The Veil of Night by Lydia Joyce

The Veil of Night is Lydia Joyce's debut novel. It is a great book on its own but add in the fact that it is her first it is outstanding. The majority of the novel takes place over a week. It is a setup I have seen before - stupid bother/father/uncle/male relation has gambled too deep and screwed the family. The (in this case) sister takes it upon herself to go to the evil, wicked rakehell who holds her brother's note to 'reason' with him. I have to admit this set up makes me giggle, cause really why would the rakehell care? But we aren't talking real life we are talking romance so... We see early on that TVoN has a different spin on the old plot because honestly the sister doesn't care. I mean she does, in a way but really not. She isn't about to lose her home, her family isn't about to be thrown out on the street, she is an 'older spinster' so no worries about being able to get married. It seems to me, she is going because she can. Because she is likes to be in 'charge' of the family and takes it on herself to fix the problem. And because she is 32 and bored. If she didn't make the trip, she might have lost a few dinner invitations but it didn't come across as she stood to lose much more than that. And hell it wouldn't be the first time some noble in the ton had lost money. Her independence and thought process seems to be completely at odds with the person she pretends to be. It is interesting to watch and to see her grow into her own skin. And if I can say anything, it is if you don't enjoy reading about what the characters are thinking, this isn't a book for you. But that made the book for me. It is centered around the characters, the plot has to do with their lives and how they are living and the secrets they are hiding. There aren't a lot of outside forces at work here, even though you do see a small secondary love story and the helpful housekeeper nudging them together - they never take over the scene, chapter or book. This is Bryon and Victoria's story. I had a lil trouble with Bryon's past wild ways working into how he lives now and the WHY of how he lives. I don't see how it changed all that much from the 'london years' to the past year. Other than just saying he has grown up and tired of living the life of a character he created. Which is honestly Bryon and Victoria, neither one is true to who they are. They are characters of their own making and along the way I think they forgot WHY they are living as they are. Of course that is just my own lil thought and I could be completely off base. The setting is 'darker' than many romance novels but there is a reason for that. And I have read reviewers say that it can border on purple, but I thought the love scenes were great and worked in the story. And wouldn't call them close to purple. I do think Bryon should have told Victoria his secret sooner, if even by a few pages. But I can understand why he felt he couldn't. I liked that even he questioned if he was over reacting to what happened to him as a child and if he should just tell Victoria. Over all it is a great book and worth the read. I enjoyed the authors style and look forward to her next book. I am really wanting to read Beloved Stranger but it doesn't even have a release date yet. That always seems to be my luck ;)