REFLECTIONS OF SILENCE by Raven Hush

Fiction, Historical Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Level 4 Heat

3***

Blurb: Bred on secrets and betrayals and sold to a man she doesn’t know, Gisella travels across oceans into the arms of a monster intent on devouring her. My world is flipped on a journey to the New World with a gaggle of women I don’t know. All my belongings are stuffed into a tiny box, and the ship’s crew call us the Casket Girls. Rumors abound that we are the ghouls below decks, except it’s not the monsters we are that we’re afraid of, but the man I’m sent to marry. When a shadowed stranger whisks me away from the abbey I’m sent to in the middle of the night, my new life begins. But this place is nothing like France. Raw, uncivilized. My husband won’t rise during the day, the servants refuse to speak to me, and the curtains are never opened in the large house that’s mostly empty, blocked away from the world. Until I meet him. Sebastian. Then I discover what manner of monster I married… And the one I carried across oceans that resides within me. REFLECTIONS OF SILENCE is the first book in the SILENT SENTINELS duet and a spicy, stand alone read.

Thoughts: This was a sensual vampire story based on an actual truth. The author explains the history behind “the casket girls” at the beginning of the story—women who were sold or kidnapped and sold in the colonies, specifically New Orleans and surrounding areas, to be brides. Gisella is one such woman, sold by her father. Rather than a wedding, she is married by proxy in the middle of the night by a nun then whisked away to a dark “castle” well-away from New Orleans. Then strange things start happening, and she learns the truth about her new husband. There are witches, a sorceress, vampires, and an adorable gargoyle.

This was exceptional story at the beginning. It caught my interest and pulled me in. But then the problems began. Midway through, there started to be issues with editing that only got worse as I kept reading. There were enough of them that they pulled me out of the story. And the ending was definitely not a HEA. It was kind of a downer. Actually, the whole thing kind of reminded me of the old gothic novels. Very dark all the way through. Oh, and be warned, there is some BDSM action in the story.

A better edit is definitely needed. And maybe a different ending. Recommended with caveats.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”