Customer Reviews

Shades Of Midnight (Zebra Historical Romance)

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

 

 

If you like paranormal, you will like this book. The characters are refreshingly upfront and genuine. There is a good balance between the plot of the book (who done it?) and the character development. Altogether a great read!

I bought these books because they were written by my favorite author, Linda Winstead Jones aka Linda Devlin aka Linda Fallon. I didn't know what to expect because her books are usually not about shades / ghosts / paranormal. I'm more a stream-line romance reader or historical romance reader. The two I've read thus far (can't wait for August when the third one comes to my house... it's been pre-ordered for a month now) have been fun, sexy, exciting, nailbiting, awesome books! I don't like scary books. Somehow Ms. Fallon managed to keep me posted on the edge of my seat throughout yet not in dreaded fear. How does she do it? She obviously researches well, and she obviously has a gift like no other! How can an author write shades books that are as delightful as her contemporary, her historical, and yes, her Fairie Tale romances. When I first started reading the titles, I decided I could live without reading those particular fairie tale books by my favorite author. Then I got desparate because I was out of her books to read! The first one had me hooked! (Read those, too!) Buy the Shades (Shades of Midnight, Shades of Winter) books - keep them - and pre-order the final Shades of Scarlet. I can promise you won't be disappointed!

I really enjoyed this book! It's a nice, quick read. I thought the characters were well developed and I enjoyed the paranormal story of Alaisdair and Viola as well. The only problem I have with the story is that I found the ending a little trite and weak. But, if you like romance / paranormal romance stories, I would definitely recommend this book. I'm about to order the next one. Enjoy!

i am always on the lookout for a good, spine-chilling ghost story (one of my favorites is _ammie, come home_ by barbara michaels--now that sent chills down my spine).

this book, however, annoyed me within the first two chapters--because the author has absolutely NO historical sense. just one matter--any person in 1885 who had a house would have had AT LEAST one servant, no exceptions (and the odds of a single woman being allowed free use of her money were slim). this was a time when there may have been running water of a sort (actually, pumped water was more like it) but the stove (not to mention ALL the fireplaces--no central heating) had to be stoked with hand chopped wood or coal, the water had to be heated on the stove (and if you wanted a bath, the tub had to be dragged out and filled laboriously by hand and bucket), there were no vacuum cleaners, rugs were beaten, floors were swept by hand, and if you wanted chicken for dinner, you had to wring its neck yourself and pluck and gut it. i realize i've run on a bit much, but this is just ONE of the historical oversights.

the social oversights--well, i won't even start.

the romance between the living characters was predictable.

and, lastly, erotic ghosts just don't send the right sort of chills down my spine. in a ghost story, i want SUSPENSE.

The book seemed at first like it was going to be a very interesting paranormal story. It had some promising elements in it. But, after awhile it just petered out for me. How many times can they watch "Viola" die? I get what Fallon was trying to do, but it just ended up sounding repetitive. By the end of the book I was pretty much just skimming.

If you like romance, suspense and a little humor tossed in, you'll enjoy Shades of Midnight. I read mostly mysteries, but this romance is outstanding. The characters are engaging, the story is entertaining and the mystery will keep you guessing. It's the perfect, light read for a lazy Saturday afternoon. My only complaint is that there are only three books in this series. Hopefully, Ms. Fallon is already hard at work on a 4th.

I admit I'm not generally a romance reader but good ghost stories are rare so I was willing to try it. But after reading "Eve pursed her lips" for the 20th time in the first few chapters, I started laughing out loud. I figured out the outcome by the second chapter. The rest was just opportunity for the protagonist and her true love to fight and almost get together (basically every romance novel's theme).

If you're looking for a scary ghost story, skip this. If you're looking for sentimental, somewhat erotic romance, this is the book for you.

I could not get into this book at all...and I LOVE the paranormal romance genre. The characters were flat and uninteresting. The writing itself was okay, but there was no spark to hold my attention. I put it down after a hundred pages or so.