Sacrament (Candleglow) [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Squires (Author)

Book Description

Series: Candleglow | Publication Date: April 2007

What if the man you loved was a vampire? How would you find the courage to embrace the darkness? Sarah Ashton, Lady Clevancy, is sure she is a very ordinary person in a very ordinary Regency England. Her life is invaded by a mysterious stranger, the long lost owner of the ruined abbey adjacent to her ancestral lands now accused of serial murder. She should be appalled, rather than fascinated. But she finds herself saving the devil himself from danger, and falling in love in the process. Her love will lead her across Europe, to the edge of eternity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rare gem...fascinating and unique!"--New York Times bestseller Christine Feehan

"An outstanding debut novel that takes some risks and succeeds."--The Romance Reader on Dangeld

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

It began in Sienna with an illicit kiss stolen under a hot Mediterranean sun. It made the blood sing in her veins in ways she had never felt before. It was a pulsing need to be someone else; to be something else...something she didn't yet understand.

It was embodied by Davinoff. The dark lord was feared by the ton and even by fleeing to Bath, Sarah could not escape him. His eyes were ageless. They held a sadness she could hardly fathom. They pierced her so deeply that she felt penetrated to her very core. What they offered was frightening...and tantalizing. Was it evil that lurked within this foreigner's unnatural kiss, or was the communion he offered something else entirely? All Sarah knew was that the sacrament of his love would either be the death of her body or the salvation of her soul. And she could no more deny it than she could herself.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company (April 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505524724
• ISBN-13: 978-0505524720
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,390,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, if a little drawn out., March 19, 2002

By 

Sarah "sssspro" (North East, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacrament (Candleglow) (Mass Market Paperback)

Well, Ms. Squires 2nd book, although very different from her first one, is a great read. I had some issues with the story, but all in all, thought that it was very well written. I find that her imagination and ability to tell a story is exceptionally skilled. To start, her characters are deep, well defined and interesting. No cardboard cut outs in this story. Julian is cynical, dark, aloof and detached from the world. We feel his ennui, and learn to see why he is the way he is (if you've lived as long as he has, I suppose that is reason enough, but Ms Squires brings you into his mind to see this). Sarah also has her own issues. We see her grow and mature as the story progresses. She is a strong character, though not perfect. Sarah has weaknesses and a touch of naiveté that she needs to overcome and accept.

The vampire element is new and fresh and interesting to read (again, I comment upon Ms. Squires imagination). Here comes that "but"; but there were two elements that left me uncomfortable with the book. First and foremost is Sarah's friend Corina. There is a symbiotic relationship in the first half of the book, which skirts the realm of reasonableness to me. This relationship is explained (and fairly satisfactorily) but Corina was SO dark it jerked me out of the story a time or two. The second element is the pace of the story. It felt like we had 2 or 3 different stories in one. Maybe a division of Part 1 and Part 2 would have helped, but so much happens in this story (all of which is important to the main love story) that I felt my mind wandering at times. Either the book needed to be an epic (another 200 pages to expound upon important issues) or maybe two different books?

Well, enough negative commentary. I really did enjoy the story and the characters. I was riveted to the book, unable to put it down until I finished it. I am eagerly awaiting her next book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Loved The Characters, March 31, 2002

By 

Pam from Texas - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sacrament (Candleglow) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first started Sacrament, I was impatient for the romance and vampire side of the story to begin. As I kept reading, I found myself getting caught up in the characters' lives and caring about them. Sarah is a very interesting heroine and the hero, Julian Davenoff,is the thing fantasies are made of. Tall, dark, brooding, and handsome, he oozes sex appeal. Sarah's friend, Corrine, had me wanting to strangle her. I couldn't figure out why Sarah stayed friends with her because she was self centered and cared nothing for anybody's feelings but her own. She proved to be quite ruthless in obtaining what she wanted.

In the beginning, it is Corrine who wants Julian, and she does everything she can to snare him. Meanwhile, Julian has produced a deed to Sarah's family home and she believes he will steal it out from under her. Her own deed has conveniently disappeared and she suspects Julian of having it stolen. As a result, their relationship starts out on shaky ground.

If you want a book with pages of graphic sex scenes and vampires attacking humans on every other page, you've got the wrong book. Instead, this book concentrates on Sarah and her relationship with Corrine and issues she has with her past. We also see how Sarah's relationship with Julian undergoes a change due to Corrine's actions. Last, but not least, we get to know Julian and come to care for him. I recommend this book very highly.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Squires second novel is a must read!!, March 16, 2002

By 

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacrament (Candleglow) (Mass Market Paperback)

Susan Squire's second book proves she is here to stay!! Danegeld was a gritty medieval; this time her talent it turned toward a vampire tale. It is moody, dark, gothic, and captivates the reader in a story that is far from the normal vampire tale.

Her lead characters are extremely well drawn, though I really really want to just smack Corrine really HARD!!! Squires maintains the brooding darkness, the duality we find in ourselves, vampire or not, and the question of how far are we willing to go for love.

He is Julian Davinoff, the dark lord always in black, and he has come to claim Sarah's beloved and ancient home. She suspects he is so determined to gain possession of the family home that he has bribed to have the deed stolen so she cannot prove her claim.
From the first, despite the legal entanglement, Sarah is pulled toward this man, scare of him as much as she is fascinated by him.

Unfortunately for Sarah and Davinoff, Sarah's "friend' becomes suddenly obsessed with him as well, a friend already bordering on madness, a friend rumoured to have tastes for dark and evil for perversions, with the obsession pushing her into complete insanity. She will destroyed them both if not stopped.

Squires paints extremely complex characters, hardly stereotypical, in a moving story that will haunt you long after you put it down.

WISE WRITERS AND READERS Book of the Month May 2002