I had difficulty getting into this one and staying interested. The passion felt stunted and rushed in its description. The villain was good and the conflict was interesting, but the plot just was hard to get into.  Not really sure what it was exactly that I found hard to get into. The characters were good, though the tension between the two could have been more developed. The passion could have been explored and drawn out; he was a womanizer after all so that aspect could have played more of a role (his reputation coming back to bite him, him being placed in a situation where she could misconstrue what was going on, etc.) in the tension and emotional development of their relationship. When he goes into Death to save her was a good scene, that added some emotional suspense to the plot. There wasn't anything bad about it; I was just a bit bored.

An interesting plot and a passionate love affair weave together to make a story that is definitely a page-turner. Shapeshifters and Fae are mortal enemies.  Four Imnada (shapeshifters) have been cursed by one, a curse that forces a shift as the sun sets taking away their choice and their freedom until the sun rises. Bianca is a human woman who has sworn off entanglements with men after her abusive husband dies.  Bianca and Mac meet at the burial of a mutual friend, though Bianca has no clue that her dead friend was a shifter. Mac investigates his friend's death and the mysterious woman who shows up to pay last respects. They both want to solve a murder but they are also drawn to each other, though both obviously fight the attraction.  Mac comes to see the underlying depth to Bianca's character; that she hides from the world under her "Ice Queen" visage. He aids her in dealing with her nightmares and she saves him from the evil plot of a female Fae who wants to kill the four shifters that her father cursed before his death.  Their adventure takes them in and out of London, as they search for a way to break the curse and catch a killer.  He almost loses her when he isn't careful with what he says to a friend and she almost loses him to the evil machinations of the female Fae and to the cure for the curse.  It was an enjoyable read. It had compelling characters, an entertaining plot and conflict, and a believable villain.  It had enough emotional tension and passion to keep me turning the page till the very end. 

I don't read that many Historical Paranormal. My favorite Paranormal Romances always have know worlds. No one is has to be introduced to the Others and come out of shock. I think many members of the Historical Paranormal world would need to be revived so I tend to stay away from this sub genre. However, there are many wonderful books to be found here and I have managed to find them!

 

My list are never in any particular order. Enjoy Regency Romance: Paranormal Style!

 

1. Earl of Darkness by Alix Rickloff

 

 

The magic she tries to hide . . . 

Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. But Cat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Feyand human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.

 . . . is the magic he desperately wants.

From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . . and into the violence of the Otherworld that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

 

2. Demon's Curse by Alexa Egan

 

 

She holds the key . . .

One of the mythical race of shape-shifting Imnada and a member of an elite military unit, Captain Mac Flannery suffers under a ruthless curse. As the result of a savage massacre on the eve of Waterloo, he and the men he served with are forced to live the hours of darkness trapped as their animal aspects. Now one of them has been murdered, and Mac suspects the existence of the Imnada may finally have been discovered. His only link to unearthing the truth—Bianca Parrino, the beautiful actress whom every man desires.

. . . to his forbidden desires

Forging a new life for herself after escaping the clutches of her abusive husband, Bianca is again drawn into violence when a dear friend is brutally murdered and she becomes a suspect. Forced to place her trust and her life in Mac’s hands as they flee a determined killer, Bianca cannot deny she is falling for the mysterious soldier. But will his dark secrets tear them asunder? Or will love be the key to breaking even the cruelest of spells?

 

3. Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann 

 

London's Lord Vampire Has Problems

Dr. John Polidori's tale "The Vampyre" burst upon the Regency scene along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein after that notorious weekend spent writing ghost stories with Lord Byron.

A vampire craze broke out instantly in the haut ton.

Now Ian Ashton, the Lord Vampire of London, has to attend tedious balls, linger in front of mirrors, and eat lots of garlic in an attempt to quell the gossip.

If that weren't annoying enough, his neighbor, Angelica Winthrop, has literary aspirations of her own and is sneaking into his house at night just to see what she can find.

Hungry, tired, and fed up, Ian is in no mood to humor his beautiful intruder...

 

4. Lydia Dare Wolf Bundle

 

A Certain Wolfish Charm

The rules of Society can be beastly—especially when you’re a werewolf and it’s that irritating time of the month. Simon Westfield, the Duke of Blackmoor, is rich, powerful, and sinfully handsome, and has spent his entire life creating scandal and mayhem. It doesn’t help his wolfish temper at all that Miss Lily Rutledge seems not the least bit afraid of him, and in fact, may be as untamable as he is…

When Lily’s beloved nephew’s behavior becomes inexplicably wild, she turns to Simon, the boy’s cousin and guardian, for help. But Simon’s idea of assistance is far different than hers, and Lily finds herself ensconced in his house and engaged to the rogue.

They both may have bitten off more than they can chew when each begins to discover the other’s darkest secrets…

Tall, Dark and Wolfish

Lord Benjamin Westfield is a powerful werewolf—until one full moon when he doesn’t change. His life now shattered, he rushes off to Scotland in search of the healer who can restore his inner beast, only to find she’s not at all what he expected…

Young, beautiful witch Elspeth Campbell will do anything to help anyone who calls upon her healing arts. Then Lord Benjamin shows up, and she suddenly discovers she may need him even more than he needs her…

The Wolf Next Door

Ever since their failed elopement years ago, Prisca Hawthorne has taunted, insulted, and in every way tried to push him away. If only her heart didn’t break every time Lord William Westfield left her…

Lord William throws himself into drinking, gambling, and debauchery and pretends not to care about Prisca at all. But when he returns to find a rival werewolf vying for her hand, he’ll stop at nothing to claim the woman who should have been his all along.

