The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Publisher:  Dorchester Books
Pages:  320

From the Cover:  With radiant, snow white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun.  Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.

Percy Parker has finally found a place to belong to in this world of hers.  She has more than she ever hoped for growing up as a convent orphan.  Though well cared for and loved by the good Sisters and Mother of the Convent, she never hoped to find love, friends, and family.  Now she has it all, if only she can hold on to what she has struggled to find.  The Whisper-World calls to her beckoning her back, ready to take her as she is.  The Whisper-World doesn't like to give up those who cross into it's world, but it may be her only chance to save what she has come to love.

Percy's professor and husband, Alexi Rychman is loath to release his new young wife to the questing hands of Whisper-World, but Athen's Academy may give him no other choice.  Even with his refusal, Athen's stones and bricks are coming alive, and if Percy doesn't seek The Darkness, it may be the end of them all.  The Guard who have always give their all to The Grand Work may have no other choice than to watch their seventh and one-time Goddess return to The Darkness who had kidnapped and imprisoned her in the deepest, darkest part of the Whisper-World.  The Darkness who holds a secret key and only with this key can all The Guard be saved.  It's up to Percy to visit gray world and retrieve the key, the key to release all The Guard, both the past and the present.

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber is the second book in the Strangely Beautiful Series.  In this story, Persephone Parker comes into her own.  She can no longer be the innocent student of Athen's Academy, hiding beneath her layers and scarves.  She is destined for great things and greater responsibilities.  Strangely Beautiful left off with the whimsical Miss Percy Parker saving all of The Guard from an unspeakable evil, all six of her new companions laid at the brink of death, and only she was able to force the evil Gorgon away.  Already enamored and endeared to Professor Alexi Rychman, he claims her as his own, his Goddess reincarnated and his prophesied love.  But in this part of the story, the whole of greater good needs to be served.  The Guard has protected the earth bound realm for centuries, and with the departure of The Guard from this world to the Whisper-World, The Darkness has been imprisoning them, locking them away, foes for an eternity.  But there is one who can save them all, to do so she'll have to enter the Whisper-World with all it's dangers and with her captor, The Darkness himself.

Darkly Luminous is a fantastical tale of Gothic romanticism.  Once again Percy Parker is called upon to save her companions and friends.  She's such a fragile beacon of light, almost transparent, but within her resides the strength of Goddess and it's this power that both the Earth bound realm and the Whisper-World needs.  The Darkness wants nothing more to claim her once more as his own, to kidnapped her and drag her into the bowels of the Whisper-World, his prize.  But there has to be a way to save them all, the Goddess would not have taken human form only to perish and remain unrequited.  Darkly Luminous is a tale of honor, pain, need, sacrifice, and above all love.  It is with and through this love that Percy Parker Rychman may save and be saved.  Without love and sacrifice, all would be lost to The Darkness.  If you haven't started the journey of Ms. Parker, now is the time to pick up the tethers hold of this beautiful story and read.  Start with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and continue with The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, both are more than worthy of your time.  This series is one of the best I've read, it will be in my top picks for 2010.  If you haven't tried it, I'm flummoxed, I don't know how to get you to pick up the series, unless....  Hot off the press from Dorchester Publishers.....

Free E-book Download!

Looking for an awesome e-book reader app? Download B&N's FREE app then visit a Barnes & Noble near you and get the e-book of Leanna Renee Hieber's The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker FREE! For step-by-step instructions, visit barnesandnoble.com. Offer good May 24th-June 25th.

Hot Damn, Everyone!!  Darkly Luminous FOR FREE!!!  Run, don't walk, and get your copy!  You won't be sorry.  I JUST received this as part of my newsletter...  I could not believe.  I hope everyone get a chance to download a copy.  A HUGE thanks to Dorchester and B & N!  The email doesn't say whether or not the download is international, but it can't hurt to try.  I'll be downloading it because, well, I love it.  Owning an ebook copy will be great.  LOL  I do it all the time. (PS:  there are four additional authors available too)

Also available for free download, Strangely Beautiful!!  Click HERE!

Happy Reading Everyone!
  
The trailer for Darkly Luminous does justice to the gothic romance.


And because I simply could not resist, here's an excerpt from this wonderful novel!

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Miss Persephone Parker lay deep in the honeyed thick of dreams, shifting between terrible vision and wonderful memory. The terrible vision began beautiful but ended in horror, she recalled.

She was young and powerful, standing in an endless field of perfumed flowers. The sky was what she imagined of Heaven. Eternal and wondrous, a beautiful raven-haired man held her tightly in his arms, and his great wings encircled their clinch, grazing her satin skin that ached for his touch. Phoenix was more than man or angel; he was a God, a being of sense and light, reason and truth. He was the perfect complement to her life-force of beauty, kindness, sensibility and love. Their mutual fellowship of light was blinding. Never had two beings been so suited. They loved one another not because it was destined but merely because it was right and mutually joyous. Their respective divine forces fit together as a puzzle, interlocked and stronger for it.

But jealousy set the God aflame—literally. Darkness set Phoenix on fire, and her lover died before her heavenly eyes. Screams shook the Earth. Tears enough to drown the world flooded the ground. His great form crumbled to dust, and the vendetta was born.

She turned back to the cave from whence came murder. Red eyes burned from the shadows. Vengeance flared in her heretofore peaceful breast, fueling a hallowed blue fire forged from the remnants of her one true love—and somehow the girl that was now Miss Parker knew that what she viewed here was a score she would unfortunately have to settle herself.

