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Trevelyan #2
His Dark Desires
You are in danger. Trust no one.
The terrifying words from a mysterious letter echo in Juliet Bucheron's mind. Destitute ever since her husband disappeared in the Civil War, Juliet has turned her New Orleans ancestral home into a boarding house—despite the rumors of ghosts, the whispers of scandal, and the stain of murder. But even more unsettling is Juliet's new tenant, a handsome stranger named Stephen Trevelyan.
Wealthy, educated, and seductively compelling, Stephen fills Juliet's heart with uncontrollable longing—and her head with suspicion. Something, she senses, is lurking beneath the surface. And someone is stalking the hallways after midnight. As the danger draws nearer, Juliet wonders if she can really trust Stephen. But as he pulls her closer, she knows she cannot resist him...no matter what the price.
The terrifying words from a mysterious letter echo in Juliet Bucheron's mind. Destitute ever since her husband disappeared in the Civil War, Juliet has turned her New Orleans ancestral home into a boarding house—despite the rumors of ghosts, the whispers of scandal, and the stain of murder. But even more unsettling is Juliet's new tenant, a handsome stranger named Stephen Trevelyan.
Wealthy, educated, and seductively compelling, Stephen fills Juliet's heart with uncontrollable longing—and her head with suspicion. Something, she senses, is lurking beneath the surface. And someone is stalking the hallways after midnight. As the danger draws nearer, Juliet wonders if she can really trust Stephen. But as he pulls her closer, she knows she cannot resist him...no matter what the price.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 2005
39 people are currently reading
402 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer St. Giles
34 books252 followersUSA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles writes under the names Jennifer Saints and JL Saint. She writes sexy southern suspense, paranormal romance, military romantic suspense, gothic historical and paranormal crime,
She writes romance because she believes that when you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm's quote, She chooses to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate. Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
Jenni (J.L. Saint, Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints)
PS. Writers don't develop split personalities. They develop pseudonyms
She writes romance because she believes that when you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm's quote, She chooses to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate. Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
Jenni (J.L. Saint, Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints)
PS. Writers don't develop split personalities. They develop pseudonyms
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
dnf
March 3, 2024DNF at 52%. I thought of powering through, but I simply couldn't do it. It isn't a long book, but it was so dull. The book was written from the heroine's perspective, and if you want to do that, the character has to be sufficiently interesting. She got on my nerves. The writing felt flat too. I'm not sure how this book received a DIK status on the AAR website, but hey, different strokes for everyone
July 21, 2023
First, his desires were regular, not dark, but that's okay. I loved this book. I didn't want to put it down. It was so romantic, I cried. Highly recommend. It's difficult to find historicals set in this time in America, so this was a treat. Plus a ghost, so win win.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2012
This review will appear on 10/12 at https://romantichistoricallovers.word...
I happened to be lucky enough to pick this wonderful book up for free. And what a wonderful surprise! I quickly found myself immersed in a post-civil war New Orleans filled with hardship, mystery, romance, passion and a little murder thrown in for good measure.
Juliet is a wonderful heroine who has done so much to keep her home and family together after the civil war has ravaged their home and community. She’s done everything she can to raise her son on her own as she faces the reality that her husband abandoned them and ran off with thousands in gold. While trying to survive all of these hardships, she’s faced with a mystery as she’s told to trust no one and that she’s in danger.
Stephen comes along to be a boarder in her house and adds to the mystery and confusion she’s facing. Juliet is so attracted to Stephen but since she’s still married to her husband she refuses to give in to that temptation. Stephen pursues her. But as much as he wants her, he insists she come to him. He is an honorable man and will do anything to protect her from harm. While Juliette relies on Stephen to protect her, she is by no means a damsel in distress. She is smart about her safety without being weak.
Jennifer St. Giles did an amazing job of bringing the Post-Civil War trials to surface in this book. She managed to show how families were devastated by the Civil War and the steps they were forced to take to survive. She did this in a way that showed how strong these people were without making them into whiny complainers. They accepted what happened and did the best they could.
I also really liked how Ms. St. Giles brought in women’s suffrage. It was very subtle in it’s introduction but it’ affect was profound in the story. She managed to show how women in the time believed and fought for suffrage but were often unable to make those changes in their every day lives.
I was drawn in by the mystery in the book. I was surprised by who was committing these murders. The mystery was so well written that no one was the obvious murderer, yet they were all suspects! They all had reason to commit these murders.
