Draw Down the Darkness (Signet Eclipse) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nicholas Saville, Viscount Redfern, has been kept busy on many missions for King George's spymaster, Sir Alaric. He's been so busy that his fiancee, Helen Barrett, is tired of being neglected for years and breaks of their engagement. Nicholas wishes he could settle down with Helen, but his family was left in financial ruin and it's only with the help of Sir Alaric, in exchange for his service, that everything isn't lost--and he can't give Helen a convincing reason for his absences.

But Sir Alaric things the notorious Hellfire League is up to something and promises Nicholas that he may be free if he succeeds in foiling the plot. And luckily for Nicholas, the powerful earl who is wooing Helen (using dark magic to enchant her), is a suspect.

Nicholas isn't a magic-user, so there isn't a strong emphasis on the paranormal in this romance, even though the bad guys are using some magic and there's a ghost. I'm also not entirely sure Nicholas couldn't have handled his relationship with Helen a bit better before being totally out of touch for years and causing her to break off the engagement... But both characters were otherwise reasonable and fairly sympathetic, although I did wish I felt for them just a bit more than I did.

Forced to work for the spymaster Sir Alaric Fitzwilliam to keep his family from scandal, Nicholas is tasked with hunting down a traitor amongst the ton while trying to win back his long-suffering ex-fiancée, Helen Barrett. What he doesn't know is that Fitzwilliam is not only a spymaster but a member of The Circle, a secret group of families of ancient lineage who have magic in their blood and the traitors are the Hellfire League, renegade members of The Circle. Redfern has Sir Alaric's promise that he'll be free to marry Helen and live in peace but first he has to uncover the Hellfire League and their nefarious plot... but can he do so and also save his beloved from the malevolent Earl's evil spell?

The writing was competent and the story fairly engaging but the characters were flat - I couldn't describe either the hero or heroine, and even the villain lacked enough character to make me really dislike him. It seems as if the characters were formless in the writer's mind so she couldn't really express their non-existent personalities. Still, "Draw Down the Darkness" an enjoyable paranormal spy thriller - I can recommend it to those who enjoy this kind of story.

A woman can only wait so long for a man, and Helen Barrett is tired of being engaged and not married. Viscount Redfern, Nicholas Saville, has secrets he can't share with Helen and his obligations have kept him far away from the woman he loves. Unfortunately, Helen now appears mesmerized by the Earl of Waring, a man Nicholas suspects of treason and perhaps, even dark magic. Is the Hellfire League truly emerging to pit the powers of darkness against their own country's best interests?

DRAW DOWN THE DARKNESS has a haunting, almost foreboding atmosphere. The dark sorcery of the Hellfire League doesn't emerge immediately, as Nicholas is initially a doubter that such things exist. Overwhelming evidence begins to convince even the most skeptical of individuals, however, as the mysterious and devious machinations of the League start coming together. Naomi Bellis does a beautiful job at maintaining the right atmosphere for the story to be believable, as it was easy to imagine the dark corridors and hidden secrets that are revealed.

Naomi Bellis gives readers a glimpse of the dark side of the late 1700s as the descriptions are vividly portrayed. I particularly enjoyed the peek into the world of the theater during this time frame as the images seemed perfect for the treachery and intrigue that occur. Naomi Bellis does a spectacular job at not only creating the brooding atmosphere necessary, but also at maintaining the tension necessary to keep the reader interested.

The villain is perhaps the strongest character depicted in DRAW DOWN THE DARKNESS. While the love between Helen and Nicholas is powerful, the evil nature of the Earl of Waring is exceptionally done. Who couldn't help but despise the earl as he bewitches Helen and works his dark magic on all that surround him? DRAW DOWN THE DARKNESS is superbly done paranormal tale that has made this reviewer interested in reading more from Naomi Bellis.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES