Elizabeth Boyle's latest historical, Tempted by the Night is a bit deceiving, especially by the cover. You would think this is a straight up historical romance. That is not the case. This is a historical paranormal romance and the next book in her Marlowe series about a very eccentric family who barely has any money and a mother who makes her children’s lives a bit crazy. Tempted by the Night is about Hermione Marlowe, the sister of Sebastian, who was the hero in His Mistress by Morning. If you read His Mistress by Morning, then you know about a magic ring that is being tossed around. Anyone who wears the ring and makes a wish, that wish will come true. Hermione is the lucky girl this time to be in possession of the ring. Herimone or Minny as she is called by her friends and family has it bad for Thomas, the Earl of Rockhurst. He doesn’t even know she is alive and Herimone is so far gone over the man she can hardly speak when she sees him. All she can do is moon over the handsome Earl and say, “Jiminy!” too many times to count. Yup, she is one of those heroines that has an annoying catch phrase.Herimone wishes she was an invisible phantom from sunset to sunrise so she could follow Rockhurst around and find out all of his secrets. And guess what happens? Her wish comes true. Now poor Minny is invisible the moment the sun sets. This gives her the perfect reason to stalk Rochurst. And as she watches Rockhurst, who has a habit of going out late at night, she expects him to drink and whore the night away like most of the gentlemen of his ilk. Instead Rockhurst is on a special mission. He is known as the Paratus, a title passed down from his family from generation to generation. He must defeat the evil specter that is called Melaphor, who comes from another dimension and is killing people. Rockhurst, a.k.a. the Paratus must try and stop Melaphor from his reign of terror and either kill him or force him back to where he came from. But these two are equal in their abilities to stop one another and can never defeat the other. That is until, Rockhurst realizes he has a shadow, an invisible woman who tries to defend him.
This is where the story gets a little strange. Rockhurst is fine with some invisible London miss following him wherever he goes even though she won’t say who she is. Herimone is afraid that if Rockhurst finds out who she is, he will run the other way and be disgusted with her. These two have actual conversations while Herimone is invisible. And the kicker? Rockhurst proceeds to have sex with Herimone many times while she is invisible and nameless, only calling her his Shadow. Some have raised the all important question whether Rockhurst can aim or see certain parts of his involved in the actual act since Herimone is invisible during it. Boyle solves this dilemma by having Rockhurst close his eyes. Apparently his skills go beyond just fighting forces of evil. He is quite skilled at having sex with an invisible partner.
If you can put all that aside, Tempted by the Night is actually a fun read, mainly because of the antics of the invisible super girl that is Herimone. For laughs and some interesting invisible action, try Tempted by the Night. (Avon, September 2008)
3 stars out of 5 stars
Anne Gracie’s His Captive Lady was such a wonderful read! I adore all of Anne’s books and she is one of my favorite historical romance authors. Her latest may not have an invisible women running around causing problems, but there is a young woman who must find her missing baby stolen by her father. Helen Freymore reminded me so much of Tess Durbeyfield from the Thomas Hardy classic, Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Poor Helen has been through so much. Not only was she raped by a former associate of her father’s, but her infant daughter, who she loves more than her own life, is taken away from the one person she always looked up to. Now with her father dead and gone and her home auctioned away because of his debt, Helen has a choice to either give into despair or rise above it all, find work and continue looking for her missing daughter.The first time Harry Morant notices Helen, he thinks of her as a, “drowning Madonna” because Helen is stuck in the rain looking up at the sky in awe. From the moment on, Harry decides to help Helen in any way he can even though she doesn’t want his help. Harry falls hard for the somewhat naïve yet tenacious Helen. Harry wants to marry her, to take care of her and make sure there is no more sadness or tears in her eyes. For some reason that Harry cannot understand, Helen won’t let him help her. She thinks she is not good enough for Harry because of what has happened to her. Why would a man like Harry want a damaged woman with an illegitimate daughter like herself when he can have any woman he wants?
Harry is able to bring Helen around to his way of thinking, mainly by kissing her into submission. And when Helen finally tells Harry what she has been through, Harry rises in my opinion as one of my favorite heroes this year. Harry is a simple man, with simple needs. When he sees Helen, he can’t get her out of his mind. She may not be, “beautiful, nor voluptuously built, and she certainly employs no arts to attract. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.” I love when the hero falls for the heroine just because he finds something special about her to him. She is not a raving beauty or is intelligent to the point she can give the hero a good argument. Helen is the complete opposite of most heroines I have read lately. When first introduced to Helen I found her a bit off, perhaps a bit slow in her thinking. But instead, I see her as a fragile little bird, much like a sparrow who may not survive in the worst of situations but is still strong enough not to succumb to defeat. Helen certainly doesn’t succumb to the odds against her and once Harry is in her corner, things begin to look up.
Anne Gracie builds up sexual tension quite well between this couple, because sex is not a quick answer, especially because of what has happened to Helen. Harry is understanding and so very noble. He is a tad tortured in his thinking because he doesn’t think he deserves love, but when Helen admits her love for him without one word from him in return, those love scenes almost brought a tear to my eye. His Captive Lady is sweet, endearing and an overall lovely read. If there is one historical romance you read this fall season, it should be His Captive Lady (Berkley, September 2008).
4 stars out of 5 stars
Haven't had the chance to read an Anne Gracie novel? Well here is your chance! I am giving away 3 copies of His Captive Lady. In order to have your chance to win, just comment here about either Tempted By the Night or His Captive Lady. You have till Thursday to win!
Katiebabs (KB)
