Review - Nocturne by Syrie James (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 288 pages

Publisher: Vanguard Press
Release Date: January 4, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1593156282
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source:  Copy from publisher for review
Rating: 3/5 stars

 
I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Previously I had read Dracula, My Love by Syrie James and enjoyed it.  I was really looking forward to this book; it sounded like a sweet dark romance.  In the end it was that, but the romance got a bit cheesy and the writing wasn't as beautiful and smooth as James other books.

Nicole runs her car off the road during a snowstorm in Colorado and finds herself with a concussion, freezing in the cold.  She wakes up in a strange house, having been rescued by a handsome and mysterious stranger named Michael.  She ends up snowbound in his house as the snowstorm renders the mountain pass impassible.  Although Michale is sweet to Nicole at times and Nicole is very attracted to him, there are things that just aren't right about Michael.  For example he doesn't seem to eat and he doesn't feel the cold.  Nicole will have to unravel the mystery of this man and decide if she is safe here or if she should risk the cold.

I truly enjoyed the beginning of this book.  Some of James's writing is quite beautiful.  I loved watching Nicole unravel the mystery around Michael, and loved how tentative they were around each other.  Michale has a number of hobbies and I enjoyed the detail that James put in describing these things.  By reading this book I learned some about wood-working, about raising horses, horticulture, and some interesting medical history.

As the book went on the story got more and more contrived.  Michael was just such the perfect man that it became laughable and eye-rolling ensued.  Some of the tender moments between Michael and Nicole were awkward and stiff.  The relationship they developed (if you can call a two day fling that) was just...well...improbable.  Then there were the steamy scenes between the two characters; these were just flat out poorly written.  They were semi-explicit but were written in such a way that they didn't make sense...for example at one point Nicole and Michael are standing and kissing, then Michale lays his body on Nicole's...I was confused.  Are they standing?  Are they laying on the floor?  Where are they?  What is going on?  I reread it a few times but just couldn't figure it out.  The scenes were hard to visualize and clumsily written.

Another thing I did like about this book was the ending.  I thought it was realistic and the most probable part of the story.  I like how Nicole was able to use her time with Michael as a catalyst for other life changes.

So, overall there was some good here and some bad.  It is a sweet little fluffy cabin romance; it is very light on the paranormal elements.  I enjoyed the little technical details of Michael's hobby's and the beautiful descriptions in the beginning of the book.  I did not enjoy how contrived the story got towards the middle, the clumsy steamy scenes, and the occasions where the dialogue between Nicole and Michael sounded awkward and unnatural.  Still it was a quick read.  I may pick up Syrie Jame's books in the future but I will probably be more discriminating about which books of hers I read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge