In celebration of the release of White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I created a story diary for the prequel novella, Bitter Sweet Love. I must warn you it is lengthy, filled with quotes, pictures, commentary from yours truly and a little background info. Enjoy, drool, fear, awe and swoon over the red-hot Wardens and demons that Jennifer created!
Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
From my review:
Jennifer has a way of making any species she writes about differently, which sets her characters and stories apart from others. Whether it's aliens, demi-gods, demons or gargoyles, she knows how to twist, entice, and turn up the heat like it's no one's business. Given the demons that Jennifer wrote of in this story, and being a HUGE Supernatural fan that she is, I wonder if she based some of her demons from Supernatural. There's also a ton of back story to cover about their species and their enemies. It was a lot of fun learning about that, because Jennifer's gargoyles are different and more modern than the ones I grew up with. I might not be much of a fan of history when it comes to whatever we learn from our grade school textbooks, but Jennifer makes learning paranormal history exciting. I absorbed it like a sponge. Bitter Sweet Love has plenty of action, history, adventure and love to fill this short story. Read more >>
Places
Adirondack Mountains
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| Image Source: Wiki |
"I was so high, so far above the domes of the Adirondack Mountains that when I opened my eyes, I felt as though I could reach out and touch the stars or rise straight to the Heavens." --Jennifer L. Armentrout, Bitter Sweet Love (Loc 31)
Adirondack Mountains are located in the Appalachians, Northeastern of Upstate New York.
New York City
"The city created its own skyline, an elegant stretch of buildings against the backdrop of blue skies, some tall enough that they seemed to have their very own stairway to Heaven. I could almost imagine what it looked like at night, all lit up, dazzling and awe-inspiring." --Jennifer L. Armentrout, Bitter Sweet Love (Loc 775)
Times Square
Ellis Island, NY
D.C.
Although the character did not go sight-seeing the Capital or the Monument, they did go to the city to visit the D.C clan (White Hot Kiss is about their clan).
Pennsylvania
Species
Warden: Gargoyles
"Full height, standing close to seven feet. Wings, spanning several feet on either side. Flesh was the color of granite and would be just as hard to touch, making him and all Wardens indestructible. Two dark horns parted his mane of black hair, each curving in a fine, wickedly sharp point. Nose was flat, nostrils thin, and eyes, normally the color of the sky at dawn." --Jennifer L. Armentrout, Bitter Sweet Love (Loc 81)
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| I, Frankenstein (2014) |
In mythology, Gargoyles are believed to be used to ward off evil and act as guardians of the church, which is where they are perched, and were inspired from a passage written in the bible. The word Gargoyle is derived from an old French word gargouille, meaning "throat." Which, I guess, explains why they are often found to have spouts that carry out water. And that concludes basic background that we already know. Okay, let's move on.
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| Only because I grew up with Gargoyles and The Goliath Chronicles |
I imagine him as Dez (except more charcoal than purple, and more sexy and less cartoon-y) whenever Jas doesn't do what she's told, or gets him hot and bothered. LOL. I can hear it now, "Dammit, Jas!"
Of course Jennifer's gargoyles, being the modern ones that they are, are still as big and lethal, but also dangerously hot as well. You can count on Jennifer to create (almost) any creature to be such a looker.
Demons
- Upper Level
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| Not the demon in White Hot Kiss, but in mythology/demonology |
"Most dangerous of all demons were the Upper Level ones -- the princes and dukes of hell. They were rare, but their threat was very real." (Loc 418)
- Lesser
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| Lesser demon from RuneScape |
Terriers
"Lean, muscular bodies covered in reddish matted fur. With clawed, four-fingered hands and hooded feet. Their wings were black and fragile looking. Mouths gaped open, each exposing a ragged set of teeth that rivaled a great white's. A large brown horn curved out from each camel-shaped head, sharp as a dagger. Controlled by Seekers." (Loc 439)
Did you know...
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| In Germanic folklore, there are smaller Lesser demons called Imps. |
You can find Imps in pop culture, such as Bat-Mite from the DC Comics. Remember him? Yup, his character is indeed based off of an Imp. So is The Great Gazoo from Flinstones.
