Alexandrea Weis Pens Horror, The Satyr's Curse, Sure to Become a Classic... A Halloween Treat!

"Jazzmyn dropped her eyes to their joined hands. "If you could go back to the past, to any time, where would you go?"
"That's easy. I would go back to the time before the chaos of the Civil War, when people lived quieter lives and all the land surrounding New Orleans was made up of opulent plantations homes, not subdivisions and apartment complexes. Back to a world where grade was a way of life, and not a word in the dictionary...to a time when a man could hear his own thoughs, and reflect on them. I don't think we realize how noisy our world has become. I would revel in the quiet of that time."
"What about the future?"
"He Shook is head. "I think the future is overrated."
"How can seeing where we go be overrated? You wouldn't want to live long enough to see what progress we make over the next hundred years, or two hundred years?"
...Julian's dark brown eyes grew a little colder. "Can you imagine the monotony of living that long? Think of the knowledge people who live to a hundred have. How they know human behavior so well because they have experienced so much of it. Life would hold no mystery if you lived as long as that. Passion would hold no mystery if you lived as long as that. Passion would become extinct, because there would be no surprises left for you..."
"He stopped walking once more and turned to her. "Technology is a diversion, a simple sleight of hand that keeps you from seeing what really matters in life; people. If you were to outlive all of your friends, your time, your generation, and had to exist amid a world of strangers, it would be quite difficult, I assure you. There would be no one who knows you, no one to reminisce with, and no one to share a life with. Relationships would be made with every intention of leaving when it became heartfelt to spare you the eventual pain of heartbreak. You would wanter among people who had no understanding of your plight because you would be the only one of your kind. Sunrises would lose their poignancy, and sunsets would only bring the agony of another longely night. When eternity is within your grasp, the promise of forever becomes a curse and not a blessing."

~~~

The Satyr's Curse

By Alexandrea Weis

Nobody does Louisiana horror novels like Alexandrea Weis. This plus The Ghosts of Rue Dumaine (review coming soon) are sexy, savage and superb! I was pleasantly surprised when, upon picking up some definite clues, I was totally wrong when a main character Julian Devereau explained that vampires did not exist... cause I sure thought it was going to be "another" vamp...

Of course, Julian had been around New Orleans for over 150 years and would know...

But he's been around due to a curse placed by a Voodoo Priestess... Quite a difference, of course...

Jazzmyn Livaudais dropped out of college when her father had become ill and when he died, she inherited both their Bistro and home. Jazzmyn had discovered that she liked running the Bistro, but still had trouble making ends meet, given the cost of keeping up their home, which had been in the Livaudais family for decades.

Now, Jazz considered the employees at the restaurant as her family and spent the majority of her waking hours there, keeping the Bistro open 24-7. Most of the time was quiet, but her chef Kyle, would sometimes drink and cause trouble with the staff, being loud enough to be heard by customers... Most of the time it was because of differences that occurred between Kyle and Jazz...

Kyle was in love with her and, foolishly, one night Jazzmyn had drunk too much as well and had fallen into bed with Kyle. Now he acted like he owned her.

Most of the time that also didn't cause a problem, until Julian Devereau started coming in each night, sitting at the bar, sipping wine, but never eating... He had slowly started to flirt with Jazzmyn and she was finding it hard not to respond to his overtures. In fact, sometimes she wondered if he somehow hadn't cast a spell over her, since lusting after a man was not something she normally did...

Obviously the tension increased when Kyle took offense at Jazz's attentions to him... Especially since there had been several murders in the area--women mutilated as if by an animal...

"A table had been set at the edge of the gardens beneath the branches of a crape myrtle tree. Atop the white linen table glistened fine white china, sparkling crystal glasses, and gold utensils. All about the garden white tea lights flickered in glass sconces. There were even tea lights set on lily pads and floating about a round pond in the center of the garden. Rising from the pond, a gold satyr stood erect and staring up at the bright waxing moon, ascending in the evening sky. Several other satyr statues were nestled in and around the manicured shrubbery. In the background, a soulful Billie Holiday tune echoed across the gardens from an open french window on the second floor balcony above..."

~~~

"Stay," she pleaded, breathlessly.

"Julian's lips hovered teasingly over hers. "You're ready."
"When his lips met hers, the universe exploded inside Jazzmyn. She was overrun by an intense white heat as she slammed her body into him and began grinding her hips against his. She had never wanted a man like this, and the frenzied hunger that was taking over her mind frightened her. Her grip on rational thought ebbed away as she became consumed by her need for Julian. His kisses only seemed to intensify her feelings, and when his lips began working their way down her neck, she thought she would cry out with desperation.
"Julian groaned against her as his hands roamed over her breasts. He frantically pulled at the buttons down the front of her white satin blouse. Once he had forced the shirt from her shoulders, his teeth nipped at the tender flesh about her neck and breasts.
"I'm done waiting for you," she said against her skin, the frustration evident in his husky voice. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms before he started for the stairs. As he kissed her face and neck, he climbed the wide steps two at a time. When he reached the second floor landing, he went straight for her bedroom door.
"He kicked the door open with his foot, and when Jazzmyn saw the darkness of her bedroom looming before them, she shivered. She wondered how he knew where her bedroom was, and then she became afraid; afraid of the man she was going to give herself to. Her mind struggled to recall the questions that had plagued her throughout the day, but when his lips came down hard on hers, all her concerns were erased...

~~~

Now there's not a lot of suspense for the reader. Everybody working in the restaurant are warning Jazz that they think there is something weird about Julian. Kyle and her bartender, Scott, have both offered to drive her home alternating nights, because of the murders which continue to increase. That doesn't stop Jazz, though, from agreeing to meet Julian outside of the Bistro and when Jazz shows signs of continuing to see him, Scott, at least, tones down his watch in permitting Julian to take her home as well.  

Not so Kyle... and finally, one night, he starts a fight with Julian in the kitchen and Jazz is forced to fire him...

Jazz and Julian now spend even more time together until... Until Jazz, rightly, realizes that she's somewhat afraid and she starts her own investigation of Julian, his background, and his home... Reader alert:There is one violent scene not easily read in this novel...

The Satyr's Curse is one of, and maybe the best of Alexandrea Weis' novels. And it certainly is the best one to read during this Halloween Season... But, warning, the curse has not been lifted by the end of the book...so...beware... he'll be...hunting...

GABixlerReviews

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Her first novel, To My Senses, introduced readers to the world of Nicci Beauvoir and garnered numerous awards and rave reviews. Her popular second Nicci Beauvoir novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for Best Romantic Suspense from the 2011 Readers' Favorite Book Awards, and was named Best Romantic Suspense novel by the Spring 2011 NABE Pinnacle Book Awards. Her fourth novel, Broken Wings, won Best Contemporary Romance at the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2012, and the Silver Medal at the 2012 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards for Contemporary Romance. Diary of a One-Night Stand, was released in August 2012 and was named a Paranormal Romance Guild's Best Reviewed of 2012. Acadian Waltz was a finalist in the 2013 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for Best Contemporary Romance and Best Southern Fiction. 

A permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.

website: http://alexandreaweis.com