Nocturne by Syrie James
After a perfect weekend in Colorado, filled with skiing and attending her best friend’s wedding, Nicole Whitcomb climbs into her rental car and heads to the airport, hoping that the approaching storm will hold off until she arrives. Hearing a crashing noise behind her, Nicole glances in her rear-view mirror only to see an avalanche, closing the road behind her and effectively forcing her to continue though the weather is getting worse. As the snow continues to fall, Nicole speeds up the car, loses control, and slides off the road, rolling the car into a ditch. Stunned, bruised, and bleeding, Nicole weakly presses the horn but realizes she is in the middle of nowhere and all but gives up any hope of being rescued.
Michael Tyler jealously guards his privacy and has become accustomed to his solitary lifestyle over the years. Hearing the blare of the car horn and knowing there was no one else nearby to help, Michael investigates to find Nicole and realizes she will freeze to death without his intervention. Reluctantly bringing her back to his cabin, he cares for her although he is horribly uncomfortable at sharing his space with anyone. As Nicole’s condition improves, her curiosity about Michael and isolation grows, and though he does his best to deflect the questions, Nicole persists. As the two remain snowbound, an unmistakable attraction grows between them, one that worries Michael and intrigues Nicole. Could there possibly be a future between a five-hundred-year-old vampire and a pediatric nurse from Seattle?
Nicole’s pain and insecurities were well hidden under a confident exterior, but in Michael’s wisdom, he quickly saw beneath the surface and recognized a lost and confused soul. Though Michael’s earthly accomplishments were many, he was saddened knowing he was destined to spend the rest of his existence alone. Their brief romance was beautifully written, erotic yet tender, and their shared skill at the piano and familiarity with music was a wonderful connecting theme, reinforced by Michael’s music box collection. I had the feeling that the two of them were better off for having met and that their romance helped heal them both. This was a fascinating book that definitely grabbed my attention and held it throughout—and I absolutely loved it.
Book Stats:
- Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Vanguard Press; Mass Market Edition edition (August 2, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 159315674X
- ISBN-13: 978-1593156749
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My MIL picked this one up and was asking me if I’d read it. I could swear this is a reprint but haven’t read it so couldn’t say for sure.
Thanks for the review Mary. I don’t think this would hold my interest but I can’t tell by your review if it has a HEA or not?
Sorry, Rhianna, no HEA for Nicole and Michael, just a romantic interlude that, I felt, helped them both to become better and stronger…I hesitate to say “people” because Michael isn’t human.
Thanks for the comment!
No-no! That’s exactly what I WOULD like about it actually. I’m a weirdo and think HEAs are boring. lol Once in a while I don’t mind them but so not my preference.
Cool. I will have to borrow my MILs copy when the mood strikes. Thanks for answering my question.
@Bets “that doesn
…and rereading what I wrote there I just noticed I used ‘real’ far too many times. *facepalm*
I’m not the best at writing them myself, but I love the ability to create a love that is meaningful, that changes those involved, and yet is ephemeral, and they both know it. Our culture spends a lot of time on “love ever after” situations. Despite the fact one character often at least starts as human, I feel we are often even more guilty of that concept in vampire literature, which is forever, forever and ever after. To see someone tackle a healing relationship that will be, in Sonheim’s words, “a moment in the woods”, is rejuvenating to see. Perhaps because to the present, my best relationships have been just that. I have not found my forever after, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t loved, and grown for it. Okay, that last bit is probably TMI, but hopefully you get my point.
Very interesting that Syrie chose not to go the HEA route. That especially makes me want to read this, as sometimes I feel authors push the characters so hard into a HEA that it doesn’t feel organic to them, or the story, by the end of it.
Thanks for the rec!
Smiles!
Lori
This sounds good so it must be read!!