Customer Reviews

Meet Me at Midnight (With This Ring, Book 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another wonderful read by Suzanne Enoch. The story is of Victoria "Vixen" Fontaine and Sinclair "Sin" Grafton. Sin was a spy in France during the war and had developed a horribly black reputation in England so he could fit into the role he played while a spy there.

He comes home 2 years after his brother dies to claim the title as well as find his brothers killer. This leads him to Vixen because he suspects a friend of hers, Viscount Marley. Vixen is incredibly spirited and is considered fast. She has no intention of marriage and all her actions point to her being what I term a "female rake". Sin and Vixen are attracted to each other and are caught embracing shortly after meeting each other in the garden of the ball they are at. Vixen's father, at his wits end with his scandal-creating daughter, insists on marriage.

They do and its a wild ride til they fall in love from there. Both are concerned with helping and protecting the other and will do what they must to ensure that. Vixen is not your ordinary heroine and she is quite likeable and Sin is not only sexy but a decent, honorable man who is having a hard time meshing his former "spy" life with his new titled one.

Sin's spy friends are amusing, Alexandra and Lucien from Reforming a Rake appear, and Vixen's menagerie all make for a great time reading this! Vixen's parrot, Mungo Park, is hysterical! I highly recommend this book!

A sexy hero, a feisty heroine, a murder mystery, and a passionate romance...put them all together and you get "Meet Me At Midnight", a Regency-era historical you don't want to miss.

Twenty-year-old Victoria Fontaine is forever getting herself into trouble. As a consequence, her friends have nicknamed her the Vixen, a name she has no problem living up to. When Victoria is caught in a compromising embrace with Sinclair Grafton, the Marquis of Althorpe, her father forces her to marry him against her wishes, more than happy to pass his troublesome daughter off to another man, even a man like "Lord Sin" who has a reputation for debauchery.

A year shy of inheriting the funds her grandmother left her, Victoria is furious that her plans for independence have been thwarted over one little kiss. Her anger soon turns to friendship and passion, for Victoria can't help but to be intrigued by her husband. What's more, she's beginning to suspect that there's more to Sinclair than what meets the eye. She soon realizes that her husband isn't the wastrel lord he presents himself to society as, but what she doesn't yet understand is why he's hiding behind such a facade to begin with.

Sinclair Grafton returned to England to see his elder brother's killer brought to justice. An English spy during the war against France, he fears that his brother was killed because he knew of his activities. Sinclair used the charade of a carefree, mindless rake to mask his true motives to Napoleon's men in France and continues on with said charade in England so as not to appear suspicious to his brother's killer.

Sinclair had planned for every eventuality, but he hadn't prepared for Victoria Fontaine. When a passionate kiss forces him to do the right thing by the woman he compromised, Sinclair marries her, but fears for her safety...especially since his wife is quite astute and is beginning to fit the puzzle pieces of who he really is together with astonishing speed. Somehow he must catch the killer before any harm befalls his wife...a wife who makes him feel feelings he's never known before and whom he continually falls more in love with each day.

Be warned: this is a Regency-era romance of the wallpaper variety. In other words, it doesn't contain tons and tons of rich historical detail...just enough language and references to make the setting realistic. I had no problems with this because I'm an avowed historical junkie of the wallpaper variety. To be blunt, tons and tons of rich historical detail bore me to tears. My point? If you're a wallpaper addict like me, this is the book to give you a happy fix. If wallpaper turns you off, however, "Meet Me At Midnight" might not be the historical romance for you.

This book became a keeper for me because of the protagonists and their burgeoning passion for each other. Enoch developed Victoria and Sinclair's personalities and motivations very convincingly, to the point where you feel as though you know them well enough to be friends by the time you finish the book.

As difficult as it might be for an historical buff to fathom, "Meet Me At Midnight" doesn't contain any misunderstandings or miscommunications between the hero and heroine whatsoever. If Victoria worries about something, she confronts Sinclair with her grievance rather than developing a stiff upper lip and keeping the misunderstanding to herself until the truth somehow comes to light of its own volition near the book's ending. Almost sounds too good to be true, I know.

-full review originally published in The Romance Reader

-sexual content PG-13 = descriptive sex, but nothing kinky or wildly graphic

With the Napoleonic Wars over, anyone with the Y-chromosome seems to jump when Lady Victoria "Vixen" Fontaine asks them to do something. However, her lifestyle changes when her father catches her in a fervent kiss with the notorious rake, Marquis Sinclair Grafton. Compromised, Sin and Vixen marry.

Vixen soon learns that her rascal of a spouse has a hard core inside him. The former spy is determined to uncover the identity of the individual who killed his sibling while Sin worked the continent. Vixen realizes that the seemingly acting wastrel hides his quest and she plans to use her body to seduce his deepest secrets from him. However, though forced into marriage, love soon enters the picture.

