HIS DARK DESIRES

4 Star Review From Romantic Times Book Club!  A riveting sequel…a sexually charged romance that satisfies whether they’re seeking suspense or passion. ~ Romantic Times Book Club.
 

With its dark, dangerous hero and sexy storyline this historical romance will appeal to contemporary romantic suspense fans who enjoy danger and intrigue. ~ True Romance Magazine, Nov 05.
 

In 1874, widow Juliet Boucheron and her two sisters Ginette and Mignon operate a B&B at their family home La Belle du Temps in New Orleans. Juliet has heard rumors that her spouse actually lives in Europe, but though she assumes he died trying to run a Union blockade a decade ago, she has hired an investigator Goodson to look into this. Goodson warns her to trust no one as her life is danger at the same time attorney Mr. Latour pressures her to sell her home to the Packert Investment Company.
 

Writer Stephen Trevelyan rents a room from Juliet insisting he is a writer who needs quiet. He hides his true agenda from his hostess, which is to find stolen gold that he assumes her late spouse buried in the house. However, he soon changes his objective when he falls in love with Juliet; now his goal is to keep the three sisters safe from an unknown assailant who wants them dead and has already poisoned Ginette.
 

Wonderful Americana romantic suspense thriller”
 

IRendezvous Review Magazine’s September 2005

Rosebud of the Month!
This month’s Rosebud goes to:
Jennifer St. Giles of POCKET BOOKS for HIS DARK DESIRES
ISBN 0–7434-8226–9
HIS DARK DESIRES by Jennifer St. Giles
Pocket Historical Romance 9/05
 

The Civil War left many victims, including Juliet Bourcheron who in order to keep her home, changes it into a boarding house. There has been a dark cloud hanging over the family and those who were her friends now turn their backs on her, whispering that her husband was a traitor who stole the confederate money and kept it for himself. Juliet receives a letter saying “Do not trust anyone,” and now she has a mysterious boarder who is cloaked in mystery and who claims he wants to help her.
 

Trevlyan is compelling man and she feels drawn to him. She’s really confused after someone poisons her sister and they discover they have a resident ghost. Together, Juliet and Trevlyan begin to unravel the mysterious happenings on her estate.
 

Powerful and emotional, with complex characters whose essence seems to jump off the pages, HIS DARK DESIRES contains deep secrets, adrenaline high tension, and awesome conflict. The author molds characters like a potter, then breathes life into them. An excellent journey into the past, one you won’t forget.  WK
 

ROMANCE JUNKIES REVIEW

Juliet Boucheron is a beautiful woman desperately trying to hold on to her property after her husband was labeled a traitor in the war.  She senses in her heart that her husband was killed for the gold he allegedly stole.  While she hires an investigator to find out if her husband is alive, murder is afoot and strange occurrences are happening.  When Stephen shows up at her house, as a potential border, she detects he is not telling her the truth, but the sizzling passion between them is clouding her judgment.  As the accidents turn deadlier, she turns to the man who has captured her heart to help her figure out who wants her dead.  Will Juliet find a rare love in a stranger amidst murder and mayhem?  Or will her heart be broken when she learns the real truth of who Stephen truly is and why he is there?
 

Stephen Trevelyan is a mysterious man who cannot let go of the past.  He vows never to fall in love again.  When a friend of his is murdered, he must find out the truth, but he does not know who to trust, including the intriguing Juliet.  As he spends time with her, he feels the walls crumble around his heart.  When a woman is murdered at the house, he must step up the investigation and find out who wants Juliet dead before it is too late.  Will Stephen finally open his heart to Juliet and let her love heal his wounds?  Or will he lose her when she learns of his deceit?
 

HIS DARK DESIRES will leave you glued to the edge of your seat while turning every sizzling page from cover to cover.  Jennifer St. Giles draws her readers in with vivid imagery, an intriguing plot that will keep you guessing and tremendously passionate characters.  Juliet is strong, stubborn, and sassy.  Her devotion to her family is unwavering and commendable.  Stephen captured my heart for his ability to finally let go of the past and go after the woman he was meant to be with.  The secondary characters in this enchanting tale are very colorful and add a lot of pizzazz to the intrigue.  I will definitely be looking forward to more of Jennifer St. Giles’ work. ~ Billie Jo
 

All About Romance Review

Desert Isle Keeper Review
His Dark Desires
Jennifer St. Giles
November 2005, American Historical Romance (1874 New Orleans)
Pocket, $6.99, 336 pages, ISBN 0743486269
Part of a series
Grade: A–
Sensuality: Warm
 

Though His Dark Desires takes place in the midst of a sultry New Orleans summer, it represents something quite the opposite for romance readers: a welcome breath of fresh air.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a bonafide Regency girl from w-a-a-a-y back. But somewhere along the way, a steady diet of All-Regency-All-The-Time, interspersed with an occasional dip into Victoriana, numbs the palate of even someone like me – so much so, in fact, that these days only the best writers working in the Regency (and we all know who I’m talking about) can overcome my, to use a true Regency word, ennui.
 

Enter Jennifer St. Giles. A few months ago, a romance-reading friend of mine (with excellent taste, I might add) pressed upon me The Mistress of Trevelyan, a rip-roaring Gothic tale of a governess (yes, a governess!) and a mysterious, widowed, and, of course, devilishly attractive Master of the House whose wife just might have died under equally mysterious circumstances. When the sequel featuring the brother of the previous book’s hero popped up on the list of books available for review, I jumped on it.
 

