Release Day Review: The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall (Dark Seductions #1) by Lauren Smith

[Eva Millien]

Blurb:

To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past…

Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history. 

Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.

Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.

My Review:

Even as they try to fight their growing attraction, the evil that dwells within Stormclyffe Hall is stalking Bastian and Jane and together, they will have to mend what was broken in Bastian’s family’s tragic past to put it to rest in this chilling gothic paranormal romance.

This steady paced and smooth flowing plot sends chills down the reader’s spine with lots of suspense and romance. The author brings the story to life with well written scenes and details that capture the imagination and the well orchestrated suspense builds throughout sending shivers down the spine as the evil stalks Bastian and Jane.  The characters are strong, compelling and grab the reader’s attention from the very beginning and ensure that the reader can’t put the book down until they know the entire story… past, present and future.

The attraction between Jane and Bastian is strong, but the two are determined to not to give in, of course the ghosts may have something to say about that. The reader can’t help but get caught up in their story as they try to piece together the past to find what brought about the tragedies and mysterious haunting that has driven Bastian’s family away from their home for centuries and Jane has suffered some emotional trauma of her own and is driven by haunting nightmares that she desperately needs to understand.

The past, the present and even the future collide is this riveting gothic romance and the author has created a fascinating setting and set the perfect pace that gradually builds to an electrifying conclusion. I’m not sure exactly what direction the author plans on taking this series, but I must say she has gotten off to a great start and the future stories promise to be full of Dark Seductions.

4 ½ STARS 3 ½ FLAMES

Purchase Links:

A: http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Stormclyffe-Hall-Entangled-Select-ebo...

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theshadowsofstormclyffehal...

BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Shadows-Stormclyffe-Hall/Lauren-Smit...

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadows-of-stormclyffe-hall-lau...

K: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-shadows-of-stormclyffe-hall

Entangled Select, September 29 2014, 196 pages, ebook

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23165581-the-shadows-of-stormcl...

Series Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/136701-dark-seductions

About Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.

Lauren is represented by the wonderful Pam van Hylckama Vlieg.

Where to find the author:

http://www.laurensmithbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LaurenDianaSmith

https://twitter.com/LSmithAuthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6553241.Lauren_Smith?from_sea...

http://theleagueofrogues.blogspot.com/

Books by Lauren Smith:

http://www.laurensmithbooks.com/bookshelf/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/6553241.Lauren_Smith