Review: Nocturne by Syrie James

Nocturne
by Syrie James

Genre: Paranormal Women's Fiction
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Cost: $12.78
Release Date: January 4, 2011

What I Liked:
Some people might be tempted to categorize this as a romance novel. That, my friends, it is not. It might be a story about a man and a woman falling in love (think Nights in Rodanthe with snow instead of hurricaine and Edward Cullen instead of Richard Gere--or maybe Richard Gere without who sleeps all day and has no tan), but like those fabled books by the one we call The Spork, this is a love story, not a romance novel.

Why the distinction? Well, to tell you that, I have to give away something very important about the novel. So if you are worried about SPOILERS, please stop reading now. I'm going to spoil something very important.

Seriously, stop reading.

Okay, now that we've weeded out all the spoiler-weenies, let's get down to the nitty gritty. The H/H do not end up together in the end. It was the most realistic vampire love story I've ever read, for that reason precisely. Why do I say this?

Because, and I really hate to admit this, but Edward Cullen was right. It's an act of supreme selfishness to turn someone you love into an undead monster. (Never, ever tell anyone that I said anything good about Edward Cullen.) That's not true love. That's obsession, desire, lust: self-centered. When you're truly in love with someone, you want the absolute best for them, even if that means you never get to see them again.

Spoilers aside, it was interesting to read the book just to get to that place. But that alone was good enough that I had to highlight it, because this is how every true vampire romance should end, at least if the characters are really in love with anyone else besides themselves. So, kudos to the author for that. The book is worth checking out just for that alone.

Book Blurb:
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.

- Rebecca Lynn