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Sanctuary #1
Touch of Night
This is a reprint of Book One in Carin Rafferty's acclaimed Sanctuary series.
Ariel Dantes is running out of time. Her brother Armand has disappeared while investigating a secretive cult professing to be a coven of witches and warlocks. When the police won’t agree to open a case, Ariel must track down the last man to see her brother—self-professed warlock Lucien Morgret.
Bar owner and banished warlock, Lucien will do anything to protect his former coven. His doubts about the coven’s safety have been building, and now a journalist is missing. He’ll help Ariel . . . as long as she obeys his rules.
If Lucien and Ariel want to save Armand and the coven, they need to work fast. With time against them, and a rogue warlock practicing the forbidden Old Ways, they’re running out of options. Lucien realizes he will need to meld with Ariel’s mind - and body –in order to fight the darkness. But will mating with this mortal woman save him or damn him? Will they lose themselves, and the ones they love, forever?
Ariel Dantes is running out of time. Her brother Armand has disappeared while investigating a secretive cult professing to be a coven of witches and warlocks. When the police won’t agree to open a case, Ariel must track down the last man to see her brother—self-professed warlock Lucien Morgret.
Bar owner and banished warlock, Lucien will do anything to protect his former coven. His doubts about the coven’s safety have been building, and now a journalist is missing. He’ll help Ariel . . . as long as she obeys his rules.
If Lucien and Ariel want to save Armand and the coven, they need to work fast. With time against them, and a rogue warlock practicing the forbidden Old Ways, they’re running out of options. Lucien realizes he will need to meld with Ariel’s mind - and body –in order to fight the darkness. But will mating with this mortal woman save him or damn him? Will they lose themselves, and the ones they love, forever?
264 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
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About the author
Carin Rafferty
15 books9 followersLinda Griffin Kichline (1950-)
aka
Allyson Ryan and Carin Rafferty.
aka
Allyson Ryan and Carin Rafferty.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 25, 2014
Ariels brother is a journalist who disappears while on one of his undercover investigations into a secretive cult.The last person he ever spoke with was with a man who had left the cult named Lucien Morgret. She decides to go to his seedy bar and ask him about where precisely he sent her brother.
Lucien Morgret turns out to be a man who makes her feel vaguely uncomfortable and even more so when he uses his warlock powers to prod her mind and send her scurrying off home again,
She is surprised and a bit alarmed when Lucien suddenly appears at her home and offers her a deal -so he still wont tell her where her brother is but he will show her and she has to follow his instructions all the way or their agreement is off.
Ariel thinking this is her only chance of figuring out where her brother is accepts.
But what she doesnt know is he is using her to infiltrate his old coven lands from wich he was cast out.
What can I say about this book?
Starting out I had a good feeling about it but about the same time Lucien arrives at Ariels home I started to have my doubts wich turned out to be wellfounded. From then on any promise it had vanished like Ariels inhibitions does while engaging in mystical dream sex with Lucien.
Not to mention the the thing with her bedroom...ugh I mean you can be sensual underneath a prim exterior without going overboard and turning your bedroom into a gaudy brothel boudoir. Did I mention that she is a Virgin?
And Ariel made me frustrated in other ways too.
She hates Lucien! No she loves, him she distrusts she loves him etc
Inconsistency thy name is Ariel.
Same with her belief in magic..she thinks its true,magic cant possibly exist bla bla This happens even after she witnesses magic happening right in front of her eyes
And then every once suddenly she will get an attack of Christianity. Oh noes Satanism!
Lucien never says he believes in satan and none of the other characters wear placards declaring that they do either. True they are witches and warlocks but no one actually commits to being a devil-worshipper. She just jumps to that conclusion herself.
This was very odd and I couldnt help but wonder if there was a lot of media attention at the time this was written to satanic cults.
This book was written in the 80s before so it feels very dated with no cellphones or things like that,but if a book engages you can usually forget these things.
But what really got to me was how the ending feel like its turned into a Q and A session as if only by then did the author have the heroine ask the hero alot of things that could have just been brought up more naturally if she had asked him during the course of the book.
And then theres the too tidy wrapping up of loose ends wich made me think the author just remembered she ran out of time to write them in but wanted to include some other things just BECAUSE
Lucien Morgret turns out to be a man who makes her feel vaguely uncomfortable and even more so when he uses his warlock powers to prod her mind and send her scurrying off home again,
She is surprised and a bit alarmed when Lucien suddenly appears at her home and offers her a deal -so he still wont tell her where her brother is but he will show her and she has to follow his instructions all the way or their agreement is off.
Ariel thinking this is her only chance of figuring out where her brother is accepts.
