Customer Reviews

Dark Lullaby

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Premise: Gabriel Diaz is an idealist. He loves debating about good and evil, justice versus murder. His relationship with his ex-girlfriend Liz is friendly, though he knows she would let it be more again if he wanted. But he doesn't think he loves her. Yet more fodder for moral discussions in his own mind. His childhood in Puerto Rico was not a happy one. Though he and his twin sister survived, it has colored his perceptions. The unusual bond he and his twin share hasn't failed to impart to him her fears of her current pregnancy, having lost a daughter hours after birth three years ago. Yet all these hanging issues and more get put on hold when he meets Kamilah. Foreign and beautiful, she drives him to distraction. And she seems as fascinated by the moral issues of justice and darkness as he is himself. Then little things start happening the closer the time for his trip to visit his sister for the impending birth comes. Is there a form of darkness at work here or is he only letting his imagination and worries run away with him?

Review: Filled with several exotic locals, Dark Lullaby makes for a plethora of the unusual and foreign. The Middle Eastern mythology used is also not one seen often, so it made for a very refreshing change and caused the horror aspects to be even more poignant. Gabriel has to face the very moral issues he's been battling in his mind, pushed and prodded toward an end that will affect the lives of more than just himself. While who the evil persona is was never in question, the goals and resolution weren't clear until the end, making the read much more exciting. If you like chills, foreign settings, and moral dilemmas, this book is for you!

Dark Lullaby is the story of Gabriel Diaz, an astrophysicist with a passion for intellectual discussions and Belgium beer. When Dark Lullaby begins, the ending of a tepid 3-year-relationship has left Gabriel wondering if he is even capable of love. And then, he meets a hauntingly beautiful woman called Kamilah, who profoundly affects him on all kinds of levels.

Gabriel's joy is quickly tempered by fear, as he starts to wonder what is really going on with Kamilah. When he travels to her homeland in the dark forests surrounding the Black Sea, it becomes clear Kamilah has an evil design on Gabriel's beloved sister Elena, who is about to deliver her first child.

The author of Dark Lullaby is Puerto Rican born Mayra Calvani, who has published fiction in a variety of genres--horror, paranormal, satire, mystery, literary fantasy, and children's. Her stories and articles have appeared in publications such as Enigmatic Tales, Twilight Times Ezine, New Mystery Reader, Long Story Short, Musings: A Magazine of Words, Writer Gazette, Scribe & Quill, Absolute Write, The Bloomsbury Review, Mosaic Magazine, and El Nuevo Dia newspaper

Calvani's writing style is strong, powerful and direct; qualities that make her stories and characters come alive. Dark Lullaby uses the fascination of both Turkish folklore and powerfully imagined sensory detail to draw in the reader. It is the kind of story that is complex and compelling and just pulls you along, to the point that you won't want to put it down.

You don't have to be a fan of horror or paranormal romance to like this book. I'm not and I found it both entertaining and mesmerizing.

Reviewed by Cheryl Swanson, Gotta Read reviewer and author of Death Game [...]

Even though astrophysicist Gabriel has promised to visit his pregnant sister in Belgium in time for the birth, he agrees to accompany the young, mysterious and very attractive Kamilah on a trip to her family cottage in Rize in the mountains on the Black Sea. There, amidst the splendour of the Turkish countryside, strange things begin to happen. First he loses his cell-phone, his one link to the outside world. Then he begins to feel physically ill. With terrifying nightmares, hellish hallucinations and threatening encounters assailing him from all sides, Gabriel is plunged into a maelstrom of inexplicable supernatural events that threaten not only his very sanity but his integrity, not to mention the peace of mind of his twin sister far away in Belgium.

For Kamilah is not the young innocent she appears to be, and she has an agenda that is both shocking and bizarre. It will take all Gabriel's strength of mind to resist being corrupted by her, as well as courage and ingenuity for him to escape from her clutches. And even then it might be too late...if not for him, then perhaps for his niece yet unborn and therefore highly vulnerable.

Dark Lullaby is an atmospheric paranormal horror that grips you from page one and refuses to let go until you've raced, breathless, to the end. The prose is so smooth there are no speed bumps as you devour the entire novel in one or two sittings. The exotic setting of the Turkish countryside is detailed and enjoyable, and characterization is superbly handled, making all the main characters come to life. The subject matter is chilling and spooky, and the suspension of disbelief is constant.

