Customer Reviews

My Lord Eternity (Zebra Regency Romance)

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"My Lord Eternity" is the second installment in Debbie Raleigh's vampire trilogy, and while much of it was 'a-bit-of-the-same' especially if you've only recently read "My Lord Vampire," this second Immortal Rogues book still makes for absorbing reading because of the authour's character portrayals.

To recapitulate: all the vampires have been living peacefully behind the Veil (a reality that was created by the most powerful and wisest of vampires, Nefri, with the help of a powerful Medallion), for the past 200 years. Now, certain renegade vampires have left the Veil and have ventured back into the mortal world in order to find the Medallion. These renegades want to force the vampires back into the mortal world, and they also want to wield the enormous power that would come to them if they possessed the Medallion. Obtaining the Medallion however will not be so easy. For Nefri, sensing their evil intent, had divided the Medallion into three and had given the three pieces to three different mortal maidens. She has bound these maidens to the Medallions so that the Medallions can never be forcibly taken from them. Only the women have the power to give their amulets freely to whomsoever they chose. Now that ladies are being threatened by these renegade vampires, it is up to the three champion vampires, chosen by the Great Council, to protect these ladies and the Medallions. "My Lord Eternity" focuses on the vampire Lucien Valin, and his struggle to keep safe the lady he's been assigned to protect, the vulnerable yet fiercely independent Jocelyn Kingly.

Miss Jocelyn Kingly spends much of her time and money trying to help those less fortunate than her. A sudden hole in her pocketbook however forces Jocelyn to do the unthinkable: take in a lodger. Her lodger just happens to be Lucien Valin, an incredibly handsome but aggravating and arrogant man who keeps insisting on insinuating himself into her life. But when a mad killer, loose on the London streets starts stalking her, Jocelyn cannot deny just how thankful she is to have Lucien in her corner, even if he has slipped through the careful armour she has protected herself with. And having suffered pain and betrayal once before, Jocelyn cannot help but fear what this fascination and dependence on Lucien will cost her...

Even though Lucien knows that other vampires see him s a careless and frippery sort of fellow, he never doubted his ability to protect the lady he had been assigned and the Medallion in her keeping. That is until he met Jocelyn Kingly and fell for her beauty, intelligence and integrity. Now he fears that his feelings for Jocelyn will get in the way of his mission, even as he fears what will happen when Jocelyn learns that he is a vampire. Will Jocelyn and Lucien overcome their fears and confide in each other? Will Jocelyn turn from him in disgust? Or will she understand that in spite of what and who he is, that his love for her is true and eternal?

As I noted before what makes "My Lord Vampire" a truly compelling read is the manner in which Debbie Raleigh fleshes out the characters of Jocelyn and Lucien. Both characters have doubts about their capabilities, the authour shows us this as well as how both characters are actually strong and true in their own right. The attraction that both Lucien and Jocelyn feel for each other is fairly palpable and if it wasn't for my own particular inclination to dislike Lucien's arrogant overpowering ways (and his rather idiotic habit of referring to Jocelyn as 'my dove'), I might have found the book to be a more romantic read. However, also brilliantly done was the authour's vivid portrayal of the villainous vampire who's hunting Jocelyn. So that on the whole, I'd have to say that "My Lord Eternity" was a good and compelling read that should not be overlooked, esp if you're a fan of the vampire genre.

and I come down in the middle. It's a decent read and keeps the reader involved in the story, despite a few annoyances (like "my dove"). Yes, Lucien is arrogant, but that's typical of most romances; he is, nevertheless, humorous and full of joie de vivre, and those qualities made him likeable for me. Jocelyn is a strong heroine, and the villain's use of her good works as a lure and a torment is effective. Lucien is very protective of her with regards to her family as well.

An interesting side note on this series is that it's fairly innocent, making it appropriate for more mature teens. I actually read these books to approve them for my daughter. No, they're not Julia Quinn or Teres Medeiros, but I have also read many that are much worse (one of which was written by Lisa Kleypas). So take it as a light read and enjoy a few hours with a nice vampire.

I bought this book along with My Lord Vampire and My Lord Immortality because they were cheap and a quick read. Or so I thought. I found it hard to continue because it was much like the first book My Lord Vampire!
Same strong-willed, independent woman with a cruel family , same arrogant , tall , handsome, aquiline nosed hero. Every guy I think is handsome doesn't have an aquiline nose. Even the villians were the same . Same dumb tricks to get the Medallion , turning into mist , cutting Lucien the same as Gideon !
The authors overuse of the word "countenance " is very annoying. She could have simply said face or features a few times but countenance was used everytime. Almost as much as " my dove". I am not going to read My Lord Eternity because I am sure it's the same as the other two.

After the painful read that was this author's first vampire romance, I decided to give her another chance and read the second book in the trilogy. Now I'm starting to suspect that I'm a masochist.

Nearly every problem the author had with her first book, she also had in this one. Bad character development, bad plot, no description, and absolutely no reason for the heroine, Jocelyn, to fall in love with Lucien, a.k.a. Tall, Tawny and Egotistical.

