Demons and Lullabies (Volume 2) [Paperback]

Kallysten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2012

Some little boys want to be firemen or astronauts when they grow up. From the moment Jacob understood what his fathers did, he never wanted to do anything but fight demons. Andrew, Jacob’s father and a vampire, fights demons because it’s a necessity: few others have the strength or skill to kill the strange creatures that started appearing the very night his son was born. He carries with him some guilt, too, and the suspicion that the magic that made Jacob’s very life possible also opened the way for the demons. The last thing he wants is for his son to ever join this fight and get hurt. As the years pass, however, and Andrew watches Jacob grow up and grow more determined, he slowly has to accept there’s little he can do to deter his son. It doesn’t help that Nicholas, Jacob’s other dad and Andrew’s Childe, starts giving Jacob sword-fighting lessons under the cover of playing, or that Jacob discovers his mother’s diaries and comes to the same conclusion Andrew did concerning his origins and the demons’. Through snapshots covering Jacob’s life from birth to adulthood, watch all three members of this unusual family change, grow up, and find their place in the world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kallysten’s most exciting accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been writing for fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with science fiction, short stories and poetry, she is now trying her hand, heart and words at paranormal romance novels. To see her other stories, including free short stories and sample chapters, visit http://kallysten.net

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1479156558
• ISBN-13: 978-1479156559
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,037,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kallysten's most exciting accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been writing for fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with science fiction, short stories and poetry, she is now trying her hand, heart and words at paranormal romance stories.

Find excerpts, sample chapters, free short stories and free audiobooks on her website, http://kallysten.net

Also check the website to request complimentary autographed bookplates for your paperbacks by Kallysten.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A GraveTells review: A m/m vampire fantasy about love, life, and raising a warrior September 3, 2012

By DavinciKittie

Format:Kindle Edition

*** This review is SPOILER-FREE! Read on with confidence! ***

Andrew and Nicholas have a sweet, loving relationship, with a slight D/s twist: Andrew is Nick's vampire sire and, while Nick doesn't always do as he's told, he has an innate need to make Andrew happy. Together they raise Jacob, Andrew's biological son, conceived and born through magic and mystery. On the night of Jacob's birth, his mother's heart stopped beating just as he was born, then the demon sightings began... always in proximity to Jacob or the city he was born in.

The story skips through time and highlights moments from Jacob's childhood and the relationship between his two dads as they defend unsuspecting humans against near-constant demon attacks. Initially, the story switches between Andrew's and Nicholas's point of view, exploring their bond and narrating Jacob's early years from an outside perspective. Once Jacob is old enough to talk and toddle, we're treated to some endearingly adorable and surprisingly mature thoughts and get to see his fathers from a new perspective, highlighting some of the more subtle aspects of their partnership.

As precocious and precious as Jacob is as a child, it is exciting and unexpectedly compelling to watch him grow into a sweet, strong young man with excellent judgement, a level head, and a heart of gold. Seeing him with his first love, his first demon kill, learning the hard way how to deal with judgmental peers, developing his defensive skills and protective personality... it's all so smooth and flowing and endearing that I don't care that the battle scenes aren't blow-by-blow and the sex scenes tend toward sensual rather than erotic. This is a story about a boy who shouldn't exist, his unusual family unit, and the brilliant ribbons of his life as he becomes a man. Demons and Lullabies is a life story, rich and fulfilling. Its paranormal aspects take somewhat of a backseat to the characters' relationships and the flowing passage of time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

While there is certainly a good amount of demon fighting and fangy love bites happening in the periphery of this story, the focus is on love and family bonds and the challenges of growing up with two dads who happen to be traditional vampires. Some of the scenes with Jacob as a child really squeezed my heart, made me feel what he was feeling. I usually don't care for stories with kids in them, but in Demons & Lullabies it didn't bother me at all. I was so caught up in the heart of this touching story that the lack of action and smut rarely crossed my mind. Oh there's sex and it's fairly steamy, but it's not overly explicit or gratuitous; it enhances the mens' relationship rather than defining it.

As soon as this book ended, I thought "this better be a series!" I didn't want it to end and am looking forward to seeing Jacob grow into his adulthood fighting beside his fathers. When I said this to author Kallysten, she reassured me that there is indeed a story about Jacob's adult journey, called One Last Lullaby. Demons & Lullabies is a captivating, enriching story and is a recommended read!

If you liked Demons & Lullabies, you might also like Storms and Stars!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Both unique heartwarming and at times erotic..." September 1, 2012

By FullMoonBites

Format:Kindle Edition

In Demons and Lullabies by Kallysten we meet Andrew, a father (and vampire) who has just lost his love (human) during the birth of their son. As a vampire it is illegal for him to keep the child and raise him, the baby would be taken away, which is why Andrew decides to move away from the city where he and Cara had met, fallen in love and lived at--away from where everyone knows he is a vampire.

