Be Mine Tonight

Written by Kathryn Smith

Narrated by Vanessa Hart

Chapel has been a vampire since the 1300s when he and his men tried to rob the Knights Templar and ended up drinking from a cup imbued with the essence of Lilith, the mother of all vampires. Since then the five of them have gone their separate ways…It is now 1899 and Chapel is sent to England to protect the cup from humans looking for it.

Prudence Ryland is dying and sees the Grail as her one chance at life. But when she falls into a trap while searching for the Grail she becomes poisoned. Chapel is there and tries to save her, however it is too late. Knowing that her time is limited and regretting having done so little in her young life, Pru asks Chapel to become her lover and introduce her to grand adventures. As her life force slowly ebbs away, Pru knows there is one more thing that can save her from death-but is Chapel willing to turn Pru into an immortal vampire?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9780062131461

Kathryn Smith

Kathryn Smith has always loved happy endings. From the bedtime stories her wildly imaginative mother told, to the soap operas she wasn't supposed to watch, Kathryn loved to speculate as to how the characters would end up. Needless to say the entire Smith household heard about it when things did not go as young Kathryn thought they ought. Through her school years, Kathryn wrote stories and books for her friends to read. Even during college, when she studied journalism, her need to make up her own tales often drove her to late nights at the typewriter, writing about sexy men and the women they fell in love with. Fortunately, Kathryn's idea of sexy has changed over the years. Instead of rock stars and spies she writes about lords and...well, spies. The best part is she gets to share these stories with a few more people than were in her homeroom class!

[whiskeyinthejar-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this for the Relics and Curiosities square for Halloween Bingo

Just as they all knew the legend of the Holy Grail, so had they heard of the Unholy Grail.

Pru has cancer and is looking for any way to negate her grim diagnosis, when she starts up a friendship with Marcus, they begin in earnest a search for the Holy Grail. Our hero is a 600yr old vampire who was once a knight of King Phillips of France who was also on the search for the Holy Grail. What Chapel and his group of mercenaries found instead was the Unholy Grail.

"You do not frighten me."
"I think I do, but not in the way I should."

This started off darkly intriguing with the French band of mercenaries and grail that turned them all into vampires. I read this with the anticipation of a danger filled dark and stormy search and chase, filled with villains coming out of the woodwork. Instead this turned out to be a character driven story with a slow burning romance between Pru and Chapel; read this for the romance, not the adventure.

The Silver Palm. Chapel had heard of them before in whispers and old texts. They named themselves for the silver that crossed the palm of Judas Iscariot— coin imbued with the essence of Lilith, mother of all vampires. The same silver that had been melted down to make the chalice from which he and the others had drunk.

The first half was all about the romance while the second gave us a peek into, what I imagine is the set-up between the villains and future heroes of the series. I was vastly curious about the Silver Palm villains but they only make a very brief appearance and other than their name, not much else is learned about them.

The Brotherhood of Blood.

Even though I was a little disappointed in the balance of romance and action in this one, the set-up of Chapel's friends, The Brotherhood of the Blood, being pitted against the Silver Palms is darkly intriguing. Don't get me wrong, I thought the vast majority of the romance was done well here, Pru is a tough, daring woman willing to fight for what she wants, while Chapel was a more lost in his self-loathing for what he was, but they did have a connection that was felt. I thought the ending was needlessly dragged out angst as a sudden change of heart by Chapel gave us a quick perfect bow ending. I'm going to read the next in the series because, like I said, I'm intrigued by the set-up but I'm going to hope the continuing plot thread plays more heavily.

He smiled— just for her. Every woman should know the joy of having a man be joyful just for her presence.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Be Mine Tonight
3.5 Stars

Synopsis
In 1307, six knights break into a Templar stronghold in search of the Holy Grail only to be turned into vampires when they inadvertently drink from the Blood Grail. 700 years later, the Blood Grail is in danger of being unearthed once again and the warrior known as Chapel must travel to Tintagel England to thwart the attempt. Once there, he encounters Prudence Ryland, a feisty young woman desperate to obtain the grail for her own reasons, and is torn between saving the woman he has come to love or allowing her to be cursed as he once was.

Review
An original mix of Arthurian and biblical motifs but there are also some predictable moments.

The writing flows but lacks that immersing quality that would make it excellent. The story gets off to an exciting start but slows down and takes a while to get back on track toward the end.

The romance is the focus of the book and it is sweet and tender with some spicy moments that contribute to the natural progression of Chapel and Pru's relationship. Pru is witty, sarcastic and direct and is a good contrast with the dark, brooding and sexy Chapel, who is an endearing character although he does have a tendency to wallow in self pity too often.

The thing that irritated me the most was the portrayal of Pru's illness. She is supposedly dying of cancer, but except for one or two incidents, carries on regardless. While this may be explained by her desire to live life to the fullest, it is unrealistic. Moreover, even though the descriptions of Pru's sense of loss and sadness at missing out on life, love and family are touching, there is no sense of urgency regarding her impending death and dire need to be saved.

The conspiracy plot is weak and underdeveloped as there is no real quest or sense of adventure, excitement or danger. The origins and agenda of the mysterious Order of the Silver Palm are never described or explained.

The secondary characters are superficial - Pru's sisters are interchangeable and while Marcus and Molyneux are interesting, it is obvious that their role will remain small. The other Knights (love their names - Bishop, Saint, Reign and Temple) are compelling even though they don't actually make an appearance in the book and I am interested enough to read their stories.

Despite its shortcomings, this is a good introduction to a series that has definite potential and I will be continuing on to the next installment, which is Bishop's book.

[karinshah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chapel the vampire hero is sexily earnest and tormented by the mistakes of his past. Prudence is searching for a cure for herself and her illness makes her reckless and uninhibited in a way that makes the reader feel for her deeply. This fast paced read was emotional and fun. A definite keeper!

[scareyb · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

One of the very few books I couldn't finish/get pass first few chapters

[fairypenguin_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I actually hate giving this book 3 stars because I whole heartedly believe in the potential of the series. The world-building, the setting, the mythology use-it's all very intriguing. But this book fell short.

Chapel became a vampire when he drank from a mystical cup known as the Blood Grail, having mistaken it for the Holy Grail. Six hundred years later, in the year 1899, Pru Ryeland is searching for the Holy Grail in hopes of curing her terminal illness. Chapel fears that what she will actually find is the Blood Grail and that she will become cursed as he believes he is cursed. But as he begins to fall in love with Pru, his belief in his own soul-less nature is challenged.

The use of history and mythology is fun, interesting, and well put together. The time period and setting is rich and unique, and in fact is one of the few things that sets this book apart from other paranormal writings.

Chapel is a surprisingly sexy, if somewhat frustrating character. He is loyal, determined, and fun. His love for Pru is heartbreaking.

First of all, Pru's terminal illness is-it's never given an exact name, so I assume uterine cancer-the biggest plot point/conflict in the book. I am not at all making light of cancer but it's presence in the story is,dare I say, drawn out to the point of dull? We expect her to be saved, obviously, whether she finds the Holy Grail or becomes a vampire. But it takes THE ENTIRE BOOK. We are forced to watch Chapel hem, haw, and struggle with his own self-pity while the love of his life suffers unnecessary pain.

And Pru's cancer is a seriously painful one. I don't know how well Smith researched the disease but I happen to know from what I've witnessed that 1)Even early stage cancer patients are often exhausted, suffer from easy bruising, and tend to have compromised immune systems, and 2) The physical reality of advanced uterine cancer does not usually allow for any kind of comfortable sexual relationship. So the fact that Pru is so active right up until the very end is seriously problematic.

Despite all of this, I still have high hopes for the series. While I did not care for the terminal illness plot-line, I enjoyed Smith's style and imagination.

[reading_crystal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting book. I haven't been that interested in historicals lately, but this one was set around the turn of the century and featured some history from the mid-1100's an era of time I am interested in. It had some of the elements of the Templars who I find fascinating and also vampires which I enjoy reading. This was a sweet and sexy book. Pru is dying of cancer and wants to find the Holy Grail in hopes of prolonging her life. When this quest brings here close, Chapel becomes part of the story. Chapel was turned to a vampire a long time ago when he drank from what he thought was the Holy Grail, but was instead the Unholy Grail. He has now vowed to protect others from drinking from this. In this book we get brief introductions to the other brothers in the brotherhood of the blood, just enought to whet our appetite, but this book is mainly about Chapel and Pru and Pru's family. A very engaging book that I am glad I read