REVIEW: Caressed by Night by Amanda J. Greene

Amanda J. Greene's Caressed by Night is the second book in her Rulers of Darkness series, following her scintilating debut, Caressed by Moonlight.

Whether you're a lover of paranormal romances, or simply a romantic at heart, Amanda knows how to caress just the right emotions in the read, drawing you deeper and deeper into her story, and entangling you with some rather unique twists so that you not only can't let go . . . you won't want to.

While I didn't care for the setting here as much as I did in the first book (Amanda transplants us from the gas-lit cobblestone streets of 19th London to the harsh fluorescent glare of 21st centure Las Vegas), it does provide for an interesting avenue to explore the progression of her vampire mythos. Fortunately, Kerstyn and Dimitri are just as enthralling a romantic duo as Victoria and Dorian were in the first volume, so it's very easy to fall back into the mythology. Personally, I liked Victoria slightly more than Kerstyn, although they are both wonderfull independant women, but I found Dimitri slightly more swoon-worthy than Dorian, so it all balances out.

The character building is superb, as is the amount of detail Amanda has invested in her vampire mythos. I loved the complexities of Dimitri, with one layer of personality revealed after another, further establishing him as both a romantic hero and a vampire legend. Silvie, Kerstyn's best friend and witch, is another character I found myself instantly attracted to, while the blood-slave-turned-vampire Gabriel successfully managed to overcome my initial frustrations to become another favourite by the end.

It goes without saying, of course, that his is another very hot, very sexy, very romantic book with enough steamy bits to make even the most staid reader swoon, but carefully woven into a story that could easily stand on it's own as a straightforward paranormal adventure . . . although it wouldn't be nearly as fun. As was the case with Caressed by Moonlight, this is another self-contained storyline that reaches back to that world, but which also contains enough promise for several new volumes to come.

♥