Not long after he moves and begins to set his life up again, including his Special Forces business (which takes care of `bad' vampire who kill humans) Nicholas his wayward Childe (a human that he turned into a vampire) and ex-lover comes back into his life.

Nicholas and Andrew's relationship starts back again and through the book we see both snap shots of their and their son Jacob's life.

But at the time Jacob was born--demons started appearing everywhere, the first sighting really close to their old house. The coincidence does not go unnoticed by Andrew and is only highlighted by the fact that it is pretty much impossible for a vampire and human to have a baby. Andrew believes that magic may have had some part in it and that Cara may have unintentionally opened up the way for the demons.

I do not think I have ever read a book like this. Not one that just highlights snapshots of characters life.

Now when I say snapshots you may be thinking really short chapters about random things in one book (kind of like an anthology maybe) but that is not it at all. We start with Jacobs's birth and have a full chapter on this and then full chapters on each years of his life up until he is seventeen. Of course Jacob is not the sole focus of the book we get both Andrew's and Nicholas' point-of-view as well.

I loved how we got everything in the snapshots and though I would have loved to have some of them much longer so I could see what happened afterward I would not have it any other way! We get Jacob growing up, having to hide the fact that his fathers' are vampires, his fear when they hunt demons and his desire to do the same.

No matter how is fathers' try to dissuade him he's determined to follow in their footsteps and help them, especially when he finds out more about how he was conceived and that it may be directly linked to the demons' appearance in their world.

We also get both Andrew's and Nicholas' love for him, their fears and protectiveness of him, disagreements, and fights and then we also get just Nicholas and Andrew... I will only give you one guess as to what they were doing. ;)

Kallysten writes a wonderfully erotic sex scene and those are parts I definitely would not have minded if they had been longer. Lol

After reading this book I am very curious as to what the first book Fangs and Lullabies is about, it seems (from the description) to also be about Jacob's birth, Andrew and Nicholas. So I am defiantly looking forward to picking it up and seeing what it is about.

Through this is the second book of The Demons Age series I was never once confused or felt like I was missing something, Kallysten's goal to make this book readable as a stand-alone novel was very successful so don't fret if you have this book but not the first yet!

Overall I completely loved this book (and desperately hope it is going to be in paperback--I want it on my bookshelf so I can pick it up again!) The character development is smooth and very obvious, the plot both interesting and engaging, it was very fast paced for me; I read it in just one sitting. Seeing Jacob grow and learn from both of his fathers' POV and Jacob's well was both very inventive and unique for me and not something I have ever heard (or read) done before. Come to mention it I can not think of one single book that is anything like Demons and Lullabies.

Both unique heartwarming and at times erotic Demons and Lullabies is a keeper, and in my opinion a must read of 2012 for anyone who love both male/male and paranormal romance. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great male/male read.

*I received a hardcover/paperback/eBook copy/ARC of this book for free to review from the author/publisher/tour site; this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Demons and Lullabies September 25, 2012

By Vanessa

Format:Kindle Edition

Demons and Lullabies by Kallysten is a heart-felt story about a very unusual family trying to find their place in a world that is not always accepting. Jacob's birth is one of awe and concern, especially since his father is a vampire. His biological mother passed away when Jacob was born and he is now being raised by Andrew, his father and Nicholas, Andrew's Childe and lover. Jacob's family is not one of true societal convention as his dads are vampire hunters who run a Special Force Agency.

The story is written through the lens of Jacob's life starting from birth through teenage-hood. Each year of his life takes the reader through the highs and lows of raising a child in a world where the paranormal is the norm, but being gay parents is not. Andrew and Nicholas love their son very much and make it their life's goal to protect him from the evils of the world. Unfortunately, that is not always possible when your dads are vampire hunters. I appreciated Kallysten's point of view when depicting Andrew and Nicholas. I felt as if they were everyday parents where one parent is the heavy, Andrew, and the other is the "push-over", Nicholas. This POV gave the book normalcy in attempting to raise a very precocious and self- aware son. Jacob idolizes his dads and wants to grow up to be just like them.

As the reader progresses through Jacob's life, we watch the evolution of not only the child but of the relationship between Andrew and Nicholas. I found the story flowed effortlessly as it was told from all three characters perceptions. Andrew and Nicholas, Sire and Childe have a love that spans the tests of time and as with any true committed relationship, have vowed to create a life for themselves as well as their son. Through all the pitfalls and angst of child rearing and spousal relationship, they complement each other's personality and drive. Demons and Lullabies swelled my heart with the immense love displayed throughout the story between lovers, family and friends. Kallysten truly has a winning book in Demons and Lullabies.

book received from author/tour for the purpose of an honest review
reviewed by Zafira