An ancient evil confined to a lovely New England town rips apart the lives of three people. Billy Smith is out of jail, on the wagon, trying to find a life worth living. Angel is working the beach in Miami, slowly sliding under the spell of heroin. And Jeboriah Taylor is headed to pick up his father's effects from the prison where he died. Visions take control of Billy, drive him out of California, into Florida, where he abducts Angel. Angel, too, is haunted by visions, and believes that she and Billy are being called to a higher purpose. Jeb knows better, as he slowly gives in to the same evil that took his father, and now threatens to destroy all of White Falls.
Bloodstone is a wonderfully chilling evil ghost story, complete with the dead rising and taking revenge on the hypocritical living. If you like that kind of stuff -- and wow, do I! -- the novel delivers. But this is the third mainstream horror novel I've read in the last year or so that allows romantic love to be the element that defeats evil, and I think it's a significant trend. In fact, the novel uses some basic romance standards: hero abducts heroine but they fall in love, tortured hero, and a twist that mirrors a hot theme at Ellora's Cave without flinching, but that's the biggest hint you'll get from me. Buy this exceptional novel and read the shocker of a twist yourself. Bloodstone's lure for me, despite the lack of romantic HEA, is the moral complexity of both the characters and the plot.
(RANT ALERT)
Did you see above, when I mentioned Billy Smith is a felon and recovering alcoholic? Did you catch the fact that the heroine, Angel, was a drug-using prostitute? Here's a clue to the speculative romance industry: starting with characters in dangerous places gives them the space they need to change and grow into real heroes and heroines. When Billy and Angel overcome their internal weaknesses and trust in love, it's a memorable and emotional reading experience. Moreso, perhaps, than it can ever be to read about a heroine getting over a former boyfriend's betrayal. Here in the speculative romance world I think we need more nods to our speculative roots, where through science fiction, fantasy and horror, the genre takes on morally complex subjects with morally complex characters. In Bloodstone, the characters find the power of love in a situation that we would all consider creepy and immoral. Even without a happy ending for the lovers, the story slugs home the theme that romantic love can conquer all. I'd love to read a speculative romance novel with the same moral challenges in character and plot delivered by Bloodstone, but with the assurance of a romantic happy ending. If we're not careful, the speculative genres are going to steal our theme of romantic love, and execute it more powerfully than we do. And that would be a sad day for speculative romance. So get yourself a copy of Bloodstone and take some notes.
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