A tall, dark and handsome stranger with a sexy, foreign accent rescues you from the middle of nowhere when you need help. He saves your life, as a matter of fact. Then he takes care of you. He also happens to be rich and single. ‘Not a bad fantasy. That’s nearly the opening scene of Syrie James’ novel, “Nocturne”.
She’s stranded in the Colorado Rockies and snowed in at a mansion with this enigmatic stranger for days. But, if you think you know where this is going, you might be wrong.
A twist to the classic romance -- not only is he from “across the pond”, but he’s from across time! This isn’t anything new for genre fiction readers familiar with the uber popular “Twilight” books in the marketplace.
We, the Reader, are clued in on his secret early-on when he reveals what he’s thinking. Our Heroine is the one who might be a little slow on the uptake. The nearly empty fridge and a glimpse of red eyes were a couple of hints. She writes this off as “typical bachelor”. But he stocks the pantry with food to throw off his housekeeper. Perhaps conveniently, he can feed his human houseguest for days with this food supply. Yet there were the nightmares in which she dreamt of vampires. So, she takes her time to reach the inevitable conclusion.
He’s offering the Fountain of Youth in those fangs to her. Most romance readers will agree that this might be THE fantasy one’s looking for in those books being devoured. (Pardon the pun.) But there are more clues for her before she realizes what he is. He prefers to eat alone. Wouldn’t this be curious… or strange? Not when we and the Protagonist find out that he’s a successful Novelist. After all, they are known to be reclusive and peculiar, right? Lovers of fiction would love to be stranded with a writer. How about their FAVORITE author? Even better.
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read beyond this point, if you don’t want the complete book review.
The heartbreaking conclusion might keep you on your toes to the very end. This isn’t a classic romance, so beware: “there be vampires” and not all romances are happily ever after.