An action-packed, emotionally charged paranormal romance with dramatic, satisfying characters and an engaging, fast-paced...
It’s hard enough being the girlfriend of The Prince of Darkness, an emotionally distant vampire who is the inspiration for humanity’s greatest nightmare; but when Vlad Tepesh’s enemies try to get to him by coming after Leila, they may all have some shocking surprises in store.
After settling in Romania with her vampire prince, Leila begins to wonder if she will ever be satisfied with Vlad’s detached nature, despite their explosive sexual chemistry. When she misinterprets an anticipated public event as a prelude to a marriage proposal, he reminds her in no uncertain terms that his heart is not up for possession. Realizing she can never be truly happy in the inadequate relationship, Leila leaves. Returning to the circus community she formerly called home, Leila barely survives a firebomb that kills her best friend. She and her escort, Maximus, who carries a torch for her, decamp, trying to figure out who wants her dead. As they attempt to stay out of reach of her all-powerful ex, the two are abducted by henchmen of an unknown enemy. Leila, who possesses supernatural powers—including the ability to generate deadly electrical currents and read people’s minds—gains their freedom but is unable to bring them to safety. She psychically reaches out to Vlad, who rescues them and takes her back to his Romanian castle, where a number of surprising secrets are waiting for her. Having nearly lost her, Vlad reconsiders his position on love, but the path is not yet smooth for the lovers, nor is it safe. Whoever is out to get them has inside help from someone in Vlad’s closest, most trusted circle. This book is the second in Frost’s Night Prince trilogy, a taut, intriguing paranormal romantic suspense that keeps the pages turning from the very first paragraph. Vlad is an intense, sexy alpha male, and Leila’s a smart, unique heroine who can hold her own in a firefight (literally) while demanding an authentic relationship from a man most people flee from in fear.
An action-packed, emotionally charged paranormal romance with dramatic, satisfying characters and an engaging, fast-paced plot.Pub Date: March 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-207610-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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