Overall, a well done Gothic romance. The hero was dark and, as a reader, I wasn't sure how the author would redeem him (although you know she has to!)

The heroine is painted as a realistic optimist, and it works. She looks for the good in people, and sometimes that works against her. There are times I didn't quite buy it, and yet, her characterization was strong enough for me to say "yeah, that's just who she is." She's that character in the story that deliberately walks into danger.

I did figure out about 3/4 the way through who the true villain was, but the author left several options to be considered along the way.

There were a lot of moans and groans that distracted me from time to time, places they weren't quite appropriate (silence would have been appropriate!). The author led me by the hand through plot lines where I might not have gone, straining slightly, and yet I bought it. It worked. Some information was withheld, which annoyed me as a reader (the hero's occupation, for instance), and yet if the author had told us sooner, some of the mystery would have been lost. But when she comes face to face with the bad guy, how does she not immediately notice the tell-tale buff pants and black boots (especially when they are not standard issue - spoiler there, so I'm being deliberately obtuse)?

All said, I will look to read more in this series. ( )

His Dark Kiss
4 Stars

The Jane Eyre-like overtones in this book are striking. Similar to Jane, Emma Parrish is a young, unloved orphan who travels to the wilds of Wales to take up the position of governess to a small motherless boy. She becomes caught up in the mysteries of the dilapidated castle and its enigmatic yet seductive master, Lord Anthony Craven.

A wonderfully atmospheric gothic romance highly recommended for lovers of Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece.

Although not as amoral as Edward Rochester, Anthony Craven is the epitome of the dark, moody and arrogant Byronic hero. The sexual chemistry he shares with Emma is palpable and their scenes together are intimate and intense.

Emma is endearing and her love for Craven's sweet son, Nicholas, is heartwarming. The main problem is her skittish nature and tendency to faint at the slightest provocation. My preference is for heroines with more backbone.

The mystery is intriguing with a very well written red-herring and a surprising twist at the end. The identity of the culprit caught me completely by surprise.

All in all, a quick and engaging romance. ( )

In His Dark Kiss, Emma goes to work as a governess for the child of her dead cousin's husband, Lord Anthony Craven. There are rumors about him having killed his wife, and several governesses, but Emma feels she has no other choice. Emma and Lord Craven both feel an attraction to each other, but but also has no reason to trust anyone, especially each other. But is that lack of trust to stop the feelings?

At first, I was kind of confused by the apparent feelings they had for each other. I just didn't see it. She was a young, naive, but nosy governess prone to fits of over reaction and hysteria. And he was just creepy. He liked being creepy and seemed to like people thinking the worst of him. Even the rest of the staff warned Emma away from him. So at first, I didn't see the attraction. And the book was really kind of slow. Things picked up in the last third of the book and happened quickly. But it was kind of torture getting through the first parts of the book.

I didn't like this one as much as the last Gothic novel by this author. But, while slow, it never made me want to just shift it to my DNF pile. It was pretty graphic and gruesome in parts, but I kind of liked how that added to the creep factor a bit. ( )

As her last hope Emma Parrish accepts the offer of governess to Lord Anthony Crave's son at Manorbrier Castle in Wales. The husband of her cousin.
But what haunts the castle, what of the deaths, the nightly laughter or is it Emma's overactive imagination.
An enjoyable Gothic tale with likable characters. ( )

I read this for the Gothic square for Romance Bingo.

"If I was a new governess come to Manorbrier," he said, drawing out each word, "I would pay no mind to the Round Tower. No mind at all."

OR you people could tell her the reason why she should stay away instead of overacting your side-eye, ghoulish, and secretive roles. This was so gothic, it was a bit paint-by-numbers; every trope and characteristic from the genre was added. The dark lord, murder mysteries, disappearances, and gloom are always going to be present in gothics, along with the melodrama but the usual lingering questions that aren't or can't quite be answered yet that create the mystery was so incredibly forced. Our heroine is told death is in the tower and to stay away. The spoiler is the explanation for this, so don't read if you don't want to know because you don't get the answer until the second half.the hero is a doctor, he researches diseases in the tower Why, at no point, did he or no one simply say this to the heroine?!? Drove me batty. If your story falls completely apart because of forcing off one simple explanation, that's pretty weak.

I get that the usual culprit in gothics is supernatural and the author makes it science here, which works because of the time period but it was ridiculous how this explanation just wasn't said right away. If you couldn't tell, this ruined the story for me. Felt like insta-love, too many inner thoughts from heroine, villain was clever and mysterious; wish that had been the only focus of the mystery and built up more over time to give its shocking conclusion.
I thought the first one was much better in characterization and story. ( )