RETURN TO ME

Author: Julia Templeton ISBN: 0425215415 8/2007 PARANORMAL/HISTORICAL Publisher: HEAT
Time Period: Regency, 1818

Betrayed by her uncle, the magically inclined Gabrielle Fairmont has been sold into a betrothal with a man who will surely be her ruin. To survive—and to avoid being labeled as a witch—she must accept the help of a five-hundred-year-old vampire who's as dangerous to her chaste body as he is to her fragile heart... Haunted by the woman who so resembles his dead wife, Darius MacLeod finds it impossible to walk away from Gabrielle and her plight. So he spirits her out of London and into his Scottish castle—where he will be torn between his role as her protector and his ravenous desire to touch her in the most tender of places...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In 1314, a devious English soldier kills wealthy Scots warrior, Darius MacLeod. As he lays dying on the battleground, a handsome man appears, followed by Darius' twin brother. Darius is unable to understand what the man is offering, but his brother, recently turned, wants Darius to live. They turn Darius into a vampire without his consent.

When Darius goes home to his wife and unborn child, she fears him greatly, having heard the rumors of his death. It doesn't take long before she dies tragically herself, leaving Darius a lost soul.

In 1818, Darius and his companions visit London. They meet Gabrielle Fairmont, a virginal orphaned witch who is the reincarnation of Darius' dead wife. Darius is desperate to be with her. Gabrielle has a fiancé and threats of witch burning to escape from, and quickly finds happiness with Darius, despite whispered contacts from her dead mother about how evil vampires are.

The real evil in this story, of course, is the corrupt aristocratic fiancé. Templeton sticks close to traditional romance novel vampire lore, throwing in a bit of witchcraft and reincarnation to freshen the genre.

Templeton focuses nearly as much attention on Darius' two male vampire companions. They struggle to reconcile their five hundred years of being lovers, despite constant infidelity on one side. The sex in this book stays vanilla and mostly heterosexual, however.

RETURN TO ME is a fast-paced Regency confection, full of sexy scenes and heartfelt romance.

Heather Hiestand