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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
strong paranormal romance, December 31, 2003
In 1659 Paris, Sir Jack Marstone rescues the muddied filthy Catherine de la Fer from assailants. She remembers little of her past, but he provides her a safe haven while she heals at least physically. When she recovers from her injuries, he teaches her how to use a sword and other skills so she can defend herself. However, his kindness and nurturing cannot protect her from the nightmares she suffers from every evening. Jack realizes he must escort his ward to her family and betrothed, the vile Marquis de Bauvin, but is reluctant to do so. Instead he feels a need to keep Catherine safe, something he believes would not occur if he handed her over to the Marquis, rumored to be an evil sorcerer. As Jack and Catherine fall in a forbidden love, they know that soon they will have to confront the sorcerer who plans to use her to obtain her family's supernatural powers that will enhance him to levels so superior to mankind they will seem like ants to be stepped on. Only Catherine the skilled swordswoman and her lover stand in his way. Showing the width of her talent (to the chagrin of her Regency devotees), Karen Harbaugh provides a strong paranormal romance that hooks the audience because the otherworldly environs seems so real in the author's mid seventeenth century Europe. The story line is the classic good vs. evil theme with the twist being that one of the good guys (gal in this case) is slated to be the mate of the malevolent menace. As she did with NIGHT FIRES, Ms. Harbaugh enchants her audience with a dark tale lightened by the goodness of love. Harriet Klausner
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Different Storyline, August 24, 2005
Catherine de la Fer is cursed like her relative Simone who we read about in Night Fires. Catherine has a different affliction- she is not a vampire. She is cursed with the Stigmata- she bleeds the wounds of Christ on her back and hands in the presence of evil. Her road to redemption and reclaiming her life is fraught with danger, intrigue and winning the heart of an unlikely hero.
Strong writing. Good visual descriptions and an novel premise make this a strong addition to any paranormal romance collection.
My favorite by Karen Harbaugh remains The Vampire Viscount ( SImone has a brief cameo in that one)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad, December 23, 2009
Summary: A shattering act of violence drives Catherine de la Fer to flee into the dark and deadly night. Now a hunted criminal, the wily French noblewoman enlists the services of English mercenary Jack Marstone to teach her the art of self-defense. But she has cast her lot with a man whose terrible secret plunges them into a world of depravity and deadly seduction. Their taboo desire takes them from the moon-shadowed highways of Paris to the treacherous palace of the Sun King--the prey of a highborn enemy with the mind-bending powers of a sorcerer's dark arts. As day becomes endless night, as they enter a place of unimaginable pleasure, France's most notorious swordswoman and her forbidden lover will attempt a daring act of rescue--one that could promise them eternity in each other's arms...or damn them both forever.
'Night Fires', the first book in the 'de la Fer' series is one of the first romance novels I ever read, so Karen Harbaugh holds a special place in my memory. That being said, I enjoyed 'Night Fires' more than this book. This book was excellent, but it was missing some of the rawness of the first book, could be the fact that these characters are human and the last 'de la Fer' was not. I also would have liked to see some sort of segway from the first book into the second, like how they are connected besides the family name. I don't know about anyone else but I am not all up and up on my French history. Beyond those minor flaws though, this book was great. The characters are real, the history definitely seems well researched and the plot moved at a generally good pace. I liked Catherine's character a lot, she is a strong women and I always love to see strong women in historical type romances. I also have a soft spot for Jack, because he acknowledged his love for Catherine as soon as he felt it, didn't have to do any of that running around crap. I enjoyed this book and hope to see many more 'de la Fer' books in the future.
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