Not exactly your typical 'girl meets vampire' story. Most of the story takes place near the turn of the century. Our hero is blonde, has body hair, enjoys food and is tanned(all over). He thinks he is an evil monster and the heroine is dying of cancer. I like the main characters, but I have an issue that I have had before with some of this author's other works. There is a lot of recycling and regurgitation of the characters' thoughts and dialogue, and it seems to take the story forever to get going because of all that filler. The last portion of the book was very good and rather touching. The love scenes are very well written. I thought the first 2/3 of the book rated about a 2 and the last third redeemed the book with a 4. Overall, 3/5 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. ( )

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. ( )

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! ( )

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