Review: Fabulous mysterious and moving paranormal romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2013
Dark Angel. TJ Bennett.Well, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book - seemed to be a sort of mystery romance. Well, it was, and it was so much more too!Catherine is the only person from a shipwreck to get washed up on an island off the Irish coast. She's desperate to return home, but the islanders seem so secretive about her chances of that, try to put her off whenever she raises the topic, and are keen to involve her in life on the island and accept a place there. There's so much they aren't telling her, and she needs to know more to get back home. Why are they keeping secrets about her chances of getting home? She can't understand the rationale as they all seem very keen to help her in other ways and delighted to meet her.Then there's Gerard, handsome and inscrutable owner of the castle. He healed her with incredible speed, and yet any questions about that or anything else she's curious about he deflects cleverly. There's a simmering attraction between them, but all the while she has in her mind the need to get to London and her responsibilities. When some of the secrets are revealed she simply can't believe them, passes them off as superstition, but what about the mysterious fog that comes in so quickly, and the dangerous Beast that stories tell roams the island.Its a great story, enough conundrums and enigmatic secrets to keep the reader guessing just where the story is going, along with the slowly developing romance between Gerard and Catherine. What's going to happen? Will she get off the island and return to London - and if she has the chance, how will she leave Gerard if the blossoming romance does go further? All questions that get answered - but not at all in the way I expected. The ending came as a real surprise and yet - it fitted the story so well.When I began reading somehow the style reminded me of the Victoria Holt novels I devoured as a teen, but as the plots moved on it became a much more individual and interesting narration than the stories I remembered. I think its the sort of gentle, historical setting, and the air of mystery about the story that prompted my musings. Certainly the whole of the story is much more personal and interesting, moving and emotional, and with enough mystery to give me the shivers at times, but not to frighten me off - I'm easily scared sadly, so anything more than the slightest hint of spook and my mind is away and summoning up depths that terrify me :) makes my kids and grand-kids laugh when I can't even watch kids films cos they scare me....ARC provided via NetgalleyStars: I've had a real roll of good reads recently and this is yet another five!