The scene shifted from nightmare to memory.

Here she recognized herself, her queer white skin, and remembered that friends called her Percy. A distinguished professor held her in his arms. Her body was corseted, swathed in satin, wreathed in heather. He wore a fine frock coat and waltzed with her by moonlight. His black hair lustrous in shafts of silver light, his dark eyes bright and compelling, this was her one true love. Acutely aware of the press of his hand and the curve of his lips, here was her destiny, the man who understood her, who unlocked her eerie visions and made everything strange about her beautiful.

The handsome, stoic face of Professor Alexi Rychman suddenly shifted, and in its place flashed red, angry eyes—fiery, terrible eyes—and she heard the all too familiar hissing of snakes. She bolted upright, launching herself toward consciousness before those eyes could seek her out.

Percy awoke in a large room she did not know.


I received this book from the author because she knows I loved Strangely Beautiful.  All opinion expressed are my own.

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Publisher:  Leisure Books / Imprint of Dorchester Publishing
Pages:  324

From the Cover:  What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent-and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death... 

Six were called to soothe the spirits, six were called to protect the humans, and to them will come a seventh, the Balance.  The Healer, The Intuition, The Artist, The Heart, The Memory, The Power......  all await the Balance yet to come......

Alexi Rychman has been looking for the fulfillment of the Prophecy for two long decades, and as yet, his Goddess has not returned.  There is to be signs of her arrival, and London is thick with them, but not the most important of all....The portal to the other side, the doorway has yet to appear.

Rebecca Thompson, Headmistress of the Athens Academy has long sought the attention of Alexi, dear friend and confidante.  But to no avail, he only has eyes for his reluctant mistress, their missing Goddess.  The Grand Work has become a replacement for love and desire.  Her heart is squirreled away, begging for release.  All the Guard, all six have dedicated their lives to the Grand Work, but when is enough enough?

Miss Percy Parker, the ghostly visage of a young woman, sometimes mistaken for the spirits that dance on the Earth arrives at Athens from the Reverend Mother's care, hoping to find a place to belong.  Before long, Alexi finds himself drawn to this ghost girl, Persephone, holding the name of his long ago Goddess.  But can this wisp of a girl, a see through visage of a woman, be his Goddess returned?

 The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is a mythical journey of the lightness of being, a Gothic Victorian romance wonderfully told with beautiful words and detail, the voicing excellent. I fell in love with the storytelling and the characters, each for their own reason.  The story starts with the calling of the guard.  Six young people are possessed as the Guard, to learn the truth, wait for a sign, prevent the unthinkable; Hades' reign on Earth.  Without the six, the seventh would be lost or the foretold story claims.  The seventh is the fulfillment of the Prophecy on Earth.  The seventh is the return of the Goddess stolen by Hades, her Phoenix lover burned to dust and the Muses scattered.  Alexi, our masterful hero, must find the missing Goddess, but he has so little to go on, mysterious missives.  The one thing he does know is that with the finding of the Goddess, his true love will be returned to him.  Percy Parker, our wistful heroine, is like the Earthbound ghosts that seek her guidance and counsel.  She has always been different, but it's always been the ghostly shade of her skin and eyes that have held her apart, making her different.  The one thing that neither Alexi or Percy knows is that others roam the Earth release from the bowels of Hades in search of the missing Goddess, and her ultimate destruction, and with her, the Balance that holds the Earth, Good versus Evil for domination. 

Strangely Beautiful is a strangely wonderful retelling of the Greek mythology of old.  The Goddess Persephone and her lover, The Phoenix, torn apart and put asunder by the wrath of Hades, God of the Underworld along with the evilness of the Gorgon, the serpent headed she-demon sent by her Master to destroy the Balance, and effectively, the Goddess.  Strangely Beautiful retells the story with new twists and turns capturing the wonderment, the emotions, and dread of the unknown.  More than once I cried for poor Percy and more than once I wanted to shake the Guard, especially Rebecca who was blinded by what she wanted to see and have instead of what was before her eyes.  But it was such a long hard journey to take for all of the Guard, that I had to forgive her, and the other Guards, too long searching for what could not be found.  Strangely Beautiful pulls at the emotions of the reader, struck deep to their core.  I was left wanting more, needing to see the further journey.  I highly recommend this book to lovers of romance, paranormal, urban fantasy, those who love mythology and fantasy.  Strangely Beautiful is another book that has gained a spot on my keeper shelf to be re-read again and again.  As soon as I finished the story, I was immediately drawn back to read it once more through, yes, the story was that good. The best description is a bewitching story in an alluring rendition.  With each reading, something new will be found and that's what makes it special.  If you haven't begun to follow Persephone's journey, now is the time to let your adventure begin.  Book Two, The Darkly Luminous Fight For Persephone Parker will be released April 27, 2010. Watch for it, as well as the next two books in the series yet to come.

To celebrate Miss Percy Parker's continuing story, Ms. Hieber is having a fun book giveaway, several wonderful books to be had.  For more information on her contest, click here.

The book trailer tells the story to perfection, I love it.

(Release Date: April 27, 2010)

Publisher: Leisure Books / Imprint of Dorchester Publishing
Pages: 320

To read excerpts from Book Two, click here to go to Ms. Hieber's blog.

Here's at peek at the awesome book trailer for Book Two, I can't wait to see how the story continues!



To pre-order The Darkly Luminous Fight For Persephone Parker go to:  here, here, or here.


I received this book from the author, Leanna Renee Hieber, for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.