Lord Callum Lyon has many secrets and has more or less lived as a recluse for a very, very long time. He's an author of books on astrology, and while at a book signing in Scotland where he was born and still he resides, Callum notices a beautiful young woman: she's Lady Vanessa Bentley, dubbed "Madam Butterfly" by the media because no man has ever caught her. Callum wants her, albeit mostly for only a fling, he tends to keep to himself and shuns romantic entanglements because of past relationships gone very wrong.

Lady Vanessa is far from being the poor little rich girl Callum first assumes her to be: she does not sit on her noble laurels, she is dedicated to several causes and is a working woman. Her meeting Callum is far from accidental: before flying to New Orleans where a position as a paranormal investigator awaits her, Vanessa has come to Scotland to verify if the rumours are correct: is there a vampire lurking about Castle Barrogill, Callum's home?

Nina Mason is known for the thoroughness of her research, and STARRY KNIGHT is no exception; whether it concerns Scotland's history, past and present, or paranormal lore, the author went above and beyond. Callum is a very complex character, and Ms. Mason has built a whole paranormal world to explain his present state. STARRY KNIGHT is fiction albeit solidly based on historical facts, mythology, astrology, sprinkled with smidgeons of British literature and local dialect to embellish a sweeping story of politics, the supernatural and love.

I found STARRY KNIGHT has quite a gothic feel, which pleases me immensely, and Vanessa and Callum make a very interesting couple. They are well matched, even though Vanessa is a tad jaded, Callum is a delightfully romantic hero, but their relationship is fraught with ambushes, and they recognise that what they have is worth giving it a try even though they will both have to make quite a few compromises.

Nina Mason is an exceptionally talented writer, whose lush and vivid prose is just as well suited to the modern world as it is to foregone eras, which happily merge to some extent in STARRY KNIGHT. The first book in the The Knights of Avalon series, STARRY KNIGHT features mostly Vanessa and Callum, but also serves as an introduction to what promises to be a very exciting series; there are no cliff-hangers but there are numerous avenues still left to explore. STARRY KNIGHT is a romantic and sexy tale for the discerning paranormal aficionado who appreciates to be enlightened along with thrills, chills, and sizzles.