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Night Falls Darkly (Shadow Guard #1)

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 354 ratings · 55 reviews

A new voice in paranormal romance...

A brand-new chilling saga....

A cunning immortal who's been called upon to reclaim a marked soul...

Ever since an accident took away her memory, Miss Elena Whitney can't recall the secrets of her own past. All she knows is that with her mysterious benefactor Archer, Lord Black, returning to London at the behest of Queen Victoria, she sho...more

Paperback, 324 pages

Published October 7th 2008 by Signet

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Historical Paranormal Romance

40th out of 262 books — 232 voters

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Victorian Romance (1837 - 1901)

90th out of 263 books — 46 voters

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Dec 15, 2010 UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All PNR fan.

Recommended to UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish by: Jan ~Phaythe~ Lewis

Shelves: pick-it-for-me-challenges, pnr, historical, historical-pnr, 2010-reads, historical-romance, reviewed-by-me, hunters, author-kim-lenox, 5-stars

The first words that comes to mind when trying to describe Night Falls Darkly is refreshingly different. This book was recommended to me by Jan (thank you, Jan!!!) as part of a “Pick-it-for-me” book challenge. It’s not something I would have ever chosen for myself, so to be totally honest, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. Wow, was I ever wrong!

This is the first novel in the Shadow Guard series by Kim Lenox. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because, for me, the first bo...more
The first words that comes to mind when trying to describe Night Falls Darkly is refreshingly different. This book was recommended to me by Jan (thank you, Jan!!!) as part of a “Pick-it-for-me” book challenge. It’s not something I would have ever chosen for myself, so to be totally honest, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. Wow, was I ever wrong!

This is the first novel in the Shadow Guard series by Kim Lenox. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because, for me, the first book in any series drags. There is so much information that has to be conveyed to the reader that it seems as though the author just drones on for pages and pages “telling” us the details rather than “showing” the details. This is not the case with Ms. Lenox. From the prologue to the epilogue I felt as though I were watching a good movie. There was nothing ‘text book’ feeling about the unveiling of her new paranormal world and at no time did I find myself skipping pages to get past something boring.

I have to admit that one of the reasons for my hesitancy regarding this story is that I had never heard of Archer, the hero, before. Usually on some GoodReads thread somewhere, any hero worth his weight in drool is mentioned and certainly lusted after by the readers, but I don’t recall ever reading a single *fanning myself*, *drooling*, or *sighing* over Archer! And he is, in the words of Danielle, very “thudworthy.” He is honorable, noble, caring and sexy!

Elena is a great heroine. Despite her loss of memory due to an accident, and the painful uncertainty of her own past, she was determined to get into medical school, which was extremely difficult for women of her day. Her greatest desire is to help the less fortunate members of society who couldn’t afford medical care; those women who had fallen on hard times and had to sell their bodies to put food on their tables, children who either had no parents or their parents couldn’t afford doctor’s’ fees. She is definitely the kind of woman I love to root for. Caring, loving, generous and kind – those are the words I would use to describe Elena.

In addition to our main characters there are several others who offer a supporting cast and I enjoyed them all as well. While they may have played, to some extent, a lesser role in the story, Ms. Lenox took the time to ensure that they were well developed, nonetheless. Again, I became invested in them am very much looking forward Marcus, Lord Alexander’s story in the next installment, So Still The Night.

If you’re looking to read something with a little twist, this might be the book for you. Night Falls Darkly pumps fresh blood into a genre saturated with the “same old, same old.”
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Oct 17, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-reads

Hmmm, interesting plot but choppy execution. "Night Falls Darkly" by Kim Lenox is a historical paranormal story which incorporates the tale of Jack the Ripper, mythology, and a different view of (I think) heaven and hell.

Elena can't remember anything about her life from before a year and a half ago when she was in an almost fatal accident. She now lives in the luxurious mansion of her guardian, the mysterious and unknown-to-her Lord Black. She fills her days helping out at the hospital where she...more Hmmm, interesting plot but choppy execution. "Night Falls Darkly" by Kim Lenox is a historical paranormal story which incorporates the tale of Jack the Ripper, mythology, and a different view of (I think) heaven and hell.