MEET ME AT MIDNIGHT, the second novel in Suzanne Enoch's "With This Ring" trilogy (see REFORMING A RAKE), is a warm by-the-book Regency romance. Although the story line has been written numerous times before, Ms. Enoch provides an entertaining read due to the machinations of her lead couple. Their antics, an often amusing and just as often dangerous battle of the sexes, turn the tale into a fun novel that will delight the hard core sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

Suspense, rather than romance, is the bigggest aspect of Meet Me at Midnight. Victoria and Sinclair seem to be well-suited, but their romance is not entirely convincing. I can't quite put my finger on the problem, but they somehow remain rather vague throughout the story. The solving of the murder is very well done, however, even though I solved it by half-way through; the resolution was well done and suspense was maintained throughout. That, however, is not the point of a romance, nor should it be the main plot. That and the fact that the romance itself was not entirely satisfying is why I give the book only 3 stars. It simply did not keep me engrossed.

I have always enjoyed Enoch's books and this one was no exception! Vixen and Sin were actually a perfect couple. Both were pretending to be something they were not and both were actually bored with the lives they had been leading. Thrown together but not really against their will - they quickly found there was much to each others personalities than what others perceived. There is just enough intrigue in the plot to add to the romance. I really enjoyed this Enoch romance and would highly recommend it!!!

Another wonderful romance by Suzanne Enoch. In this story you will see some of your old friends (Lex and Lucien) along with Vixen who was introduced to us in the first book in this series, along with Mrs. Greenville's Academy.

The story starts out as Vixen is drawn to "Lord Sin's" and dances with him, then allows him to take her to the garden and winds up in a very passionate kiss with most of London looking on.

With a forced marriage that neither is apparently going to get out of they basically resign to being together but not giving up on their independence.

Vixen is also one of the strongest woman characters in romance stories, she has a wonderful mind of her own. She even figures out Sin's past as well as who killed his brother long before anyone else believes her. I also loved her pets! The Mongo is a hoot!

I really enjoyed this one.

Suzanne Enoch is one author that I am in a high state of anticipation waiting for her next book to arrive. This one proves no exception. I have read some of the reviews, especially the reviewer who said she was so bored she didn't finish. This book was exciting front to back. Vixen's and Sin's exploration of their marriage and themselves was wonderful to follow. I get so tired of one or the other partner withholding information "for their own good", especially the men. Just the fact that Victoria would come immediately to confirm or deny innuendos to Sin was a breath of fresh air. Victoria is also not afraid to show her intelligence. Sinclair is manly without being stupidly macho. I highly recommend this book to other readers. I will be rereading this and her other books again and again.

Victoria "Vixen" Fontaine is in the habit of finding herself in scandals all the time and hangs out with the London's rogue's gallery in her spare time. But she is also the darling of London! But she doesn't really know the meaning of scandal until she meets Sinclair Grafton, Marquis of Althorpe, also known as Lord Sin. Sinclair has got to be the baddest and the biggest rake of them all. He is the scoundrel of scoundrels, according to the recent rumors that's been flying about London. So, when her father and half of the "ton" find Vixen and Sinclair in a compromising situation in the garden, she has no choice to marry him to save her family's face.

Sinclair Grafton returns to London after being away for 5 years in the continent. He returned to claim his title, left by his dead older brother. He acquiesces to marry to further his hidden agenda... at first. Although, he plays the dangerous rogue to the tilt, he doesn't fool Vixen. She soon finds out that he was an ex-spy for the crown in Paris and he is back to solve the murder of his older brother's death. Though, passion between them ran high... they certainly didn't expect love!

Vixen's wild ways with her knack for getting into trouble and Sinclair's determination for finding his brother killer brings a rather interesting love story between them. I also loved how Ms. Enoch weaves a quite a bit of the Lord and Lady Kilcairn into the story. Lucien just gives me the shivers! Of course, so does Lord Sin. *wink* This was a high enjoyable book with wonderful characters!

I love Suzanne Enoch's books and am anxiously awaiting the next in March - but "Meet Me at Midnight" was not only a disappointment but an annoyance beginning and ending with the heroine. The first time I read this book it was OK, the second read I threw it across the room, my own immature reaction to the childish, idiotic and uninteresting actions of Vixen. I am all for heroines that go against type - but this one didn't go in a way that made her more interesting, independent or engaging - instead I felt that I was wading through a mess of unappealing character traits that made me question the hero's sanity in liking her and rooting for someone else to appear and steal him away. Ms. Enoch is, however, still one of my favorite authors and I gave this book 2 stars simply because dispite my hatred of Vixen it was still well written structurally. I still recommend any of Ms. Enoch's other novels.

Victoria Fontaine's mischievous nature and brilliant, biting wit have scandalized the ton...and earned her the nickname "Vixen." But her reputation pales before the infamous Lord Althrope's, known as "Lord Sin." The years Sinclair Grafton spent on the Continent have done nothing to quell the rumors about his past. And when the stunning Vixen and the handsome rogue find themselves momentarily alone at an elegant gala, their passion gets the best of them.

Caught by Victoria's father in a shockingly sensual kiss, Sin and Vixen have no recourse except a wedding. At first the very liberal lady relishes the thought of an unfettered marriage to an indifferent, unrepentant scoundrel. But she suspects there is more to this enigmatic, remarkable man, that his rakish persona is merely a pose. And after one unforgettable night of ecstasy, Lady Vixen is determined to unmask the true Sin...to satisfy a passionate heart that craves far more than freedom.