While I’m not normally a big fan of ghost stories, the ghost in this story really added something. Juliette could not figure out if the presence was friend or foe. It was a mystery to be solved. In the end we find out who the ghost is and what it wants.
This was an amazing story and I feel lucky to have found it!
I happened to be lucky enough to pick this wonderful book up for free. And what a wonderful surprise! I quickly found myself immersed in a post-civil war New Orleans filled with hardship, mystery, romance, passion and a little murder thrown in for good measure.
Juliet is a wonderful heroine who has done so much to keep her home and family together after the civil war has ravaged their home and community. She’s done everything she can to raise her son on her own as she faces the reality that her husband abandoned them and ran off with thousands in gold. While trying to survive all of these hardships, she’s faced with a mystery as she’s told to trust no one and that she’s in danger.
Stephen comes along to be a boarder in her house and adds to the mystery and confusion she’s facing. Juliet is so attracted to Stephen but since she’s still married to her husband she refuses to give in to that temptation. Stephen pursues her. But as much as he wants her, he insists she come to him. He is an honorable man and will do anything to protect her from harm. While Juliette relies on Stephen to protect her, she is by no means a damsel in distress. She is smart about her safety without being weak.
Jennifer St. Giles did an amazing job of bringing the Post-Civil War trials to surface in this book. She managed to show how families were devastated by the Civil War and the steps they were forced to take to survive. She did this in a way that showed how strong these people were without making them into whiny complainers. They accepted what happened and did the best they could.
I also really liked how Ms. St. Giles brought in women’s suffrage. It was very subtle in it’s introduction but it’ affect was profound in the story. She managed to show how women in the time believed and fought for suffrage but were often unable to make those changes in their every day lives.
I was drawn in by the mystery in the book. I was surprised by who was committing these murders. The mystery was so well written that no one was the obvious murderer, yet they were all suspects! They all had reason to commit these murders.
While I’m not normally a big fan of ghost stories, the ghost in this story really added something. Juliette could not figure out if the presence was friend or foe. It was a mystery to be solved. In the end we find out who the ghost is and what it wants.
This was an amazing story and I feel lucky to have found it!
May 13, 2020
I think these reviews are paid for, or they didn’t actually read the book. Not a lot of dialogue, lots of “I walked, I did” I don’t want to be told a past story. I want to live it. I want her to walk along the hall feeling, breathing, living it. Changing characters names back and forth from nicknames to real name within a few lines is ridiculous, pick a name already. I could find any reason why the main characters liked or were drawn to each other. She told us but it was disconnected, no reason for him. Yes the author threw in some current events for the time but felt pointless. Her being apart of the suffrage didn’t effect the story. She just threw it in to throw it in. The little dialogue that there was felt fake. Yes, French would have been spoken intermingled with English during that period and class. There was no point for it other then to flaunt her knowledge of French words. They did not make the story more rich or enduring. Bummer as the plot sounded good but I just don’t care about them to continue another page.
July 29, 2018
Couldn't put it down
I have so many unread books on my Kindle that I have stopped finishing books that become boring or slow. It's rare for me to read a book that I can't put down or read it until I'm finished but this is one of those books. Wow, what a story! The author is so talented. There were several characters in the story and she brought them all to life and made them so very interesting. I read the first book and although it was a good story too, I felt
Iike it was a story I had read before in another book. However, this book had so much suspense, a great story line, wonderful characters, a gorgeous hero and a great heroine. I think this book is one of the best stories I have read in a long time.
I have so many unread books on my Kindle that I have stopped finishing books that become boring or slow. It's rare for me to read a book that I can't put down or read it until I'm finished but this is one of those books. Wow, what a story! The author is so talented. There were several characters in the story and she brought them all to life and made them so very interesting. I read the first book and although it was a good story too, I felt
Iike it was a story I had read before in another book. However, this book had so much suspense, a great story line, wonderful characters, a gorgeous hero and a great heroine. I think this book is one of the best stories I have read in a long time.
February 7, 2025
Good 2nd book of the Trevelyan series. I did hope Jennifer St. Giles would go over Stephen's family trauma more, but since it was discussed in the first book I guess she didn't want to dwell too much on it. It would have been helpful for readers who had not read the first one though. All in all it was a good mystery with some romance.