Elena can't remember anything about her life from before a year and a half ago when she was in an almost fatal accident. She now lives in the luxurious mansion of her guardian, the mysterious and unknown-to-her Lord Black. She fills her days helping out at the hospital where she spent so much time recovering from her accident. These activities have awakened a desire to become a doctor herself, but she knows it won't be easy for a woman of these times to be accepted into training...not to mention expensive. But why should her guardian care?

Lord Black is really Archer, an immortal being who has existed since the beginning of time. He and his fellow 'Shadow Guards' are immortals who now live 'beyond the veil' and stop really bad guys from becoming so bad that they are able to 'cross the veil' and kill the remaining immortals living there in peace and prosperity. He actually saved Elena from death when she was caught up in his 'disposal' of a bad guy. He was immediately drawn to her and couldn't stand to see her die. He directed his factotum to 'take care' of her, but seeing as how his factotum loves to read penny dreadfuls, his idea of 'taking care' turned out to be quite different from his lords! Now Archer is chasing a terrifyingly strong bad guy (Jack the Ripper) whose killing grounds are entirely too close to the hospital where Elena works. If he could just keep his mind off Elena, his job would be much easier.

As I said, the plot is compelling, but several times I felt I must be 'missing' some information that would clear things up for me because I became confused on the hows and whys. Additionally, while the kissing and love scenes are hot, there was just too much pushing and pulling on both sides and I didn't feel much of a connection between the hero and heroine. Kim Lenox does have a second book in this series planned and the hero of that book appears in this one. If you can overlook the things I mentioned, give it a spin.(less)

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May 01, 2010 Kristi Hall rated it 4 of 5 stars

For the past two years, Elena Whitney has wanted for nothing. Clothes, money, a fashionable address, and the freedom to pursue her passion for medicine - all have been granted to her by her absent benefactor, Lord Black. In fact, the only thing Elena does not have is her memory of her life before coming to live in Lord Black's home. When her mysterious guardian returns to London, Elena seizes the chance to get some much-needed answers.

One of the oldest and most talented members of the immortal...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Natasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Night Falls Darkly was my first Kim Lenox novel, and I was impressed!
I picked it up thinking it would be a good novel to pass the time, but it turned out to be an amazing read that I couldn't put down. I had 5 pages to go and I had to leave for work, all day at work that's all I was thinking about. It was pretty nerve wrecking!

The novel takes place in White chapel, England during the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. Night Falls Darkly is the first installment of the Shadow Guard series with the...more Night Falls Darkly was my first Kim Lenox novel, and I was impressed!
I picked it up thinking it would be a good novel to pass the time, but it turned out to be an amazing read that I couldn't put down. I had 5 pages to go and I had to leave for work, all day at work that's all I was thinking about. It was pretty nerve wrecking!

The novel takes place in White chapel, England during the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. Night Falls Darkly is the first installment of the Shadow Guard series with the sequel, "So Still the Night" released last may.

Due to an unfortunate accident two years prior, Elena Whitney is unable to remember anything significant about her past. Now being the ward of Lord Black, that Elena has not even met before (or at least doesn't doesn't think she has), being a nurse in White Chapel, Elena wants more than anything to become a doctor. But to become a female doctor is not very likely during those times.
Early into the book Elena arrives home to find Archer, Lord Black, has arrived at his house. She doesn't know what to expect of him, and she finds out he his not at all like she expected. Mysterious and darkly handsome, Lord Black is hardly bad on the eyes. But he also appears to her in only a towel, which makes her mouth dry. Her enthusiasm is dampened when she realizes he
doesn’t recognize her as his ward. He didn't realize she'd be staying in his house while he was away, thinking she would be staying in a boarding house. So he didn't expect her to be there when he arrived. But he is furious with himself for acting the way he did and soon heads out to find Elena and explain. Archer's main priority is to hunt down and kill Jack The Ripper, but he can't afford distractions, and the beautiful Elena is most definitely a distraction.

