Gabrielle Bisset

Substandard erotic paranormal novella. Rich gentleman vampire rescues distressed homeless gentlewoman, takes her back to his palatial London residence, and offers her employment as a maid. Brandon, the vampire, visits her bedroom every night, where he uses a magic chant to hypnotise her into enjoying sex with him while he feeds on her. (Can you say 'Rohypnol'?)

Far from being romantic, this series of date-rape couplings leaves a bad taste in the mouth. We're introduced to the staff of the vampire's luxury residence, all of them completely forgettable apart from the dreadful plot holes their presence creates in the story.

The pantomime ending, with Brandon trying to persuade his supercilious sire to allow him to turn Arden (the homeless gentlewoman) rings as true as a cracked bell.

And as for the historical goofs -- ouch! The dialogue comes straight from contemporary America, not Victorian England. Use of words like 'hassle' (post-1945, US) and 'okay' (early 20th century, US) makes the reader wince and question the author's research.

According to my Smashwords edition of this story, the author is a college history teacher. For real?… (plus d'informations)