To be absolutely fair, the author has improved slightly since her last book, or maybe she just got lucky. Lucien is a touch more interesting than the hero in the first book and Jocelyn is truly an independent woman, fighting her own battles. However, Lucien is still horribly overbearing and full of himself. It's hard to understand why Jocelyn didn't just put a stake through his heart instead of marrying him.

Therein lies another problem. Jocelyn weathered scandal and rejection from cold, unfeeling parents to become the version of Mother Theresa that she is now. She goes out alone at night in the slums to help the hopeless, homeless and hapless. A woman out alone who's never had any problems until the Big Bad Evil Vampire comes along? Highly doubtful. Not to say that Jocelyn isn't a strong woman, she is, but all that strength just dries up and vanishes when Lucien comes into the picture. Suddenly she's leaning on him for everything and independence is a thing of the past. She puts up a token fight, but at one point he literally says that she "belongs to him" and she's just thrilled to accept that. Most readers today will feel like giving her a good shake to put some sense into her.

Lucien is very much the kind of guy you'll find in any college bar today. Sure of himself and his irresistibility and unable to conceive of the fact that a woman might not want him. He's constantly in Jocelyn's personal space, touching and kissing her, just like a drunken frat guy. His constant references to Jocelyn as "my dove" only give credence to the inebriated college boy comparison. He kind of has the same appeal too, attractive and rakish, but no one in their right minds would want to marry him.

The villain, Amadeus, is one of the biggest plot holes in the book. This is supposed to be a super-intelligent, evil vampire, but the reader learns very little about him. The "experiments" he does on humans are glossed over, only one example being presented. Much more description was called for there to make his evil believable. His intelligence is also called into question at the end. The "trick" Lucien uses to free Jocelyn is probably one of the lamest things ever attempted, and if Amadeus were really that intelligent, he wouldn't have fallen for it. He also would've seen Jocelyn's "trick" coming a mile away. There are rocks with more intelligence than Amadeus.

As in the author's previous book, the world of vampires behind the veil sounds mind-numbingly boring. Amadeus can't be blamed for wanting to get out of there. Even Lucien found it dull, at one point turning the library into a harem. Which, by the way, directly contradicts many of the things the author has said about this world. According to her, everyone there lives in peace, free from passions and happy to pursue a life of scholarly study. Well, apparently that didn't apply to the three vampires who escaped, or Lucien who was quite obviously not happy there. And if there was no passion, exactly what did Lucien fill this "harem" with? Scantily clad books? Continuity is not the author's strong point.

Once again, if you're looking for a good vampire romance, skip this one. It's better than some out there, but it's still pretty bad stuff.

I'm not one for romances, but this was a bargain price at the local going-out-of-business bookstore. I figured at the price it was, even if it was a horrible, bodice ripping nightmare, I would still have something to occupy me for a couple hours. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find it a decent read.

When I bought this I didn't realize it was the second novel in a series, so maybe I'm missing a few of the finer points that someone who's read the first novel would catch. However, I was reasonably pleased to see a strong female heroine that didn't just fall for the hero right off the bat. Jocelyn has an inner strength to her that was believable; I could see how a woman who was once caught up in scandal would choose to devote her life to people who were in much more dire straits. I also liked that her "tainted past" actually shows up in the novel as a plot point, instead of a footnote, although the scandal seemed awfully tame. Maybe I read too many romance novels, but I actually expected them to be caught in a compromising position pointing towards sex, instead of something amounting to a few kisses behind a bush.

I do have several complaints about this book, which make it difficult for me to enjoy fully. The first is word usage, Raleigh tends to use the same words over and over. Lucien always calls Jocelyn "My dove." I use pet names for the people I care for as well, but never the same one over and over again. I half expected her to grow feathers and fly away from being calledf a dove over and over again. My other word choice complaint is maiden, Jocelyn has a cottage in the country set aside for maidens she's rescued from the dregs of the city. These maidens are often prostitutes, or women who have been in bad relationships. I'd hardly call these women maidens.

My other complaints tie in together. First, the concept of vampires in this novel is lackluster at best. These vampires are more immortals with the ability to share their immortality than real vampires. At some point Lucien explains they only have to drink blood if they succumb to the bloodlust. To me, Raleigh could have thrown out the vampire idea totally and simply made them immortal, with a similar affect. The villain Amadeus, is fairly one dimensional, and instead of fleshing him out to make him believable, we get a villain who claims it's all for knowledge, but isn't very believable. He's not much of a vampire either, and even though the back cover speaks of him being a Vicar trying to "help" Jocelyn, he makes a few token appearances, and sends his lackeys in his absence.

Overall, for the price, it's not too bad of a read, but I would have liked more developed villains, and less vampires. Vampire fiction might be the hot item right now, but saying it's a vampire when it's not misleads people.

As the 2nd in a series it has new information and kept the first info correct. Good job..