Review: Exciting...yet lacking
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2013
Reclusive, secretive earl seeks woman of discretion for governess position. Unwillingly betrothed female of respectable birth seeks suitable employment and sanctuary from violent fiancé. Can each be the solution to the other's needs?Running from her imminent marriage to a cruel duke, Emma Westlake arrived at the crumbling castle of recluse Gabriel Saxon-Worthington, Earl Halverson, based purely upon a rumor that the gentleman was said to be in need of a governess for his two young wards. Desperate to cover her tracks and hide her identity, Emma was relieved when the earl's man offered her the position of governess, but instinctively knew giving a false name and lacking any references made her newly acquired position rather tenuous. But, with no place to go, dealing with two wary children and an enigmatic lord were preferable to marrying a duke with a taste for torture.Gabriel Saxon-Worthington has his own secrets to keep. As a vampire of the night, he keeps little company with any but his small and trusted household staff. He has little to do with the young children who were left in his care and, with no one to socialize with but his sometimes belligerent wards, no governess has lasted in his employ. He senses the new governess is hiding her own secrets, but as he must safeguard his own, he only indulges his blooming attraction to her during nocturnal visits to the sleeping Emma's chamber. But Emma, though innocent in flesh, has the most carnally disturbing dreams of her employer and Gabriel becomes more deeply enthralled as she calls his name each night in her sleep.Author Aubrey Brown fills this Regency-set novella with the ever-present danger of discovery, dark secrets, lustful longing, virginal erotic dreams, and a vampire's late night blood and bodily cravings for a mysterious young miss. Ms. Brown's focus is the build-up of erotic yearning between the hero and heroine and Gabriel's denial of what his heart wants, as well as what his body craves.Gabriel is an intriguing hero that I'd like to know more about. I was amused that he could make his clothes fall off simply by willing it to happen!  Emma wasn't quite as interesting; I found her too frequent debilitating headaches stalled the storyline and left her character less fleshed out.  Reluctantly, I must also admit this novella felt unfinished due to holes in story and background that left me pondering over unanswered questions, such as why a barely mentioned human couple left their children in the care of a reclusive vampire upon their demise.I also wondered how the whole vampirism aspect would be handled as the children aged and began to ask inconvenient questions about their guardian's strange habits. Perhaps, I'll get answers at some future date, as Ms. Brown concluded Ravenous with the unexplained appearance of another darkly mysterious male vampire named William, so he must have a tale to tell, mustn't he?Reviewed by Angie Just Read...for TheRomanceReviews.com