I don't want to give too much away about our beloved couple, but I can honestly say this book was amazing. I was glued to the page. The history and romance is perfect, the plot is fascinating and the characters are well written and interesting. Not to mention charming. This story is very passionate and intriguing. I found it truly made me feel as if I was in White Chaptel all those years ago. Lenox has a way with words that makes me believe all she writes.
I'm not into historical romances too much, but if they were more like this book, I'd say they'd be one of my favorite genres. I do wish we had more information of the immortals history since Lenox only just starts to scratch the surface of the story in Night Falls Darkly, telling us the bare minimum about the Immortals, which is okay because I know we'll get it all in the books to come. I like a series that builds on the past and future of the characters lives in each book.
I enjoyed having some well known characters slip in the story, like Queen Victoria, Mr. Stoker, and of course Jack himself.
If this book isn't a page turner, no book is.

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Jun 06, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Her Shadow Guards series is about a selective group of immortals who have the responsibility of eliminating those souls who are wicked and so very evil. I guess you can compare this series to a paranormal Law and Order or CSI with a historical twist. The first book in this series, Night Falls Darkly, is about the killer, Jack the Ripper who wants to transcend into the Inner Realm and wreak havoc among the immortals there, just like he is doing to the human mortals in London. For some reason he i...more Her Shadow Guards series is about a selective group of immortals who have the responsibility of eliminating those souls who are wicked and so very evil. I guess you can compare this series to a paranormal Law and Order or CSI with a historical twist. The first book in this series, Night Falls Darkly, is about the killer, Jack the Ripper who wants to transcend into the Inner Realm and wreak havoc among the immortals there, just like he is doing to the human mortals in London. For some reason he is only targeting London’s East End prostitutes to murder. Since the London police have their hands tied with this killer, there is only one who can stop him, and that is Archer Black, an immortal who works as a Reclaimer for the Shadow Guard. Archer is not alone and has back up in the form of two immortal siblings, Selene, who sleeps with snakes and eats documents, ink and all, to become more knowledgeable against those they must destroy, and her brother Mark, who is Archer’s second in command. Mark likes to one up Archer so he can come out on top and receive the praise he thinks he deserves. These three can hardly stand each other, but because they are trying to achieve one common goal, they must try and get along.

Archer comes across as dark, broody and cold, but he has a weakness, and that is Elena Whitney who he brought back from the dead. Two years ago he was chasing after a rapist, and Elena was caught in the middle. Elena has amnesia because Archer erased all her memories. She is the ward of the mysterious Lord Black whom she has never met. Elena has quite the life of luxury because Lord Black is obscenely rich and she has many things at her disposal. Elena wants to meet her benefactor to thank him, and make him aware that she wants to become a doctor. For the time being she volunteers as a nurse in a hospital close to Whitechapel where most of the Ripper’s killings have taken place. Elena doesn’t care that her life could be in danger because she must help those unfortunate enough not to have good health care. Then out of the blue Lord Black comes to pay a visit.

Elena is already half in love with her guardian because she has imagined what he looks like and how things will be when they will meet. Archer and Elena’s first meeting does not go the way Elena thought it would because he insults her by acting as if he doesn’t know who she is and can’t even remember her name. Elena is heartbroken. Archer feels the same way because he is lusting after Elena, but can’t act on his desires because he is this immortal with all the weight of the world on his shoulder. But that never stopped two characters such as these from denying themselves just because of a bit of an age difference.

For the next few hundred pages or so, Archer and Elena go on their merry way where Elena will continue to find herself in dangerous places just because she feels the need to be super nurse, and Archer goes out late at night where he tries his best to locate Jack, but always fails. Jack is always one step ahead, and not Archer or his fellow underling crime fighters can stop him. Things go from bad to worse when Jack realizes how much Elena means to Archer, and then begins to target her.

Night Falls Darkly should be a chilling atmospheric tale with great action and a wonderful romance. I have no doubt that readers who enjoy the Jack the Ripper legend will enjoy this twist that Kim Lenox has written. And it was also nice to see a change in the setting, especially with Victorian England rather then the same old Regency wallpaper reads being published. But even with these pluses, I found myself finding too many minuses to really want to continue on with the next book in this series. I simply could not keep myself interested with the characters or even the mystery itself. Simply put, I was bored.

