Customer Reviews

Night Falls Darkly: A Novel of the Shadow Guard

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What if there was more to the most famous serial killer in history than we ever imagined? What if it was 1888, and Jack the Ripper's atrocious crimes were about to usher in an unprecedented age of evil?

What if Archer, the gorgeous immortal hunter who came to slay him, found Jack as elusive as he was deadly, and what if the intrepid woman that Archer couldn't resist loving was about to become Jack's next target?

Kim Lenox's first story in the Shadow Guard series will leave you breathless. Night Falls Darkly is an amazingly smooth blend of history, romance, and supernatural suspense. Sensual, elegantly written, and very original, it contains cameos from historical characters that will delight you. The writing is so evocative, you will find yourself standing in elegant ballrooms and dark alleyways with these characters.

Elena Whitney is a wonderful heroine that you'll love. She's intelligent and ambitious, while also being compassionate and charitable. She is the perfect match for Archer, the hardened dark hero who so fascinates her.

I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel, So Still the Night, because Kim Lenox's books are not to be missed!

Due to an accident, Elena Whitney is unable to remember anything significant about her past. The ward of Lord Black, Elena does not even know if she has ever met him before. Living day to day helping out in the mews of London's poorest of the poor, Elena wants more than anything to become a doctor, even going so far as to apply to schools. When it seems as if her wish is about to come true, Elena arrives home to find Archer, Lord Black, has arrived with his entourage. Mysterious and aloof, he is darkly handsome and Elena is intrigued. That is, until she finds out that Archer has never before met her and never desired to. It seems that Lord Black paid a minion to provide for Elena, and while the servant thought he was doing the right thing, Elena was never supposed to be living in Lord Black's home. Archer won't hear of her leaving and so they compromise - and they fall in love much to the consternation of Archer's fellow Shadow Guards.

Jack the Ripper is demoralizing and terrifying all of London. As a member of the immortal Shadow Guards, Archer is given the duty to rid London of this foul evil. It is an order that he takes very seriously. As a Shadow Guard, Archer knows that time is not to be manipulated and fate is not to be messed with. He knows this but two years ago he refused to allow Elena to die at the hands of a madman so he interfered. With his interference comes another thought - Elena might be the one weakness in his otherwise sturdy outer shell. When Jack the Ripper targets Elena, Archer knows that being distracted is not wise but one thing is for certain. The vile stench that is Jack the Ripper will not harm his beloved Elena. He would swear on it.

I love discovering new authors and new series. NIGHT FALLS DARKLY is such a novel. Set in the late 1800's in London, the storyline of Jack the Ripper intrigued me because I was curious to how Ms. Lenox would pull off the plot. I am happy to report that NIGHT FALLS DARKLY is well written and beautiful prosaic at times. Archer is a prime alpha male and his dark countenance and erotic sensuality held me spellbound. Did I mention he is sexy as well? I found myself cheering Archer and Elena from the sidelines and thought Elena a worthy heroine. Archer's protection of his love made me feel tingly inside and I loved every word.

NIGHT FALLS DARKLY is amazing. I found it to be highly suspenseful and deeply moving. I am desperate to read the next book of this series and am gathering bribes as I type! NIGHT FALLS DARKLY releases in October. Don't miss it!

There were definitely some interesting things going on in Night Falls Darkly the first in the Shadow Guard Series, an immortal hunter series set in Victorian England, this one at the time of Jack the Ripper.

The book very original and it held great promise as a mix of historical romance with a paranormal suspense twist: the challenge of the hunt for a dark stoic hero immortal hunter Archer, an unconventional heroine in Archer's ward aspiring doctor Elena, and Archer's fellow hunters with the hint of a mythological tie-in to their origins. While I really liked Lennox's female characters, somehow for me the individual parts of the book just didn't come together in a way that fulfilled all of that promise.

Part of it was that Archer was too bipolar for me, I get that his hot and cold streaks were supposed to be a struggle of desire against duty but, when added to his patronizing treatment of Elena, the result was that I wasn't drawn into their relationship. It also didn't help that Archer and Elena actually spend very little time together during the story, since for one reason or another one of the pair was avoiding the other. Being a period romance, Elena and Archer's courtship is mostly just stolen kisses and the lustful scoping out of forbidden body parts hidden under period garments, though they did have one interesting love scene in which Archer showed Elena the benefit of having a shadow lover.

The hunt for Jack is actually only a very small background piece of the story and instead of being a taunting game of catch-me-if-you-can between Archer and Jack its role is more to provide motivation for Archer to attempt to control Elena - for her own good - and to present a conflict between Jack and his junior Shadow Guard partners, especially the overreaching and ambitious Mark.

But for me the most frustrating part was the presentation of the mythos of the Shadow Guard and their `reclamations. I got the sense that the background there was fascinating, but the information was presented subtly, mostly as vague hints and offhand remarks by the characters. But maybe I am just not smart enough because even when an explanation of sorts is given to Elena near the end of the story, I was still confused as to the origins of the Shadow Guard, what `transcending' really meant(do evil guys get Guardian powers by transcending? if so what happens to a Guardian when they transcend?), and the significance of Archer cutting his hair. I realize that first books in a romantic series are tough even without the challenge of adding in the hunt for a killer to developing the romance and fleshing out the rules of the world, but for me the mythos, and romance of the Shadow Guard never quite made it out of the shadows.

But still there is definitely originality and potential here. If you are fan of historicals looking for something a bit different, Night Falls Darkly may be just what you are looking for and for me maybe the next one, So Still The Night will shed a bit more light on the world of the Shadow Guard.

I loved this book. It was very entertaining and fun to read. I am not an expert or a writer, I just love to read, so my review is very simple. This is a great book with a cool new twist on the typical romance novel. The paranormal aspect is very intriguing, and Kim Lenox flavored this story with just enough to make it an excellent read, not over-the-top bizarre or lackluster boring. I am very anxious for the second book in May 09, and hope there are many more to come.

Elena Whitney wants to be a medical student and volunteers as a nurse at a London hospital for the poor. Unfortunately, Jack the Ripper is roaming the streets of London, threatening Elena and the indigent women who are her patients. Enter Archer, Lord Black, who is her guardian. He's also secretly one of the immortal Shadow Guards, beings whose tasks include removing souls have gone far to the "evil" side of the good/bad spectrum. He wants Elena safely married off and far outside the Ripper's grasp. She just wants to get on with her medical duties, and sparks fly.

Lenox has a good interpersonal conflict, an intriguing premise, and interesting characters. I like her touches of London history and the scenes in the British Museum have just the right amount of detail. I'm looking forward to seeing how Lenox's world develops.

I love English Historicals. I love tales of the paranormal. I love it when the two meet. However, I did not love this book, much to my disappointment. I mean, look at the cover - who wouldn't love that? Alas, I can't even say I liked it. It wasn't so much as bad writing, it was the absence of scenes and the fact that I had to go back and make sure I didn't miss something that had me giving up on this book. For instance, there is a scene where one character, Selene, borrows a nightgown from the heroine, Elena, and while in the room she gets a note from the maid. After reading, she drops the note in the trash before heading out. Then we have Elena calling for the maid who just left and we find out the maid had taken the note out of the trash...but no where was it mentioned until Elena had opened the door on the maid. And if you're confused by what I just typed, it was worse in the book. I bought this through Amazon's used books and I'm glad I didn't spend too much money on it. I would suggest doing the same if tempted to read it.

In 1887 Shadow Guard Archer Black reclaims the marked soul of Mr. Winslow, but in spite of his caution, collateral damage occurs when the deviant brings an innocent young woman into the fray. After completing his mission, to save the female's life and keep her safe, Archer erases the memory of Miss Elena Whitney and vows to be her protector. Elena thinks that the accident caused her amnesia. She appreciates her unknown benefactor who has arranged for her to work as a nurse in Whitechapel and has done so much more for her include giving her hope she might one day become a doctor.

Almost two years later, Queen Victoria orders Archer to London to end Jack the Ripper's reign of terror. He becomes mortified when he observes Elena walking the unsafe streets of Whitechapel where the Ripper kills his victims. To the Guardian's chagrin, he finds focusing on the Ripper difficult because of his attraction to Elena; he knows he must put her out of his head so he can concentrate on the deadly East End psychopath.

NIGHT FALLS DARKLY is a supernatural Victorian romantic suspense thriller that grips the audience with the opening sequence when Archer goes to collect the marked soul and never slows down as he struggles to do likewise with the Ripper. The story line is filled with action and the right amount of romance; however it is the vivid time and place that anchors the novel and makes the "urban" fantasy elements seem genuine. With a fascinating underlying paranormal concept, this Shadow Guard saga opens with a refreshing new look at stopping Jack.

Harriet Klausner

Great book! The characters are thoughtful and deep, with a very interesting premise. I was a little disappointed at how long it took the author to finally explain what the Shadow Guards actually were, but otherwise this book was well thought out, and well written. I defiantly plan on staying with this series, and it looks like its only going to get better!

At first I was a bit hesitant about liking the book, simply because it seemed to start off a bit slow and the characters, while definitely not the worst, also didn't seem to stick out a lot in my mind. And the fact that it was reading more like an urban fantasy than a para-romance didn't help to make me love it any either. But I was wrong, I will admit.

By about the 60th page or so, it picked up considerably and the characters and plot seemed to explode, they developed so quickly. I was instantly drawn all the way into the book instead of just part way like when I picked it up.

There were all sorts of twists and turns, mysteries and suspense, a few laughs and, yes, eventually a bit of a romance too. Though the romance seemed to take a back seat to the plot in this book, what little there wasn't half bad! It had it's moments, more so towards the end when he finally admits why he saved her in the alley in the prologue of the book. It wasn't the 'let-out-a-deep-sigh-oh-my-that's-true-love' type of romance, but it wasn't the 'ho-hum' kind either. Pleasant, but not awe-inspiring.

4.5 Stars! What it lacked in the romance it made up for at the end when the author pretty much leaves you hanging, drawing you in for the sequel, out later this year. Lenox just starts to scratch the surface of the story in this one, only telling us the bare minimum about these Immortals, which made me even more desperate to read the next one!

For the past two years, Elena Whitney has wanted for nothing. Clothes, money, a fashionable address, and the freedom to pursue her passion for medicine - all have been granted to her by her absent benefactor, Lord Black. In fact, the only thing Elena does not have is her memory of her life before coming to live in Lord Black's home. When her mysterious guardian returns to London, Elena seizes the chance to get some much-needed answers.

One of the oldest and most talented members of the immortal Shadow Guard, Archer, Lord Black, has returned to London. His mission? Capture and Reclaim the soul of a killer who is none other than Jack the Ripper. Archer can't afford distractions, and the beautiful Elena is most definitely a distraction. Archer saved her life two years before and has done his best to put her out of his mind ever since. But as panic spreads throughout London, Archer and Elena are increasingly drawn to one another. Will they have a chance to act on their newfound passion? Or will the deadly Ripper make Elena his next victim?

Murder, mayhem, passion, and the paranormal - Night Falls Darkly has it all. Kim Lenox kicks off her intriguing new series with a fascinating plot and an interesting cast of characters who are sure to charm. I suppose Elena can be considered a somewhat unusual Victorian heroine. Though unimaginable wealth and opportunity for marriage lie at her feet, Elena's true passion is medicine and she spends her time working as a nurse and desires to become a doctor. I liked that about her; it made her stand out to me as a heroine. She's intelligent, inquisitive, brave, and willing to stand up to anyone, even her guardian. Archer, for his part, is a wonderful hero. He's sexy and ruthlessly efficient at his job, but to my delight this was countered by his being thrown off balance by Elena and his feelings for her. Archer and Elena were two strong-willed characters who matched one another perfectly on every level. Adding to the cast are the twins, Mark and Selene, two other members of the Shadow Guard. Both Mark and Selene are unique characters, each of them adding another layer to the story. I finished Night Falls Darkly incredibly impatient to read Mark's story, So Still the Night.

The only thing I would wish for is more background information. I finished Night Falls Darkly not fully clear about the details of the Shadow Guard, the Amaranthine (Archer's immortal race), Reclaiming, and Transcension. What little explanation was offered was given in an almost off-hand manner, as if I should already know the information. This struck me as a bit odd for the first book in a series. It is my hope that So Still the Night provides more insight into the Shadow Guard world, for Ms. Lenox has created a universe that has the potential to be incredibly fascinating. Still, I greatly enjoyed Night Falls Darkly and can't wait for the next installment in Ms. Lenox's exciting new series.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed