Customer Reviews

A Rose at Midnight (An Avon Romantic Treasure)

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

 

 

I thought I had read every book Anne Stuart had written, but somehow, I missed this wonderful one. Fortunately, I discovered one listed on amazon.com used, because for some stupid reason, Avon doesn't have the good sense to keep this one in reprint. It another of Stuart's display of genius, that mesmerizes the reader to where you cannot put it down. She catches you up from page one and won't let you go, until she puts you through an emotional ringer. She gives you another of those Gamma-Rogue Males that has a black heart and a blacker soul.

Ghislaine de Lorgny is out to kill Nicholas Blackthorne - along with numerous cuckolded husbands - and she has plenty of reasons. Gilly blames the death of her family on the guillotine and the loss of her virtue at Blackthone's door. When Gilly was fifteen, Nicholas visited his Godparents (Gilly's parents) just as The Terror was sweeping through France. Gilly fell in love with the beautiful Nicholas, and Nicholas demonstrated affection for Gilly. But when her father begs Nicholas to take her to England, away from Napoleon's nightmare reign, Nicholas coldly dismisses him, unknowingly consigning Gilly's family to death. She escaped with her 12-year-old brother onto the streets of Paris, where she watched her parents killed. Left to see to her brother's and her survival, the nightmare continued. An evil man sold Gilly into prostitution and had her brother carried away, likely killed. Gilly has carried that hatred for ten years, but finally her time for revenge has come.

Nicholas Blackthorne, the last of the mad Blackthornes, has lived his life knowing his mother and father hated that his brother had died instead of him. So, he did everything he could to live up to the mad Blackthorne's reputation. He lives with so many regrets, one being he feels responsible for the de Lorgny family going under the blade. When Gilly's father asked Nicholas to take her to England, Nicholas had just received a letter telling of his father's dead so he'd carelessly brushed off the man. For the last ten years, Nicholas believe Gilly was killed with her parents; her face has haunted his mind.

He does not recognize Gilly as the chef his cousin Ellen hired a year ago, but he soon finds out after Gilly tries to poison him. Instead of turning her over to the local magistrate, he takes Gilly prisoner and spirits her off to Scotland, then later drags her across Europe.

Hot on their heels is his cousin Ellen and Tony. Ellen has always loved Tony, but he has been more of a big brother to her. Tony has been trying for the last two years to shift their relationship, but fears he has left it too late. He sees this rescue of Gilly as a means to be close to Ellen and change her thinking towards him. Their secondary romance makes this into two loves stories, not just one.

Nicholas Blackthorne is one of Stuart's total bad boys she delights making you love. Gilly is unforgettable, her pain and betrayal stings, showing her indomitable spirit. The reader is exhausted after their emotional battles. It's one of those books you won't ever be able to forget.

Now someone explain why Avon does not reprint such high quality writing?

With some authors I just NEED to have every book they've written and Anne Stuart is one of them. If you've read any of her books (historical or modern) you know she goes in for a dark hero who is usually more bad than good (or maybe I should say so bad he's good). At any rate, I stumbled across this earlier book and WOW!!! What a ride. It takes place right after the French Revolution and our French heroine has managed to survive but not without a load of emotional scars. She is living in England when low and behold she is presented with the opportunity to take revenge on the Englishman (our hero) she blames for all the woes she and her family suffered during the reign of terror. And we're off. . . Needless to say things don't go as she plans. Great story line, great characters who are FULLY developed and complex. Wonderful "secondary character" love story. Order this book! It is worth the extra you will have to pay for a used copy. A definite keeper to add to your Anne Stuart collection. It's 394 sexy pages of adventure, tears and pleasure!

The characters in this novel are tortured and somewhat unlovable, but they are so wounded and needy that they complement one another. Anne Stuart is such a clever and skilful writer that she is able to take a storyline that could fail miserably in someone else's hands, and write something delightful and compelling. Think of this book as a reluctant buddy novel where the hero and the heroine go on a road trip.