My main pet peeve was with Archer and Elena. Archer is just like every other hero I have read in past paranormal romance. His motivations were not clear enough for me to understand. I felt like Archer arrived on the scene and you take him as he is. We had no back story of who he was or why he acts the way he does. We know he cares for Elena, so much so to save her life, but why? What is about Elena that makes him care? I found Elena to be too perfect, especially with her, “I have to save the world!” Mary Sunshine attitude. When we are first introduced to Elena, she is much like Archer, where we have no clue who she really is because of her accident. And when she finally remembers everything, because Archer gives her back her memories back, I felt I was robbed. This build up was very weak in regards to Elena. I also found the chemistry between the two lacking. The majority of the time these two hardly interact with each other, and when they did, Elena would snipe at Archer. He in turn, would just stand much like a little boy with his head down because he had to deny his feelings for Elena. He can’t have Elena because of who he is. Well, we all know where that will go. And when these two have their love scene that is expected, it was not the bells and whistles I was expecting but more like a kazoo that lost its wax paper, as you blow, hardly any sound can be heard. Perhaps it was just me, but my reaction to their love story was more “meh” than anything.

The horrible serial killer, Jack, pops up every so often to taunt Archer. Again I couldn’t find any real enjoyment in that part of the story because Jack is a one-dimensional character with no real traits. This may have been done on purpose because Jack the Ripper is still very much an enigma that has never been solved.

I still give credit to Kim Lenox for coming up with the idea for Night Falls Darkly, but for this reader, I found it just a bit too flat for my reading tastes.(less)

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Sep 16, 2009 Rhianon rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: rabid fans of PNR.

Recommended to Rhianon by: Jan

Shelves: paranormal-romance

Lenox has some very intriguing background and plot ideas she employs in her series debut. The concept of the "tortured hero" is a tad cliche, admittedly, but I found the idea of him being around since the beginning of time rather intriguing as it pertained to his role in stories and circumstances that had long since passed into the realm of myth and legend.
Unfortunately, it's difficult as a reader to grasp the rationale behind such a timeless individual's psyche. I had trouble suspending disbeli...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is what I consider "sweet". The romance is more mental rather than physical although our hero definitely has "physical" moments if you know what I mean. However, this is more about the two characters and the capturing of a villain with the romance almost taking a backseat to a larger degree than I'm used to seeing in romance novels.
It was a nice change to all the dark paranormals I have been reading although our villain is "Jack the Ripper" so I guess it's still pretty dark but the s...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-loan

This book really appealed to me on two levels 1. as a paranormal and 2. as an Historical Romance. The paranormal theme is an original one for me, immortals who are not vampires, angels or fallen but are a race in their own right...okay they shift, but not in the obvious way so that was original and interesting too! The Historical side is a good story with elements of womens emancipation being woven with the story of Jack the Ripper.

Archer is immortal whilst Elena mortal and really they shouldn't...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Christel rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: any historical, paranormal reader

Shelves: 2009-reads

4.5 out of 5. I really enjoyed this paranormal one and cannot wait till the next one is published.

This book is written to the times of the late 1880's. The Shadow Guard is and ancient line of guardians between the mortal and immortal planes. The Shadow Guard reclaim the souls of the most vile creatures that roam the earth. This book is related around the murders committed by Jack the Ripper in London.

Elena is the ward of Lord Black. She has amnesia and cannot remember her past except for a locke...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Anorielt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Erster Satz: "Zeigen Sie sich, Mr. Winslor."

Wenn die Nacht beginnt war eines der Bücher, auf die ich mich diesen Monat am meisten gefreut habe. Eine Geschichte mit Unsterblichen zu der Zeit in der Jack the Ripper in London sein Unwesen treibt. Spannender geht es nichtmehr. Dachte ich zumindest. Die Geschichte beginnt mit Archer der gerade auf der Jagd nach einem Mr. Winslor ist. Am Anfang war mir Archer nicht gerade sympathisch und wie man ihn kennenlernt... nun, mit so etwas hatte ich nicht ger...more Erster Satz: "Zeigen Sie sich, Mr. Winslor."

