Tempted by the Night

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Synopsis

Hermione Marlowe has been in love with her brother's friend, Thomas, the Earl of Rockhurst, from afar, but since he never seems to take notice of her, she feels all but invisible to him. Everyone believes that Rockhurst is an unrepentant rake who spends his nights in debauchery, but Hermione has never believed any of the gossip and wishes that there was a way to prove them wrong. One night, she finds her friend, Charlotte's ring, and not realizing it's magical, she puts it on her finger and wishes that she could be invisible so that she can follow Rockhurst around every night to see what he really does. Next thing she knows, she actually is invisible from sunset to sunrise. But when she follows the object of her affection into a rough part of town, she discovers that he's far more than a mere man. However, after she saves his life, he wants to know who she really is, but she fears that he'll be disappointed if he discovers her true identity.

Thomas, Earl of Rockhurst, is the Paratus, a hereditary title which makes him duty-bound to fight the monsters not of this world. He doesn't particularly care what the ton thinks of him, because if they really knew what he did, they'd probably never believe him. Then one night, an invisible woman saves his life just as one of the creatures was about to get the best of him. Wanting to know who she really is, he takes her to his home, where she reveals some of her story but not her true identity. She sneaks out before sunrise, but they keep meeting up as she becomes his Shadow. Rockhurst comes to realize that the ring she wears that makes her invisible is the same one that could free him from his obligation, but in order to get it, he'd either have to kill her or wait for the entirety of her wish to be fulfilled. As they start to fall in love, Rockhurst can't bring himself to harm the woman. Not to mention, he may need her help in the final battle to defeat the monsters that have invaded London.

Review

Tempted by the Night is the second book in Elizabeth Boyle's Marlowes series, which is part historical romance and part paranormal fantasy. In this one, Hermione Marlowe, sister of Sebastian (His Mistress by Morning), has been in love with Thomas, the Earl of Rockhurst, from afar, but he doesn't even seem to notice her. The entire ton thinks that Rockhurst is an unrepentant rake who spends his nights in debauchery, but Hermione is convinced that he isn't as bad as they say he is. She happens to find a ring belonging to her friend, Charlotte (heroine of the first book), and puts it on her finger for safekeeping. Not knowing that the ring is magical, Hermione wishes that she could be invisible from dusk ‘til dawn so that she can follow Rockhurst around and find out exactly what he's doing. Not long after, she turns invisible and is visited by Quince, a fairy godmother sort of character, who informs her of what's just happened. Hermione decides to put her good fortune to work, following the object of her affection, but what she discovers is almost too much to be believed. Far from the rake everyone thinks he is, Rockhurst is actually a hunter of supernatural creatures who've been slipping into his world through inter-dimensional portals and plaguing the residents of the Seven Dials area of London. Because of the reactions of his Irish Wolfhound companion, Rockhurst becomes aware that someone is spying on him, and eventually captures the invisible Hermione, taking her to his bedroom, where he proceeds to seduce her, a task that isn't at all difficult. She learns that he's the Paratus, a hereditary title passed down for hundreds of years that makes him duty-bound to fight these monsters. But little does she know that the ring she possesses could release him from this obligation. They continue their clandestine meetings, falling deeply in love, but Hermione fears revealing her true identity, worried that he'll be disappointed when he finds out who she really is. But he may need her in the final battle to stop the monsters once and for all.

Hermione adores Rockhurst, but every time she sees him, she experiences a nervous stomach that causes her to throw up. She also feels all but invisible to him, leaving her despairing that he'll ever notice her. The magical ring leads her to a fantastical world that she never imagined existed and it also gives her a bit of a boost in confidence. When Rockhurst kidnaps her, she's surprised to find herself turning into a passionate woman who embraces his seductive overtures and wants everything he has to offer. In fact, they can't seem to keep their hands off each other, but she's always invisible during the encounters. Since he's never shown any interest in her as a woman, she fears that he'll be deeply disappointed if he finds out the truth of her identity, so she continues to just be his Shadow. But the more time Hermione spends with Rockhurst, the more she falls in love with him, so that when he faces a battle with the big bad, she knows she has to help him or he might die. I didn't in any way dislike Hermione, but I didn't necessarily relate to her particularly well either. She starts the story as a debutante who only seems to be interested in fashion (though she appears to have pretty bad taste) and gossiping with her friends. The ring changes things for her, and although she's shocked by what she finds, she pretty quickly discovers an adventurous spirit that not only makes her willing to fight monsters alongside Rockhurst, but also makes her eager to be in his bed. I kind of wish that her emotions regarding her feeling invisible to Rockhurst had been explored a bit more deeply, as well as how she was able to tame her nervous stomach when she's finally in his arms. I think it could have made her a little more interesting as a character, but I'm glad that she was prepared to help defend the man she loved in the end.

Thomas, the Earl of Rockhurst, inherited the mantle of the Paratus from many generations of ancestors. Sometimes it can be a solitary and lonely job, because few people know what he actually is. There are times that he doesn't really like the duty, but he doesn't have much choice in the matter. If he abandons his post, all of humanity will suffer for it. He's happy to let the ton believe he's a dissolute rake, because it keeps them from figuring out the truth. But one night, he knows that someone else is there, even though he can't see them, and after his Shadow is knocked out, he quickly figures out she's a woman. Determined to get to the bottom of who she is, he manages to corner her at a later time and whisks her away to his bedroom, where he intends to keep her until dawn, thinking that she'll reappear then. One thing leads to another, and they make love, something that he can't stop thinking about, even after she escapes. But she keeps turning up, over and over, still reluctant every time to reveal her identity. Soon Rockhurst realizes that he's falling for her, but when she insists on helping him in the big battle, he fears that he's not enough to hold the monsters at bay and keep her safe. I kind of had the same feelings about Rockhurst that I did about Hermione. He could have been a really interesting character, but instead, he didn't really stand out to me. If his feelings of loneliness had been brought out more, it would have deepened his characterization. He also has a tendency to blow hot and cold. In one scene, he might be tender and passionate, making him appealing, while in another, he could be kind of cold and dangerous. I think this was intended to express how the Paratus in him (which makes him a bit supernatural in his own right) can be a danger to everyone around him, but in those moments he could be off-putting especially when he's actually considering killing Hermione to get the ring for himself. Because of this, there were times that I liked him and other times that I found him a bit scary.

From everything I can tell, Tempted by the Night appears to be the final book of the Marlowes series, which is rather surprising since there are a few more Marlowe siblings and a brief scene toward the end of the book seemed to indicate that the ring would be passed on to Hermione's brother. I can't help wondering if readers had a hard time buying into the melding of historical and paranormal romance, which possibly caused the author's publisher to drop the series before it was finished. I myself had mixed feelings about it. This might be due to the book seemingly being marketed as a straight-up historical, with nothing on the cover or in the blurb to indicate that there were paranormal elements. I think if the marketing had been more honest, the series might have found its niche, but as is, I went into reading it expecting a historical and got something different. It just would have been nice to know ahead of time so I could adjust my expectations. Because of this and other elements, I had a hard time rating the book. Sometimes, it was more in the three-star range because things were moving a little too slowly or some bit maybe wasn't quite my cup of tea.

Hermione and Rockhurst were okay as characters, but I thought they could have been developed more deeply and believably to make them more intriguing. However, on the upside, the love scenes were pretty well done, and there's some decent action and adventure in Rockhurst's exploits as the Paratus. I was also kind of interested in the continuing story of "fairy godmother" Quince and her husband, Milton, who she can't quite seem to stop loving in spite of him being a bad boy. In this book, we learn a little more about how they've come from one of the parallel dimensions themselves. So taking everything together, I decided to give the book four stars. It perhaps wasn't the strongest four-star book I've ever read, but it had some entertaining parts that made it a worthwhile read. Too bad that we'll apparently never get to find out what becomes of the remaining Marlowe siblings and their adventures with the ring.

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Elizabeth Boyle

Themes

Amazing Animals
Physically Ordinary Heroines