ETERNAL PLEASURE

Author: Nina Bangs ISBN: 9780843959536 7/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER

The Eleven—an alliance of ultimate predators. Primal, lethal, irresistible. The Prophecy—an ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on 12-21-12. The Prey—where can you hide from pure evil? Kelly Maloy opens her car door to much more than a great looking stranger at the Houston airport. Terror, desire, and a horrible truth climb in with him. She's only supposed to drive Ty Endeka around the city for a few weeks. Too bad no one tells her that once day fades she'll become part of a battle fought in the darkened streets with an enemy that isn't human. And the sensual man who feed her fantasies hides a soul that gives new meaning to animal magnetism.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

ETERNAL PLEASURE is the first story in Nina Bangs' new series about eleven protectors awakened for the purpose of stopping the end of the world on 12-21-2012.

The premise of the story is built around the ancient Mayan prophecy that the world will end on December 21, 2012, as that is the day their calendar stops. Going off that, Bangs has created eleven otherworldly predators that will have to fight against evil in order to save the world from destruction. Ty Endeka is one of the eleven Gods of the Night. After his awakening, he is summoned to Houston to help in the fight against the nine similar predators who work for the other side. While there, he meets Kelly Maloy, who is to be his driver. Kelly has taken the job to earn some extra money as she makes her way through school. But she had no idea what she was signing up for when she meets the gorgeous Ty and embarks on a journey that will open her eyes to things that she never thought possible.

The story is set in the future, about a year before the purported ending of the world. Much of the story is Bangs' intricate descriptions of the world as it is then, in 2011, and it is far from the world we live in today, only three years prior. As Ty sets out on his mission, Kelly is unwillingly, at first, dragged along. But what keeps her with him is the unexplainable, yet strong attraction that she feels for Ty. As the attraction is very mutual, Ty finds himself struggling with the strength he possesses and exposing Kelly to his view of the world that they live in, though he is resolute in knowing what he must do.

I felt the main purpose of ETERNAL PLEASURE was to build this new world and with it, this great impending battle between good and evil and setting up the players on both sides. There is a love story told between Ty and Kelly, but I wouldn't say it was the main storyline of the novel. For me, it kind of felt flat and I never felt that their relationship was justified past the strong attraction that both characters felt for each other. I will admit that I found myself lost and confused a lot of the time with not understanding what was going on in the story. The world within ETERNAL PLEASURE is very intricately detailed throughout the story's pages, and obviously in the mind of Bangs, but that picture didn't translate from the words into my own mind.

The Gods of the Night series will continue with a second novel to be published in April of 2009. For me, this is one series I will have to pass on as I just didn't connect with ETERNAL PLEASURE.

Maame Kanbi