Samhain Publishing, $3.50, ISBN 1-60504-142-4
Fantasy Romance, 2008
In What’s a Ghoul to Do?, we have a pretty unusual pairing of a ghoul and a werewolf. With an impending territory war brewing between his pack and an interloper pack, Rafael Graywolf needs a mate to consolidate his position as the alpha wolf. Because they are running short of time, his pack decides to use the Fangly, My Dear matchmaking service to find him one. Even if Rafe disagrees with that decision, heh. Meanwhile, Lilith P Graves, the rich socialite whose father happens to be a ghoul, helps around at the agency and she definitely does not want another potential Mr Wrong like Rafe in her life. But you know what they say: you can’t stop two fools from falling in love.
I am disappointed with What’s a Ghoul to Do? because Lilith is half-ghoul, but she could have been the tooth fairy for all it matters here. Her father, said to have scared off her previous beaus, doesn’t make any significance appearance here. While I don’t expect Lilith to chew on a leg to make a point – she’s a vegetarian here, by the way – I wish the author has shown a little bit more of Lilith’s ghoul nature here. After all, that is why Lilith is supposed to be unique, no?
Lilith and Rafe aren’t the most well-developed characters, which is understandable in a way given that this is a short story. However, Ms Ballou also wastes considerable words providing long expositions about the ghouls and vampires when she could have just shown them, say, via scenes with Lilith’s more freaky family members. What I’m trying to say here is that the author has wasted words describing background things when she could have spent those words on the story instead. As for the romance, it’s not the most interesting one as the two characters hop into bed very quickly and then spend the rest of the story convincing me that the sex is so good and it opens their eyes to the grand love that they have between them.
What’s a Ghoul to Do? is an easy story to read, but it’s less memorable than it could have been.
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