Mary‘s review of Nocturne
When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.
Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him and soon comes to realize that the feeling is mutual. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension—and Nicole can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t want her there.
Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret—or secrets—is he hiding?
Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from—but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her.
But as the sexual tension between them builds, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns the terrifying truth—that her host is an ages-old vampire who is torn between his love for her and his desire for her blood—there’s nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and he’s the only one who can save her life.
Filled with unexpected twists and surprises, Nocturne is a page-turning, haunting, and deeply romantic story of forbidden love that will grab your heart and not let go. –Goodreads.com
A massive snowstorm. An accident. A mysterious stranger. What’s not to like?
Determined to get home after a friend’s ski wedding, Nicole takes off for the airport despite the threatening snowstorm. Which, of course, gets her in trouble when she hits a patch of ice and winds up deep in a snow bank. When she wakes up, she’s ensconced in Michael’s isolated mountain retreat.
Over the next couple of days, she and Michael find out they have a lot in common like reading, playing the piano and gardening. They also both have their secrets.
While I did guess what kind of otherworldly creature Michael is, it was kept mysterious, with just hints and suggestions, until he reveals himself to Nicole. Michael himself is a dark and brooding character, blowing hot after Nicole one second and pushing her away the next. However, his connection to living things like plants and horses set him apart from others of his kind.
Natalie seems a little wishy-washy but I think that was because she is stuck in a strange place with a strange man. Her quick acceptance of what he is, his past, and the possibility that he might kill her at any moment didn’t really ring completely true to me. But, again, their circumstances play a part in their sped-up romance and acceptance of one another’s faults.
The theme of isolation is multi-layered in this novel. First off, there’s the isolation of the house. Set back off a mountain road, Michael’s home is his hidden retreat away from the human world. Then there’s the time of year—set in winter and in the middle of a massive snowstorm. It’s as if Michael and Nicole exist in a private, wool-wrapped world, which helps them develop intimacy quickly and leads to a sense of trust between the two of them and with their closely-held secrets. In life, both have isolated themselves from attachments, until they’re forced to face their issues.
Usually, I’m a fast-paced, action-filled kind of girl so Nocturne is a huge change for me with it’s slow, dialogue-centered tempo. However, this bittersweet story of love, secrets, and healing is well told, and draws the reader into its winter-wrapped world.
Rating 3.5/5.0
This book is available from Vanguard Press. You can buy it here