Soul of the Night [Paperback]

Barbara Sheridan (Author), Anne Cain (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2007

On the streets of old San Francisco darkness threatens to consume a vampires soul, and one mans love is all that stands between good and evil.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (July 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599984121
• ISBN-13: 978-1599984124
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,096,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ FOR YAOI FANS...., July 17, 2007

By 

Tipawan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul of the Night (Paperback)

Soul of the Night is an outstanding work of yaoi literature produced in the west (and) contains top notch black and white illustrations!

The kabuki troupe's magic depends on the physical transformation of the
eternally youthful vampire, Kiyoshi, into a woman.
Kiyoshi's origins were revealed in BLOOD BROTHERS.
[...].

Both on the stage and in the bedroom, Kiyoshi is loved by Nakamura
Ryuhei a skillful but aging actor. Parallel to Kiyoshi's
metamorphosis from man to woman, with the aid of makeup and costume, is
his descent from a blood drinker in control of his urges to a
ruthless predator thirsting for the essence of Dao Kan Shu, the
Poisoned Dragon.

Kiyoshi has to choose between his loyalty to Ryuhei or the primal
urge to consume the Dragon, Shu, and risk losing his humanity anchored by
love.

Ryuhei's greatest fear is loneliness. Ironically, the infamous and
most desired actor was once surrounded by infinite crowds and
admirers---but all he wants is to have his gentle Kiyoshi back. As the actor's beloved sinks farther into the shadows of San Francisco, Nakamura's resolve may push him to offer more than just his love.

Although my review may seem "serious" Soul of the Night's
greatest charm is its unexpected laugh out loud humor!!! There are
back stage feuds between Nakamura and "that bitch" Hoshi, another
actor. Oh, don't assume that our loveable Nakamura is an angel
either, Akira, Hoshi's partner, calls Nakamura a "fussy dick" for a
reason.

Most importantly, you'll get what you want---hot man sex (^_^)

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Really Wanted to Like This Book, December 19, 2007

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul of the Night (Paperback)

This book had a very intriguing opening. A vampire and a ghoul meet over a couple of dead bodies in an alley in San Francisco. They part and I wanted to know what happened to lead up to this meeting and what was going to come of it. Instead the authors take me back to mid 19th century Japan. Ok still interesting. A drunken nearly out of work actor hiding from something in his past leaves a tavern excoriating the saki he has just drank. He is not particularly likeable as a character but apparently the vampire sees something to like about him because it isn't took long before they are engaging in graphic sex.

I couldn't believe in the sudden lust though. I couldn't see what the vampire saw in the nearly out of work actor. Although we are told he is graceful and previously a good actor he seems to show not even the hint of those qualities. And surprisingly, the descriptions of the act did not ring true to me as m/m sex. The language was so vague that it could have been het sex if the authors hadn't been told me it was two guys.

M/m roamnces can be incredibly sweet, the sex can be incredibly hot. But this book just did not work for me at all on either a story level or an erotic level.

I did like the cover although I'm not a manga fan. (I kept wondering if there was something about the manga conventions that I was not getting that was keeping me from giving myself to the story but in that case I would still have to rate it at 2 stars for being inaccesible.)

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soul of the Night by Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain, July 17, 2007

By 

Elisa (Italy) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Soul of the Night (Paperback)

Kiyoshi is a three century years old vampire who lives alone. He has not allowed to his demon nature to overwhelm his human behaviour and feed from human only when it's strictly necessary and most of the time from dying human.

But one night he meets Ryuhei, a spoilt actor, full of himself and with all the bad manners of a dethroned kabuki star. But he is also handsome and passionate, and his blood is so sweet. Kiyoshi is inesorably attracted from this man and will do everything to stay with him. Maybe he has found someone to share his life.

But Ryuhei is a mortal man, and while years pass he's aging and he fears his eternal young lover will finally leave him. He doesn't know cause Kiyoshi is still so beautiful and young while the beauty of Ryuhei is fading, and now they are in San Francisco, and the ever so gentle and quite Kiyoshi is acting in a strange way.

I absolutely love Ryuhei: he is the classical spoilt characters, egoistic and vain, but so persuaded that his love must be enough for his Kiyoshi: why he has to search someone or something else when he can have him? And even so, you can't not love him back. He is the perfect image of a kabuki actor.

Ryuhei instead is a "real" character: he is a vampire, with the needs and the desires of a blood sucker. He is not a perfect soul who can resist to the inner claims of his body: he loves and fails.

So we have two unperfect characters so perfect for this tale. I can't wait to read the other stories in this enchanting series.