Sandy M’s review of Dark of the Moon (Roaring Twenties Supernaturals, Book 2) by Susan Krinard
Historical paranormal romance released by HQN on 1 Mar 08
This is the second book in Krinard’s vampire/werewolf trilogy, the first was Chasing Midnight, which dealt with a werewolf hero and vampire heroine, and the last will be Come the Night, scheduled for Oct ’08. In Moon we have vamps of all kinds rampaging through 1926 New York. One of those is a very tortured vampire trying to come to terms with his violent past. It takes a strong woman to help him through it.
Dorian Black has decided there is no redemption for him for his sin of killing when he was an enforcer for one of New York’s vampire clans, but that all ended with the death of the clan leader, his creator, by Dorian’s own hand. Now by the dark of the moon once a month, there is a monster within him that recognizes nothing but violence and destruction.
It is when he saves Gwen Murphy from drowning that a sliver of hope and a new look at life drives him forward. But when his monster gets too close to Gwen, that hope is snuffed out and his only alternative is to make sure he is never around Gwen again when his loss of control is likely to kill her. Meeting Gwen heaps more torture on Dorian, especially because he reacts her to as he has no other. He’s trying so desperately to live a good life after all his crimes against humans, and he doubts even Gwen will be able to pull him through his darkest times. Dorian is one of the most tortured souls I’ve read in a long time, and his torture even becomes literal when their world begins a downward spiral at the hands a megalomaniac vampire.
Gwen is a woman who doesn’t give up and doesn’t take no for an answer. She is news reporter following in her father’s Nobel-prize-winning footsteps and has to fight against being a woman in a man’s world in the 1920s and against the men who work at the paper, one who wants to imprison her in marriage. She’s investigating a murder on her own time when she’s dumped into the river for her efforts. Being saved by a handsome man seems at first fortuitous, but little does she know she’s about to embark on a very dangerous journey and her life will never be the same. Gwen is a very strong heroine, standing by her principles and her friends, but when she digs a little too deep in her research, Dorian is forced to make a drastic decision to keep her alive.
Dorian is so tortured that sometimes you wonder if redemption is really in the cards for him, even when he’s with Gwen. I wish he’d found solace a little earlier in the book, though. He hides his feelings from her for so long and with the sexual tension between them, I was tied up in knots for the last half of the book. I wanted to be taken out of my misery with a good love scene. Alas, I had to wait along with Dorian and Gwen and be teased a couple of times.
The action between the vampire factions is intense, and the villain is one smooth, evil sucker that doesn’t get his just rewards until very late in the game. This is a nice follow-up in the trilogy and I like it a little better than the first book, all because of Dorian. Brooding and tortured go a long way in giving us a great story and an attractive hero and Dorian has both of those in spades.
Grade: B+
From the back cover:
During the heyday of the Clan, New York’s vampire organization of gangsters and bootleggers, Dorian Black was an enforcer for the notorious boss Raoul Boucher. But when the Clan is shattered by violence and betrayal, Dorian abandons his old ways and is prepared to die for his sins … until he saves the life of a brave and determined woman reporter, Gwen Murphy.
Gwen realizes at once that there is something very unusual about Dorian Black. She’s drawn to the haunted suffering in his eyes as well as to his strength and sexual allure. But he hides secrets that lie dangerously close to the ones she is pursuing for the New York Sentinel. Soon human and vampire must join forces and comes to terms with their growing attraction as they battle warring vampire factions and a fanatical cult bent on changing their world forever…
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
Vampires in the 1920s! Why didn’t I know about this series earlier!
Added it to the TBR list!
This sounds interesting. Will definitely try to read it.
This sounds like its worth a try
Thanks for the review! I bought the first book last fall after seeing it reviewed here… but I just can’t read as fast as I buy. I really need to bump this up, though. It sounds really good!
Very intriguing…I have seen the book on the new release lists, but just kept bypassing it. The review above piqued my interest and I really liked the excerpt. I love reading about those tortured male vampires – I get so drawn in. Obviously I’ll get sucked in deep and with having to wait for some satisfaction until towards the end of the book I’ll be up reading late into the night! I’ll probably run out and pick it up before work tomorrow. I’ve got a stack of about 10 unread books and have been trying to decide what to read next – maybe I’ll start with this one! Is it imperative to read Chasing Midnight first?
Kristin, no, it’s not necessary to read Chasing Midnight first. You do meet the hero in that book, but you get enough in Dark of the Moon to let you know what his role was and why he’s where he’s at now. This book, in fact, is better than Chasing Midnight, so do pick it up!
Thanks Sandy – I appreciate your response! I will definitely pick it up today so I can start tonight! 🙂
Well, i was going to ask if I had to read the other one first but then I actually read the other comments and had my question answered.
Thanks for the review, I have this one but have not gotten around to reading it yet.
Hey, for those that have read it can someone please tell me what went on with dorian and angela. That had me confused for half of the book and really ruined it for me.
We soon believe what we desire