Wenn die Nacht beginnt war eines der Bücher, auf die ich mich diesen Monat am meisten gefreut habe. Eine Geschichte mit Unsterblichen zu der Zeit in der Jack the Ripper in London sein Unwesen treibt. Spannender geht es nichtmehr. Dachte ich zumindest. Die Geschichte beginnt mit Archer der gerade auf der Jagd nach einem Mr. Winslor ist. Am Anfang war mir Archer nicht gerade sympathisch und wie man ihn kennenlernt... nun, mit so etwas hatte ich nicht gerechnet. Winslor nimmt Elena als Schutzschild und schließlich stürzen beide von dem Dach auf dem sie bisher gestanden hatten.

Scheinbar hat Elena überlebt, denn als nächstes lernt man sie als das Mündel eines wohlhabenden Lords kennen das im Hospital in Whitechapel als Krankenschwester arbeitet. Lord Black soll ein Freund ihres verstorbenen Vaters gewesen sein, doch da Elena sich an nichts erinnert, weiß sie nicht ob das stimmt. Auch hat sie ihren Vormund niemals kennengelernt. Bis zu dem Tag an dem er plötzlich und unerwartet von seiner Auslandsreise zurückkehrt. Von Anfang an ist zwischen den beiden eine gewisse Spannung, auch wenn beide anfangs dagegen ankämpfen. Vor allem Archer fällt dies schwer, denn er weiß das er eigentlich bessere Dinge zutun hat, zum Beispiel seine Vollstreckung beenden und Jack the Ripper unschädlich machen.

Angesichts der Kurzbeschreibung hatte ich vermutet das Jack the Ripper eine größere Rolle spielen würde und das tut er auch durchaus, allerdings nicht so groß wie ich vermutet hatte. Er muss aufgehalten werden bevor er transzendiert und das innere Reich der Amaranthiner betreten kann. Denn genau das ist Archer, genauso wie Selene und Mark, ein Amaranthiner, noch dazu ein Uralter. Einer der von Angebinn der Zeit existiert und als Schattenwächter fungiert. Er beschützt das Reich seiner Rasse indem er abgrundtief böse Menschen daran hintert zu transzendieren. Eigentlich ist das ganze recht spannend, nur bekommt es leider neben der Liebesgeschichte zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Die Liebesgeschichte steht hier eindeutig im Vordergrund, was ich bei dem Plot falsch finde, denn er hätte so viel mehr hergeben können. So viel verschenktes Potenzial.

Auch über die Amaranthiner erfährt man nicht sonderlich viel, allerdings ist dies ja der erste Band der Shadow Guard Reihe, es kann also durchaus sein das man in den Folgebänden noch mehr erfährt. Mir gefiel die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Elena und Archer durchaus. Elena ist eine sehr sympathische Frau mit den richtigen moralischen Werten. Archer fand ich bis zum Ende sehr undurchlässig. Wirklich richtig sympathisch wurde er mir nicht, irgendwie fehlte bei ihm das gewisse Etwas. Man erfährt so gut wie nichts persönliches über ihn und das, wo solche Dinge einen Charakter doch erst wirklich ausmachen.

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Meine Erwartungen hat Wenn die Nacht beginnt nicht erfüllt, dennoch war der erste Shadow Guard Band unterhaltsam und leicht und schnell zu lesen. Ich gebe die Hoffnung noch nicht aus das im nächsten Band ein wenig mehr auf den Plot eingegangen wird und die Liebesgeschichte nicht so im Vordergrund steht, denn das war hier eindeutig das Problem. Ein gesundes Mittelmaß ist die Lösung. (less)

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Feb 22, 2013 ILOVEthebooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

I vacillate between being disappointed by and approving of this book. There are A LOT of elements jam packed between its pages, only some of which include; an assassin sub-god/vampirelike race charged with eliminating corrupt souls that could potentially transcend and destroy the human race, some of said corrupt souls are being encouraged by an imprisioned Greek? god who caused an earthquake that triggered their gruesome following -one of which happens to be Jack the Ripper (very interesting), a...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Lisa - (Aussie Girl) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-historical-steampunk

A historical paranormal set in the later Victorian period where the Shadow Guard a race of immortals keep watch over evil mortal souls despatching them to Hell when they create havoc on Earth and before they can transcend to their own Utopian dimension.

