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Vampire #1
Night Fires
Enter a midnight world of dark seduction and unquenchable desire, of sinful pleasure and breathtaking intrigue—where amid the flames of war and the immortal thirst of two irresistible lovers, an alliance is born that would burn forever....
NIGHT FIRES
Beautiful and damned, Simone de la Fer roamed the French nights as a vampire. A reluctant immortal, she thought she’d never again taste the bittersweet pleasures of mortal love—until she met an enigmatic human spy she found impossible to resist. Haunted by his own violent past, Michael Corday arrived from England on a secret mission. On a starlit highway he found his life changed forever by a creature of the night unlike any he’d ever encountered. Unable to deny their destiny, they traveled together through the
Parisian underworld on a dangerously erotic journey to right a terrible wrong—even as they were stalked by a merciless hunter intent on destroying them. For theirs was a passion so taboo, it had been forbidden by human and vampire alike; so sinful, it could only be paradise. And they would risk eternal damnation to taste it just once again...
NIGHT FIRES
Beautiful and damned, Simone de la Fer roamed the French nights as a vampire. A reluctant immortal, she thought she’d never again taste the bittersweet pleasures of mortal love—until she met an enigmatic human spy she found impossible to resist. Haunted by his own violent past, Michael Corday arrived from England on a secret mission. On a starlit highway he found his life changed forever by a creature of the night unlike any he’d ever encountered. Unable to deny their destiny, they traveled together through the
Parisian underworld on a dangerously erotic journey to right a terrible wrong—even as they were stalked by a merciless hunter intent on destroying them. For theirs was a passion so taboo, it had been forbidden by human and vampire alike; so sinful, it could only be paradise. And they would risk eternal damnation to taste it just once again...
359 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 2, 2003
3 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Karen Harbaugh
19 books26 followersKaren Harbaugh is a half-Japanese U.S. Northwesterner Navy brat with a BA in English, is happily married to a sweet and supportive engineer, and has one alarmingly intelligent son. She has found being a full-time romance writer, mom and wife to be a heck of a lot more challenging than being a Quality Assurance Analyst for a major HMO or being a technical writer. The job has longer hours, for one thing, and she is on call a good 24 hours a day, and there is no such thing as vacation time. She has written for HarperCollins under the pseudonym, Kathleen Elliott.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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May 9, 2022DNF. Simone should eat this dude.
January 8, 2013
Favorite romance book of all time! Sorry...it's true. I adore this book and everything about it. The setting is unique, the blend of paranormal and historical is enthralling. I love this book...that's all I can really say.
Oh and the sex is AWESOME!
Oh and the sex is AWESOME!
June 23, 2020
Entertaining and well-written.
I enjoyed this story although it’s not my usual cup of tea. It features a vampire in an historical setting. The heroine is admirable and there is an unexpected twist at the climax. I also enjoyed the excerpt at the end of the next book. Sounds like a good read.
I enjoyed this story although it’s not my usual cup of tea. It features a vampire in an historical setting. The heroine is admirable and there is an unexpected twist at the climax. I also enjoyed the excerpt at the end of the next book. Sounds like a good read.
August 21, 2025
Michael is a man reserved, a man who knows what his job is and does it well and his job is to kill those who threaten the crown. It’s his new mission that takes him into the heart of France during the Revolution of the people rising up and slaughtering the lords and ladies whom they believe have oppressed them for ages. Michael is not here for polities, he only cares to hunt down the man responsible for 2 Englishmen’s deaths and he’ll do everything in his power to succeed. Even getting a little too close to a rebel.
Simone was once the daughter of a wealthy and privileged family, but now she is an outlaw, aiding and abiding nobles to safe passenger out of France. She also happens to be a vampire, cursed to crave blood and live in sin though she stays true to her Catholic faith. When the English spy finds her on a mission and proposes they help each other with their respective goals, she is, as he is, hesitate to trust.
But as time goes on, they come to respect each other, even care for one another which is evident by their real and honest marriage. They might pretend otherwise but their game of pretend is rapidly turning serious. He even accepts her once he finds out about her affliction. As their journey leads then deeper and deeper into enemy territory, they will need all the love and strength they can muster to make it out alive.
The book curved for me. It started out at a high as I enjoyed the characters banter and one-upmanship. This author does possess a gift of painting a clear and well-drawn out picture. My issue was, nothing much happened between the beginning and the end, where it curved back up again at the climax. The middle bit was a long drawn out conversations and sex scenes and I wanted so badly for something exciting to happen. I liked both characters, though I prefer my hero’s to be a bit deeper and darker than what Michael came off on. Overall, I will say this was a bit of a disappointment considering the very impactful setting of the civil war in France. Even the heroine’s vampirism wasn’t all the exciting actually.
