Rapture in Moonlight

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Summary: Rapture in Moonlight
Review: It's approaching Halloween and Stella Schwartz, a single mother, and her son, Sam, enter their favorite store, THE VAMPIRE EMPORIUM. Because of a very tight budget instead of being in the store to buy a costume Sam must content himself with reading the vampire books in which the store specializes. Instead of their good griend and store owner, Dixie, there is what Stella considers a very good looking hunk behind the counter. Mr. Hunk turns out to be Justin Corvis, who explains that he is a guest of Dixie's from Britain and has volunteered to watch the store while she takes care of some personal business.

During their conversation Justin learns that Sam wants to dress like a vampire for Beggar's Night, as Justin calls Halloween, but also learns that Stella cannot afford a costume. Justin tells her that he will see if there is one at Dixie's house, perhaps a special order for a small person that someone did not pick up. He warned Sam not to get too excited in case there was no costume at Dixie's that would fit him. Of course, with a child's faith, Sam just knew something would turn up for him.

Justin is very taken by Sam's young exuberance and wants very much to please him and his mother. At Dixie's that night he talks her into making a small vampire's costume with a very small flaw that would render it unsalable, but not bad enough that it would show up while being worn. That way, Justin felt, Stella would be able to afford a marked down item.

Stella and Sam would be shocked to learn that Dixie, her husband Christopher, and Justin are in fact - - real vampires. Real vampires in Ohio? Yes, and very interesting, compassionate vampires indeed. Justin learns that Stella and Sam live in a rundown, somewhat dangerous neighborhood, so on his night-flights he always goes over her house to see that everything is O.K. Sometimes he perches in a tree for most of the night just to keep an eye on their safety. Their friendship grows stronger with each meeting until the friendship blossoms into a tender love affair. This pleases Sam very much since he seems as taken by Justin as Stella is. This does create a problem for Justin: How will he explain his condition to Stella. At first he thought he would return to Britain and would not have to explain anything. Now that the courting is much more serious than he expected it to get, he has a big problem. Dixie tried many times to warn him. Everything goes along quite well until one night when things in Stella's neighborhood go terribly wrong. Now, Justin's dilemma is how to make things right again.

Ms. Laury has written a sensitive love story with an unusual twist; love between a mortal and an immortal. She handles the situation like the pro she is and gives the reader a very interesting outlook about vampires. For love-story enthusiasts, this one is highly recommended.

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Summary: Good Vampire romance
Review: Rapture in Moonlight continues the story of Kit and Dixie in Ohio. They own a store called the Vampire Emporium in Columbus' Germantown. Justin is visiting and meets customers Sam and his mother Stella. Things quickly escalate and soon Stella is a vampire, protecting Justin and a couple of ghouls.

There is alot packed into a small book here. Justin is the focus of the novel and the author handles the problem of a vampire with a mortal son very well. There were alot of typos in this book but they didn't detract from the story at all. Can't wait to read the next one.

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Summary: Vampires Invade Ohio in stunning sequel to WALK IN MOONLIGHT
Review: RAPTURE IN MOONLIGHT is the sequel to Rosemary Laurey's WALK IN MOONLIGHT, and the second book in the "Moonlight" trilogy (MYSTERY IN MOONLIGHT coming in 2002).

Kit Marlowe and his lover Dixie LePage (WALK IN MOONLIGHT) have settled in Ohio. Dixie, a fledgling vampire, has a greater need for her native soil to realize the full extent of her powers. The pair have settled in the German Village section of Columbus where Dixie runs a novelty shop called The Vampire Emporium and Kit tries to keep crime to a minimum.

Gwyltha, head of their vampire colony, has sent their friend, Justin Corvus to the states to work out territorial arrangements for them with the leader of an established New World Colony, Vlad Tepes (Dracula). Although happy to see his friends once more, Justin doesn't relish the task. Vlad had stolen Gwyltha from him many years ago. Centuries later, Justin had still not gotten over the loss. Still he will do anything for Kit and Dixie.

Covering for Dixie in her shop, Justine meets Stella Schwartz who is window shopping with her son. She has more trouble than she needs already. Single mother to eight-year-old Sam, she works for a dry cleaner, barely making ends meet. They live in a crime-ridden neighborhood thanks to her mother, a habitual criminal whose house Stella's promised to watch until her release from jail. The last thing she needs is to fall in love with a handsome Brit Doctor who is just visiting. Sam needs stability in his life.

One look at Stella and all thoughts of lost love fled Justin's mind. This is a woman he could spend eternity with. However she is mortal and doesn't even believe in vampires. He too knows that an affair would be short-lived, but somehow convinces himself that a small dalliance would be mutually beneficial.

It would seem that the attraction is too hard for either of them to resist. Before long Stella and Sam are firmly entrenched in Justin's heart and vice versa. By becoming their self appointed protector, he runs afoul of the neighborhood hoodlums. When Stella falls prey to their vengeance, Justin's rage knows no bounds.

Unfortunately his colony had set strict limits on vampire justice and Justin had helped establish those rules. Breaking them carries the sentence of banishment from the colony. Interfering with human conflicts is a big no-no. His friends vow to support him, but Justin anticipating the outcome of the trial, makes plans for the care of his loved ones which don't include him.

Vampires converge in Ohio while Justin awaits sentencing by Gwyltha's tribunal. Meanwhile, her lover Vlad has asked him for an enormous favor which could mean trouble for all of them. Vlad has acquired a pair of young and beautiful female ghouls whose minds have been erased by their creator. He wants Justin's New World colony to adopt them as Gwyltha has forbidden the making of ghouls. Neither Vlad, nor Justin want to raise her ire. Dixie has other ideas though, and when Dixie's on a crusade look out! For her part Stella has no intentions of letting Justin be railroaded out of town, even if she has to face down the queen vampire herself. Double trouble!

Enter Tom Kyd (also a former Elizabethan playwright and third member of the old boys vampire trio), who arrives with the tribunal. Like Kit he has every intention of supporting his friend Justin. Tom is the colony's computer expert and is the one they turn to for forged ID, etc.. Tom is smitten with the ghoul who has taken the name Angela, and becomes determined to ferret out her identity. This sets the stage for book three: MYSTERY IN MOONLIGHT.

RAPTURE IN MOONLIGHT continues Ms. Laurey's tradition of providing strong independent heroines and passionate heroes whose protective streaks may be a mile wide, but who are also loyal, loving and supportive. Ms. Laurey has a knack for weaving human reality into her fantasy, whether it be 16th century writers caught up in the politics of their times, or a modern day single mother struggling to make ends meet in an unsavory environment, allowing readers to relate to her characters while drawing them into the realm of the vampire.

Leslie Tramposch - PNR Reviews