The premise sounds good and the writing fair although it some how just missed the mark for a higher rating. The inclusion of every known sterotype of the Victorian age from John Merrick, Bram Stoker and Queen Victoria herself seems to crowd the st...more

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Jan 23, 2009 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

I loved this debut...and at the same time I thought it was completely ridiculous. The paranormal world the author builds has definite potential and I especially loved the dark Victorian setting. The story revolves around and incorporates the Jack the Ripper killings. However, the hero and heroine were so textbook! I also didn't know whether the fact that one of the secondary characters literally *eats books* was clever or incredibly stupid. One scene alone made the book worth reading: the hero a...more

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Sep 16, 2009 Coral rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, series

Elena and immortals mix it up in Jack the Ripper's London.
Extract:

"He approaches a state of Transcension. You can't deny that."
"Because of you. You let things go too far while you attended your balls and your routs. While you gambled and whored."
Mark hissed, his eyes wavering from blue to black. "As if you didn't suffer your own bit of distraction tonight."
Archer struggled to tamp down the dangerous fury searing his veins. He'd taken such care to be certain his immortal peers did not learn of El

...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: serial-killers, virgin-heroines, warriors, amnesia, gothic, jack-the-ripper, victorian, paranormal-historical

Night Falls Darkly
4 Stars

Synopsis:
Archer, Lord Black is an immortal warrior whose only goal is to reclaim corrupt souls. That is until the day he saves Elena Whitney from a maniac and makes her his ward. Now, he has returned to London to reclaim the soul of Jack the Ripper and must come to terms with the emotions that Elena evokes in him before they prove to be a fatal distraction.

Review:
An intriguing mix of paranormal romance, historical romance and historical mystery. The traditional Jack the...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Jessica `~Blahyze~` rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Elena has little memory of her life in the past and now lives in a mansion under the guardianship of Lord Black, but when he comes for a visit, he is not what Elena was expecting. When she sees him the first time almost totally stark naked apart from some cloth I was green with envy!

“Elena turned. Her eyes widened.
Flickering lamplight revealed the outline of a man standing in a small alcove off the study. A tall, naked man, save for the small narrow swath of linen he clasped against a tightly c

...more

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Dec 16, 2009 Natasja rated it 3 of 5 stars

Elena Whitney cannot remember a thing about her past because of some accident. She doesn’t know that her savor Lord Black took her under his wings as his ward, but always made sure she didn’t see him, so Elena doesn’t know who he really is. Elena is determined to become a doctor and to help people, so she’s applying to schools, but being a woman makes it hard to get selected. On top of that the mysterious Lord Black has arrived and Elena is intrigued by Archer and falls madly in love with him.

Lo...more Elena Whitney cannot remember a thing about her past because of some accident. She doesn’t know that her savor Lord Black took her under his wings as his ward, but always made sure she didn’t see him, so Elena doesn’t know who he really is. Elena is determined to become a doctor and to help people, so she’s applying to schools, but being a woman makes it hard to get selected. On top of that the mysterious Lord Black has arrived and Elena is intrigued by Archer and falls madly in love with him.

Lord Black “Archer” is a member of the immortal Shadow Guards and it is his job to get rid of all kind of evil and at this moment he is chasing Jack the Ripper. Two years ago Archer saved Elena Whitney from the hands of a mad man. When he discovered that she couldn’t remember a thing from the attack and about her past, he took her in as his ward and provides her with everything she wanted.

But now it seems Jack the Ripper has sets his eyes on Elena. Archer knows he cannot be distracted and let his feelings for his ward be the end of them both. One thing is for sure, Elena will not be harmed by this maniac.

Night falls darkly by Kim Lenox is the first novel in her Shadow Guards series and I have to say it was good. I love the concept of using a part of Jack the Ripper in this novel.

Archer saved Elena when she was almost killed by a maniac and he proved her a home and loving servants to take care of her. Because he is a member of the Shadow Guards and is immortal, he knows he has to stay away form her. But when he is on a case and tries to catch Jack the Ripper in London, he cannot stay away from his home and comes face to face with Elena. She still cannot remember him being her savor all those years ago. The huge attraction between them cannot be ignored and when The Ripper sets his eyes on Elena, Archer will do anything in his power to keep her save from harm.

I’m glad that I discovered Kim Lenox when I was shopping for books to read, she is a new author to me, but definitely worth to discover. She wrote a fabulous book with Archer as a dark and mysterious hero and Elena as his heroine, a strong and determined young woman who wants to becomes the first female doctor.

