Customer Reviews

Deep Is the Night Trilogy: Dark Fire (Book 1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Pine Forest, the residents believe the tales of ghosts that run amuck, all except Erin Greenway. This new librarian doesn't believe in the ghosts or the tales that the native's of Pine Forest believe.

Erin has been in Pine Forest for four weeks, settling in and adjusting to her new life and job. The last thing on her mind really, is a man. Especially when a woman is attacked in the park, Erin is wary of strangers. But when Lachlan Tavish shows up on her doorstep, fangs bared, all of the common sense that she possesses goes flying out the window and her libido takes over. Even though Erin is immensely attracted to Lachlan, she senses secrets beneath the surface with Lachlan that she doesn't completely trust him. Lachlan claims to be tracking down an ancient vampire, but Erin can't help but wonder what prey Lachlan is really seeking...this vampire or her!

What evil is lurking in Pine Forest? Who is Lachlan Tavish? Will Erin realize that danger is on her doorstep, in more ways than one, before it is too late?

Sensual, riveting, exciting and explosive is Denise A. Agnew's first book in the Deep is the Night Series, DARK FIRE. Erin and Lachlan are profound characters who draw readers deep into the story, make us crave their lust and sensuality and we hate to see their story end. A combustible couple who arouse our senses and each others, who are perfect for each other. DARK FIRE literally sent chills down my spine when reading it. The creaks and moans, the movements of the mansion where Erin works in, had me jumping, looking over my shoulder and straining to hear every sound. This is the first story I have read by Denise A. Agnew and after reading it, I have already added her to my auto-buy list. The prologue itself, draws readers in before it is even over. The words are hypnotic and seductive, luring the reader to keep reading.

DARK FIRE is wonderfully written, suspenseful, highly arousing and intriguing. The Deep is the Night Series is off to a fantastic beginning with DARK FIRE. I can't wait for the next tale in this series, to find out what else this talented author has in store for us next.

Reviewed by Tracey West for The Road to Romance

Needing freedom from the overwhelming expectations of her parents, Erin Greenway moves from Arizona to Pine Forest, Colorado, to become a librarian in the small town described to her by her best friend, who insists most locals believe in ghosts. Since it is Halloween, Erin and another librarian decorate the library for a children's spooky story hour. As she arrives at the library, Erin hears eerie noises and smells a nasty odor. She is thinking of yesterday's assault on a woman when the voices enter her mind. One sounds threatening while the other seems protectively sexy.

Visiting Scot Lachlan Tavish is in town hunting the Ancient Vampire, who killed his parents and left him for dead. Lachlan believes that the vampire has staked out Erin and he plans to keep her safe though she distrusts his motives. Still, neither can resist the passion between them and soon make love. However, the malevolent blood sucker is coming for both of them and love is not a good emotion to have when one needs logic, and rational thought, items that have abandoned Erin and Lachlan.

Fans of erotic vampire romances will gain great pleasure from Denise Agnew's fantastic DEEP IN THE NIGHT: DARK FIRE. The story line is action-packed as readers anticipate a powerful final confrontation, but also is filled with an ardent romance so that the audience receives additional pleasure from the cleverly designed plot pulling in two directions. Erin and Lachlan are a delightful couple regardless of which vernacular they use and the villain is as vile a foe as one can imagine. Halloween is rarely as good as this tale is.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed Dark Fire. This book does an excellent job of setting up the series without getting bogged down in exposition.

The concept of a "haunted town" where everybody is so laid back about it is really cool too. It's just there, part of the scenery, and doesn't really draw attention to itself. Very nicely done, and creates a spooky backdrop to this perfect story.

Erin came across as a tough heroine. She could hold her own, didn't believe in ghosts, and really didn't want to accept Lachlan's help. Yet, at the same time Lachlan seemed determined to protect Erin, even though he knows she doesn't want his help. Lachlan was sexy from the first time we saw him, and I completely understand why Erin couldn't keep her hands off him -- I wouldn't be able too either. :) The supporting cast seemed very real, and this world feels very fleshed out, which is something I look for in my paranormal reading. Does this world feel as if it begins and ends with the two covers, or does it feel as if these people are still walking around, loving, and living, even after I close the book. The town, the characters, all of it feels vividly real. It's like a place I wish I could visit on vacation. As if it's there, on the map somewhere.

An excellent read. I read it pretty much all in one sitting -- it was just TOO GOOD TO PUT DOWN!
:)

I really love Agnew's take on vampires. She does a great job of creating a unique world of vampires and vampire hunters that is captivating and keeps you turning the pages.

The problems with this book are twofold: inadequate editing and a heroine that takes way too long to come to terms with the supernatural in her life. Editing first. In the kindle edition (I can't speak for the print editions) there are several typos. Ex: "Especially not a man who could up in leave in a few days." I think the goal was to say "up and leave in a few days." That's just one example I could remember and go back and find in order to jot down here, but there are plenty of others.

There is also quite a bit of unnecessary repetition. For example, a character will have an internal thought put in italics folloed by a statement like, she continued to debate with herself. We know she's debating with herself. It's unnecessary to say so. These are places where I feel editing really let Ms. Agnew down. Outright mistakes and repetitions like this slow down what is otherwise an interesting story. It made it very hard to lose myself in the book the way I wanted to.

There is a whole dinner party chapter that could have been cut. I learned nothing new about the characters or the plot in the chapter, so it really slowed down the story. In fact, there were several plot points that came up repeatedly in the chapter that had already been covered; the characters chatted over dinner about a mysterious attack that had happened in the town of Pine Forest. Nothing new is revealed about the case. It's just repetetive rehashing, and in that chapter the dialogue fell flat for me. The heroine has some more moments of denial about the abnormal sensations she's having, but this isn't new by any stretch of the imagination. The cadence of dialoge felt stilted and sometimes unnatural in that chapter. But most of the other chapters move with a swift pace and reveal new info the way each chapter should.

Now for the heroine problems. I've read a lot of paranormal romance, and my favorite authors tend to write characters who are surprised and often dismayed at first to find their lives plagued by the supernatural, but who gracefully accept the fact and move on. Erin, the heroine of Dark Fire takes way too long to come to accept that Lachlan, the hero, is something other than your run-of-the-mill Scottish hottie. She vacillates between lusty feelings she has for him and mistrust and downright refusal to accept all the cues her senses are giving her that there's something unusual about him. It makes her seem a little slow on the uptake sometimes. And when she gives in to her lust, it makes her seem weak.

That said, I don't expect all the characters in the books I read to act perfectly rational all the time. I can live with a character steeped in denial and prone to getting kinky with a vampire even when she doesn't trust him if the rest of a story is interesting enough, and this one is. I will try reading Agnew's second novel in the Deep is the Night series in hopes that editing does a better job for the author on her second novel and that the characters find their way a little quicker. But if I don't see some maturation in Agnew's writing or improved editing, I may call it quits on the series.

A small town where the unexplained is the norm. The male lead (Lachlan)was fine, and most of the secondary characters, but the "heroine" Erin was one of the most annoying creatures I've encountered in a long time. The book is 334 pages and Erin is still whining about "Can I trust him, can I trust him" blowing hot and then cold towards Lachlan through the first 200 plus pages in the book. We are told that Erin is a strong woman and has recently left home (at the age of about 29 as I understood it) where her parents have been very domineering and controlling. Her immaturity and angst could be understood if she were a teenager, but wasn't particularily attractive in a woman pushing 30. Also as a librarian (again I am assuming that she has a degree in library science.)she should be an expert at researching and gathering information, but apparently this never crossed her mind when strange things began happening to her and in the community. There was also a scene where the local cop (Danny) mentions a possible rape and the sexual habits of previous victims. Have you ever heard of confidentiality! There is a protocol and chain of evidence that must be maintained in cases of suspected rape. Medical and law enforcement professionals are aware of this, even in small towns. This series has potential but definitely needs some work.