Gothic story time...need part 2 for conclusion
598260
More story time, than scary time...but I really liked the story so far. This is just part one...there is a sequel, and the movie ending makes it clear (it states "to be continued"). Amazon Prime does not have the sequel so you are left somewhat hanging.

The movie starts off in fairly typical horror movie fashion...solo woman sent to value a mysterious abandoned house with a long dreadful history. You can probably fill in much of this sequence yourself if you watched enough horror, but she ends up missing. The story, and really the beauty of this movie, comes via the recounting of the house owners' tragic history. There isn't much action once story time begins, but the story is quite immersive and detailed. I giggled (and rolled my eyes) a bit at the special "guests" at a key point in the movie -- making reference to prominent historical figures with dark stories. Also, I was racking my brain to figure out the actor who played Jervas, the servant, as he looked so familiar. It wasn't until the credits that I realized it was Paul Naschy! Wow...if you watched any 1970's Euro-horror, you likely will have seen him. A solid watch, as long as you know what you are coming into...story, not action and no ending.
4347863
My actual rating is 4.5* as the last story just didn't do it for me.  Out of 5 stories and one poem, the first 4 stories are classic Gothic tales by the great authors of the genre from their period in time.  Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu was fantastic; a vampire story which influenced Stoker.  I love this prolific Victorian short story writer and this was my favourite in the collection.  Then comes Ann Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho", a classic of the genre and considered one of the first such novels.  I haven't read the novel yet so this was fun to read, though it is such a complicated and convoluted story that adaptation only makes it more so.  Edgar Allan Poe's short piece "The Oval Portrait" is well done, then follows Jane Austen's pastiche of the genre "Northanger Abbey" which readily makes references to "Udolpho".  I'm not a fan of Austen, but I've read some of her works including this and must say I enjoyed the graphic much more than the novel!  My only complaint is the last story by Myla Jo Closser, whom I'd never heard of, entitled "At the Gate".  I wouldn't by any definition call this Gothic.  A story of dogs in Heaven.  It is a bright, happy, cheerful story (those are not elements of Gothic) and with the wealth of Gothic short stories available I'm sure a more appropriate title could have been selected for inclusion instead.  Otherwise a fine volume with the usual pleasing art and a special call out to Lisa K. Weber's excellent work on "Carmilla".
754780
interesting short story - wish this was a whole book and not in two parts...i guess i cant complain as much considering i got this book free at the time. But still debating if i should get the 2nd half of this as i don't believe it should be priced as high considering its part 2 with only few chapters just to finish the book.

curious to see what will happen next in the story as it leaves us hanging after!!
2451754
What the hell ! I can't belive it ended like that! I am not sure if I am going to read part 2!  Okay who am I kidding I am about to download and read it now
583174
What happened to the conclusion. You can't leave a reader in the middle of a story hanging! Book said I was only 66% completed. WTF
2091787
I absolutely love Adam Frankenstein. I was a little confused after the first short story though. I would love to know what happened to Bram and the others.
1691397
Need a part two now.  Left me hanging. I liked the story a lot.
1077431
I read this on Kindle, but the 130 page count mentioned seems high to me. In any case, I enjoyed this good short read. As others have mentioned, this is Gothic horror, with the creepiness escalating during the story, and it reaches a short rather abrupt climax. The emphasis is on dread and creepy and desperation, not really on details of how our heroes will get out of the situation, and definitely not on gore. I bought it for 99 cents and read it in about an hour, and it was well worth it!
959849
I don't know what to say..... it was an ok read....question is do I want to continue to the second book to find out the outcome.
3358408
It Was exquisitely a pleasent experience one so unique its almost indescribable,Im litterally dying for a sequel;) im writing my first book,I need advice if you can spare it, ElijahJ@gmail.com
P.S. don't tell but your book should be really up on the list so keep it up on the redwood chronicles,Your really amazing !
1997665
SUMMARY:

Ten years ago Linden Hill watched the death of her first love and guardian.

Lindens is a people-persona schmoozer if you will. Its her very bread and butter. She utilizes these skills as a fundraiser. She knows the process like her laundry cycle. Recently, she hasn't been able to perform her job quite as seemly.  Her ability to predict the desires of others is becoming more difficult.

One eveningwhile attempting to loosen a patrons purse stringsshe sees Cyril. Its like no time has passed. How is this possible? He is breathtaking and very much undead. He is also incensed. He senses Linden has a connection to him without any recollection of how. It drives him to act irrationally, and scare the living crap out of Linden.

Linden begins to reminisce her original introduction with Cyril (as a girl). She explains how their relationship progressed. She describes how Cyril died and how his death placed her in Michaels path. Michael took care of Linden after Cyrils death. He claimed to love her and only want to help her. She was going through the motionsto such an extentthat she married him. The night of their weddinghe croaks. Linden (understandably) feels cursed.

Cyril was made by a goddess to be her plaything. Over time the goddess felt the need to create more beings. Cyril used similar powers to save those he loved. He has created six male beings each made of three souls. They are warriors and Cyrils dearest friends.

In the present, Cyril is attempting to understand what happened. It appears his memories of her didn't transfer to this life. He realizes Linden is the woman hes been waiting millennia to find. Cyril wants to ensure Lindens safety, because he knows his love for her is his only weakness. Cyril wants to form a bond with Linden more powerful than anything on earth.

Someone is after Linden and wants to destroy Cyril. Their enemy may be someone from their past, but they must trust one another. Cyril and Linden are passionately drawn to one another. Both are stubborn and pig-headed about what they want and what they think is the right choice.

