Review: ENJOYABLE STORY BUT A BIT CONFUSING
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 24, 2013
A wee bit of confusion at the beginning for me because there’s no preparation for the fact that Gregory’s a vampire. There’s a mention of his cooler body temperature, then he kisses Sarah and fights to control his descending fangs….and we know he’s a vampire.  That aside, this is an intriguing story, somewhat reminiscent of the original Gothic tales in the way it’s presented.Though Gregory isn’t portrayed as particularly sympathetic, neither is he a completely evil creature. He loves Sarah and never actually harms her. Marcus isn’t so lucky because he’s a harsh taskmaster when teaching his protégé what he must know.  Marcus comes across as a bit heartless when it comes to Violet, his childhood sweetheart, whom he uses as an apparently substitute for his lust for Sarah. His own seduction by Lady Amelia is a definite shock to his system. Lady Stockton herself appears nave on the surface but when it comes to Marcus, she seems determined to have her way in spite of her love for her husband, and arranges several thwarted trysts.Thus we have three people, all determined in their own way to get what they want, and one may not even call Gregory the villain because there’s Lady Amelia, also a vampire and the woman who sets Marcus on his road to Gregory’s expectations.In spite of my enjoyment of this novel, I felt there were several deiscrepancies. There should’ve been a bit more exposition at the beginning explaining what Gregory was. Somewhere along the line, Gregory’s original intent appears to have been forgotten, for Marcus’ future changes abruptly. The ending seemed rather rushed, finished up in two paragraphs which left me wondering if this was an indication of a sequel in the works.Nevertheless, I found The Darkness of Love well-written and though short (only 76 pages), an enjoyable read.This novel was supplied by the author and no remuneration was involed in the writing of this review.