Can Prisca forgive the unforgivable, or are the moon-crossed lovers going to be forced into a battle of wills that could be fatal?

 

5. Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy

 

 

His Magic Condems Him...

In a Victorian England with a rigid hierarchy of magic, lion shapeshifter Sir Terence Blackwell is at the bottom of the rung of society. Only Lady Felicity Seymour, who has no magic, no inheritance, and no prospects, may be willing to judge the man strictly on his own merits...

 

Until She Reveals His True Power...

When family pressures push Lady Felicity into a terrible fate, she has only Sir Terence to turn to. Together, the two outcasts become embroiled in the dark depths beneath society's facade. And what they discover about each other is the only thing that's real...

 

6. Merely Magic by Patricia Rice

 

Magic is her birthright...

 

The daughter of one of the strongest magical lineages, Ninian Malcom Siddons is a powerful witch. Determined to only use her magic for good, she lives a simple, solitary life as a healer in her village, where she meets Drogo.

 

A man of science doesn't believe in anything he can't see...

 

Lord Drogo Ives believes only logic and science can explain the wonders of the universe and doesn't believe the local folklore about Malcolm witches and Ives men, until he meets Ninian.

 

Despite the odds against them and their (many) differences, the bond between Drogo and Ninian grows stronger each moment they are together... until the chaos and danger surrounding them forces each to decide: their love... or their lives...

 

 

7. The Mists of Midnight by Michelle M. Pillow

 

Imogen Drake has always been willful, rarely doing what’s expected of her. When she refuses to obey her parents and marry an industrious Colonel, they decide to hire tutor to train her to be a proper lady wife.

Imogen assumes the handsome Dougal Weston is the man sent to instruct her from her rebellious ways. Her attraction to him is instant, but the confusing man seems set in keeping her in her place—even if she detects he feels something for her. With his arrival at Rothfield Park comes an abundance of unrested spirits. Suddenly, Imogen doesn’t know who is alive and who is dead. Why have they come now? And what are they trying frantically to tell her? Imogen must discover the truth about the eerie night mist that surrounds the manor before it comes to claim everyone she holds dear—including Mr. Weston.

 

8. To Catch a Fox by Raven McAllan

 

 

Eleanor may be a lady, but even she knows that there's more than one way to catch a fox...

When Eleanor was told the foxes had returned to Wilderwood, she wondered and hoped it wasn't just any old foxes. She'd spoken to no one of her week of passion with Alexander and Stanford Foxxe. The Foxxe brothers had warned her about their other lives, but Eleanor had been skeptical until that magical night where they had showed her their true selves. They shifted from human to animal; howled at the moon, and mated with her. Now six years later, the foxes were back. Had they come for her? If they had, would her changed circumstances alter all their plans? How would they cope with what she had become?

 

9. My Lord Vampire by Alexandra Ivy

 

the first of a mesmerizing trilogy, Alexandra Ivy, author of the Guardians of Eternity series, introduces the Immortal Rogues--three vampires duty-bound to protect their own kind even as they fall prey to mortal desires. . .

 

Centuries have passed since Gideon Ravel dwelled among humans. Now he must infiltrate the cream of London society to earn the trust of one woman. Simone, Lady Gilbert, possesses an amulet of unimaginable power, and no concept of the threat that surrounds her. The ton's gossip prepared him for her beauty and wit. But he is blindsided by her barely disguised sensuality and his growing need to possess her. . .

 

None of the idle aristocrats who vie for Simone's attentions know about her past. To them, she is the sophisticated, worldly widow known as the "Wicked Temptress." The truth would ruin her, and she has never been tempted to reveal it until now. Yet beneath Gideon's bold, black-eyed stare is a hunger that demands satisfaction and complete surrender. . .and a secret far more dangerous than her own. . .

 

10. Venice Vampyr by Tina Folsom Free!

 

Venice, early 1800s

Isabella Tenderini, a wealthy merchant's widow rescues a stranger from drowning in one of Venice's canals. And how does the man repay her selfless act? By kissing her - her, a respectable woman.

Not only is Raphael di Santori grateful for his life being saved, he would also like to thank his rescuer very intimately - more intimately than decorum allows. But then, Raphael has never been one to play by the rules - as a vampire he doesn't have to.

 

 

Vote for your favorite Regency Romance: Paranormal Style on Goodreads. 

I've picked this up several times and put it down just a minute or so later. It's just not drawing me in.

*DNF so no rating

I received a digital copy through Netgalley in exchange for review.

A mix of historical and paranormal Shadow's Curse is unique and fresh in plot and character development. Alexa is talented and Shadow's Curse is thrilling from beginning to end. The second Book in the Imnada Brotherhood series, this installment follows Callista and David into a world where mystery and magic are spun into an exciting combination.
The book itself can be read alone or in order from the first installment, although readers may prefer to read them in order just so that they can understand history and background there are added details to explain itself so that the reader isn't left in confusion.
Fast paced and fun Shadow's Curse is brilliant!