Shadows of the Night (Signet Eclipse) [Paperback]

Lydia Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signet Eclipse | Publication Date: March 4, 2008

Fern and Colin Radcliffe were to have a conventional marriage. But after a shocking wedding night, Fern strikes out at her new husband in a fit of passionate independence-and awakens a craving in both husband and wife to cast off society's rules and mores.

They spend their honeymoon alone at Colin's isolated estate- exploring a world of pain, pleasure, and power. But their exploration is interrupted by a devastating secret from Colin's past-a secret that threatens their future together, and their very lives...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Immediately after her wedding, Fern Ashcroft begins to wonder if she might have made the biggest mistake of her life in marrying Colin Radcliffe. Not only does Colin insist that he is in charge in their marriage, but he also seems to be keeping secrets from her. When Colin cuts their honeymoon in Brighton short so that they can travel to his estate in Wrexmere, Fern suspects there is more to the trip than Colin’s wish to spend some quiet time alone with his new wife. Upon arriving in Wrexmere, Fern finds not only a run-down estate but also dangerous secrets from the past that could destroy any chance Fern might have of a happy future with Colin. Brilliantly blending atmospheric elements from Ann Radcliffe’s classic gothic novels with a generous dash of Brontë-esque romance, Joyce creates an elegantly dark and intensely sexy Victorian historical romance that is certain to cast its own mysterious spell over readers. For more bewitching Victorian romances, see the adjacent Read-alikes. --John Charles

Review

"If there is only one new author you will try this year, it must be Lydia Joyce."
-Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author of Devil in Winter

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045122342X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451223425
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was very young, I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to be a grandma. After all, grandmas don't have to work, they enjoy the company of children whenever they desire, and whenever they don't, they send them home to their parents. I would wear a large-old fashioned hat, have salt-and-pepper Gibson girl hair, and grow roses.

When I discovered that grandma-ing was not a career, I settled on writing as second best.

I began dictating my first stories to my mother before I could write. I filled notebooks in elementary school, and in middle school and high school, I wrote over 800 manuscript pages in my spare time as well as four plays that saw production.

Yet I never seriously considered writing as a career after elementary school. Writers starve, I was always told; a writer makes a decent wage about as often as pigs fly. And I wanted to make money, so I moved from Texas to Indiana to enroll in Purdue's engineering program.

I hated it.

Finally, I decided there was a good deal of difference between being good at a thing and liking it and that liking it was more important, so I left engineering. After changing my major a second time, I still managed to graduate in four years with majors in English and Spanish and a minor in religious studies--and almost another major in creative writing if illness hadn't prevented me from completing it. Meanwhile, I wrote three manuscripts and began submitting them and collecting rejection letters.

After graduation, I married a wonderful man I met my sophomore year, and so far we have one son. We're now living on a half acre in the mountains of New Mexico, where I write full time and update my website as frequently as possible.

I got my first contract in the late spring of 2004, two years after I graduated from college, and I'm hoping to sell many more books!

In addition to writing, I am a competitive ballroom dancer as well as a sometime gardener.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars engaging Victorian romantic suspense, March 6, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadows of the Night (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

During the courtship Colin and Fern behaved as expected of aristocrats by Victorian society. Both expected a normal somewhat boring relationship as neither showed a tendency to break out of the mold. Then came their wedding night in which Fern displays sass, boldness, and desire, which makes Colin hot for her and dream perhaps they can have an ardent loving marriage that breaks sexual taboos with some safe S&M.

They go on their honeymoon to his most remote estate where she wants independence and he desires more of what they had on their wedding night. They fall in love and enjoy their isolation until Joseph Reston from Colin's past arrives with demands that shake apart the newlyweds as she realizes he has hidden things from her while he insists they no longer matter as love has changed him from what he was.

SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT is an engaging Victorian romantic suspense in which the peril comes later in the plot, but enhances the story line by causing a major rift between the lead couple who struggle to understand their sexual appetites. Fans will enjoy this heated historical because the conflict comes from within the relationship between Colin and Fern even before Reston arrives and amplifies the already existing issues.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sexy and intriguing Victorian gothic..., April 12, 2008

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shadows of the Night (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

Set in Victorian England (no year is specified, but based on the descriptions, I am guessing this takes place somewhere around 1850s-1860s), Shadows of the Night tells the story of the Honorable Mr. Colin Radcliffe, heir to a vicounty, and his marriage to the perfect woman -- someone quiet and resilient to have children and live a quiet life with. He will continue to have mistresses and live his somewhat passionless, stoic life on the side. But Fern isn't the woman he had thought she was. She seems demure and proper enough, but underneath her primness lies an independent, passionate woman with secret desires and a wantonness even she hadn't been aware of possessing. Colin is appalled but strangely drawn to his wife. She makes him feel alive, especially when she gets rough on him. Erotic encounters beyond his wildest dreams ensue, and Fern turns out to be not just the perfect bed partner, but also -- could it be possible? -- a good friend. But things may be destroyed when he and Fern travel to an old estate in need of restoration. The Restons are responsible for the repairs, but instead of using the funds to fix up the place, they have been keeping the money for themselves. They have been doing this to the Radcliffes for centuries. They hold a secret that has kept the Radcliffe dynasty in their power for many generations. What could this big secret be?

Lydia Joyce has written quite a vivid gothic romance novel. Shadows of the Night is beautifully written. Having read and enjoyed Music of the Night, I see that Joyce's eye for historical detail is dead on. There are some modern words and expressions sprinkled here and there, but other than that the descriptions of Victorian England are quite accurate. The erotic scenes are wonderful as well. The switch from indifference to sexual tension to intense love are nicely shown. My one complaint is that the book is too short and the story is sort of rushed in certain areas. The whole thing with the mystery surrounding the estate and the Restons confused me at first, and things didn't make sense until the book's final pages. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. Well-written and fascinating historical romance novels are few and far in between. Most of them are nothing more than 21st century characters in period costume. I am glad to see that Joyce is not the author of one of those books.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ick, yuck, blech!, May 22, 2008

By 

YankeeChick "Yankee" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadows of the Night (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

I have no idea why anyone would want to read this book. There is nothing about it that induces me to recommend it. The basic plot is as follows: I am a boring, pampered, Viscount-to-be. I decide to find a wife & start my family. I pick the most bland, boring, wimpy woman I can find. We get married. We have sex. After sex, she gets uppity (dares to disagree with me about whether or not to go to a dance!). I get even by deciding to end our honeymoon and haul her off to some ancient, rundown manor that I own. We have sex in the carriage. I discover I like pain during sex. She becomes a sexual tigress, throwing off twenty-odd years of training & culture, and bites me whenever I ask her to. We talk endlessly about nothing. We arrive at scary manor. Sexual interlude (more biting). Talk about how scary manor is. Sexual interlude (bite, bite). Scary caretaker shows up with scary wife & does scary things that scare us. Sexual interlude with biting and endless boring talk. More scary things happen. We are scared and talk about it a lot. Finally scary caretaker does final scary thing, pointless mystery is cleared up, we decide we're totally in love (after 5 whole days!). Sexual interlude with no biting, but biting is promised if ever desired. End of book. Do NOT, NOT, NOT read this boring book!