Book Tour - Never Ceese

You all will be thrilled to know that I got a bunch of books in the last week. You will be unsurprised to know that this week's tour pick was NOT one of them--nor were the last two, which means I still haven't read them. But I'm all set for January! :P

Anyway, let me tell you a bit about Never Ceese. In this novel, author Sue Dent sets out to prove that faith and fun can live happily in the same story, and that vampire/werewolf fantasy can have a spiritual message too.

Here's what I found out about the book (stolen from the CFBA site):

The story starts with the classic tale of an English manor owned by Richard, the vampire who righteously is the bain of his neighbor's existence, what with the missing goats and all!

Then enters Cecelia, better known as Ceese, the young werewolf maiden who's arrived via invitation by Richard's aging companion, Penelope.

Ceese and Richard would prefer to tear each other apart, literally, but they are drawn together by their mutual love for Penelope. She is dying and has one request...that the two of them love one another.

This is the overall theme throughout Dent's interesting tale of two who were wronged but learn to work together. Meanwhile they are threatened by an evil stem cell researcher who wants the immortality and power that he thinks their blood will bring him!

Dent's characters do differ from the stock ones we're all accustomed to in a very important way. They are not mindless, brutal killers. Bloodthirsty, yes, but they are constantly resisting the urge to kill and thus curse another human. Feeding on rodents or goats (virtually any warm-blooded animal) helps to satiate the never ending thirst for blood, but how long will they be able to resist that most delicious morsel--man?

There is a chance that their curses can actually be lifted if they can find the strength within to resist their selfish natures and act selflessly toward another. Will they succeed? That same basic choice lies before us all every day...

A vampire and a werewolf: one determined to--once again--be able to acknowledge what will get her to heaven, the other not so sure he can. A spiritual fantasy designed to spark the imagination, to speak to the heart as well as entertain.

And of course this gets added to the invisible pile of books I want to read!