Night Veil

Galenorn continues the Indigo Court series (launched with Night Myst) with this muddled quest story. Wind witch Cicely Waters feverishly endures erotic bloodsuckings from "good" (or is he?) vampire Grieve, the soul mate Cicely is trying to free from the clutches of fae queen Myst, and "bad" (or is he?) vampire Lannan Altos. Cicely is also the fulcrum in the predictable battle between Myst and Geoffrey, another powerful "good" vampire. Veteran paranormal romance author Galenorn can create respectably colorful fantasy settings like the exotic Court of Dreams, but howlers like Lannan calling Cicely a "lovely young juice box" somewhat diminish their dramatic power. Even Galenorn's helpful dramatis personae and playlist of presumably inspirational recordings can't save this effort from lurid banality. (July)