Friday, the 13th of October, 1307
By order of the King of France, six mercenaries, raided a Templar’s keep to find the Holy Grail. They found a cup and all six drunk from it, except that the cup they drunk from was not the Holy Grail but the Unholy Grail. Their doom was sealed with this one action, for who drinks from the Unholy Grail becomes a son of Lilith, or better said, a vampire...
London, roughly at the turn of the century, 1900
Saint has come to London at the request of his good friend Madeline, who runs the notorious brothel Maison Rouge. Two of her girls have been murdered in the same way Jack the Ripper used to slay his victims and she wants him to investigate the murders discretely. But he also has to deal with Ivy, the daughter of Madeline, who had a crush on him as a young girl, she wants to avenge her friends but she puts herself at risk to do so. He knows better than to get involved but when another murder occurs he cannot stand by doing nothing when Ivy is in danger. He does not want to have feelings for her, he has suffered too many losses in the past and it hurts too much, but how can he resist such a passionate and courageous woman who would move heaven and earth to protect the people she cares for...
Ivy Dearing is determined to find out who killed her friends, she is quite sceptical about Saint helping them, all she knows about men is that they don’t keep their promises and always leave. As a young girl she had a crush on Saint and now after all those years she still has feelings for him. Together they investigate the murders and not only do they discover a conspiracy that has to do with Ivy but they also discover each other, they cannot deny the attraction between them. Given that Ivy is in grave danger Saints wants to keep her close, but she doesn’t want to be owned or claimed by any man, let alone Saint. She only wants a brief affair for she knows he will be leaving soon, but her heart totally disagrees and aches for him...
This is the third novel in the Brotherhood of Blood Series and it is yet again another fast-paced read and a real page turner. This time Kathryn Smith takes us to gloomy England and she has pulled it off once more to give this book a total different vibe then the two previous parts in this series. This is also one of the reasons this series is so much fun to read because it is so versatile.
The setting of this story is London and Kathryn Smith, as always, is capable of painting a vivid picture of the posh neighbourhoods and shabby alleys, she has described the Maison Rouge in detail and gives us a good image of the day-to-day life in a whorehouse. The plot of this story tells us yet another piece of the main plot that rises to the surface in each story of this series, it is cunning, intriguing and it leaves you craving for more. All you have to do is wait for the next part in the series to get another piece of the puzzle.
With Saint Kathryn Smith has created a tormented, seductive vampire who enjoys life but does not want to get involved with anyone, it hurts him too much to keep losing the people he loves. Ivy Dearing, the heroine, is this bold, strong-willed woman who has an odd hobby, she likes to photograph people in erotic poses and she wants to live an independent life, living at a whorehouse has taught her that love does not exist. The interactions between Saint and Ivy are intense, snappy and passionate.
Saint to Ivy and vice versa:
“Tell him no.” “Why?” Face impassive, he turned the full force of his gaze on her. “You know why. Because you belong to me.” Her delicate jaw tightened. Not quite the declaration she had been expecting, obviously, but what kind of declaration did a man make to a woman who claimed not to believe in love? “Belong to you? You ass.”
This story has an engaging cast of secondary characters. For instance there is Justin Fontaine, he courts Ivy, he is cordial but has a hidden agenda. The staff of the Maison Rouge feels like a warm and loving family and then there is Ivy’s father, he is a nobleman who does not acknowledge Ivy as his daughter. And the mysterious Order of the Silver Palm gets mentioned again, this Order is obviously aiming at the Brotherhood of Blood, but the big question is why?
From page one this story captivated me and urged me to keep flipping the pages as fast as I could. Taken by the Night is yet another enthralling story that you will enjoy reading and leaves you hungry for more. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into another part of the Brotherhood of Blood series!
4 stars
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