In their fight to save each other they only blunder things up. Lives are saved and lost. Linden will never be the same.

Cliffhanger Ending.

REVIEW:

I had no expectations going into this. A new author and an unclear summaryI thought, hell, why not?

I was pleasantly surprised. Not your typical god-centric narrative. The creations and powers/abilities were inventive. I appreciated that the gods weren't the only paranormal creatures. The background and history were exactly what I want from a paranormal romance. I like to know the how, why, etc.without having to skim due to rambling.

The characters were entertaining. The men are all distinctive and scrumptious. They provided comic relief, and depth to the character Cyril. Clearance, Lindens gay BFF was a true delight.

I was frustrated at times by Cyrils high-handedness and Lindens belief in secrecy. A little communication wouldve done a world of good. However, that would entail working together, and then things would not have gone horribly wrong. Not much of a novel then. Im hoping their mistakes become lessons. Im not a fan when alpha males just do as they please, or when heroines feel the need to go it alonelike the sacrificial lamb.

I have to say this was very erotic. Like, sweet lord those two were hot. Cyril and Linden make the pages melt. They have great reparteewhich only fuels their erotic fire. I didn't want it to end.

Looking forward to future installments of Symphony of Light.
4448570
Great read, can't seem to find the sequel to this story? Stripped Down, has anybody read this one yet?  I'd love to find it!
3876862
I liked this one better than the first one, The Colour of Poison, which I liked sufficient, to go on to read the short story and then buy the Colour of Cold Blood. The story is good and the book gives, I trust (due to the background of the writer), a good account of what life in medieval times was like. Brutal, with small bits of kindness. I felt myself transported to that time. I like the characters and how they interact. And I can't wait to see what becomes of Jack, because writing and reading are clearly not his thing. I also wonder about the other characters and their next adventure and if relationships will improve.  But the ending? But it was rather abrupt. I don't want to spoil anything for other readers, but I went to check reviews to see if the ending is correct or if I'm missing a chapter. And since there are no other reviews, I asked Toni Mount, the writer, on Facebook. And yes, the ending is rather abrupt. But there are at least 3 more books in this series to come, so don't despair. It also didn't bother me much, because I figured there was going to be a next book. Is the book complete? Can it be read as a standalone? I guess, you could because the murders are solved. But its more fun to read them in order. The thing with a lot of series these days is, that the main issue is solved, but life goes on, and so it is with the lives of the characters. And its not realistic to expect that all life issues are solved within one book that is part of a series. Im really looking forward to the next installment. In the meantime, I might read some of the non-fiction books by Toni Mount, because the middle ages have always fascinated me.
2920845
Personally, I think that this story was much more of a gothic paranormal mystery than a romance. A lack of a spicy emphasis on romance is one of the reasons that I rarely read YA or New YA books.  Generally, they are just too tame for me in the romance area.  Nevertheless, what attracted me to this book was the gothic atmosphere, a setting in England, the mystery and the promise of paranormal elements and in those regards I found this book to be a reasonably satisfying literary experience.  However, for me, it wasn't a 5 star read b/c it seemed to lacked that "special something" that inspires words like "mesmerizing," captivating," or "enthralling."  It simply didn't cause my pulse to quicken nor was I on the proverbial "edge of my seat" while reading it.  You know what I mean the kind of story that makes you giddy with excitement while reading it and when you finish reading the book you feel sheer delight by simply thinking about how much you enjoyed reading it.  I don't know maybe it was the pacing of the story which I found to be slower than I like and at times I found myself distracted or growing just a wee bit bored.

Nevertheless, it was a good read, with an interesting plot, a well developed mystery, a bit of suspense, a hint of dark humor and a satisfying ending that left the door open for a sequel.  I would love to know more about how things turned out for Evie, Nate and Gabriel.  I really like the setting, England which I adore, the story's dark and foreboding atmosphere.  I like Evie well enough but I really felt empathy for her regarding her lonely upbringing, her desire to please and be liked. Of course,I loathed her aunts and parents. I especially recommend this book to readers that are interested in a PG, YA, gothic, paranormal mystery.  I didn't notice any editing errors which is always commendable. lol  Enjoy!
4304908
It ended before the story was finished would love to know what happened now I have to buy second book to get ending
3507125
I loved the first book in this series and I recommend it. It has interesting historical information on graveyards, a good story, a protagonist with a mysterious past and the requisite troubled male lead with problems of his own. I looked forward to this book because I anticipated learning more graveyard history (I love both graveyards and fiction that includes interesting facts I didn't know,) a little more about the protagonist's past and more story. Well there's story here...lots and lots of story, enough different elements crammed into the same book that they all begin to feel a little jumbled. There are covens, ghosts, hexes, family curses, doomed gothic mansions, otherwordly creatures (who were never tied back into the plotline or even explained) and animal activism.

Also, instead of slowly unfolding the main character's mysterious family history it's dumped all here at once as well and it's hard to believe there's much here left to build on.

I'm still tempted by the 3rd book and hope it may be a return to the style of the first and not the overactive mish mash that this book was,.
287906
So we do get some very desired questions cleared up in part 2.  We are ending with a real quandary for our male lead to debate in his own mind.  The steamy chemistry continues.  I am so hoping for a HEA for this couple.  They surely deserve one but will they or won't they?  I can't wait for Part 3.  Oh yes it is available for preorder.  Excuse me while I go and grab mine.