A Darker Dream (Love Spell romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Amanda Ashley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Love Spell romance | Publication Date: July 1997

Falling in love with the young woman whose father had sold her to him to put food on the table, the night-dwelling Rayven fights the passion he swears he can never feel and tries to become a benevolent host to the beautiful Rhianna. Original."

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 050552208X
• ISBN-13: 978-0505522085
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so... could have been a lot better, July 1, 2002

By 

Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Darker Dream (Love Spell romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

Rayven, a vampire of some 400 years' existence, sees a young girl being auctioned off so that her family will have money to buy food. Seeing the local gentry eyeing Rhianna up and planning to have her in their beds, he intervenes and buys her. But we soon discover that he has no intention of sleeping with her - he only wants to creep into her bedroom at dead of night and drink from her, hypnotising her so that she thinks she's dreaming.

Rhianna and Rayven are drawn to each other, much as he tries to keep away from her and make her stay away from him. In the end, afraid that he will eventually hurt or kill her because his need for her seems to increase over time, he sends her away to Paris for three years. But when she comes back, she's determined to seek him out again and she gets his agreement to let her live with him for a year.

And then she discovers that he's really a vampire... and her love for him mingles with fear.

I ...agree ... that this book has problems. The angst on its own didn't bother me, although it was repetitive; every time we thought that Rayven had got over his 'I'm going to kill her if I don't let her go' fears, they resurged again, almost to a ludicrous level at one point in which Rayven almost kills himself. The period atmosphere wasn't right either; the characters did not behave like nineteenth-centuey English people, nor did they speak in a manner commensurate with the period. Dallon Montroy in particular (and what kind of a name is that for an English nobleman?!) did not fit at all with the period.

What bothered me, too, was the part of the book where Rayven takes Rhianna to London for several weeks. They stay in a hotel - but where does Rayven spend the days? He's supposed to need complete darkness and privacy, and yet he'd never get that in a hotel-room. Yet there's no mention of how that is handled.

... the absurd and very convenient plot device at the end was almost an insult to the readers' intelligence. Ashley could have done much better than that!

Having said that, parts of the book were very enjoyable and kept me reading, so on balance perhaps 2.5 stars really.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Darker Dream is a Dream!, January 26, 2000

By 

"rilana-k" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Darker Dream (Love Spell romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first book I have bought by Amanda Ashley. I brought it home and began reading the first chapter...I could not put it down! Amanda Ashley has a talent for making a Vampire seem romantic and kind, even though these creatures are depicted as quite scary in history. This novel was deep and intense and not for the faint of heart. The book will transport you to the era and makes you imagine, even for a few hours or reading the book, that you are the heroine and you are actually living this story. Now, if that isn't a good book, what is? I have read the book 5 times since I bought it, and I picked it up off of my shelf this very day to read it for the sixth time. It is a must read for all of you super-natural romance readers.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, November 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: A Darker Dream (Love Spell romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really, really love vampire romance novels. Having cut my teeth, as it were, on Maggie Shayne's "Twilight" series, I expect my vampire romances to be quick-paced, passionate, emotional, and fun. This book was a huge disappointment. The premise was promising--a "Beauty and the Beast" reworking, complete with an intelligent herione and a brooding evil hero who really is a softie underneath his tortured facade. Unfortunately, Amanda Ashley forgot to add a plot or meaningful conflict to her book. I felt like I was in a time warp, reading the same scenes over and over again for a seemingly interminable 390 pages. "Oh, I love her so much, but I'm afraid I'll kill her if show her how I feel." "Oh, I love him so much--why won't he show me how he feels?" I believe a love story can be interesting without a villain, but only if the characters move their relationship forward in a meaningful way. This novel just went in circles with the we-love-each-other-but-we-don't-trust-ourselves-enough-to-have-each-other scene. Adding insult to injury, the author also felt the need to liberally intersperse her repetitive prose with some truly abominable poetry. The beginning and ending of the novel were imaginative and entertaining, but I won't be in a hurry to pick up another Amanda Ashley novel any time soon.