I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Succubus Dreams
by
Richelle Mead
urban fantasy in a paperback edition that was published by Kensington Books on October 1, 2008 and has 296 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Succubus Blues, Succubus on Top, Succubus Heat, Vampire Academy, Succubus Shadows, Frostbite, Succubus Revealed, Shadow Kiss, Richelle Mead, Blood Promise, Storm Born, Spirit Bound, Iron Crowned, Last Sacrifice, Eternal Lover, Thorn Queen, Shadow Heir, Bloodlines, Kisses from Hell, Indigo Spell, Gameboard of the Gods, The Fiery Heart, The Immortal Crown, Silver Shadows, Soundless, The Ruby Circle
Third in the Georgina Kincaid urban fantasy series set in contemporary Seattle.
My Take
I just love the bit where Georgina sums up Hell’s purpose: “We were always looking to commit souls to Hell and did so in a well-monitored, micro-managed manner.” And aren’t those two words absolutely hellish all on their own!
I love that it’s Christmas and all the denizens of Hell are putting up Christmas trees and doing the Secret Santa gift exchange.
As much as I hated the ending, it was absolutely perfect. It had to happen. There really wasn’t any positive way to go forward.
The Story
So life is cruisin’ for Georgina and Seth as they’ve achieved a balance between her needs as a succubus and their love for each other. Until. Until she meets up with Niphon again at an all-staff meeting at Peter and Cody’s. The imp who sold her the deal and put her in eternal bondage to Hell. Seems he’d be in Seattle for a while having brought a brand-new succubus to Georgina for training. Tawny, the tatty new bimbo succubus, who can’t get laid.
Georgina’s only bright spots are her love for Seth, the fun she’s having bringing Maddie out of her shell, and the group of Charlie’s, er, Carter’s Angels—two of whom are in love.
That’s when the dreams started. Such a contrast between the unmitigated evil of Niphon and the unattainable fantasy of her desires. The dreams that drain her energy leading her to Dante, a man with deep, dark issues of his own with Niphon and Hugh’s taunting of Seth leading to the penultimate scene between he and Georgina.
The Characters
The repeating characters are Georgina Kincaid as a millennia-old succubus fallen in platonic love with her favorite author, Seth Mortenson. A man willing, in return, to abstain from sex to be with the woman he loves.
Hugh, Peter, and Cody are her best friends. Always willing to head out for a drink, spend a night playing cards, foresting her living room. An imp, a millennia-old vampire, and his young apprentice.
Jerome is the demon boss for the Seattle area with a penchant for John Cusack while Carter is his angelic counterpart. An angel who is not all that angelic — I will read this series if only to find out about Carter’s true intentions, he intrigues me tremendously.
This story’s characters include Niphon, the imp who originally sold Georgina the bill of goods. Oh, I doubt that Georgina would have backed out of the deal as she did it to save her husband and salve her own guilt, but Niphon is a true son of Hell to Georgina. Tawny is another of his soul deals. A brand, new incubus without a clue. So tarted up that she’s a train wreck of a show.
Dante is a former friend of Eric’s. Both human. Both able to sense the supernatural beings around them. Each the antithesis of the other. Where Eric is inherently good, Dante is dark and damned using his abilities to connive his way through what is left of his life.
Carter’s Angels are an interesting collection. There’s Whitney, a dark horse of whom very little is revealed. Polite but distant. Yasmine is a cheerful soul accepting of everyone while the accessible Vincent has a more cheeky style. Then there’s Joel. Uptight, starchy, with a straitlaced attitude with Georgina irresistibly taking the mickey out of him.
Maddie is Ian’s sister. Having come to Seattle in Succubus on Top to help nurse Ian back to life, Maddie has stayed on, and Ian hired her to help out at the bookstore. The bookstore provides the steady income that supports her writing for feminist magazines. The gentleman who purchased Georgina at the charity auction describes her as a “femnazi” — and it seems a reasonable description of her attitude toward any man.
The Cover
Eeek! Georgina is pretty hot in that skimpy red dress with its extremely low back and the side of her breast exposed but…again I say, eek! Do not look at her face. She looks like she’s about to take a nice big chomp out of ya!!
