Customer Reviews

Sacrament (Candleglow)

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

 

 

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!

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.

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

I did not like this book, on my second attempt; I still had to force myself to finish it. I still cannot figure out what genre it is suppose to be-paranormal, gothic, romance? The cover states "Gothic Romance", where is the romance, was that the part where Sarah rescues Julien and helps him get over his drug addiction.

There was not enough focus on the Sarah & Julien so-called relationship. In fact they didn't have one, just a few carriage rides to parties and a one-night stand. Author had too much unfinished business with too many different and irrelevant subplots.

Sarah is weak. She allows herself to be manipulated by her "best friend", Corina. Corina is a psycho, the extent that she went to get back at Julien for ignoring her too much.

This book went from bad to worse with Sarah's suicide attempt on the grounds of the monastery, that was too drastic. Even though Julien finally comes to her rescue, Sarah's intent was to die because she felt she was "nothing" without him. No man/vampire/whatever is worth killing yourself over!

I recommend Shades of Gray by Amanda Ashley and Dark Magic by Christine Feehan, if you are interested in paranormal romance.

I know alot of reviews said that this book is not their cup of tea or this book is too graphic or whatever ...I truly enjoyed this book. This is my first Susan Squires book and it won't be my last. This story is about Sarah (heroine) and Julien (vampire hero) Sarah finds out that her neighbor Julien is trying to take her precious estate from her. But why would a wealthy man like Julien want Sarah's property that is just scrapping by to make ends meet? Her deeds to the land are missing and she suspects that it was Julien who stole it. She does some investagating to try and find something that says she owns the property.....Mean while Sarah's friend (corina) the talk of England sets her sights on Julien, but Julien isn't interested in Corina and she exacts her revenge on him for that . At first Julien is cold toward Sarah but he finds himself drawn to her...because of her heart, her smarts and her naivety. This story is worth reading all the way through. It's not like your ordinary romance novel. It has alot of twists and turns and you find yourself not being able to put it down! I couln't anyway. I highly reccomend this book. I am going to look for Susan Squires other books as well.

If you must read anything with a vampire in it, then go ahead. If you like Harlequin Romances, ok. If your only criteria is that the author be able to construct a reasonable sentence, maybe.... If you are looking for a steamy vampire novel, this isn't it!!! Try I burn For You by the other Susan, Susan Sizemore or maybe something by Laurell K. Hamilton. When I lost this book part way through, I was thrilled I didn't have to finish it; but sadly, someone found it and returned it to me. Don't find yourself in that situation. ;-)

Behind every dark tunnel there is a light at the end...

Sarah Aston, Lady Clevancy, stumbles upon a gruesome murder scene. There she also finds the mysterious Julien 'Davinoff' as a bystander near the horrific crime scene. His dark enchanting eyes seem to entrance her as she first gazes upon them. Those same mystic eyes follow her thoughts as she continues on her journey to Bath for the season. Once she arrives at Bath she is surprised to see her path once again is to meet with Davinoff. She finds he is able to invoke feelings that are both intriguing and frightening. What secrets does this mysterious man hold? Will she be able to uncover the darkness that surrounds him? Or will she be placing herself in harms way by allowing her self to get close to him?

Julien Davinoff is the optimum of all that is dark and unholy. He hides the secret that he walks with the undead as a Vampire. He is unmoved at the acquisitions that suggests he is responsible or the growing numbers of serial murders. Upon meeting Sarah Ashton, he knows she has the power to have him seek out the light that has been denied from him for centuries. Her smile radiates a beam that penetrates his hardened heart. Will it be fair to drag her into the madness that he calls his world?

With dark emotional passages, Susan Squires writes a very compelling paranormal romance. Her writing style will not only delight you, it will shock you at what unspeakable limitations she has had her characters face. She has definitely made her mark in the paranormal gene - one that will not easily be forgotten!

I read The Companion first and loved it, so I immediately bought Sacrament. I know several people have given this book bad reviews, but I disagree. A few readers couldn't figure out when and how Sarah and Julien fell in love. I guess they didn't see the subtle signs, Julien not taking Sarah's land, Sarah thinking about him constantly, etc. After all this story takes place in a different time. Women had a different place in society and weren't outspoken about their feelings. Some readers thought the story was too drawn out. I, on the other hand, like my characters fleshed out and the exotic locales described in detail. It's true, there was not a lot of info about "The Companion." But I read the second book first, so I already knew some details that were omitted from this story. As to the friendship between Corina and Sarah, I believe Sarah was a friend more out of pity than real friendship. She knew what Corina had suffered as a child. I also think she was afraid if she ended the friendship, Corina would reveal what she knew about her.
I read this book very quickly and enjoyed it - give it a chance. I am eagerly waiting for The Hunger to come out in October.

Being an avid romance reader (of the supernatural), I picked this book up thinking it sounded good. I was fooled into thinking this would be a good romance when, in fact, it seemed far from it! While reading, I was disappointed in Davenoff as a vampire. The entire time he was in trouble, I kept expecting him to somehow regain strength and escape. I was sorely disappointed. I was also frustrated with Sarah and Corrine. I couldn't understand why Sarah was friends with Corrine since they were so different. And Corrine's involvement in the whole affair just ruined the desirable image I had at first about Davenoff. After somehow managing to read this book, I realized the whole romance aspect toward the end was cold. Sarah didn't fall for Davinoff for himself. She was pitied into loving him. I think everything she felt for him was just pity. To all the readers out there looking for something new in the romance genre, don't look here!

Have you ever read a book that you felt started off somewhat decently but ended up having so many unlikable characters that you just wanted to throw it across the room? Well, that's how I felt about Susan Squires' novel Sacrament. The story starts off with our plain Jane heroine Sarah, traveling to London to solve a land dispute. There she meets up with her immoral friend Corina, whose past-times include rape, torture and S&M. Not exactly my cup of tea. The worst part is Sarah has SOME idea of Corina's past times and she ignores it. Not exactly heroine material in my book.

Enter the vampire Davinoff. Davinoff is tall dark and dull. He wanders around uttering cryptic comments, and for some reason Sarah's friend Corina becomes obsessed with him. What follows is an endless series of jaunts across the country in a carriage as Corina chases after Davinoff and drags protesting limp Sarah along. Yawn.

I just simply did NOT care about the characters and was alternately annoyed and repelled by them. Sarah is spineless, plain and boring, Corina a psychopath and Davinoff seemed more like a caricature. I know he's a vampire, but he had the warmth of cold pudding.

This novel became a wallbanger during a very disturbing flashback scene about halfway through. Yech. If the author spent as much time developing the relationship between the two main characters, as she spent in establishing the fact that the character Corina is eeeevillll, this novel might actually have been halfway decent.