Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
engaging Victorian romantic suspense, March 6, 2008
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
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ick, yuck, blech!, May 22, 2008
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!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy and intriguing Victorian gothic..., April 12, 2008
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.
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