Rating: Summary: Mindlessly bloody fun. Review: Jaid Black, One Dark Night (Berkley, 2004)
It doesn't get much better than serial killers and sex, does it? Jaid Black delivers a healthy helping of both in One Dark Night.
Nicole Adenike is a surgeon in a Cleveland that's lived under the predation of a sadistic serial killer for the past decade. Her friend Kim is a psychic-- well, sort of. She doesn't see things too often. But one night, she starts dreaming of the killer's next victim, and Nikki convinces Kim to go to the police. There, they meet Thomas Cavanah, romantic lead(TM). But, despite her newfound doughnut cravings, Nikki is already involved in an online relationship with a dominant middle school teacher (yes, folks, you read that right!) named Richard...
Whatever you do, do not read the back cover synopsis. For that matter, don't read most of the book's reviews. All of the above give away the big plot twist that comes around page fifty, making for pretty boring setup reading. (After all, YOU know what's gong to happen, and you keep yelling "don't go in the house!" or whatever you yell at dumb blondes in bad horror films.) While the romance angle is quite stock, and therefore predictable-- when was the last time you read a romance where the male and female leads did not eventually find themselves romantically entangled?-- Black has a good sense of what makes for a well-written genre mystery, and throws twists, turns, and red herrings aplenty into figuring out who the killer is. (If you know Roger Ebert's rules of mystery movies, you'll figure it out pretty quick, but Black does manage to invest the revelation of the killer's identity with a bit of panache.)
Not a bad little book at all, although those who prefer their romances light on the actual sex, and light on the sexual profanity, will want to stay away. For the rest of us, it's a good deal of fun. ** ½
Rating: Summary: Fast paced and suspenseful! Review: Just finished One Dark Night and wow! What a lovely story. Jaid Black had me guessing right up until the very end of this book as to who the killer was. The ending totally surprised me...I thought I had had it all figured out, boy was I wrong. :-0The book is chocked full of suspects, a romantic relationship that builds slowly but very nicely and the sex scenes are hot! Our heroine is a surgeon, Nikki, who goes online to find a Master for her secret desire to be sexually dominated in the bedroom. Unfortunately for Nikki she agrees to meet a man who might make her sexual fantasies come true... However thanks to her best friend Kim, who is a psyhcic (sp), Nikki is saved from almost being kidnapped by a madman/killer... Enter Thomas, a real life type hero cop, who is obsessed with finding the madman (Lucifer) who is killing women in quite a horrible way... Nikki is the first woman who has ever escaped Lucifer...hence a very nice romantic relationship begins between Thomas and Nikki. Thomas has his own tortured past and you'll really feel for him when you find out what it is. One Dark Night is a little departure from Jaid Black's traditional Ellora's Cave romantica books but a definite must read for all Jaid Black and romantic suspense fans alike! You won't be disappointed!!! Very well done!(...)
Rating: Summary: Slow Start...Big Finish...Impressive and Different Review: My first book from Ms. Black and definitely not my last. This was right up my alley. The suspense and twists were a crowd pleaser and the ending was superb.
My only gripe and its not a big one, was the fact that it took so long to get into the story. Too much chatting and not a whole lot going on until the middle. But Ms. Black sets it up well.
By the middle it suddenly picks up steam and takes off for the roaring finale.
I have to admit something here, I ALMOST didn't finish this book on the fact that I was somewhat bored in the beginning, but I stuck with it seeing the potential and knowing she had to have it pick up and it did, so stick it out its worth it.
Some of the twists she throws are new and I was pleasantly surprised she touched on certain topics. She's an author that isn't afraid to write about particular subjects and takes an interest in researching. Her heroine isn't perfect nor is she the most gorgeous woman alive. Her hero is what a hero should be, flawed, yet lovable.
For an erotica suspense, Ms. Black sure knows how to add the romance and character development which is lacking so much in erotica, kudos and here's spoonful of pistachio ice cream to you! ;)
An erotica thriller about a surgeon, Dr. Nikki Adenike who places an S&M add on the net only to find a serial killer awaits and answers.
Now she must pray and rely on the only person who can keep her safe and help her, Detective Thomas Cavannah who seems to have a personal vendetta against this killer calling himself Lucifer.
Definitely steamy and be ready for the graphic scenes and language. I also loved the relationship between Nikki's best friend and her stepmother, its one of my favorite things about this story.
Tracy Talley~@
Rating: Summary: An Interesting Read Review: Not JBlack's usual but it wasn't a straight suspense either. Nikki - a surgeon - has fantasies about being a submissive. So she goes online and starts a relationship with a man in a chat room (a couple too stupid to live moments are had by Nikki). Meanwhile there's a serial killer who has been murdering successful - powerful - women. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this is going - but the characters are engaging along the predictable way.
Nikki is attacked - but thanks in large part to her psychic best friend, Kim, and the officer in charge of the investigation, Thomas, she's able to get away. But naturally being the only survivor - the killer begins to stalk her.
