Mini Reviews: Night's Honor + The Accidental Abduction

NIGHT'S HONOR
Novels of the Elder Races #7
Thea Harrison
Adult Paranormal Romance
282 pages
Berkley Romance
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
On the run from her former employer, Tess knows that she’s vulnerable on her own amongst the Elder Races. That’s why she decides to audition to become the human attendant of a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind demesne. But while her position affords her the safety she seeks, her protector turns out to be more than she bargained for.

The right-hand man of the Nightkind King, Xavier del Torro is both terrifying and alluring. While his true nature frightens Tess, she can’t ignore the appeal of his innate sense of integrity and self-restraint. Thrown into Xavier’s world, Tess must quickly learn to navigate the dangers—both to her life and to her heart. But the biggest threat comes from her own past….

MY THOUGHTS
Initially the two protagonists of Night’s Honor seem like they might not live up to the couples of previous books simply due to the fact that neither individual is a member of Dragos’s inner circle; our desire to read the stories of all those closest to him resulting in little patience for time with others. What we learn in chapter one, however, is that our doubt in the appeal of Xavier and Tess simply cannot hold up in the face of the beautifully slow burn that brings down their walls and allows trust, affection and true intimacy to flood through.

Tess is the type of heroine we wish for every time we crack the spine of a romance book, completely aware of her shortcomings and honest about her feelings even when standing in front of those who could easily do her harm. Though she fears Xavier for nearly the entire first half of the book, she doesn’t allow that fear to blind her to Xavier’s positive attributes, instead keeping a wary distance from him but fully acknowledging when his words or actions go a long way toward disproving her previous assessment. Xavier, for his part, is amazingly patient with Tess despite the fact that her trust issues affect him more than he’d like, and he gives her all the time and space she needs to come to her own conclusions about the man and Vampyre he truly is.

It takes majority of the book for Xavier to prove himself to Tess and for Tess to open herself up to what her eyes and heart see rather than what her mind stubbornly clings to, but that only serves to create the most delicious type of tension between them, and the reward when they finally come together is worth every minute of the time it takes to get there.

Rating: 4/5
 

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THE ACCIDENTAL ABDUCTION

Darcie Wilde

Adult Historical Romance 

336 pages

Berkley Romance

Available Now

Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Harold Rayburn is about to be taken for the ride of his life…

After having his proposal rejected by a beautiful but flighty woman, Harry vows he is done with unpredictable and impetuous women for good. Until beautiful and fierce Leannah Wakefield barrels into his life, inadvertently kidnapping him while on a wild carriage ride and leaving him all too eager to get back in the saddle…

Leannah would sacrifice everything to protect her family. So upon hearing of her sister’s intended elopement, she races across London to stop the ill-advised ceremony before it can happen. However, when her mad journey picks her up an unlikely stowaway, one who ignites her desire beyond all reason, she’s the one who ends up hastily wedding a handsome and secretive stranger.

But as Leannah and Harry immediately encounter opposition, jealousy, and suspicion of their hurried nuptials, they begin to doubt that their unquenchable passion can truly lead to a happy marriage—especially when both the bride and groom have devastating secrets to hide…

MY THOUGHTS 

The Accidental Abduction is a fairly straightforward historical romance, the rigid societal structure of the time period creating a number of obstacles for our lead couple to overcome, but despite not creating anything new or groundbreaking within the genre, it's still a sweet and sexy way to spend a couple hours. While the story gets off to a quick start with Leannah practically running Harry down in the street, the pacing of the first half still manages to be a bit slow, endless speculation from both Harry and Leannah about how the other feels, tastes or sounds in intimate moments making us wish for less imagining and more action. That's not to say them actually jumping into bed together would have been the more desirable course–especially given the fact they get there quickly enough–but the time they both spend musing in the first half keeps us from diving into their story with enthusiasm.

Once Leannah and Harry marry however, the story starts to take a more emotional turn, the two of them endlessly compatible in bed but yet so hesitant and unsure out of it. They both have secrets they're keeping from one another, and though that would normally be a source of frustration, they each work hard to be as honest as possible while sorting through the displeasure of their respective families. They don't want to believe all they hear and learn about one another from outside sources, but even as distant observers we can recognize the insidious nature of doubt and how easily it slips into the tiniest of cracks in one's armor, spreading quickly until it becomes all-consuming. Overall, despite a somewhat rocky start with too much time spent on Leannah and Harry's internal musings, The Accidental Abduction ends on a high note with trust broken and then oh-so perfectly restored.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

Find Darcie:

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These books were sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.