Set in 1874 in war-devestated New Orleans, His Dark Desires is a vigorously written, intelligent, and gripping tale set in a fascinating city in an equally fascinating time. And, believe it or not, though this book features fewer Gothic overtones and more classic romance elements than its predecessor, there’s not a Regency miss anywhere in sight.
Widow Juliet Boucheron struggles to keep herself, her young son, and her sisters together by taking on boarders in their formerly stately home just outside New Orleans. With at least one skanky predatory type attempting to coerce her into selling the home she dearly loves, Juliet is understandably more than a bit disconcerted when the investigator she’s hired to look into the rumors that her husband might still be alive sends her a telegram telling her to “trust no one.”
 

Equally disconcerting is Juliet’s attractive new boarder, one Stephen Trevelyan. Quite understandably, Juliet wonders why the richly dressed young man claiming to be in New Orleans on business for his family’s successful trading company might choose to stay in Juliet’s somewhat rundown home instead of a first class hotel. But with rumors (and the vultures) circling, her sister’s mysterious illness, and nighttime attacks that just might be ghostly in nature, Juliet simply doesn’t have the time or inclination to think too much about the appealing young man – and her attraction to him.
 

Juliet is a complex heroine who is likable right from the start. Determined, capable, and with her sights fixed firmly on protecting her family, Juliet is the kind of stalwart, no-nonsense heroine I adore. Stephen, on the other hand, is one of those gently teasing and flirtatious young men the reader knows is actually far more complex – and capable – than he initially appears. In the author’s skilled hands, both Juliet and Stephen are original, intriguing, appealing characters who are as complex and layered as any reader might wish.
 

To put it simply, any historical romance reader with a palate in need of cleansing will likely find His Dark Desires to be as invigorating as I did. I loved the time and setting, both of which are brought vividly to life by the author. I loved both Juliet and Stephen. I loved the Gothic elements that bring a whiff of the paranormal to an already rich tale. But, most of important of all, I loved the freshness of this book – a freshness that even this diehard Regency reader found especially welcome. In an era of overwhelming sameness when it comes to historical romance, His Dark Desires easily stands out from the crowd. If you love historical romance and haven’t yet tried Jennifer St. Giles, you’ve got a treat in store. She writes smart. She writes sexy. She writes differently. And, wonder of wonders, she doesn’t write Regency. ~ Sandy Coleman
 

HIS DARK DESIRES By Jennifer St. Giles Pocket Books, 2005 Reviewed by :: Jacqueline Crane

4 ½ Kisses Created for Romance Divas

::
www.romancedivas.com :: © 2005
Sexy. Dark. Dangerous.
 

Jennifer St. Giles’ second novel is an intense and wonderful follow up to ‘The Mistress of Trevelyan’. She crafts amazingly organic characters in this gothic murder mystery featuring delicious bad boy, Stephen Trevelyan, now all cleaned up and sober.
 

Set in 1874, New Orleans, Juliet DePerri Boucheron inherits her ancestral boarding house. Since her husband’s disappearance in the Civil War there have been whispers of ghosts, scandal, and murder cloaking the place like a dark and ominous cloud.
 

Unhinged from the first meeting, Juliet takes on the mysterious stranger as a new boarder. Wealthy, educated and seductive, Stephen Trevelyan leaves her questioning his motives, as well as setting her heart palpitating. He ignites a passionate flame within her she can’t quench, one she has never experienced before, even from her late husband. Their attraction escalates, as does the darkness and danger lurking in the shadows. With tragedy befalling her boarders and loved ones she has nowhere to turn and no one to trust, except in the most unlikely arms of the brooding Mr. Trevelyan.
 

Sequels are often disappointing, but this one really satisfies. The momentum will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the sexual tension sizzles! A hot, moody must-read.
 

FRESH FICTION

Juliet Boucheron struggles to maintain and keep her ancestral home despite the threat of high taxes and a rash of unexplained break-ins. As a widow, she works hard to protect her son and younger sisters. Juliet hides the reality of their situation from her family until a telegram arrives warning her of impending danger. Terrified of trusting anyone, Juliet once again starts searching her home for the gold her late husband was accused of stealing before the war ended.
 

Stephen Trevelyan arrives at the Boucheron mansion hiding his own secrets. Unable to contend with his involvement with his sister-in-law’s death, Stephen needs a place to write. Appearing at the Boucheron mansion, he obtains a room as a boarder. Intermingling with the other boarders, Stephen perceives the darkness and turmoil that permeates the inhabitants. His growing attraction to Juliet distracts him from his real purpose in being there.
 

Juliet tentatively accepts Stephen’s aid, but cannot give him her full trust. There are still too many unanswered questions surrounding him. The consequences of her trusting the wrong person would harm not only her, but also her family. The suspense mounts until a murder occurs and Juliet has no choices left.
 

Teeming with menacing atmosphere, this sequel to MISTRESS OF TREVELYAN continues along the Gothic path. St. Giles captures that Gothic essence with a sinister plot, complete with unusual twist and turns, while maintaining a strong sexual tension between the protagonists. ~ Reviewed by Suan Wilson
 

HIS DARK DESIRES is a wonderful Americana romantic suspense thriller that is driven by the three sisters and Stephen, who appeared as a key support character in the gothic delight THE MISTRESS OF TREVELYAN where he learned a lesson in life. Juliet is a courageous person as she not only takes charge of the B&B, her sisters, and her son; she bravely perhaps stupidly refuses to be bullied into a sale she feels is wrong though she is unsure how much longer heritage can hold out in a southern world turned upside down in the past decade. Jennifer St. Giles provides a fabulous Reconstruction Era tale.
  ~ Reviewed by Harriet Klausner Posted October 10, 2005