Customer Reviews

Sins of Midnight

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

 

 

Kimberly Logan's SINS OF MIDNIGHT was OK. There is murder, a little mystery, and a little sex, but there is little else to distinguish it, so I think most will agree SINS OF MIDNIGHT is OK.

Connor Monroe was a strong solitary man, who appeared standoffishness and restrained. He was an extremely wealthy commoner involved in trade. Mr. Connor Monroe seldom mingled with the members of the "ton," until Lady Jillian Daventry entered his life. He likened her to a pagan goddess, who possessed exotic beauty and brazen spirit. Lady Jillian bewitched him. She was his every lustful fantasy . . . and he vowed he would protect her from the murderous fiend destroying his life. He would fight all his desires. He would drive Lady Jillian Daventry away and return her to the safety of her upper-class world.

Jillian Daventry loved a challenge and Mr. Connor Monroe was a challenge. He was an infuriating temptation and Jillian wanted to help him. She loved a good mystery and the case surrounding Connor was frightfully intriguing. He was centrally involved in a sadistic and deadly revenge plot. A plot that seemed to have ties to her own mother's murder and Jillian wanted and needed to help.

Jillian always suspected there were things about her mother's death that were left unresolved. Her mother had been the very beautiful Marchioness of Albright. Her poor mother, whom society had shunned, treated as a dockside strumpet, and finally abandoned. Rumors stated the Marchioness had had affairs with half the men in London. Her poor mother shunned, mistreated, and brutally murdered.

Now, Jillian would discover the truth. All she had to do was to convince Connor Monroe that he needed her help! All she had to do was to get past the growing attraction and powerful effects Mr. Connor Monroe projected.

While I enjoyed portions of SINS OF MIDNIGHT, most of Logan's story fell flat. There just wasn't enough "meaty substance." There was no panting oomph in the forbidden love affair and very little spine tingling mystery in the murder investigations. Moreover, Ms. Logan left the solving of the Marchioness' murder for yet another day - the sequel? So, if you are a Kimberly Logan fan, check out the library first, for SINS OF MIDNIGHT was just OK.
Grade: C

MaryGrace Meloche.
Reviewed for Romance Designs.
This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy.

I like a good regency romance, and I know there are limited plotlines available, but this book was just dull. The main characters, Connor Monroe (rags-to-riches) and Lady Jillian Daventry (who helps investigate murders despite the toll on her social status) are absolutely 2-dimensional. Logan portrays all the characters in black and white - there's no complexity. Either they go along with the maligned main characters (despite social conventions) or they're selfish, cunning figures used to show how "misunderstood" the main characters are. Also, while there is a mystery to solve (who was killing people around Connor), I knew who it was 150 pages before the end - not really an incentive to keep reading. The sex scenes are adequate, but not really that steamy. This is a pretty slow read honestly - if you're looking for something light that you can put down when you need to, this book will serve perfectly.

(Oh boy, I am way behind in this trilogy!!!! But here is the review for SINS OF MIDNIGHT)

The book opens with the two older Davenport sisters stumbling onto a grizzly scene... their mother has been murdered and lies in a pool of blood, their father is unconscious, holding a bloody note in his hand and their younger, petrified sister is cowering in a corner, leaving her the only witness.

Connor Monroe is a loner; a solid and tough businessman that has risen in the ranks (rags to riches) by sheer determination and by having a good mentor and partner. Someone is killing everyone that is dear to him and leaving a gory mess behind. After her mother's death, Lady Jillian Daventry has been assisting Bow Street with some cases as mental acumen and ability for detail and deduction have made her invaluable to a few detectives who worked with her father prior to her mother's death. There is a connection between the latest murder related to Connor and her mother's and Jillian needs to connect the dots.

Every since the night of her mother's death, she believes there was more to the mystery than Bow Street was willing to pursue.. and the amateur sleuth in her vows to find her mother's killer. Every sister has been dealing their own personal nightmare from that night's events. Maura, the middle sister has detested her mother, as she thought that her mother was abandoning them and their father for one of her many lovers. The younger one, who is molly-coddled by her two older sisters, has no recollection of that night other than in horrible nightmares.