Highly recommended for fans of paranormal fiction, especially horror aficionados, though there is nothing to stop other readers from enjoying this too. Only make sure the more faint-hearted among you do not read this alone at night. You have been warned.

Dark, exotic, and filled with chilling twists and turns, "Dark Lullaby" by Marya Calvani is horror story that grabs you right away and doesn't release its grip until the final word is read.

Astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz believes in the higher good and that everything can be explained by science and logic. One night in a tavern, a mysterious and intriguing woman captivates his body and soul. After spending the next several days with the mysterious Kamilah, Gabriel is convinced to join her in Turkey to visit her family's cottage, even though he can't push away the nightmares of his sister Elena's unborn child.

Plagued by a strange illness that leaves him weakened and sore, Gabriel begins to wonder who or what Kamilah really is. With the help of a village merchant and a one-eyed witch, Gabriel makes a startling discovery, calling into question all he believes in and forcing him to come to terms with his past so he can save Elena's baby.

Equally scary and beautiful, Mayra Calvani has drawn the beauty of Turkey into a chilling paranormal tale unlike any I've ever read. The descriptions throughout this book were stunning. I walked along the hike up a Turkish mountainside, lived inside Gabriel's head during his disturbing dreams, and stood beside him as he looked into the strangely carved trees in the forest leading up to Kamilah's cottage.

A master storyteller, Calvani hooked me from the first moment in the tavern to the very last page. This is truly a unique story that I look forward to reading again.

"Dark Lullaby" will capture you with its rich descriptions, its exotic location, and the need to uncover the dark secrets hidden within its pages.

The next time you feel like curling up with a scary book, get a copy of author Mayra Calvani's Dark Lullaby, a riviting page turner that will keep you reading straight through until the end. The story begins in Baltimore where Puerto Rican born Gabriel Diaz meets the lovely young woman Kamilah. Very soon she has his undivided attention.

Tension builds as Kamilah works her way into Gabriel's life. They spend almost every moment together, and it is then that his nightmares begin. A part of him suspects a connection to the new woman in his life, but ultimately his attraction to her pushes his concerns aside. In his apartment are photos of his twin sister Elena who is expecting a baby in a few weeks. He is anxious about Elena because her first child died soon after birth. Gabriel is very close to his sister and has promised to be with her when this child is born. Kamilah finds this admirable and wants to hear everything about Elena and her efforts to have a healthy baby. But first the exotic beauty convinces Gabriel that he has time to come with her to her family's small cottage in a beautiful, somewhat desolate area of northern Turkey. Just for a week, she says. Gabriel agrees then quickly regrets this decision. His nightmares worsen. He hears sounds of frightened children in the forest, and sees grotesque faces of babies in the bark of trees. All too quickly the nightmares become reality.

Dark Lullaby is a must read for those who enjoy novels of horror. Calvani keeps the tension tight throughout this gripping novel.

Astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz enjoys an intellectual debate especially over beer, but recently he has had doubts he will ever find a passionate love as his relationship with Liz went from girlfriend to friend. Meanwhile the only person he loves, his pregnant Elena begs him to be there when she gives birth as she is frightened having lost a newborn three years ago. Gabriel would do anything for Elena so he promises to come to Belgium where she lives.

However, his sibling's need vanishes form his brain when he meets Kamilah. She challenges his intellect with debates on good and evil and what is justice. Instead of going to Belgium, he accompanies Kamilah to her home in the Turkish mountains overlooking the Black Sea. Once in Rize, Gabriel loses his cell phone and becomes very sick suffering from nightmares that make sleep horrendous and he suffers even worse hallucinations when awake. As an increasingly paranoid Gabriel fears for his mind and wonders if somehow Kamilah is behind his descent into insanity and overall ill health, a panic stricken Elena keeps wondering where he is as he never failed her unlike their parents and she cannot believe he will fail his soon to be born niece.

This is a terrific horror tale that hooks readers who in spite of knowing that Kamilah is malevolent from almost the first siren meeting with Gabriel wonder what her her motive is and who she is. Fans will assume due to Gabriel's descent into paranoia and Elena's increasing manic panic attacks and anxiety-depression that borders on bipolar that this is a psychological thriller; but the Turkish locale and Kamilah make it so much more. Maria Calvani will have fans hooked in a one sitting read as the author's appreciative attentive audience will want to know is it madness or something more paranormally chilling.

Harriet Klausner