Simone was once the daughter of a wealthy and privileged family, but now she is an outlaw, aiding and abiding nobles to safe passenger out of France. She also happens to be a vampire, cursed to crave blood and live in sin though she stays true to her Catholic faith. When the English spy finds her on a mission and proposes they help each other with their respective goals, she is, as he is, hesitate to trust.
But as time goes on, they come to respect each other, even care for one another which is evident by their real and honest marriage. They might pretend otherwise but their game of pretend is rapidly turning serious. He even accepts her once he finds out about her affliction. As their journey leads then deeper and deeper into enemy territory, they will need all the love and strength they can muster to make it out alive.
The book curved for me. It started out at a high as I enjoyed the characters banter and one-upmanship. This author does possess a gift of painting a clear and well-drawn out picture. My issue was, nothing much happened between the beginning and the end, where it curved back up again at the climax. The middle bit was a long drawn out conversations and sex scenes and I wanted so badly for something exciting to happen. I liked both characters, though I prefer my hero’s to be a bit deeper and darker than what Michael came off on. Overall, I will say this was a bit of a disappointment considering the very impactful setting of the civil war in France. Even the heroine’s vampirism wasn’t all the exciting actually.
January 22, 2013
Set during the violent and bloody French Revolution, Night Fires gives us a tale of an unusual vampire heroine. Simone is both pious and dangerous. She’s committed to helping people escape from unjust persecution. She forms an untrusting alliance with an enigmatic assassin. Known only as Corday, an English spy with single-minded purpose to complete his mission, Corday can’t help but be intrigued by the mysterious woman who can break through his ennui and make him crack a smile. In an atmosphere of tension and suspicion, Karen Harbaugh slowly peels back the layers to reveal the depths of her two lead characters.
While the character development was certainly strong, Ms. Harbaugh could use a little help beefing up her action scenes, which were sadly lacking in detail. I would have loved to read of bones cracking, bodies flying through the air to smack into something, and the tangy, copper taste of blood. I had to supply the details in my imagination. Additional details in this regard would have made for a more exciting read.
The plot was good if a bit too coincidental. I also got a lot of insight into the terror and unrest that was going on in France at that time. I would certainly be willing to read the sequel, Dark Enchantment.
**Reviewed by Olivia C. for VampireRomanceBooks.com**
While the character development was certainly strong, Ms. Harbaugh could use a little help beefing up her action scenes, which were sadly lacking in detail. I would have loved to read of bones cracking, bodies flying through the air to smack into something, and the tangy, copper taste of blood. I had to supply the details in my imagination. Additional details in this regard would have made for a more exciting read.
The plot was good if a bit too coincidental. I also got a lot of insight into the terror and unrest that was going on in France at that time. I would certainly be willing to read the sequel, Dark Enchantment.
**Reviewed by Olivia C. for VampireRomanceBooks.com**
January 21, 2013
Set during the violent and bloody French Revolution, Night Fires gives us a tale of an unusual vampire heroine. Simone is both pious and dangerous. She’s committed to helping people escape from unjust persecution. She forms an untrusting alliance with an enigmatic assassin. Known only as Corday, an English spy with single-minded purpose to complete his mission, Corday can’t help but be intrigued by the mysterious woman who can break through his ennui and make him crack a smile. In an atmosphere of tension and suspicion, Karen Harbaugh slowly peels back the layers to reveal the depths of her two lead characters.
While the character development was certainly strong, Ms. Harbaugh could use a little help beefing up her action scenes, which were sadly lacking in detail. I would have loved to read of bones cracking, bodies flying through the air to smack into something, and the tangy, copper taste of blood. I had to supply the details in my imagination. Additional details in this regard would have made for a more exciting read.
The plot was good if a bit too coincidental. I also got a lot of insight into the terror and unrest that was going on in France at that time. I would certainly be willing to read the sequel, Dark Enchantment.
While the character development was certainly strong, Ms. Harbaugh could use a little help beefing up her action scenes, which were sadly lacking in detail. I would have loved to read of bones cracking, bodies flying through the air to smack into something, and the tangy, copper taste of blood. I had to supply the details in my imagination. Additional details in this regard would have made for a more exciting read.
The plot was good if a bit too coincidental. I also got a lot of insight into the terror and unrest that was going on in France at that time. I would certainly be willing to read the sequel, Dark Enchantment.
August 9, 2011
I thought this was more of an action book but it's kind of a romance between this vampire girl and a human spy. She's not the typical vampire. It's set during the French Revolution and that part is pretty interesting anyways.
January 8, 2015
I love how history is just woven into the writing to create such a wonderful setting. The story was good if not a bit fast paced.
October 19, 2010
Accidentally ordered the wrong book entitled "Night Fires" and received this Twilight wannabe. Not bad--just not all that good either.
February 23, 2011
Vampire, French Revolution
June 30, 2014
Loved the Paris setting.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews