England – 1800s

The Honorable Colin Radcliffe leaves his mistress’s bed to marry Fern Ashcroft. It is not a grand passion, quite the reverse, but it is time for him to marry and produce an heir, and Fern seems a biddable young woman. Colin has lived a carefree, easy life and he sees no reason to change. Fern walks down the aisle to a virtual stranger, terrified and fearful of her future. The ceremony, a wedding breakfast, and then the newly weds are on their way to Brighton for a honeymoon. Colin and Fern are very uncomfortable together, and Fern doesn’t know if she is delighted or horrified when Colin takes her to bed. Neither is sure that this marriage will be successful.

Although Colin expects total obedience from Fern, he discovers that she is not quite as biddable as he thought she would be. Fern feels as if she is losing part of herself and is determined to assert herself, regardless of what her new husband thinks, before she fades into him with no independent thought of her own. She looks into Colin’s eyes and sees emptiness and wonders what kind of a man she married. Colin begins to realize that his wife is more intelligent than he realized, and something unusual begins to take place between them to make him feel alive for the first time that he can remember. His world is spinning on its axis.

Colin has been given the management of Wrexmere Manor, an estate owned by his family. He believes it has been mismanaged, and even though he has never seen the estate, it is his duty to fix the problem. He and Fern leave for Wrexmere, a spooky, frightening, and dilapidated house where they discover the mystery of the house...and a secret kept for generations.

SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT is a very unusual story, certainly not a run of the mill historical romance. It has excellent writing and good pacing, as well as a very original premise. Colin’s wife makes him feel alive. Everything had always come so easily to Colin that his life was filled with ennui, but now, all is beginning to sharpen and change. Fern is both attracted to Colin and dismayed by him. As Colin feels the change in his life, so also does Fern begin to feel her power. Besides being a hot sensual romance, a fascinating mystery evolves at Wrexmere that could destroy the Radcliffes.

SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT is a captivating and absorbing story that readers will definitely want to put on their “to buy” list, a must read. Congratulations to Lydia Joyce for a most original tale.

Marilyn Heyman