felt for a woman, and the fate he attributed to his truth. Geneva was his life, he loved her, and her loss was still felt deeply to this day. He felt as if he lost a part of himself, and if Catelyn Greenbush can help him, he will do whatever is in his power to cooperate.
Jaye Roycraft. The name invokes dark promise for those who dream in paranormal romance. Let me tell you right here and now, this book caught me totally off guard. The tale is sweeping in its complexity, the characters rich, and the movement dark and sensual, but it brought to the fore a feeling of humanity not usually found in many of the “vampire books” of the genre. This hero is a tortured soul, a man who seeks help form the mortal world, a man scorned by love, and one who had subsisted on the lust of others. He is a man, yes a man who has loved and lost, and he sees himself not as the beast, and not as a monster, but as a man, and that is different. It gives a whole new meaning to romance in that he still sees him self as a man, maybe not human, but as a person with two sides, the beast that hungers, and the man who is lonely. Struggling with this internal dichotomy is the magic of Garran’s character, and finding the one person who can unite the two is where Cate comes in to his life.
The Danseur and the Shaman…they balance. Dance With Me, My Lovely is set in the background of the dance, where Jaye Roycraft spins a story of a growing internal tension, love lost, insecurity, and new hope. The usual vampire myths are shattered, bringing the reader a new insight into the way Ms Roycraft chooses her characters and their traits. Garran is unique, a dancer whose skill and innate talent make him desired by women when he performs as an exotic dancer, and a beloved and yet disciplined instructor when it come to his ballroom classes. Unlike some, he is not ego driven, but yearns for the one thing denied him so far in his life, and that is love. He discovers the possibilities with Cate, and he is not wiling to let her go, but is smart enough to know she must come to him. With Cate’s insecurities, the man must tempt her enough to over come them, and he does this simply by needing her, and unlike many other men, he lets her know of his need. In Dance With Me, My Lovely, the balance is held, expanded, and joined in a way that brings the reader not only satisfaction, but also a sigh of relief. I found myself rooting for Cate and Garran through the flashbacks, and their individual trials while they worked their way toward each other. This one is available August 30th, 2007 from ImaJinn Books, and I really do find myself in a position to highly recommend Dance With Me, My Lovely to those who want a deeply moving romance of the heart.
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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