But what she doesnt know is he is using her to infiltrate his old coven lands from wich he was cast out.
What can I say about this book?
Starting out I had a good feeling about it but about the same time Lucien arrives at Ariels home I started to have my doubts wich turned out to be wellfounded. From then on any promise it had vanished like Ariels inhibitions does while engaging in mystical dream sex with Lucien.
Not to mention the the thing with her bedroom...ugh I mean you can be sensual underneath a prim exterior without going overboard and turning your bedroom into a gaudy brothel boudoir. Did I mention that she is a Virgin?
And Ariel made me frustrated in other ways too.
She hates Lucien! No she loves, him she distrusts she loves him etc
Inconsistency thy name is Ariel.
Same with her belief in magic..she thinks its true,magic cant possibly exist bla bla This happens even after she witnesses magic happening right in front of her eyes
And then every once suddenly she will get an attack of Christianity. Oh noes Satanism!
Lucien never says he believes in satan and none of the other characters wear placards declaring that they do either. True they are witches and warlocks but no one actually commits to being a devil-worshipper. She just jumps to that conclusion herself.
This was very odd and I couldnt help but wonder if there was a lot of media attention at the time this was written to satanic cults.
This book was written in the 80s before so it feels very dated with no cellphones or things like that,but if a book engages you can usually forget these things.
But what really got to me was how the ending feel like its turned into a Q and A session as if only by then did the author have the heroine ask the hero alot of things that could have just been brought up more naturally if she had asked him during the course of the book.
And then theres the too tidy wrapping up of loose ends wich made me think the author just remembered she ran out of time to write them in but wanted to include some other things just BECAUSE
August 14, 2017
Touch of Night, The Sanctuary Series Book 1, Carin Rafferty
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: sci-fi and fantasy, Romance
Well, the description sounded interesting, but sadly this wasn't one for me.
Lucien isn't anyone to aspire to IMO, he cares about the coven, even though he's been cast out, but his attitudes to mortals...well, he's pretty scathing and rude.
Ariel wants to find her twin, the police won't help and Lucien at first won't either. Then he will...and that sets the tone for the book.
Both characters constantly change their minds, decide one thing and do another, don't talk, focus on irrelevant issues, and disrespect the other. The same things are explained over and over, in case the reader just can't quite grasp it.
I think the biggest issue for me though was the sex.
No matter what the problem sex in some form was the answer, even though Ariel says she doesn't like Lucien, doesn't trust him, just wants to find her brother. Lucien would never take a mortal for a mate, doesn't like her, doesn't find her attractive yet wants/has to have sex with her all the while. Reading minds, yep he needs to read her mind but they have to connect with sex, connecting with Armand, more sex, finding out who the strange warlock is, yep sex again....you've got it, sex is the answer to everything.
I like sex in a story, but it needs to fit, the story and reasons need to be strong enough and for me this just didn't feel right.
Even the end I still felt they didn't like each other and suddenly - bam- everything is perfect.
I won't be continuing with the series, but as ever this is just my opinion, you may feel very differently. Others have 5 star loved it, so you chose.
Stars: Two, a miss for me.
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: sci-fi and fantasy, Romance
Well, the description sounded interesting, but sadly this wasn't one for me.
Lucien isn't anyone to aspire to IMO, he cares about the coven, even though he's been cast out, but his attitudes to mortals...well, he's pretty scathing and rude.
Ariel wants to find her twin, the police won't help and Lucien at first won't either. Then he will...and that sets the tone for the book.
Both characters constantly change their minds, decide one thing and do another, don't talk, focus on irrelevant issues, and disrespect the other. The same things are explained over and over, in case the reader just can't quite grasp it.
I think the biggest issue for me though was the sex.
No matter what the problem sex in some form was the answer, even though Ariel says she doesn't like Lucien, doesn't trust him, just wants to find her brother. Lucien would never take a mortal for a mate, doesn't like her, doesn't find her attractive yet wants/has to have sex with her all the while. Reading minds, yep he needs to read her mind but they have to connect with sex, connecting with Armand, more sex, finding out who the strange warlock is, yep sex again....you've got it, sex is the answer to everything.
I like sex in a story, but it needs to fit, the story and reasons need to be strong enough and for me this just didn't feel right.
Even the end I still felt they didn't like each other and suddenly - bam- everything is perfect.
I won't be continuing with the series, but as ever this is just my opinion, you may feel very differently. Others have 5 star loved it, so you chose.
Stars: Two, a miss for me.
