Customer Reviews

Let the Night Begin (The Brotherhood of Blood, Book 4)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1899 in Clovelly, England Olivia Gavin is looked upon as an eccentric who sleeps during the day and works at night. Nobody connects her to the men who disappear and end up in a place where they have no idea how they got there. She is a vampire who never wanted to be one; her husband Reign turned her against her will on their wedding night. Irate she walked out on him cutting off all ties and has not communicated with him since. A messenger gives her a letter stating her nephew James who she raised has been abducted; if she wants him back alive she is to hand over Reign to them.

She goes to Reign to ask for his help in finding and rescuing James, but conceals the demand she hand him over to his enemies. Reign unexpectedly agrees although he doesn't trust her and knows she is not telling him the entire truth. He demands they behave like husband and wife while on the quest. They learn James went to Scotland with friends who know his aunt is a vampire; their fathers belong to belong to the Order of the Silver Palm who will use Olivia and James as expendable pawns to get the Blood Grail they think Reign has.

This is a stand alone book so the audience will not have to read the previous related tales (see NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS and TAKEN BY THE NIGHT) although that enhances this Victorian paranormal suspense thriller. The vampires seem real making the hunt for them feel genuine; while the romantic second chance at love subplot is cleverly developed as both have a lot of trust issues to overcome although Reign seems indifferent to his knowing that his wife was going to betray him feels off base. Still LET THE NIGHT BEGIN is an enjoyable vampire historical romantic suspense in which the sleuthing and confrontation is supported by the romance.

Harriet Klausner

Let the Night Begin is the fourth book in Ms. Smith's exciting Brotherhood of Blood series that tells the stories of five Templar Knights who drank from the unholy Blood Grail over 600 years before. This is Reign's story.

Olivia Gavin needs help. She has just found out that her beloved nephew has been abducted. The "ransom" that the kidnappers ask for is her estranged husband, Reign, who she married thirty years ago and left on their wedding night after he turned her into a vampire without her consent. So, she returns to London to plead with him to help her.

Reign has never stopped loving his wife. He carries a lot of guilt over what happened on their wedding night and still blames himself for her leaving. When Olivia turns up in London asking for his help, he is a bit shocked at first. He also suspects that she isn't telling him everything, but agrees to help her . . . for a price--Olivia must share his bed again. She accepts because she has no other choice. The ransom that the kidnappers ask for is Reign himself, and she has no problem handing him over in exchange for her nephew. But, the more time they spend together, the more they realize how much they have missed one another. And with a deadly enemy who knows their secrets close by, Reign and Olivia will have to work hard to be able to mend their broken relationship and look toward to a future together.

Reign is a terrific hero. He's crude, sarcastic and blunt, yet tender underneath it all when it comes to Olivia. Despite the fact that she left him, he never stopped loving her and would still do anything for her. Reign knows that Olivia hasn't told him the whole story, but is patient and waits for her to tell him when she's ready. All of these traits make him totally sexy in my eyes. (And Ms. Smith writes some of the sexiest heroes!)

At the beginning of the book, Olivia is bitter and stubborn, but devoted. She has raised her nephew, James, for eighteen years, since he was a baby, so she considers him more like a son. It is her love for James that pushes her to plead with Reign for his help. During the course of the book, she really matures as a character and admits to herself and Reign when she is wrong. I really respected that and it made me like her even more.

I thoroughly enjoyed the verbal sparring between Reign and Olivia. It made for some great tension, which led to some really hot love scenes. Really, really hot. I am now eagerly anticipating the final installment in this series, Temple's book. I'm very anxious to see how everything is wrapped up. I highly recommend Let the Night Begin!

Great story about Reign a vampire who married Olivia. On their wedding night he turned Olivia into a vampire and was quite brutal. She left him and disappeared for over 30 years. During that time her sister had a child. Her sister died in an accident and Olivia raised the child as her own. He gets kidnapped and the ransom note demands she trade Reign for the child. So after not seeing him for over 30 years she finds him and goes to him for help. She doesn't tell him that he is the ransom for the boy. After being away from each other for the 30 years there is a lot of conflict between the two and also a lot of guilt from both of them. Olivia is a strong woman who has taken care of herself and done a good job at it. Reign has never given up hope the Olivia will someday come back to him. The writing style was good and the story was interesting. It wasn't the typical paranormal romance. There was some sexual content but not too graphic. I found it to be a good read and look forward to reading more by this author.

The Story
In the fourth installment Reign is reunited with his wife after 30 years. Olivia's nephew was kidnapped and they want Reign in exchange for her adoptive son. Reign changed Olivia on their wedding night. She hasn't forgiven him yet. Reign has never stopped loving Olivia, he takes their wedding values very seriously. He suspects she still has feelings for him, in exchange for helping her Reign requests she act his wife in all ways. Once they start getting close to each other and sharing a bed, they are unable to ignore the feelings it brings. Reign and Olivia find love on the mission to find her nephew.

Thoughts
Each book in this series gets better and better. I loved this story. Reign and Olivia are made for each other. Their love was so well written it is almost tangible. The pace is fast and kept me captivated. All the stories are tied in together. This book sets up for the final in the series. The characters are very likable and the development is there. All the elements for a great book are in this one!

The book was set in the late 1890's, but I got little feeling of being in that period. Reign and Olivia were married 30 years ago. Most of that time was spent apart. In a fit of passion, Reign "turned her" on their wedding night, "without her permission". She was so upset, she left him. Currently, her nephew is missing and appears to be abducted. She needs Reign's help in trying the rescue the boy. After 30 years apart, Olivia and Reign come together to save her nephew. She has ulterior motives.

I had a problem with the premise. For her conversion from human to vampire, it was required that her husband take her blood and she had to take his. Yes, he took responsibility for taking hers, but she drank his blood, and then accepted no responsibility for her turning. It was all his fault. I guess she had absolutely no idea of the consequences, but it didn't ring true.

I thought the book had too much gratuitous sex contained within it. Liv had extreme distrust for her husband, but she jumps into bed with him, very shortly, after reuniting? She could not forgive him and would not accept any of his, sincerely regretful, apologies, but just loved being in bed with him. At one point, Liv suffers an injury. Soon after her injury and while still in pain, she and Reign at at it again...at her promptings. Her injuries were life threatening. C'mon, that isn't the time for sex. I'm not a prude, but it was too much gratuitous sex for my taste. Just page fillers. Liv had been living for 60 years, but she had no depth to her character. For much of this book, she was unable to stop playing games and acting like a righteous and thoroughly wronged "B". Alive for 60 years and couldn't express true feelings. Towards the end of the book, when she decides she loves and wants to be with her husband, I was left feeling..no, you don't. She just loved the sex and didn't want give it up. I would have liked the book better if the author had found a happy medium with her character's emotions or gone into more details of the pain she experienced by becoming vampire. It would have made for a better understanding of her emotions and better reading for me. The book was okay, but it could have been good if the main protagonist was less one dimensional. The author developed the male lead, but cliched out and made the female...a typical "B"....in heat.

This book was awesome. I love Reign equally and in some ways more than Saint or Bishop. I loved the dynamic with he and Olivia. And I really cared what would happen to them. Would they be able to forgive each other? How would Olivia get passed her fear and anger and resentment where Reign is concerned? Her plight with her nephew. I felt really sorry for him by the way. And the plot getting closer to the answers that have eluded me since the very first book in this series is enough to keep me on edge as it is.

Trust me if you have been following this series then you know what I mean or you are intrigued to find out. Another great story. Another great chapter in this series. It keeps getting better. My only hope is when I finally read the next and final book concerning Temple, I truly hope it does not disappoint on any angle where the answers are to come. And Temple the head of the Brotherhood, I sincerly hope is all that we have been led to believe he is and more. I highly recommend this read and this series.

I came across Kathryn Smith's novel when I attended the Romance Writers of America's National Conference in Orlando this year - and I'm very glad I did, because now I have another author I can confidently add to my favorite authors list.

Let the Night Begin is the story of vampire Reign who turned his new bride Olivia into a vampire on their wedding night - mind you, without her permission. Hurt, she leaves him. But thirty years later she needs help when her beloved nephew is kidnapped.

Review:
First off, I was very happy to discover that while the plot was interesting, it did not get in the way of the love story. This is truly a paranormal romance, not an urban fantasy masquerading as a romance. The sexual tension between Reign and Olivia sizzles right from the moment they reconnect. Conflict is aplenty: starting with the reason why Olivia asks her estranged husband (for they never got divorced) for help in getting her nephew back. There is plenty of pent-up frustration and anger. The author does an excellent job in showing us how the two of them slowly start trusting each other again, and how their love for each other is as strong as ever.
The sex scenes are hot, and I would recommend keeping a glass of ice water close to douse the flames. Ms. Smith's writing style is very approachable, and while the novel takes place in Victorian England and Scotland, she doesn't go too deeply into superfluous descriptions (thank you!). Vampire lovers will enjoy the various biting scenes - many very sensual and enticing. And the author has given her vampires one interesting traits not as often seen amongst vampires: they can fly.

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Couldn't put it down. Loved It. This series is for people that love vampires and love.

This one could easily stand alone and you would not feel as though you were missing a thing. Although I do recommend you eventually read all the books in the series, since they were all just as great and you would get more out of the intricacies of the whole plot Smith is weaving together for what I assume to be the final book in the series.

Reign is by far the better character in this story. Smith did a wonderful job of mixing sensitivity, devotion, and masculinity for her character. Olivia just doesn't seem worthy of him, and yet her character readily admits that also. Reign and Olivia were married thirty years before, but when Reign, over zealously, turns her on their wedding night, Olivia freaks over having this choice taken from her in such a painful way. She leaves him and does not return until she is forced to do so when a group captures her nephew whom she raised as her own son after leaving Reign.

Without a doubt, Smith does a wonderful job of creating a worthwhile and attention grabbing plot. All of the books in this series is unique and contains a wonderfully devised plot. I look forward to the next.

I have always liked reunion stories between heroes and heroines and this one was great, plus the romance between the hero and heroine was very steamy! I really liked how the hero was so head over heels in love with the heroine, even though, he wouldn't admit it at first. The story also had a good plot with some action scenes/suspense, but I liked the romantic scenes better. I really liked the hero best though. Talk about a McDreamy! This was the first Kathryn Smith book that I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.