Master of the Night
(Published October 2004 by Berkley Publishing Group - Paperback Edition - 309 pages)American agent Erin Grayson has a new mission: romance international businessman Reece Champion. Seducing the handsome millionaire could put her that much closer to the revenge she craves against a murderous death cult. Erin doesn't realize she's being manipulated by the very cult she hunts. Champion is actually an agent of the U.S. government.
He's also a vampire.
Reece immediately senses the latent supernatural powers hidden within Erin, powers as dangerously irresistible to him as her lush body and hot blood. Yet he also knows that yielding to their mutual desire will make them pawns in a deadly game.
And their opponent is, quite literally, a monster.
Master of the Moon (Mageverse, Book 3)
(Published May 2005 by Berkley Trade Pub - Paperback Edition - 336 pages)Diana London is city administrator of Verdaville, S.C. She's also a werewolf who helps out the chronically shorthanded Verdaville Police Department by moonlighting as a police K-9.
But even Diana starts wondering if she's bitten off more than she can chew when a serial killer comes to Verdaville. This particular killer isn't your average psycho - she's a vampire sorcerer who kills men to power her black magic.
Then the King of the Fairies shows up, and things get really weird...
I whipped right through these two books. Knight is a new author for me so I had no preconceived ideas about what she is capable of. As a result I found her books to be a fun read. I loved her take on the legend of Arthur and Merlin -- so different and very creative.
The first book wasn't the best of the two but it's a must-read for the series. I didn't wholly believe the romance between Reece and Erin. They have hot sex and kick supernatural butt. I don't see how they make each other better together than apart. That's why characters fall in love normally and it's missing here.
The second book was certainly an improvement and has all of the elements missing in the first book . The romance between Llyr and Diana still falls short though, mostly because of Llyr's insensitivity. The action scenes are good and the sex definitely sizzles(an obvious trademark of Knight's books).
Unfortunately, the stories suffer from too much sex and not enough plot and characterization. However, these are still a pretty entertaining reads if you're after a quick read. A personal downside in relation to the series is that there are at least three anthologies out containing pertinent short stories, and I don't do anthologies. While I'm curious to know what happens to the characters introduced thus far I'm not sure if I'll continue or not at this point.
Warrior: The Time Hunters
(Published July 2008 by Berkley Trade Pub - Paperback Edition - 294 pages)Warlord Galar Arvid is sent to the twenty-first century to protect artist Jessica Kelly from a murderous time-traveling art thief.
But Galar soon realizes that the situation is far more complicated and dangerous than he thought. He takes Jessica back to the Outpost, where she must learn to adapt to a strange new world – and her attraction to her handsome savior.
Okay, first off, this was so much better than her Mageverse series so I'm thinking Knight is at her best when writing futuristic stories.
I haven't read Jane's Warlord, which I understand is a prequel of sorts to this series, so I came into this blind. The book stands alone beautifully, but it leaves you wanting more of this world. In fact, Warlord, which includes Jane's Warlord and Warfem, is on my to buy list!
Fabulous world-building! The Vardon (good guys) society was well-created, with just enough detail. Then we see into the Xer (bad guys) culture, where she paid equal attention to detail. She didn't depend on any one device too much.
Great characterization including the secondary ones. In addition to the genetically-engineered enforcers, there were cyborgs, battleborgs, combots, and at least four types of aliens, most of which were described in detail without breaking stride. Jessica and Galar fell for each other hard, but I could see why so it was believable. Jessica was alone in a strange world where Galar became her rock. Galar finds Jessica so different from the women of his time and her emotional honesty was just what the doctor ordered. Guess that all adds up to equal hot sex. Who knew?!
My big disappoint was the moment the spy was revealed. The first time you get inside the traitor's head, there's no indication of who he was. I anticipated being strung along for a while, kept guessing, but that tension wasn't to be. That's an expectation thing. If you make a point of not telling me the first time, I expect to find out in the heat of the moment.
I think this has to be one of the best organized books I've read in a long time. I can't wait to read more from this world -- Guardian is next up in this series -- a trilogy.
-- Just a heads up, Angela Knight pushes the limited of everyday romance over into a romance-erotica blend called romantica. So if you don't like blistering hot sex, and lots of it, then you should give these a pass.
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