The Seduction of Phaeton Black by Jillian Stone

The Seduction of Phaeton Black
(Paranormal Investigator #1)
Jillian Stone

In the gaslit streets of Victorian London, phantoms rule the night, demons dance till dawn, and one supernatural detective dares to be seduced by the greatest power of all. . .

He's The Man With The Magic Touch

A master of deduction, seduction and other midnight maneuvers, Phaeton Black is Scotland Yard's secret weapon against things that go bump in the night. His prodigious gifts as a paranormal investigator are as legendary as his skills as a lover, his weakness for wicked women as notorious as his affection for absinthe. But when he's asked to hunt down a fanged femme fatale who drains her victims of blood, he walks right into the arms of the most dangerous woman he's ever known. . .

She's The Devilish Miss Jones

Pressing a knife to his throat--and demanding he make love to her--Miss America Jones uses Phaeton as a willing shield against the gang of pirates chasing her. As deadly as she is, with a derringer tucked in her garter, Miss Jones is not the vampiric killer he's been staking out--but she may be just what Phaeton needs to crack the case. As the daughter of a Cajun witch, she possesses uncanny powers. As a fearless fighter, she can handle anything from Egyptian mummies to Jack the Ripper. But when an ancient evil is unleashed on the world, she could be his only salvation. . .or ultimate sacrifice.

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The Seduction of Phaeton Black is a sexy romp in the late 1880's London. With a bit of a Sherlock Holmes feel and some serious heat, this one is a historical paranormal romance keeper.

The characters in Phaeton Black really drive the story, which is how I prefer my PNR. The title character, Phaeton, is an infamous lover, loner, and solver of the oddest of crimes. He is a detective for Scotland Yard, but on on a bit of a leave since the Yard disagreed with his beliefs about the Jack the Ripper case. Phaeton has been plagued by the paranormal since he was little - gargoyles, demons, vampires, etc. Phaeton and America meet under extremely unusual circumstances one night while America is trying to outrun a group of pirates chasing her. Her father has recently died and his ships have been stolen by these pirates. America comes to live with Phaeton after her home is burnt down ...and so it begins.

Phaeton and America have many hot sexual encounters, but keep their feelings for each other at arm's length for different reasons. The story is told from the alternating points of view of each, which sometimes bothers me in books but works well here. I loved reading what was going on inside each of their heads about each other and seeing their steamier moments from the different points of view was certainly fun.

Meanwhile, there is an actual paranormal mystery taking place here. Murders have been taking place around town and Phaeton knows that something paranormal is behind them. One complaint I had about this book was that the author, Jillian Stone, kept referring to this entity by all kinds of different terms (Is it a vampire? Empusa? Goddess?) and I felt myself getting a little lost sometimes, thinking the narrator was referring to a new creature. I also felt that the paranormal aspect of the story was not completely developed since the focus was really more on the relationship between Phaeton and America. I am hoping that we will get more into the paranormal world as the series continues since this is a trilogy.

A third important character is developed as Phaeton gets deeper into the murder mystery - the very enigmatic Dr. Exeter. He is a paranormal genius who is after the same 'bad guy' as Phaeton, and they eventually team up and become an entertaining pair. Dr. Exeter is sort of the more magical and eccentric version of Holmes' Dr. Watson. He has some 'powers' and all sorts of interesting gadgets and inventions.

A secondary plot is taking place while Phaeton investigates these murders. America is trying to track down her late father's missing ships and the band of pirates that took them. At first I didn't think I would be interested in this, but I actually enjoyed the fact that she had her own thing going on and wasn't just assisting Phaeton the whole time. The hunt for these pirates actually lead to some great parts of the story.

Make no mistake, this PNR is heavy on the romance. Phaeton and America's trysts often had me fanning myself. Fans of PNR and "bodice rippers" should really get into Phaeton and America's story! This is the first in a trilogy about the two, with the next book coming in October and the final one releasing next Spring.

(This review is based on an advance copy of the book)

   

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