Nocturne by Syrie James

Nocturne:
When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.

Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him and soon comes to realize that the feeling is mutual. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension—and Nicole can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t want her there.
Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret—or secrets—is he hiding?

Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from—but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her.

But as the sexual tension between them builds, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns the terrifying truth—that her host is an ages-old vampire who is torn between his love for her and his desire for her blood—there’s nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and he’s the only one who can save her life.

This was my first Syrie James novel, and she penned a sweetly romantic story with a bitter-sweet ending. Each incredible revelation kept me turning pages long into the night. The entire book revolves around the two characters, Michael and Nicole, with them never coming into contact with any others at all, yet the story was an engaging read. There is a lot of mystery concerning each of the characters in the beginning of the book, and they both hold their secrets closely, until Nicole stumbles upon one of Michael’s and he begins to trust her with more of himself. Nicole is a strong, intelligent and independent woman, but when Michael begins to show the softer side of himself to her, she melts in his arms and their romance truly begins. Although she trusts him with her life, even at times when Michael feels his nature is putting her at risk, it takes Nicole longer to reveal the secret of her past and what made her leave a career she absolutely adored. A terrible attack leaves Michael near death and Nicole must overcome her fear of blood in order to save him, and when she offers him her own, she has faith in his ability to stop. The ending to this book is not at all what I was expecting, the stolen days Nicole spent with Michael up in the mountains was a turning point in her life, and the love she experienced with Michael was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that is meant to be shared.

I was also given the opportunity to ask Syrie a question and here it is:

If you became trapped as a character in a book or series, which would you choose and why? (Any series, any book, new or old.)


I'd love to be Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, marry Mr. Darcy, and live happily-ever-after at Pemberley. I adore Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy for their intelligence, strength of character, sense of humor (okay, Elizabeth's sense of humor) and their ability to grow and change. I'm somewhat obsessed with 19^th century England, and it has always been one of my fantasies to live in a Jane Austen novel! I've been to Pemberley's real-life counterpart, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England; it's truly to die for. The only difficult part would be living without antibiotics, and having Mrs. Bennet as a mother and Lydia as a younger sister, but… spending a lifetime with Mr. Darcy would surely make up for that. It'd be a dream come true.






I'd like to share my copy with one of my lucky readers! I'm sorry, but it is US and Canadian addresses only! Simply leave me a comment about my review and fill out the form! (New year, new giveaway layout! Thanks to JP at YA Urban I finally know how to do this!)