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers
August 26, 2017
Touch of the Night is the story of Ariel, a young woman who gets tied up in a rivalry between warring warlocks while searching for her lost twin brother. Not surprisingly, this turns into a paranormal romance. There was a decent amount of sex and it was somewhat repetitive. I had a hard time with Ariel who came across as naive. Lucien, the male lead, is an abusive, angry warlock who basically spends most of the book using Ariel as a pawn in his games against his rival while getting what pleasures out of her that he could. His intentions were not always clear, especially considering his negative attitude towards mortals. Bottom line, I didn't really enjoy the book because I didn't really like the characters.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 28, 2017
I enjoyed this story a great deal. It was a different sort of fantasy story for me, and was interesting. It kept me on the edge of my seat in places and it made me feel in the action right along with the characters. The writing was also very well done. I liked it a lot and I really enjoyed the twists and turns that I didn't see coming. It was wonderful and a fast paced story. Very well done from this author and I'm glad I got the chance to review it.
Reviewed by Kaila of the GothicMoms Reviews Team
Reviewed by Kaila of the GothicMoms Reviews Team
August 14, 2017
This is a reissue of the first book in a 3 book series, I read it years ago and loved it then and it's still a great read. The paranormal elements and scorching romance are cleverly intertwined in this tale of a damaged hero and resilient heroine. I would recommend this one to anyone who loves the urban fantasy/paranormal genre.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
October 20, 2017
i enjoyed this.. it was a different sort of fantasy story for me. it was interesting.. it kept me on the edge of my seat in places and it made me feel with the characters.. the writing was also very well done. i liked it a lot and i really enjoyed the twists and turns that I didn't see coming :D it was wonderful and a fast paced story. Very well done from this author and I'm glad i got to review it
May 18, 2020
Overall I thought the plot was interesting. My main issue was the chemistry between Ariel and Lucien . Especially Ariel being so undecided back and forth. I do wish that it was clear on Lucien intentions because you mainly just see him using Ariel to get what he wants. Overall it had a good and interesting plot but I wish that the characters were written better .
I received this book via publisher from Netgalley for an honest review.
I received this book via publisher from Netgalley for an honest review.
December 1, 2017
I received a copy of Touch of Night by Carin Rafferty from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting plot and a novel that was quite enjoyable at times. I do wish the characters had been better fleshed out though.
Interesting plot and a novel that was quite enjoyable at times. I do wish the characters had been better fleshed out though.
January 1, 2023
3.5 about what i expected. cheesy brain candy. this stuff is like brain fast food to me lol
August 29, 2023
A wonderful read
I have read this book several times and love it each and every time I read it. It's an oldie but goodie.
I have read this book several times and love it each and every time I read it. It's an oldie but goodie.
September 19, 2009
I don't mind being reminded of what's going on from time to time, as I do set the book down, but there comes a time when it becomes a little too repetitive. Armand in the prologue (1st page),..."During his three years of reporting on dangerous dissident groups..." Second page of the first chapter, Ariel, "Armand was an investigative journalist who specialized in dangerous, dissident groups." This style of writing gets annoying. I felt I should be able to look in the phonebook under "Groups, Dangerous Dissident." Similarly, although the warlock aspect was interesting to a point, they all live in a valley of goodness and light, and if I saw anyone stroking a long crystal as much as this Lucien does, it would seem to indicate a lot of unresolved issues with his sexuality. Not going to bother with the sequel.
April 7, 2012
Warlock romance story. Ariel goes looking for her missing twin brother, Armond. She knows that Lucien was the last person to talk to her brother. So she goes to him, looking for help in finding her brother. Lucien is a warlock who has been banned from his coven. He sent Armond to his coven to investigate corruption by other warlocks. Armond has been taken captive and Lucien decides to help Ariel but he has his own agenda at heart. He wants a way to access the coven so that he can return and hopefully save his coven. He falls for Ariel but fights his feelings through most of the book since he believes that humans and warlocks should not mix. Only in the end, as Ariel is in danger does he realize that he loves her and wants her for his mate.
August 10, 2017
When I read the description of this book I wasn't sure if I would be able to read all of it, but as I started reading and learning all the characters both good and bad I was hooked. This wasn't your normal romantic girl meets warlock book, this book takes the reader into the world of anger, mistrust, lies, hidden agendas, deceit, betrayals, surprise, and love. With each new addition to the story it just became more and more captivating and necessary for me to finish so that I could find out how everything ended. Do Morgret and Ariel learn to believe in each other? Does Morgret begin to forget that Ariel is just a mere mortal? Do the find out what happiness is? Those are some of the question you will be able to discover when you take the amazing journey of Carin Rafferty's novel Touch of Night.
Thank you NetGalley and Carin Rafferty
Thank you NetGalley and Carin Rafferty
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews