Tania Donald

Eloise was a simple village girl whose life was consumed by her rose garden, her dear friends Georgiana and Miriam, and the possibility Mr Jones, a very amiable man whom she could grow to care for over the years they might spend together as man and wife. Although this was the future she could expect, somehow Eloise couldn't help wanting more, more then her little village, more then an agreeable marriage. What she dreamt of was a deep romance, but the price for such love does not come cheap.

With the newly arrived Mr White comes new possibilities for Eloise. With his alluring presence in her life, Eloise is awakening to a passionate love filled with the joy of possibilities and the pain of neglect. However if Eloise is to survive this new love and her lovers demands she is going to have to survive a transformation that will lead her through dark and beguiling ways. But even if she survives this transformation she may still yet fall pray to a darker end.

Haunted Heart tells the tale of love, passion, danger and a life lived through any means with only one goal; survival. As one young girl crosses the threshold into womanhood, she steps between the boundaries of her moralistic society and into a world of dark seduction, a world that brings life with death, a world of loneliness and of great love. In this mixture of a Jane Austen character let loose in the world of Dracula, what follows is a provocative tale of romance, where in the end one woman will sacrifice all for her love.… (más)

3.5 stars

In an English village in Victorian times, eighteen-year-old Eloise falls in love with a mysterious stranger, who slowly seduces her into his world and way of life. Dolour and his family are similar to vampires, but instead of blood they feed on people's minds, their emotions and feelings, yet with the same deadly consequences. Eloise becomes one of them and follows her love to Australia, where enemies from the past catch up with them.

My main enjoyment with this book was unquestionably the writing, which was, for the most part, incredibly vivid, intricate and beautiful. Also, the concept of emotions rather than blood being the essence of human beings was interesting and well executed. The story moves undeniably slowly, yet the atmospheric telling makes the restrained pace enjoyable. Having said all that, towards the end it seems to fizzle a bit and I found the actual ending not very satisfying. I should also mention that there are a few sex scenes, which fitted in with the story for the most part, although towards the end I thought it got a bit gratuitous.… (más)