A lot of this was predictable. But the relationship that inevitably develops between Nikki and Thomas is worth reading the book for. It's remarkably... sweet in its honesty and the scenes they have together are great.
Rating: Summary: Really more like 2 1/2 Review: Okay...Hmmm...where do I begin. First of all, let me say that I own all of Jaid Black's books. I am an avid ebook reader, and I love steamy romance erotic fiction. Yet, this book was really neither. The heroine is a frustrated doctor who searches for love on internet. She is looking for a Dom, or Dominant, who can fulfill all her wicked desires. What she doesn't know is the person she finds is a serial killer preying on women like her. Yet, the police are aware of the connection between the internet and the victims, and when the heroine is attacked they immediately make the connection. This brings the heroine into contact with the hero, a police detective, (...). What follows is a basic premise replayed in numerous romances, both traditional and romance erotic. The detective moves in to protect her, and his Alpha ways fascinate the heroine. The have one very hot scene, but seriously that's it. What disappointed me most about this novel is JB abandoned her roots for mainstream. She kept the story extremely tame. So, true readers of her work should be seriously dejected because it didn't stay true to what makes her a good writer. Also, to add to the burden of the read, the writings is really sub-par. Add that with a basic and underdeveloped storyline and you get 2 1/2 stars....maybe less if you are really trying to point out errors. If you are a reader of romance erotica then you will be disappointed with this book. Simply because there isn't enough erotica to add with the romance. (...). If you are traditional romance reader looking for something different, you will be disappointed because the premise isn't different at all. To be honest, this book really didn't please me. Buy at your own risk!
Rating: Summary: Holy Pistachio Nuts! Review: One Dark Night is a compelling work of erotic fiction! Between the pages of ODN are included everything a good romantic suspense should be, and so much more... The sexual tension slowly builds like Ravel's Bolero, just when you think it can't take your breath away anymore-it dose! Five Stars!
Rating: Summary: i wasn't offended but .... Review: The sex didn't offend me but the writing did. To be fair I didn't finish the book. I put it down and just couldn't pick it up again. My score was plot sex 5 of 5, plot 2 of 5, style 1 of 5. If you want steam go for it. If you want story and style forget it.
Rating: Summary: My radiator gives off more steam!! Review: This book was terrible. Simple sentence structures, one dimensional characters, and no heady erotic sexual scenes at all. They spend far more time talking about it, reading and writing emails about it, than they ever do doing it. The couple of scenes with the hero and heroine read like extremely tame, plain vanilla versions of the absolute worst of the Red Sage and Black Lace books, with a hero who does nothing but grunt and growl. Really, Susan Krinard's Werewolves are far more sexy, and have better manners!
The whole bondage, domination/submission thing reads more like a text book, and the only lurid details in the book that moved me were the gross descriptions of the killer carving out their hearts. Ugh.
This is a really BAD romance worse than any Harlequin I have ever read, with flat characters and a couple of pistoning scenes. I will not use the word love to describe them. The ending is trite, cliche, and so dull, as the writer spends PAGES telling us what happened to every single one of the minor characters, all living happily ever after of course, that I just sat their laughing, it was so bad.
Really, if you want a spicy read, try Shannon McKenna, Susan Johnson, Thea Devine, or any of the Black Lace books if you really want to get daring-do not waste your time with an author who obviously writes a lot, but needs to learn how to tell a HOT story-four letter words, leather and handcuffs are trite and passe.
Rating: Summary: One Dark Night Review: This is my first jaid Black book. I loved it, I cuold not put it down.
Rating: Summary: Kinda Like "MOXIE" you either Love it or Hate it :) Review: This is my first Jaid Black book. I've been keeping an EYE on her reivews from many books. I loved this one but noticed some people were offended by it. First off, Not all Sex is the same and each person has their own tastes in this department. This is a Romance Novel, but it is the type of sex the characters have that people find offensive. This Isn't the Bed of Roses type where women affectionally Dub things as "Members" or "love nubs", is Raw Passion and has Domination in the bed room. This type of Passion isn't for everyone. I didn't find this Novel TOO choppy or having too many loose ends at all. I've read Johanna Lindsey, Cathrine Coulter, Jo Beverley, Sherilynn Kenyon, and many More popular authors having MORE loose ends than this novel. IMO, People may have a personal bias against Jaid Black books because they find the sex acts themselves Deplorable. Some woman like feeling Dominated in the bedroom, but this doesn't mean they are oppressed by men or Dim whitted Floozies, just means they like something different. As for people NOT looking on the net for a Little S&M and dominance...Please. People do it on the net all the time. The story is perfectly believable. This type of Love play is "Taboo" to many people (as you can tell by some of Jaid's Critics)and it isn't like anyone is going to say "hey, you into whips & chains & WHo's your daddy's?" on the first date. LOL. IMO, you'll either love it or hate it. I loved it. RAW passion is Definately a big PLUS in my Book. You like it Raw, Rude, Crude & Full of Attitude...then JAID BLACK's for you. You need a bed or roses w/ Flowerly words & No crudeness...this isn't for you.
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