After the original meeting, Connor Monroe is quite taken by Jillian's exotic and almost toxic beauty, but he is not about to get involved with a member of the upper class... and not about to engage in any illicit affairs with a society miss, no matter how lascivious and sordid his thoughts may be about her!

While I did enjoy SINS OF MIDNIGHT and it was a quick read, the story fell a bit short of the mark with me... what stared with a great beginning became slightly predictable plotline and the story became a bit flat. I will agree with a few reviewers here that there was a lot of potential - murder mystery, sibling rivalry, good sex, however, it was sadly lacking in character development and emotion, which is such a strong Logan trait in her all her stories.

THE DEVIL'S TEMPTATION - is Maura and Hawkley's story, the man who supposedly killed their mother and it is already out in print - released April 2007. The last installment in the Daventry sisters, SEDUCED BY SIN, (Amiee's story) comes out this year - March 2008.

Lady Jillian Daventry's life has been shaped by circumstances that eventually led to her mother's murder. She has developed a very unladylike association with Bow Street Runners, helping them solve cases that would otherwise never find an ending. When her Bow Street contact asks her to help him once again it is with the added bonus that she may finally speak with a person that will know what happened the night her mother died. The request also brings Connor Monroe into her life. This enigmatic man awakens a whole lot of feelings and they all leave her feeling very alive. But will he admit that she can help find out who murdered his friend and will she be able to walk away from the only man that makes her heart pound?

Ms. Logan is an automatic buy for me. She always manages to infuse so much emotion in her reads. Although this was an entertaining read...it did seem to lack a little of the heart that normally connects her protagonists. There was a lot of potential in this effort but it fell a little short on the delivery. This is not her best effort but it's not one to ignore either. This is a pleasant diversion and I look forward to reading this author's next effort.

In 1813, seventeen years old Jillian Daventry knows first hand the battles between her parents especially over her dad's work with Bow St. However, neither she nor her sisters expected it to go this far when Jilly and her younger sibling Maura find their dead dad lying unconscious in blood holding a note to their mom from her lover Hawklsey. From there they find their mama dead in the next room.

Over the next four years, Jilly has worked closely with Bow St, but recently has agreed to temporarily halt her scandalous behavior while her sister enjoys her coming out; though she refuses to curb her cutting tongue. Still she vows to serendipitously continue to learn what happened on that fatal night four years ago. Connor Monroe observes Jilly in action and admires her courage and fortitude. However, he too is on a quest to avenge those whose lives died over the past six years because he failed to heed his late partner's fears; among the dead besides his partner, victims of a serial killer, he believes is Jilly's mother. Perhaps if they team up they can prevent anyone else from dying.

SINS OF MIDNIGHT is an exciting investigative Regency romance that grips the audience from start to finish as both protagonists break gender barriers to stop a killer. Jilly is courageous as she works with Bow St. and her new partner to uncover the identity of her mother's murderer while Connor recognizes her skills could prove the extra element to stopping the adversary. Their falling in love augments a terrific private investigative tale that showcases two amateur sleuths learning on the job police procedures when no guide exists outside of France.

Harriet Klausner

If you're looking for an intense read, full of passion and secrets then look no further than this latest by Kimberly Logan.Four years ago Lady Jillian Daventry's happy existence came crashing to a halt with the murder of her beautiful mother by her aristocratic lover. Ever since she has further scandalized the ton by working in conjunction with Bow Street. Although she is regarded as a dangerous eccentric, Jillian has a secret reason for her forays into detection, and when she stumbles across a new intriguing case with possible connections to her mother's death she is flung headfirst into a passionate and dangerous relationship. Connor Monroe had never met anyone like the independent and intrepid Jillian, and does his best to stay away, but with a madman out to destroy everything he holds dear, the two of them are brought closer and closer. Their passionate attraction manages to overcome the barriers of birth and gender, but threatens to sidetrack them as they hunt for a killer. With society watching with bated breath, the last thing they can afford is another scandal. This is a great start to this series and we can't wait for book 2 where Jillian's sister falls for the son of the very man who supposedly murdered her mother.

Another one from Ms. Logan that is hard to put down. Great characters, wonderful romance with a mystery that keeps you guessing. I highly recommend this book for all romance readers who like a touch of suspense with their romance.

Kimberly did it again. I couldn't put the book down. I finished it in 2 days. Cant wait for the next one. Keep them coming.