Starred review from June 4, 2007
Enoch fans will get a satisfying fix from her latest, a highly enjoyable double-feature about two couples living centuries apart, linked by their struggles with the same cursed diamond. In 1814, Evangeline Munroe must keep safe a storied family heirloom, the 169-carat Nightshade Diamond. Logical Evangeline dismisses her aunt's warnings—that the bauble brings bad luck to whoever holds it, good luck to whoever sets it aside—and feels vindicated when, sans jewel, her carriage crashes into another. But when the party of the second carriage, the marquis of Rawley, repeatedly turns up—with increasingly thrilling results—she begins to see the crash as anything but unlucky. Then, in 2007, Samantha Jellicoe and Rick Addison (series leads last seen in Billionaires Prefer Blondes
) stumble upon the Nightshade while preparing Rick's estate for a jewel exhibit. Like Evangeline, Rick shrugs off stories of the curse—until a figure from Sam's past emerges, looking to make off with the jewels and Sam both. Enoch's crisp dialogue, smart characters and brisk plotting make this a solid, well-rounded read sure to please fans of both contemporary and historical romance—and perhaps give them a taste for the other side.
July 1, 2007
A cursed diamond necklace is a link between centuries inEnochs clever two-stories-in-one romance. In the first, Evangeline Munroe is on the hunt for a husband in London. She narrows her choices to two men, each bland and sure toleave her alone. When she inherits a stunning necklace, she refusestobelievethat its cursed. But as soon as she takes it out of the box, her carriage collides with another carrying the drunken Marquis of Rawley, who falls upon her andkisses her. At first heseems to bethe curse, butthey fallin love despite their continual bad luck. The marquis hides the necklace with a warning note for future generations. In the present day, Rick Addison, the current marquis, has anAmerican girlfriend, Samantha, a former jewel thief. When she findsthe necklace, neither takes the warning note seriously, until everything starts to go wrong. Sassy and smart, Enochs two tales of luck and love arethoroughly enjoyable.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)