January 27, 2023
As the eldest, the heroine has always felt like it's her responsibility to shield her sisters and her son from the problems they face. She doesn't let on just how close they are to ruin. She doesn't let on that taxes are going up and she doesn't have any idea how she'll find the money to keep the house. She doesn't tell her son that she fears her husband turned coward and stole 7 thousand in gold before running off and leaving them behind. All of this she keeps bottled up inside to try to spare her family the burden of worry but it's becoming too much. The heroine begins to feel an oppressive spirt hanging around the house and the pressures she's receiving to sell her home is slowly wearing her down. But all this seems like a cake walk compared to the notion that something or someone wishes to see herself and her family hurt or worse-killed. Her sister is seriously ill without any true reason or hope for treatment. The heroine finds an attempted fire in the attic and she herself very nearly falls into a trap that would see her crushed to death by boxes.
During all of this, it just seems like the hero is too good to be true. He says he's a writer but his clothing show wealth and he carries himself with such pride and confidence. He is so damn handsome and charismatic, making friends with her teenage son and in some ways becoming a father figure to the boy. And he seems to have attached himself to the heroine. She can feel his eyes follow her around the room and he stands far too close and speaks far too softly to hide his intends. She knows that she shouldn't trust him, she knows that she has no business feeling the way she feels but that doesn't stop her from craving his as much as he craves her. He is like a god send and she can't not accept his help especially when it's so desperately needed. He stand guard over her, comes running when she calls or when he senses she needs him. He offers her his protection both psychically and mentally and she falls in love with him only a few days knowing him. But who could blame her? Such a man is hard not to love and the heroine has been so lonely for so long that the possibility of finding that connection with a man is far to tempting to deny. But when rumors spread that her husband has returned from the dead, that the gold he stole has marked her family for attack- she worries that soon everything will fall apart and there will be nothing she can do to stop it.
I loved this book. First off, the passion was out of this world. My god the chemistry that radiated between theses characters was crazy and I was enchanted by both of them from the start to the finish. I loved the heroine for the strong independent yet vulnerable woman she was. I loved the hero for the noble, charming and sexy man he was. Together they made a pairing for the ages and I loved how they interacted with one another. I loved the devotion the hero had towards the heroine and the shy yet passionate love she had to him in return. The plot was great, lots of mystery and intrigue. It was well written and exciting and I was invested in the outcome of these peoples story. Great book.
During all of this, it just seems like the hero is too good to be true. He says he's a writer but his clothing show wealth and he carries himself with such pride and confidence. He is so damn handsome and charismatic, making friends with her teenage son and in some ways becoming a father figure to the boy. And he seems to have attached himself to the heroine. She can feel his eyes follow her around the room and he stands far too close and speaks far too softly to hide his intends. She knows that she shouldn't trust him, she knows that she has no business feeling the way she feels but that doesn't stop her from craving his as much as he craves her. He is like a god send and she can't not accept his help especially when it's so desperately needed. He stand guard over her, comes running when she calls or when he senses she needs him. He offers her his protection both psychically and mentally and she falls in love with him only a few days knowing him. But who could blame her? Such a man is hard not to love and the heroine has been so lonely for so long that the possibility of finding that connection with a man is far to tempting to deny. But when rumors spread that her husband has returned from the dead, that the gold he stole has marked her family for attack- she worries that soon everything will fall apart and there will be nothing she can do to stop it.
I loved this book. First off, the passion was out of this world. My god the chemistry that radiated between theses characters was crazy and I was enchanted by both of them from the start to the finish. I loved the heroine for the strong independent yet vulnerable woman she was. I loved the hero for the noble, charming and sexy man he was. Together they made a pairing for the ages and I loved how they interacted with one another. I loved the devotion the hero had towards the heroine and the shy yet passionate love she had to him in return. The plot was great, lots of mystery and intrigue. It was well written and exciting and I was invested in the outcome of these peoples story. Great book.
June 27, 2013
Set in New Orleans almost a decade after the Civil War, rooming house owner and war widow Juliet Boucheron needs to figure out a way to keep her house. After her (presumed) deceased husband stole gold from the southern army at the end of the war, Juliet has been persona non-grata, and her husband's former friend is trying to take her house. Juliet decides to find out for certain if her husband is dead, and hires a private eye who sends a message "trust no one". Then a stranger, Stephen, arrives to rent one of her rooms: he's handsome, helpful, a paying customer and entirely too desirable. Soon, threats are made, people end up dead and it seems that a ghost is in the house.
