Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Monajem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2010

Dark secrets abound in the town of Bayou Gavotte, Louisiana, from blackmail to fetish clubs to murder, and when blood-and-love starved vampire Ophelia Beliveau calls the police to scare away whoever is desecrating her garden, Detective Gideon O’Toole unearths more than he ever dreamed.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell; Original edition (April 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505528258
• ISBN-13: 978-0505528254
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,776,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barbara Monajem wrote her first story in third grade about apple tree gnomes. After dabbling in neighborhood musicals and teen melodrama, she published a middle-grade fantasy when her children were young. Now her kids are adults, and she's writing historical and paranormal romance for grownups. She lives in Georgia, USA, with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Downright phenomenal., April 10, 2010

By 

Detra Fitch "Always hunting good books." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil (Mass Market Paperback)

Bayou Gavotte, Louisiana, is much like any other town. However, there a re a few residents who have a gene that has caused them to sprout fangs during puberty. Ophelia Beliveau is one of those vampires. After years of having to deal with guys who are irresistibly drawn to her, due to her allure, and being constantly stalked by those who believe they cannot survive without her, Ophelia has kept her distance from me. However, her self-imposed exile must end when a neighbor vandalizes her precious garden. Normally Ophelia would deal with the problem herself or call upon the aid of the underworlders who often acted as protectors. But this time Ophelia simply calls the cops.

When Gideon O'Toole arrives to deal with the destroyed garden, he is also on his cellular phone trying to convince his sister to have her friend come forward to report that someone is blackmailing her. In fact, blackmail has been spreading all over town, but no one will step forward. Therefore, the police can do nothing. Gideon is drawn to Ophelia immediately - of course. Yet his will is strong enough for him to keep a polite distance and not act like all the other men have. That did not mean he wasn't going to try his best to get the lady to date him - and hopefully more. Soon dead bodies start showing up and someone is trying to frame Ophelia for a rash of crimes. If Gideon cannot clear Ophelia and arrest the real villain quickly, he has no doubt that one of the town's vigilantes will kill him for the failure.

***** FIVE STARS! Definitely one of the best paranormal romances I have read this year. Author Barbara Monajem has made an instant fan out of me. The story grabbed me immediately and never let go. I admit that I did not even try to resist its pull either. The main character of Ophelia came across to me as strong, stubborn, independent, and self-sufficient. However, she showed a bit of vulnerability too. There are also several secondary characters that I could not resist. I hope Zelda (Ophelia's thirteen-year-old niece) and Constantine (a handsome-as-sin vampire rock star) will get their own stories told someday. They managed to steal the spotlight more than once. Downright phenomenal! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Read, March 8, 2011

By 

LAS Reviewer "The Long and the Short Of It Re... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil (Mass Market Paperback)

Small-town landscaper (and reluctant vampire) Ophelia Beliveau would never willingly deal with the police, but when someone poisons her garden and tosses a dead cat on her porch, she's forced to make the call, bringing hunky detective Gideon O'Toole (definitely not a vampire) to her door and into her life. Quel problème! Within the first chapter, the reader connects to these two strong characters and hopes for a positive outcome--both in solving the mystery and in finding love.

The more Ophelia tries to hide from her vampire nature, the more she's forced into action. Action that includes asking for help from straight-laced Gideon, who isn't immune to her charms, even though she does her best to thwart his desire. Gideon's finally found his equal in a woman. Too bad she claims she wants him only for his detective skills. Blackmail and murder spread throughout Bayou Gavotte, linking Ophelia's vandalism complaint to other criminal activities Gideon is trying to solve and carrying the reader along at a galloping pace. As Ophelia and Gideon work together to solve first a simple case of vandalism and then a full-fledged conspiracy, the repartee the two characters use to distance themselves can't hold back their mutual building desire.

Monajem has created a strong and likable female character in Ophelia. Gideon is a hunk, with intelligence and a heart. Monajem's secondary characters--Constantine, the rock star who hangs out with the underworld, Leopold, the Native American vigilante, and the teen-aged Zelda--all are well developed, intriguing characters. Complex and hilarious teen Zelda deserves her own book.

Who knew a small rural town in Louisiana could have numerous kinky sex clubs, a criminal underbelly, and vampires? Monajem has created a delightful Mayberry setting with a twist in the town of Bayou Gavotte. Bayou Gavotte is the kind of small town where the sheriff stains plywood in the middle of his station, so adding in multiple kinky sex clubs and a realm of vampires may be a bit of a stretch for some, but Monajem deftly weaves these plot lines into the book without compromising the small-town, rural feel. At times both sultry and inviting, then gritty and dark, Monajem's Bayou Gavotte invites the reader in to visit and then doesn't let go.

The dynamic between Ophelia and Gideon is filled with tension, but that tension sometimes gets in the way of the story. Too much reliance on misunderstood communication results in an annoying tension throughout Ophelia and Gideon's interaction. In addition, over-the-top, incongruent reactions on the part of various characters results in a melodramatic feel during many scenes, pulling this reader out of the action to figure out what all the fuss is about. However, Monajam's strength in creating both an environment in which a reader is reluctant to leave and characters a reader is reluctant to let go of smoothes over any rough spots.

A well-paced storyline, engaging secondary characters and a complex setting add depth and interest to a contemporary human/vampire love story. Consider this a good summer read. Monajem's a writer to keep an eye on.

Originally posted at the Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than I thought, September 24, 2011

By 

Willow Downs "Willow" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil (Kindle Edition)

While reading this book I found myself thinking "and now this happens" and to my amazement, what I predicted didn't happen. This was a nice change to a lot of the paranormal romances out there. The characters, while at some point I found a few of them acting oddly "unrealistic" (if you will) but nothing that really took away from the story or characterization. Explanations behind the plot, her explanations of vampirism in this world, the mysteries of Ophelia were all clearly explained (even if eventually).

This being a vampire romance novel, I will say that I was relieved when Gideon and Ophelia had more going on between the two of them than their wild love making sessions, they had their own lives and personalities outside of each other, which gave them a lot of depth. The conclusion of the book ended with the conclusion of the actual plot, which was more than just Gideon and Ophelia getting together, which was also a nice change.

Barbara's made an instant fan out of me!