Prince of the Night

by Jasmine Cresswell

Dark Lord

The peasants called him the Count of Albion, and they both feared and revered him. A fighter for Italy's freedom, the mysterious nobleman preferred the night hours to mask his missions—and to shroud his tormented soul. Sequestered in the villa called the Three Fountains, he hid his secrets well—until the arrival of a beautiful Englishwoman, Miss Cordelia Hope.

Dark Love

Cordelia faced the cloaked, commanding count at the isolated villa, and felt an unbidden flood of desire. Irresistibly drawn to him, she sensed his pain and, in all her innocence, craved his touch. He would become her destiny—the vampire whose love she was dying to possess.

Genres: Vampires, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Ebooks, Historical Romance, Fiction

378 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Born in England, Jasmine Cresswell now divides her time between her winter home in Sarasota, Florida and her summer home in Evergreen, Colorado. Jasmine has been writing since 1975 and has published over 50 novels, with 9 million copies of her books in print.
Jasmine served for two years as the editor of the Romance Writer's Report. She also served as president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a founder and former president of Novelists, Inc. She received the Colorado Authors' League Award for Best Paperback Novel of the Year and the Romance Writers of America Golden Rose Award. Her books also have received numerous Romantic Times certificates of excellence.

Experienced as a public speaker, Jasmine has conducted college seminars and addressed many writers' conferences. Interviews and profiles have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, and Jasmine considers herself a veteran of talk shows and news broadcasts.

Married to Malcolm Candlish, whom she met while she was working for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Jasmine and her husband have lived all over the world. She has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in history and philosophy from Melbourne University, a second degree in history from Macquarie University, as well as a Masters Degree in history and archival administration from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

Reviews

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in historical Italy during their fight for independence from the Austrians, the heroine travels to a villa that's be given to her by her uncle as payment for her to care for her cousin unborn bastard child. She encounters the 'owner' of the villa who's a vampire and in his time of cresting they call it. Basically, he's so consumed with the urge to mate with a virgin he's afraid he'd resort to rape. After the cresting time is finish he discovers that he's still consumed with desire for the heroine. The one problem with the book is the ending. The heroine is kidnapped and the Austrians with a priest is tow, plan to murder her for being a spy. Instead the hero shows up and demands to kill her himself. That's all fine as the author knowing he's not going to do it-I mean it would be a pretty depressing romance novel. But the heroine is absolutely sure he means to shoot her. Sorry but if they can read each other’s mind and be so in tuned with each other it isn't right for her to be so deathly afraid of him killing her. It wasn't right.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes like 3 pages in and im already utterly creeped out by the tone. The hero talks so dryly and dispassionately about "mating" and the potential for her dying during said mating. I'm thinking no thank you. DNF

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sorry- but I’ll not apologize for totally geeking out over this book. I LOVED IT! It was such a unique take on vampire romance. Do yourself a favor and read! I love when one or both characters have to fight (and I mean FIGHT) the temptation of lust and desire.

[Sir Rayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book as a single, though it could have been so much more. I'm talking at least a 4 book series, if not more. There are so many unanswered questions! Who was Cordelia's father? Who won the war? How did they hide her for so long? What does a baby girl vampire mean for their race? What happens to Marry and her maid? How does a female vampire end up maturing? Does she need to mate with virgin human men? Does she mate as often? Does she have the same powers? Do they ever get saved? So Much Could Be Added! My mind reels at the loss at such a series, but I love this book so much as a single. It got me through my teens.

[Karen Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok, but there was too much going on. Unwanted pregnancy, vampire, virgin sacrifice, war, murder, spies, abduction, fake execution...

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romantico e raffinato,racconta del conte di Albione, un nobile italiano che vive di notte, circondato da un alone di timore e rispetto in una villa sperduta nella campagna modenese. Lei è Cordelia Hope, delicata bellezza inglese, che all’improvviso piomba nella sua casa e nella sua vita insieme alla cugina e ad una serva. Ben presto Cordelia si rende conto che in quel conte affascinante e tenebroso c’è qualcosa di strano, e l’inaspettata connessione dei loro pensieri(mi ha fatto ripensare ai Carpaziani della Feehan) la porta a conoscere non solo i suoi segreti ma anche i suoi desideri per lei. Eppure, invece di esserne spaventata, Cordelia è irresistibilmente attratta da quel vampiro, di cui ora brama l’amore… Va detto subito che la storia si intreccia al periodo storico in Italia . Siamo al tempo di Garibaldi con la preparazione dei moti di indipendenza nazionalisti che portarono all'unità il nostro paese e il contesto ne viene chiaramente influenzato. La scrittura è fluida,piacevole anche se la Cresswell si perde dietro a Napoleone e ai suoi intrighi per dare modo alla trama di dipanarsi e prendere corpo. Troviamo una nuova mitologia dei vampiri che stavolta sembra discendano dalle stelle e che siano una sorta di alieni in attesa di una navicella che li riporti indietro. Questi Vampyr quando possiedono le donne,per procreare devono essere sicuri che siano vergini. L’atto è brutale e spesso la donna nemmeno rimane incinta perché muore. Chi si salva mette al mondo un maschio e perde la vita durante il parto. Albione essendo un Vampyr ha molto da sentirsi in colpa per tutte le donne che ha ucciso e si innamora all’istante di Cordelia,per questo cerca di tenerla lontana e non approfittare di lei. A costo di ammalarsi ripetutamente per il fatto di non potersi accoppiare. Cordelia invece è compassionevole e per nulla spaventata dalla verità che le si prospetta davanti. Cede senza alcuna recriminazione e mette al modo guarda caso una femmina Vampyr perché si rende conto che la generazione unicamente maschile era dovuta alla violenza dell’atto con cui avveniva il concepimento. Invece con lei Albione diventa un altro genere di Vampyr e il miracolo avviene. Un romanzo ricco d’azione e di colpi di scena,forse un po’ troppo carico di riferimenti storici,ma ben orchestrato. La scrittura mi ricorda molto quella si Susan Squires. L’attrazione dei protagonisti è potente, sensuale, ma la descrizione è sempre molto psicologica e poco fisica. E forse questo è uno dei punti forza. Tre stelline.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a few glaring issues with proofing. An unusual take on the vampire romance. I don't think I have ever seen vampires as aliens before. It was an enjoyable and quick read but lacking polish. I would have liked more of the historical background to be involved and a few plot elements tied up more neatly. I had previously read another work by the author and found it to be more enjoyable and the writing of a higher quality.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am proud to say this is one of the books I edited during my stint as a romance editor. Jasmine is a talented writer, and in this novel she decided to try a vampire novel with an intoxicating Italian setting.

To this day, I enjoy her care with words and her ability to set a scene. I believe all of her recent books have been suspense novels - she always delivers a fun read.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book I liked it. But I only give it 3 stars because it has a lot of unanswered questions at the end, and that would have been OK if it was a series but its not, for a stand alone novel I think it could have been better.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book from Kindle. Again, hope there is a sequel. A very interesting vampire novel, with an element of Science Fiction.

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok beginning but it started to spiral out of control into the ridicilous towards the end.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting vampire story with espionage as a twist.