I ran across this book in a used book store,and I thought that the cover was horrible but have really enjoyed many of Anne Stuart's books so I bought it. I have never enjoyed a book so much. I read at least 4 or 5 romance novels a month and this is quite possiblely one of the best romances I have ever read. The heroine and hero are both tortured souls, each with a past they have to come to terms with. The beginning of the this book is by far the most orginal I've ever read with the heroine plotting and planning the hero's murder. There is also a secondary love story in this book that is almost just as good as the primary one. If you like rich detail, with high sexual tension and accurate historical settings and you're ever lucky enough to run across this book,grab it up in a hurry.I promise you will not be disappointed... Great Romance!

This book was described to me as a superlative example of the romance genre.

Well...it wasn't superlative for me. First of all, I did not buy the reason that had Nicholas being the tormented dark hero that he was. It was very lame and confused. I *think* what the author wanted to say, is that Nicholas's father didn't love him -- or at least, Nicholas *thought* his father didn't love him, and when his older brother died and Nicholas was all that was left, his father regretted that and let Nicholas know it. So, this was Nicholas's excuse to become a womanizing rakehell bent on self-destruction.

Secondly, I couldn't come to terms with Nicholas refusing to help Ghislaine's family when they were threatened by the oncoming French Revolution. He really loved her at that time, although she was only 15. But Nicholas gets a letter telling him his father's dead, so he uses THAT as an excuse to become all hard & cold, and tells Ghislaine's father he won't take her out of the country? Huh? This is the love of your life - your first love no less - the one person who makes you feel all tender & happy - and you're going to go haywire and not help her or her family, because you got a letter telling you your father's dead, and suddenly you feel unlovable?

More reasonably, I could see Nicholas feeling unlovable at age 35 after years of being a skanky rake, but at age 22, Nicholas should have been more mallable and willing to believe in love. But of course, if he had helped Gilly's family, there would no further story, because Gilly wouldn't have had anything to hate him for!

And that brings me to my third point: (SPOILERS) How can you ever love someone who left you in a very dangerous situtation that ultimately destroyed your family? Nicholas's failure to come to their aid brings utter destruction and Gilly's parents are killed. And she's left to sell herself on the streets of Paris. Excuse me, but all that would DEFINITELY come between me and whatever uncontrollable attraction I felt for a man. Even a mere fictional character should have more sense. (END SPOILERS)

I also thought the subplot between Ellen & Tony was just a chore to read, not a bore necessarily, but a chore. If one more person or happenstance interrupted their potential lovemaking, I was going to SCREAM bloody murder. I hate it when authors play around that way -- bringing their characters to the brink, and then having someone walk in on them, or having a cat knock over a dish; over and over. It doesn't increase the dramatic or sensual tension - it just gets old, FAST, and annoying. Despite the flimsy reasons given for the choices they made, Gilly and Nicholas were by far a more interesting couple than Ellen and Tony. I suppose the author wanted a 'light' sub-story to counterbalance the 'dark' romance of Gilly and Nicholas but Ellen and Tony are two average characters; just blah. Their ho-hum romance never really took off.

The constantly changing settings gave me a headache. The characters are whipped from England to Scotland to Holland to Venice to France, (and flashbacks to Gilly's youth in France as well). (SPOILER ALERT) When Nicholas had the battle with the man who raped Gilly (entirely due to Nicholas' failing to rescue her, I could not forget) it was so melodramatic. And then he ends up killing the guy who sold her to the madam. (END OF SPOILER)

I guess the author was trying to redeem Nicholas in the heroine's eyes - well, it worked for the Gilly, more fool her, but just didn't work for me.

2 stars for the somewhat intriguing heroine with a vengeful backbone (I much preferred Gilly when she wanted to poison Nicholas) but, the unbelieveable motivations of the main characters; weak secondary characters, and really melodramatic actions in the last few chapters soured this story.

This is the kind of good old-fashioned betrayal\revenge, 'dark enigmatic hero finds redemption in the arms of the woman he loves' kind of story, the kind that's all too often done with a sore lack of sophistication and imagination by other authors.

I think this little-known book is Ann Stuart's absolute best work. I know she's written some more notable contemporary suspense\thriller romances, but 'A Rose at Midnight' truly is one of the most divine books a romance reader will ever come across in her lifetime. Compared to much of the garbarge that's so readily churned out by the romance genre, this book's existence is all the more WOW-some.

This is a very dark, but beautiful love story. Revenge and retaliation, end up as love and redemption. In my belief, this is one of the best historical romances ever written

This is my first taste of Anne Stuart, and I can say with confidence that it will not be the last. This one will haunt you. It will leave you unsettled long after it's over.

This is really about a tortured HEROINE, a very rare plot-line in romance novels. Ghislaine has lost everything that ever meant anything to her: her parents, brother, home, and even her innocence. She watched her parents be hung, her brother starve and loose his mind, and had to sell her body on the street to survive. How's that for a heroine?

Nicholas is SUPPOSED to also be a tortured soul, but after learning of Ghislaine's past, his seems really comfy. Anyway, Ghislaine's parents were Nicholas's godparents and Nicholas had the opportunity to help Ghislaine's family by rescuing her and helping the entire family escape their tragic fate. He didn't. He blames himself for this family's death and so does Ghislaine.....she wants to kill him.

This book takes us for quite a ride. The book switches locations, storylines, (there is a secondary romance between Ghislaine's friend/benefactor and her childhood crush), and goes from the past to the present from one paragraph to the next. For another author this might have proved challenging, but not for Stuart. She mixes it up just perfectly to bring about a near flawless book.

My only nagging question is this.....Could Ghislaine really come to terms with Nicholas and her past enough to really let go and forgive. She was just so tormented and abused that I found myself asking this question and doubting that Ghislaine's answer would've been the likely one. However, it's definitely worth your time.

Anne Stuart is known for her alpha heros who are also damaged beyond repair and her heroines that come along and help tame her mate's inner demons. A Rose At Midnight is a story of two characters who can't forgive each other. The heroine thinks the hero is to blame for everything that happens in her life. She tries to poison him and in turn he kidnaps her trying to force her to his will through seduction and what some may believe is forced and even rape.
Ghislane and Nicholas are two characters so orginal and very disturbing. The reader may think these two will never get past their demons and have their happy ending. Some may be disturbed by these forced sexual scenes, but Stuart is a true master at this. We feel the inner turmoil of Ghislane's lost of her family to the guillitone and how she had to sell her body for food and for her younger brother's survival. The coldness and her thirst for revenge becomes her undoing due to the man she targets.
Nicolas is delusion, a true anti-hero. He is slowly killing himself through drinking, gambling and whoring. Once upon a time he almost fell in love with a young girl before he became what he is. (I wonder who she girl is?)
There is so much more to this story that can't be told, unless you experience it. This book came out right during a time when old fashioned historical novels like this were on its way out. Stuart defies it all, writing a story that should go down in history as one of the best romance for the ages.
You will enter a world of obsession, lust, betrayal and such heartbreak that if you will probably shed a tear or at least become teary eyed.
Enter post revolutionary France and the other countries surrounded along with two characters and their counterparts, including a secondary romance that balances the main one.
A true lush romance in every sense of the word.

Katiebabs

I have read hundreds of romance novels since the age 11, and I can honestly say that this is my best romance ever. I read it about five years ago. This a beautiful story about a lady Ghislaine who sets out to revenge a really BAD man Nicholas, who she holds responsible for the loss of everything she holds dear. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING a lady could possibly lose. However, her revenge plot backfires, and she is at the mercy of this blackguard who is actually the hero of the story.
What I liked most about A Rose at Midnight is the hero. He was just so incredibly bad, (and good-looking)that he was wonderful. There is nothing like a romance novel with a wicked hero, who gets reformed by the heroine. I love Anne Stuart's books because she really knows how to create a devilish hero with the face of an angel. But this one is just her best.