Customer Reviews

The Night Drifter: A Novel

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having read "The Bride Finder" I was eager to continue with the story on the children from Anatole and Madeline. It takes place after the battle of Waterloo in which Lancelot the eldest twin son and heir has returned from the war and while his parents are on a grand tour has been left in charge. Lance, having been wounded by an affair of the heart, has turned rather cynical and would rather not have these responsibilities, but as the heir apparent, is forced into it. One more disappointment he would rather not have to divulge to the `dread Lord' his father is the loss of the St. Leger Bride Sword - a priceless family heirloom that gets passed on to the brides found for St. Leger men by the `Bride Finder'.

Most of the St. Leger descendants usually have some kind of supernatural power, Lance's is the power to separate his soul from his mortal body and night drift. Thinking this a great way to search for the stolen sword he happens upon the very young widow Rosalind, who believes him to be Sir Lancelot de Luc of King Arthur's Round Table. Rather than let her know the truth he plays along with her misconception and tells her he is looking for a missing sword - well that was part of the truth.

As it turns out, Rosalind while visiting the Effie Fitzleger, granddaughter of the original `Bride Finder' is astounded when Lance shows up with his brother Val and Effie is hit with the `tingly' feeling that Rosalind is meant to be the bride for all eternity of Lance St. Leger. Rosalind does not recognize Lance as her nightly apparition and wants no part of this reputed St. Leger rakehell. In order to woo the naïve widow, Lance has to continue as Sir Lancelot at night in order to convince her to give Lance St. Leger a chance to redeem himself during the day.

This was a continuation of a wonderful storyline that Carroll has crafted using the unforgettable family created with her stunning `Bride Finder'. She has given us a new plot with interesting characterizations and a real cliffhanger ending to show us once again that true love can heal all!

The Night Drifter is a wonderful continuation of the Bride Finder and I pray only the 2nd of many in this rich, saga. I had difficulty keeping my eyes tear-free so that I could read. The characters are so very down to earth and yet so magic filled.

I can hardly wait for the next installment; which will surely be the story of Val's bride. But of course there are Lance's children (surely)to consider. What wonderful traits will they develope? Ooow what possibilities.

The Mortmain family introduced in The Bride Finder made a reappeance in The Night Drifter, but with a difference brought about by Lancelot St. Leger in his attitude toward his contemporary ,Rafe Mortmain. This more enlightened openness of Lance brings the hope that perhaps this generational family enemy may, in time, grow from a bitter and bleak family group to reclaimed souls who do not automatically intend death to the St. Legers.

The Night Drifter and its predecessor, The Bride Finder, gave much joy. I am so glad I found them, and now must wait for their sequel(s); which I'm sure are in Susan Carroll's writers' aura.

Bravo Ms. Carroll, what a delectible banquet you prepare for your readers enjoyment!!

THE NIGHT DRIFTER by Susan Carroll is second in a trilogy of paranormal romances about an 18th century English family blessed (or cursed) with inherited magical abilities. In this book, Lance has the ability to separate his spirit from his body to roam the night in spirit form. That's how he meets Rosalind, a young widow who comes to believe she has met the ghost of Sir Lancelot of Camelot fame. Rosalind, of course, falls in love with the ghostly knight, never once suspecting he really is Lance, who she can't stand in person. And little does Lance know that Rosalind is his chosen bride, so now he must compete with "Sir Lancelot" for Rosalind's love.

The book is well written, the story engaging and fluid. I read it in one sitting, and enjoyed it a lot. Lance was a strong hero, and I especially enjoyed his relationships with his saintly brother, Valentine, and his shady friend, Rafe. In fact, in some ways, I felt this book was less a romance story between Lance and Rosalind, and more about how Lance dealt with both the people in his life (including Rosalind) and his magical powers.

What I didn't like about this book was Rosalind's character. She was a strong character, yes, but she also irritated me with her absolute devotion to loving a ghost. It seemed a little too much. I wanted her to get over it, and fast. Another thing I found strange was all the talk about how much of an experienced rake Lance was, yet we didn't get much of a love scene. Sigh.

Anyway, it is definitely a book worth reading, though you may enjoy it more by reading it in order of the trilogy. The first book, THE BRIDE FINDER, is the best in my opinion; it is also about Lance's parents. Lance's book, THE NIGHT DRIFTER, is number two in the trilogy. The last book is about Lance's brother, Valentine, and it is called MIDNIGHT BRIDE.

First off, if you are a fan of mystery romance novels by Victoria Holt, I encourage you to seek out this book, because you will enjoy the living H-E-hockey sticks out of it. Susan Carroll goes one better than Holt, however; she manages to stick fantasy and mysticism into her stories that are not only charming, but are believable and touching. I can easily imagine Colin Firth as Lance--at least the one by day that Lady Rosalind believes is a cad, so that image was fixed in my mind early on. I also came to admire Rosalind for her meekness, humility, and bravery. Lance's brother Val was another of my favorite characters and, just like him, I didn't like Raif Mortmain, who would be excellently portrayed by Cary Elwes.

Rich with action, and a sweet romance that only contains one unsickening intimate scene, this is a lovely novel that genuinely makes you care for every character involved, and I can't wait to read some more of Susan Carroll's books after seeing the brief, affectionate interplay between Lance and Val's parents!

I found this book to be a good read. I like the fact that it is a continuation of St. Leger family. I thought the romance was good. The characters are interesting. I feel that The Bride Finder is a better book than this one. But this one is still an enjoyable read. You can read this as a separate story and be quite happy with it. Although I would recommend reading the Bride Finder first to get a better read of this book.

The Bride Finder left me stunned, it was so good. The second in the series, The Night Drifter, isn't quite as good (hence 4 instead of 5 stars, though 4 & 1/2 would be more accurate) but is still far above most books in the genre and well worth the reading.

Lance is a great hero, even though I never understood why his particular gift is supposed to be so amazing amongst so many amazing gifts. Other reviewers have expressed their disappointment in Rosalind; I can barely remember her, which indicates to me that wasn't particularly memorable. When we first meet her, she seems like a delightful heroine, but later her continued infatuation with a ghost despite the presence of a living, breathing hero does get a little annoying.

Propero is a welcome secondary character, as always, but Ellie is a poor Bride Finder compared to the wonderful one in the first book. Unfortunately, she's young enough to stick around for a while. I miss the old man.

Defintely read this one, even though opinions are divided on how it comes to The Bride Finder. Susan Carroll is simply a fabulous author.

After reading The Bride Finder, I thought I'd never find another book comparable. It turns out that I enjoyed The Night Drifter even more! Susan Carroll combines the paranormal with romance to form a heart-warming story you'll read well into the night. I couldn't put it down!

THE NIGHT DRIFTER is another winner from Susan Carroll. I hoped it would be, and I wasn't disapointed.

Lance is a true hero, willing to lay down his life for Rosalind his one true love. It was lovely to see Anatole and Madeleine again, even if it was for a short time at the end of the book.

I do hope they are in more of Val's story (VALENTINE'S BRIDE).

Thank you Ssusan for a wonderful, magical story. I'm looking forward to Val's story. Winter 2001 is to long to wait for it.

I am having a tough time trying to rate this book. Compared to other authors and other books, this would be hands down a 4 or 5 star rating. Unfortunately, compared to her other books such as Bridefinder or Winterbourne, I feel that only a 3 star is justified. The writing style, descriptions, and character building were all there and done fairly well. I suppose it is the plot and some of the individual characters that I felt lacking. The St. Legers all have special "powers" which makes for endless possibilities in a plot. We are not stuck with one stereotype like clairvoyance, or healing powers, but a full range of any type of extraordinary power. Lance, our lead, is supposed to have one of the most powerful and amazing powers of all, being able to separate his body and soul. Unfortunately, I never understood why this is such an important power. He never used it for anything pivotal in the story (except confusing the heroine).

I liked the building of relationships that Ms. Carroll writes about, Rafe and Lance, Lance and his father, Lance and Prospero, Lance and Valentine, but you must recognize a pattern growing here. This all centers on Lance (which as our hero and title character is appropriate), and does not really include Rosalind. She is our weakest link in the chain. I found her character a bit frivolous and unrealistic. I also could not understand Effie's character. In the previous book, the Bridefinder is a fairly important character. I remember snatches of Effie and her potential as new Bridefinder. Why then would she so dislike her position? She SEEMS flaky in the extreme, uncaring and downright rude to the St. Ledgers. With such an entwined past, this antagonistic relationship seems unrealistic and I am confused about it.

Whatever my criticisms, I did enjoy reading the story, and look forward to all the sequels I know/hope Ms. Carroll will write for us. I would read an "average" Carroll book before a "good" other author book any day.

I read the BRIDE FINDER and couldn't put it down however, there was a bit of wading to finish the NIGHT DRIFTER. My problem was with the 2 female leads. I couldn't sympathsize with Rosalind and found her at times annoying. Obviously, since I buy and read romances I like escape but up until the end her mousy and her escapist behavior was irritating. Given a flesh and blood Lance or a ghost...it was very difficult to believe her dilemma. Effie was just irritating and too self centered to be found even amusing......the glinpses of Kate however show promise and I have high hopes for a sequel with Kate, Val and Rafe (whom I feel should be given some happiness...dare I suggest by marrying one of Anatole's daughters----just a thought.