Beautiful Monster (The Exchange #1) by Jeanne Bannon
Genre: Adult (Paranormal Romance)Date Published: February 11, 2015
Publisher: Self
Lev Baronovsky, a soulless creature of the night, has a problem. Carly, the love of his life has just died in an accident and in three days will pass to the other side. Without a soul, he cannot cross over with her and the thought of spending eternity without his beloved is unbearable. Is seventy-two hours enough time to find a way?
With the help of his brother, Alexei, they must face the vilest creature of all, Boris, an ancient one with selfish motivations of his own.
Beautiful Monster is book one of The Exchange by Jeanne Bannon. This story brought us some old school vampire attitudes of Dracula, and a little Nosferatu. I wasn't impressed with Carly. She was a pretty big sissy. She's supposed to be in love with a vampire for Pete's sake. Sure, Lev hid a lot of what made him a vampire from her, but still. I would have expected her to have been made of tougher stuff. I have to say, I was very surprised by the turn of events within Beautiful Monster. It has me intrigued, and I'm very curious about where this story will take us.
Beautiful Monster by Jeanne Bannon was kindly provided to me by Red Moon Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.
I've worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, first as a freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor for LexisNexis Canada. I currently work as a freelance editor and writer and am represented by the Serendipity Literary Agency.
My debut novel, Invisible, is a young adult paranormal romance, published by Solstice Publishing and has been optioned for film. Invisible is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally and continues to receive wonderful reviews.
Currently, I'm finishing up work on a paranormal thriller titled, Dark Angel.
To learn more about Jeanne Bannon and her books, visit her website & blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Beautiful Monster by Jeanne Bannon was kindly provided to me by Red Moon Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.
Lev moved swiftly through the hallways, darting in and out and around what, to him, were slowly moving nurses and orderlies—those unfortunates working the midnight shift. Faster than any human eye was capable of detecting, he made it to Carly’s room in a flash. In fact, he made it there just in time, nostrils plucking the acrid scents from the air better than any dog’s.
He sat on the bed beside her in the dimly lit room and noticed, thankfully, she had no roommate.
The bed beside Carly was recently vacated. The scent of death still lingered heavily and sadly.
Taking her delicate hand in his, Lev noticed a monitor clipped on an index finger. It seemed it measured her pulse and heartbeat. He noticed too that her heart was beating slowly, though he didn’t need a monitor for that. He heard its throb, and it made him think of a dying battery.
However, relief settled on him as he realized he was the first to arrive after the accident that had left her comatose. Carly’s family was nowhere near yet. It would take hours for them to get here from the other coast. He had time, plenty of it. Stealthily, Lev glanced into the hallway from his perch in the darkened hospital room. The occasional nurse strode past, but it was late, or perhaps the better term was early. In the wee hours of the morning, there would be fewer staff than during the day.
With a sigh, he took Carly in. Her blonde hair was matted and dirty, even though it looked as if someone had tried to clean her up, perhaps finger combing her thick mane and tucking it behind her head. Her face was still perfect. Not a single scratch had sullied her beauty.
A knot twisted in his belly. Why hadn’t he known? He could have saved her if only he’d known.
But even Lev couldn’t know everything. It was his brother, Alexei, who’d given him the news moments ago.
“Brother,” he’d said, “there’s been an accident. Go now to the hospital or you’ll never see your precious Carly again.”
He hadn’t asked the how, the why, the when. Alexei had dropped his mental barriers. Lev felt them fall like a drawbridge. His brother had let him in. It was easier than speaking—Lev was able to glean whatever information he needed in an instant. But with the simple facts of Carly’s accident came the realization his brother was happy for the turmoil. A hint of a smile had curled Alexei’s full lips, and his eyes were bright. Lev was not surprised.
He pulled his thoughts from Alexei and looked down at his beloved’s hand in his. The pallor of it matched his own. He listened to the slow rush of blood through her veins, willing it to grow stronger.
He sat on the bed beside her in the dimly lit room and noticed, thankfully, she had no roommate.
The bed beside Carly was recently vacated. The scent of death still lingered heavily and sadly.
Taking her delicate hand in his, Lev noticed a monitor clipped on an index finger. It seemed it measured her pulse and heartbeat. He noticed too that her heart was beating slowly, though he didn’t need a monitor for that. He heard its throb, and it made him think of a dying battery.
However, relief settled on him as he realized he was the first to arrive after the accident that had left her comatose. Carly’s family was nowhere near yet. It would take hours for them to get here from the other coast. He had time, plenty of it. Stealthily, Lev glanced into the hallway from his perch in the darkened hospital room. The occasional nurse strode past, but it was late, or perhaps the better term was early. In the wee hours of the morning, there would be fewer staff than during the day.
With a sigh, he took Carly in. Her blonde hair was matted and dirty, even though it looked as if someone had tried to clean her up, perhaps finger combing her thick mane and tucking it behind her head. Her face was still perfect. Not a single scratch had sullied her beauty.
A knot twisted in his belly. Why hadn’t he known? He could have saved her if only he’d known.
But even Lev couldn’t know everything. It was his brother, Alexei, who’d given him the news moments ago.
“Brother,” he’d said, “there’s been an accident. Go now to the hospital or you’ll never see your precious Carly again.”
He hadn’t asked the how, the why, the when. Alexei had dropped his mental barriers. Lev felt them fall like a drawbridge. His brother had let him in. It was easier than speaking—Lev was able to glean whatever information he needed in an instant. But with the simple facts of Carly’s accident came the realization his brother was happy for the turmoil. A hint of a smile had curled Alexei’s full lips, and his eyes were bright. Lev was not surprised.
He pulled his thoughts from Alexei and looked down at his beloved’s hand in his. The pallor of it matched his own. He listened to the slow rush of blood through her veins, willing it to grow stronger.
My debut novel, Invisible, is a young adult paranormal romance, published by Solstice Publishing and has been optioned for film. Invisible is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally and continues to receive wonderful reviews.
Currently, I'm finishing up work on a paranormal thriller titled, Dark Angel.
To learn more about Jeanne Bannon and her books, visit her website & blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Thanks for hosting me. Beautiful Monster - The Exchange (book one) is a trilogy so (without giving too much away), you'll be seeing more of Lev and Carly. Carly's personality will shine through more in the following novellas.
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