Caden O'Brien's Website

I have fallen in love with indie author Amy Lane’s Little Goddess series! These books have carried me away and I’m foaming at the mouth for the next book in the series, which is due out next year.

So far three books have been published in this remarkable series. The first book is Vulnerable, and introduces us to the world of college student Cory Kirkpatrick as she struggles to escape the dreary confines of her impoverished childhood home. Generally considered unattractive by her peers, she covers herself in heavy Goth makeup and clothing and has a major chip on her shoulder. A meeting with vampire Adrian opens her world, and leads her into a whole new existence as she encounters beings she once thought were only myths. The story, characters, and relationships develop over the next two books, Wounded and Bound.

A key character is Green, the sidhe elf who leads the community at Green’s Hill.  A fantastic collection of fey, vampires, lycanthropes and other preternatural beings live and work together, and Ms. Lane’s world building is astonishing.  There isn’t a whole lot of action in these books, as the emphasis is more on the characters and their relationships. But there is tension as those relationships develop – Cory’s evolution isn’t painless, and her introduction into the community causes major changes in some of the relationships – as well as from a threat by an evil vampire group.  I wanted to move to Green’s Hill! These characters truly pull you in and make you part of the story.

These are not typical paranormal romance books. They have a dark side, and all is not happily-ever-after. The conflicts are realistic, the relationships are heart-heartrendingly true to life, the sex is explicit and sensual (including menage and m/m), and I was totally carried away.  It’s a major oversight that a publisher hasn’t taken on these books, but I’m finding that many of the truly outstanding works these days are self-published, as these are. I think that Ms. Lane retains her creative freedom by going this route, and while I wish her every success, I’d hate to see that sacrificed to the whims of a typical publisher’s formula. I know, easy for me to say…!

If you want something with more meat than the typical paranormal romance, check these out! And Ms. Lane has generously provided lots of freebies on her website, Green’s Hill. Some wonderful short stories there, including the Jack & Teague series (they are secondary characters in her books), that tide me over between books.