I am definitely going to read the next book in this series, just to see if that one will be as good as this novel.
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Sep 20, 2012 Radala added it

I enjoyed the premise of the book and found the back story intriguing. However, I felt like the story was rushed to fit into ~300 pages. The character interactions in the last 100 pages felt forced, and I just couldn't buy into some of Elena's reactions as the story progressed. I felt like extending the length to develop the characters further could have greatly enriched the story. That said, I was interested enough to see it through to the end, and I would consider another of the author's works...more

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May 18, 2010 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This was my very first historical paranormal romance, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I bought this because the author happened to be doing a signing at my work, and it was nice to like the author and then find I like her stories. It's a quick read (though what isn't, really?), but it does take some unexpected twists along the way. I love a paranormal plot that's unpredictable.

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Sep 21, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, 2012

I enjoyed this book - the hero had a personality you could feel - and angst to go along with it. The heroine was a spunky thing with ideas ahead of her time, not a pushover at all. The two of them together crackled!

The story was interesting, however, I found the bits about the Immortal world building a bit on the dull side. Plus the Jack the Ripper thing just didn't work for me. It felt so very anti-climatic in the way he got his comeuppance and I never felt that the heroine was in any real dang...more

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Jul 26, 2010 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

You know, in general, I don't love historical paranormals. But this book is outstandingly good and I highly recommend it. Its very unique and the hero and heroine have such great chemistry the words just all off the page into you. Plus, they're looking for Jack the Ripper, which is really fun. Great read.

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Jan 16, 2011 Lori {Romancing the Dark Side} rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2011, paranormal-romance, my-ebooks

A refreshingly unique story! Kim Lenox weaves an alluring, paranormal romance with a gothic undertone, in a genre that can oftentimes be monotonous. An admirable, strong willed heroine, an immortal hero and the Jack the Ripper as the story's sinister villain, will keep you intrigued and glued to the pages!

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Jul 06, 2011 Cornelia rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's the first book I've read in the shadow guard series but I'd like to read more of the series. I loved it. It's intriguing, full of suspense and adventure. It's set in Victorian London and deals with the mystery of Jack the Ripper. I recommend this historical/paranormal/romance.

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Aug 10, 2009 Jacqui rated it 3 of 5 stars

Night Falls Darkly is the first book of Kim Lenox's Shadow Guards. Enjoyed the authors blend of Victorian/Gothic/Paranormal with the twist of the legend of Jack the Ripper thrown in. Good start for this new author. Will look for her next one in this series.

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Sep 20, 2010 Kohana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I gobbled this one up and am eagerly looking forward to reading the next two in the series. The author has an interesting vocabulary and beautiful descriptions. I am very glad I picked this book up!

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Feb 16, 2011 Shannon Mayer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun story, loved the idea behind it though I could see how it was going to turn out in the end early on. Didn't matter, still enjoyed it. Will be writing a review with a give-away later this week at http://shannonmayer.blogspot.com

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Dec 26, 2011 Chrislin rated it 4 of 5 stars

i liked this book alot at first when i read the back of the book i imeditly thought that Elena Whitney was a prostitute but she is not

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Aug 25, 2009 Marina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, fantasy, fiction

Good read for first time author. Really got hooked into this world of paranormal history. Interesting twist on Jack the Ripper. Great characterization. Can't wait to read book 2.

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Sep 10, 2009 Jan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. I loved this book. I really enjoyed the Shadow Guard mythology. This is a must-read for fans of historical PNR.

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Mar 26, 2009 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: magicalromance

Night Falls Darkly was an interesting first novel in the new series called The Novels of the Shadow Guard. I would classify the book along the lines of an historical romance with a paranormal element. The reason why the novel did not get four stars from me, is that the author did not really explain the back story for the world she was building. There were only bits and pieces of Archer's (the main hero) past presented and the Other Realm is hardly explained at all. I hope that the next volume wi...more

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Fantasy > Paranormal

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Romance

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Fantasy

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Historical Fiction

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Adult

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Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

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Gothic > Gothic Romance

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Night Falls Darkly (Shadow Guard #1)

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