Night Life
Author: Elizabeth Guest
Copyright: 2007 (Berkeley Sensation); pgs. 289
Series: 1st in the Pharaohs Rising series
Sensuality: Hot
Who: Dr. Christine Day (Egyptologist) and Adrian King/Merneptah Seti
From the back: Venerable pharaoh and ancient god of the Nile, Adrian King once sat upon his throne and led his people nobly, only to be betrayed. But a sacred ritual has allowed him to reawaken thousands of years after his death — as a vampire. Now the owner of the Royal Palace, a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, he is haunted by dreams of a beautiful woman — and by the dawning of an evil presence.
Comments: This is another book I picked up, based on the review at All About Romance. With it’s twist on vampire mythology, something I don’t read a lot of — yet, I thought I’d give it a try. I had already looked into JR Ward’s series and took a pass on it. I’m trying to keep an open mind about vampires-as-romantic-leads (beyond Angel and Spike, of course).
This book had a lot of potential. The author is fascinated with Egyptian pharaohs and it shows in the details. It was interesting and I had no trouble picturing the setting. As for the characters, Adrian is larger than life, as befitting a pharaoh. His love for the woman in his dreams inspired him to write poetry in her honor and create a special perfumed oil for her. Christine, born into a family of Egyptologists, has always had a connection to the past, though she never realized that the man in her dreams was Adrian, until she actually meets him. They make a nice couple: Adrian is cultured, well-bred, polite, and Christine is a sensible, intelligent, woman.
One of my issues with the book wasn’t that they got together so quickly, it was with the fact that author didn’t devote some page space to the vampire-lore she was creating. Christine, intelligent academic that she was, should have been asking a thousand questions, on behalf of the readers. I thought that the author would have developed the mechanics a bit more, weaving it into the narrative here and there. Instead, it was vague and a little confusing. The other issue was the antagonist. He shows up late in the book and is dealt with very quickly — and very dramatically (though I liked how that played out).
Will I read the 2nd book? Yes. I’m hoping that the author will be a little more detailed with her world-building. There were several secondary characters that were interesting — people from Seti’s court. They are in a similar predicament as their pharaoh and I’m curious to see what happens to them.
Started: 2 February 2008
Finished: 9 February 2008
Just Ok
Rating:
An adventurer and privateer serving the Queen’s spymaster, Sir Christopher Hamilton is dispatched to watch over Anne Marie Fraser. Held hostage because of her treacherous father’s support of Mary Queen of Scots, Anne Marie’s cloistered plight angers and than frustrates Kit. Rescuing her from her father’s cruel hands, Kit seeks permission from the Queen to marry.
Author: Anne Herries
ISBN: 0-373-30517-6 (Harlequin Historical)
Finished/Tossed: 27 August 2007
Who: Anne Marie Fraser and Sir Christopher Hamilton
When: 1586-1588
The third book of The Elizabethan Season — the autumn of her reign — spans a two year period (1586-1588). It is the period that sees the execution of Mary of Scots. It is also the period that sees both a great triumphant — the defeat of the Spanish Armada — and a great personal tragedy — the death of her beloved Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Anne Marie Fraser leads a mostly uneventful life. She is being used as leverage, to ensure her father behaves himself. The couple who care for her are kind and love her like a daughter – and she loves them — yet she still feels that she must obey her father. So far, that’s been pretty easy to do. The Makepeaces allow her to practice her Catholic faith discreetly. As the Queen’s ward, Elizabeth will decide if and when she marries, and that man will be a loyal Protestant — someone Lord Fraser would definitely object to.
Walsingham is convinced that Fraser has been in contact with Anne Marie and that he is also involved in the most recent plot to put Mary on the throne. He sends Kit to spy on Anne Marie. Beth Makepeace is Kit’s kinswoman. He’s met Anne Marie, ten years ago when she was ten, and he’s not really comfortable about spying on her. He knows her life’s been hard and she has no freedom, and he thinks her whole situation is unfair to her. One of the things I liked about this book was scene where they meet for the first time since she was a girl. Anne Marie is sitting with her sketch book, contemplating the sea and wishing for a color palette, when she hears someone ask her what she’s doing. Startled at first, she does recognize him and they enter into a casual conversation as if the last time they saw each other was ten minutes ago, not ten years.
Kit is immediately smitten with her, making it all the more difficult for him to spy. He doesn’t want to pry, but he tells that if she needs someone to confide in, she can come to him. In the meantime, Kit takes her riding every day and promises to take her to a fair. Anne Marie is thrilled with these little freedoms. And she’s falling in love with Kit.
Things start going wrong for them after Kit leaves to make his report to Walsingham. Ann Marie is kidnaped by Bevis Frampton. Kit rescues her, but her attitude angers him and he lets her believe that he’s been ordered to marry her. From that point on, both misconstrue each other’s behavior. Kit does love her, but because he hasn’t explained what really happened when he saw the Queen, he thinks her cold behavior means she doesn’t love him. So Kit decides he won’t force his attentions on her and he tries to subtly woo her. Anne Marie thinks his restraint is a sign he doesn’t want her so she strives to remain reserved, not wanting to have her heart broken. It gets to the point that Kit is driven, in anger, to London — and possibly into the arms of a mistress. His mother decides to take action, though her efforts almost make things worse.
Sir Nicholas and Lady Grantly (Lady in Waiting) are Kit’s neighbors so they have a few scenes. Sir Oliver Woodville (Maid of Honor) is mentioned, but does not appear. And of course, Bevis Frampton is up to his old tricks, though he’s not much of a presence in this book.
Just Ok
tour
Flashback. . .2005
During her return to Spain with her father, the lovely Dona Dominica de Rada y Sylva is horrified when their ship is set upon by pirates. Far worse is her discovery that their captor isn’t just any pirate — he is the notorious Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, an Englishman with a scandalous reputation for plundering Spanish ships. But Dominica’s pride braces her determination to be no one’s hostage . .
Author: Georgette Heyer
ISBN: 0-373-83604-X (Harlequin)
Finished: 2005
Who: Dona Dominica de Rada y Sylva and Sir Nicholas Beauvallet
When: 1586 — mentioned in book
For a book that starts off with a sea battle and has several escape and chase scene, I was not that impressed with the story. Dominica is not as proactive as other Heyer heroines. The fact that she fell in love with Sir Nicholas too quickly also bothered me. I’m used to Victoria Holt’s heroines, who are a little more strong in their resolve to hate the hero of the book before falling in love with them. With the exception of Dona Beatrice de Carvalho, all the other were stock characters. Dona Beatrice, determined to have Dominica marry her son, Don Diego, is a worthy adversary. She is polite and genteel, but she controls her husband and she keeps a tight rein on her niece. Dominica’s only hope are her uncle from her mother’s side of the family and Sir Nicholas. Dominica can only sit back and wait to be rescued again.
Favorite Quotes:
Dona Beatrice was confronted by Flaming Indignation in a charming form, and blinked at it.
— Dominica, in a right royal rage, comes to she her aunt
Just Ok
