Review of STARRY KNIGHT: A Terrific Début to a Magical Paranormal Series

Reviewed by Monique Daoust

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.

Nina Mason

Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong affinities for history, mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write the same kind of books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate, and enlighten.

She has four books out at present and two more on pre-order. Her current releases are, in order of publication: The Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic Scottish paranormal romance/urban fantasy; The Tin Man, a political thriller; and Devil in Duke's Clothing and The Duke's Bedeviled Bride, books one and two in an erotic historical series titled Royal Pains.

The two books on pre-order are part of a new paranormal romance series titled The Knights of Avalon. The series combines Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology, and Scottish history to tell the story of four mortals taken by the faeries after falling in battle. The Knights of Avalon are the breeding drones of the legendary sorceress Morgan Le Fay. The series will be published starting in August by Lyrical/Kensington.

Ms. Mason, born and raised in Southern California, currently lives with her family in Woodstock, Georgia.

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About STARRY KNIGHT

Can these star-crossed lovers bridge two worlds?

British aristocrat Vanessa Bentley has beauty, fame, and fortune, but she gets no respect for her decision to become a paranormal investigator. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, Vanessa ventures to the misty moors of Caithness, Scotland. There stands the immense Castle Barrogill, where a vampire is rumored to be stalking the dungeons—a vampire Vanessa is determined to find. She’ll just have to get past the resident shape-shifter…

Callum Lyon is the gorgeous reclusive astrologer and faery knight who guards the castle. For free- spirited Vanessa, seducing him proves to be easy. After all, he was once a breeding drone to a Queen. But astrologically, their differences are harder to overcome. Will Vanessa’s mission—and Callum’s secrets—be more than their burgeoning love can take? Or will flesh—and blood—win over the ghosts that haunt them both? ….