I loved this book - the romance between Stephen and Juliet was sweet yet hot. I totally loved it! The mystery was good because I didn't guess who had done it until the end. And what an ending - action packed and exciting. I enjoyed this book so much and I look forward to checking out the other in the series.
I loved this book - the romance between Stephen and Juliet was sweet yet hot. I totally loved it! The mystery was good because I didn't guess who had done it until the end. And what an ending - action packed and exciting. I enjoyed this book so much and I look forward to checking out the other in the series.
July 27, 2012
This was a fun and quick read, perfect for filling in the "between books" moment that I found myself in yesterday. His Dark Desires is a historical mystery set in post Civil War New Orleans and centred on the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Juliet Bucheron's husband and a lot of gold during the war. With a bit of naughtiness and a little supernatural spookiness thrown in, things are fast paced enough to keep things interesting. A fun light-weight book that I snagged as a freebie from Amazon.
August 12, 2013
Ghosts, missing treasure, people willing to kill for it, mysterious figures about town, and a handsome, attentive new boarder in her Victorian New Orleans home. What's a romantic heroine to do? But Juliet never backs down. She is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery and defend her missing husband's honor. Even if the handsome new boarder is continually distracting her. Can she trust him to help her? Can she trust him with her heart and body? I wasn't expecting a historical mystery when I started the book, but I enjoyed it very much.
July 5, 2015
A very good story with a slightly frightening ghost.
The ghostly elements did not take over the story but added to the mystery, the danger that Juliet and her sisters were facing.
Steven Trevelyan arrives and although there is instant attraction between the two neither are willing to indulge it.
They dance about each other as close to as propriety dictates but this is the end of the Civil War, and Julia's family is trying to recover in the face of rumour, lies, and deceptions.
The ghostly elements did not take over the story but added to the mystery, the danger that Juliet and her sisters were facing.
Steven Trevelyan arrives and although there is instant attraction between the two neither are willing to indulge it.
They dance about each other as close to as propriety dictates but this is the end of the Civil War, and Julia's family is trying to recover in the face of rumour, lies, and deceptions.
January 6, 2014
Review posted here:
My blog review here
and here:
My booklikes review here
My blog review here
and here:
My booklikes review here
September 3, 2012
Less of a Gothic than the first one. I liked the mystery in it, and I can tell that the author probably deals with teenage boys every day because her portrayal of how the one in this story acts is pretty much dead on.
April 14, 2013
This book is a sequel and perhaps if I would have read the first one, I may have been more into the storyline. The plot was great but at times too many characters graced the page. If you enjoy mystery and suspense, I recommend this.
May 14, 2013
Good if you enjoy over blown Victorian romantic mysteries. Not my favorite genre. I prefer my mysteries more mysteries, my romances a bit more romantic, and my Victorians a bit less over wrought. 2.5 stars
July 24, 2015
This was a great southern romance, with a little paranormal action and intrigue.
The main characters were extremely likable, and I rooted for them from the beginning. I hardly put it down, and finished in less than 24 hours.
The main characters were extremely likable, and I rooted for them from the beginning. I hardly put it down, and finished in less than 24 hours.
August 29, 2007
As usual, not disappointed! Jennifer's style just fits what I like perfectly!
January 8, 2009
I liked Mistress of Trevelyan, but I think I liked this one better because it moved faster. It was good to see a character from book one be happy :D
June 3, 2012
It definitely wasn't as good as the first one but still a book to recommend.
November 10, 2012
3.75 stars
April 5, 2013
It was a nice cute book. I thought I had it all figured out but I was wrong. I liked it as much as the first one.
August 26, 2013
Deleted from Kindle
May 17, 2013
Mystery and suspense. i enjoyed it
June 5, 2013
Review by Lee Anne
Link to Review http://romantichistoricallovers.wordp...
Link to Review http://romantichistoricallovers.wordp...
July 22, 2013
Great read
December 27, 2013
Love the setting and extended family and boarders, but I thought one part of the storyline was stretched to hit the Gothic requirement. Happy ending was happy.
September 6, 2014
I really liked this book. I was surprised how much I liked it. If you are into romances that take place in the late 1800s, then this book is for you.
April 18, 2012
Not as good as the first in the series but it was still a good book.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews