I really didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I usually like my romances with a touch of paranormal, however with this story I was pleasnatly surprised. I love the fact that Sidonie's love interest was not perfect looking or rakishly charming. I loved the fact that Sidonie herself is pretty kick ass and knows what she wants and will go after it no matter what. And, I enjoyed the fact that these two damaged people managed to find each other. All in all a fun but passionate read. I've read a few of Anna Campbell's stand alone novels and was excited to see that she has a series. I like how her books have unusual plot lines. It usually has a dark premise with dark characters. This book plays on the Beauty and the Beast theme which I like a lot so it was interesting to see her take on the classic trope.Sidonie has gone to Castle Craven to see its owner Jonas Merrick. She's decided to give up her virtue in order to pay the high gambling debt incurred by her sister. Merrick questions her motives and wonders if her henwit sister is worth it. She says if she doesn't take her sister's place, she will surely be beaten to an inch of her life by her husband. The motives get a little more complicated as we learn that Sidonie's brother in law is actually Merrick's cousin. In fact, when Merrick was declared illegitimate, the title and entailed properties went to the cousin and not Merrick.When Merrick sees Sidonie, he's curious about her - her motives, her being, and he vows that he will have her in his bed before the week is over. But when Sidonie has a TSTL moment and flees the house in a torrential thunderstorm, Merrick sees his actions as barbaric and is willing to leave Sidonie alone and void the debt. But when she returns and sees the state she's left Merrick, she returns to him fully and with no pressure and that's when things really take off.There's the side story regarding Merrick's illegitimacy and we're briefly introduced to the next novel's characters, but the Beauty and the Beast theme is the overall plot. He's super rich, yet his physical appearance impairs him. Add to that his embarrassment and shame over his illegitimacy and he's a hermit living in a Gothic castle.It's only when the two characters come together do they realize there's more to them than meets the eye. Sidonie often calls Merrick by his last name because she realizes their time will come to an end. She doesn't want to refer to him by Jonas because she has seen glimpses of a great man that she can come to love. Temptation is given in rather quickly and after the 50% mark, there are many loves scenes. But those scenes sort of change the dynamic between the two characters. Merrick is all about control and being dominant. So when Sidonie wants him to relinquish control, the only why she can think of is to tie him up to the bed. When she's able to grab control away from him she's able to fully explore her sexuality without any inhibitions. However, I think I would have preferred had the love scenes been spread out some rather than boom boom boom love scenes.I'd say though the last quarter of the book is so good. It's almost a shame that it took a while to really change dynamic and get the plot going. Once Sidonie leaves the castle and the real world starts to affect them it doesn't let go. I loved the last quarter of the book. It was dramatic, it was heartfelt, it had a few surprises, it was really good.Compared to Campbell's other works I didn't find this to be as dark as her other books. Perhaps because it's the first of a series or perhaps it's the first with a new publishing group. I found it sort of lacked the depth compared to her other books in terms of character development and dark overtones. This one had dark undertones, nothing too overt to turn off seasonal HR readers, but nothing new in terms of plot and story lines. It's enjoyable, don't get me wrong, and I plan on reading the rest of the series, but I think it's mainly because of the writer and her way to write a good book. Nothing will compare to "Untouched", that one is highly original in pretty much every way for me, but it also deals with a crazy amount of crazy.
What do You think about Yedi Gece (2014)?
New author for me...loved it! Can't wait to read the next in the series.
—shenzy
