SINNERS\’ OPERA by Linda Nightingale

SINNERS’ OPERA
by Linda Nightingale

Morgan D\’Arcy is an English lord, a classical pianist, and a vampire. He has everything except what he desires most—Isabeau. As the Angel Gabriel he\’s steered her life and career choice, preparing her to become Lady D\’Arcy.

Many forces oppose Morgan\’s daring plan—not the least of which is Vampyre law.

Isabeau Gervase is a brilliant geneticist. Though she no longer believes in angels, she sees a ticket to a Nobel Prize in Gabriel\’s secrets—secrets that have led her to a startling conclusion. Gabriel isn\’t human, and she fully intends to identify the species she named the Angel Genome. Morgan is ready to come back into Isabeau\’s life, but this time as a man not an angel. Will he outsmart his enemies, protect his beloved and escape death himself? For the first time in eternity, the clock is ticking

EXCERPT
Razor-sharp memory sliced through me, jerking me upright. “’od’s teeth!”

Before the fall, I’d been shot.

Rapid-fire images snapped before my eyes. I saw my Jag plunging over the guardrail at the top of the Old Cooper River Bridge. Now, in the silence of a church, I felt the wind whistling past my face as the force of the fall sucked the breath from my lungs and tried to pluck me from the convertible. Irrationally, I’d clung to the wheel while my beloved roadster sank, in a slow rocking ballet, to the river bottom.

During that interminable swift plunge, I hadn’t been afraid of dying.

Mary touched my arm. “Be still, hon, or you’re gonna start bleeding again.”

I was in no danger of bleeding to death or dying from any natural cause. I knew why I’d heard her thoughts, why the aroma of her blood bedeviled me. I knew who and what I am.

The blood staining her blouse was a miracle drug that could cure the most grievous of human diseases—and secure eternity for a predator. The wound that would have been fatal to a mortal had almost healed. Within hours after the ritual blood exchange, a fragile yet potent virus had mutated my DNA. I’d never actually died; would never feel death’s cold hands. The Vampyre Effect was a transformation from one species to another. For almost four centuries, I’d been a vampire.

The woman leaned over me. I heard the blood whispering in her veins, saw the jugular bulging with each strong heartbeat. Even the scent of my own blood fed the craving. Hunger wrenched my stomach, the need for blood shuddering over me in flashes of heat. The pain twisting inside me was a living thing—ugly, urgent, older than the world. In a vain attempt at control, I ground my teeth until my jaw ached. My hands clenched into fists, the tendons bunched like steel bands beneath the skin. I was losing it, my eyes turning red.

“Run, Mary,” I panted, shoving her. “For God’s sake, run.”

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REVIEW
My review in a nutshell: I really shy away from vampire books because they aren’t what I prefer reading. I found this book entertaining, interesting, and well-put-together. I won’t say it swayed me to vampire fiction, but I would definitely read more from this author.

For lovers of the classy vampire, by which I mean the rich and polished kind, this is a must-read. Morgan is equal parts sophisticated and predator. He really is the ultimate bad boy, and he’s sexy to boot. For those wanting some truly hot intimacy, this book has it in spades.

Isabeau was a wonderful foil for Morgan. She’s independent and intelligent, and her science background brought a lot to the book. She has a complicated relationship with Morgan even before they start being intimate, which I won’t spoil. Suffice to say that the entire thing was a little mind-bendy but not in a bad way.

There are a few different plotlines that mingle here. Morgan and Isabeau’s romance is a big part, but there are also murders, genetic research implications, and Morgan’s secrets on the line, to name a few. It was all handled well. There were points where I forgot about some of the smaller details and had to remind myself what was going on with an exact side story. Overall, though, everything came together in an interesting way.

This probably goes without saying, but this book is definitely not for young readers. There is a lot of sex, some violence, some cursing—it’s a book for adults. The ending surprised me, and that’s all I’ll say. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, I encourage you to give it a try.

ABOUT LINDA

After 14 years in Texas, Linda just returned home to her roots. She has seven published novels, four of which are available from Audible.com in audio. For many years, she bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses on their farm in Five Forks. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. Our local author has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award and the SARA Merritt. She retired from a career as a legal assistant at MD Anderson Cancer Center to write full time.

She has 2 wonderful sons—one in Texas; one in England—and 4 equally marvelous grandchildren.

She loves horses, sports cars, music, and piano.

Find her online:

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GIVEAWAY

$25 Amazon/BN gift card