When I hear Lesser demons -- don't judge me, but -- I automatically think of RuneScape. Which is where I got the image above from. LOL. Anyway, back to the demons.
- Seekers
"Demons who were in charge of finding something for an Upper Level demon of for Hell itself." (Loc 447)
There wasn't really a description of how Seekers looks like, so no image for Seekers, bye.
- Fiends
"Looked human and were into general mayhem, breaking things down, starting fires, manipulating the emotions of large crowds." (Loc 411)
Fiends are described as looking like a human, so imagine a human who takes great joy in mayhem and chaos. Think teenagers.
- Posers
"Looked human, but only for a short while, and they had one hell of an appetite, including the rare cannibalistic tendency. When they bite into a human, things went downhill fast -- like turning-into-a-zombie fast." (Loc 418)
Again. I can't seem to find an image to fit this description. I'm not entirely sure what they turn into (besides demon, obvi) once their human capacities run out. I'd say the same as Fiends, but not limited to teenagers, and on bath salts.
- Earth
"Earth demon. Not much is known about them other than they caused a bit of mischief during their heyday. Usually they were only seen up north, near Massachusetts and places like that." (Loc 1133)
Meet Herbert. The lovingly deceitful pukwudgie demon that went from cute and friendly to full on evil and scary attack mode on Jas. I included the gif above solely because that's how I imagined Herbert right before it bit her.
"No taller than a foot, the thing's skin was the color of aged leather, legs thin and knobby. Some kind of loincloth had been fashioned out of leaves and its potbelly was covered with mud. The creature kind of resembled one of those heinous troll dolls that had been popular before my time. [. . .] its dark brown hair did stick straight up in large clumps, twisting together at the end." (Loc 1126)
Alphas: Powerful angels who calls the shots for Wardens
"Alphas were like urban legends. They were the most powerful of all angels and also the most frightening. Alphas were not warm and fuzzy or nice or even generally friendly on a good day. They saw things only in black and white, evil versus good and wrong versus right. And since they created us, they could also undo our very existence if they wanted." (Loc 67)
Okay, so, maybe Archangels may or may not be the Alphas that Jennifer thought of, but whose to say that Archangels can't be warriors?
Favorite Quotes
"Crap on a cracker." --Jas (Loc 81)
"I've missed you, Jas. You have no idea. I thought about you every damn day. All I wanted was to get back to you and the clan. But mostly you. Always you." --Dez (Loc 298)
"[. . .] in the end he agreed.""He did?"One side of his lips curved up. "Only after promising to rip me limb from limb if anything happens to you."I smiled widely.He frowned. "I hope you're smiling about him agreeing and not the ripping-me apart." (Loc 597)
"The male pride in his face was so evident when I opened my eyes that I wanted to pick up something heavy and smack him upside the head with it." --Jas (Loc 650)
"Maybe at the end of these seven days, you'll still say no. That doesn't mean it's over. I'm in this for the long haul. And I'm just saying that by the end of these seven days or maybe a week from then, or a month, you'll say yes. And I'll be waiting. No matter how long it takes." --Dez (Loc 1111)
Teaser
"That's not a kiss," I whispered.
"Yes, it is."
Even with my limited experience, I knew better. "No, it's not."
"It's the beginning of a kiss," he explained, spreading his hand behind the nape of my neck.
"The beginning?" My eyes fluttered shut as my anticipation rose in spite of the resolution to end these seven days with a resounding no.
His lips pressed down on my jaw, a tiny hot little brand. He moved to one corner of my lips and then the other. Air caught in my throat as he slanted his mouth over mine, kissing me softly. It was such a sweet, tender kiss, little more than a brush of his lips. Still, the contact sent a rush of fire through my veins, and the kiss deepened, as it had when he'd returned. The pressure of his mouth increased, and he flicked his tongue along the seem of my lips, causing me to gasp. He was quick to take advantage of the opening, kissing me in a way I'd only dreamed of. His tongue slid over mine, patient and coaxing; a slow seduction that demanded a response. The kiss lingered until he retreated, nipping at my lower lip. (Loc 642 - 650)
About the Author
# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
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