I recently had the opportunity
to read a couple of excellent Gothics by Dianne Price. Dianne's novels were recently reprinted as eBooks and she allowed me to make the covers. I tried to capture the dark and light of her stories. I thought they turned out nicely.
DYING LIGHT
An orphan, raised in an
Episcopalian convent, impetuous, outspoken, Jenna Rowan has always had two
dreams: to have a family, and to live by the sea. Merrick Hope, an old friend
of the Mother Superior, offers Jenna a single solution to both dreams. “Marry
my son, Brennan, who is the keeper of the Cape Hope lighthouse.”
Jenna is enthralled by the
lighthouse and its breathtaking vistas of the pounding, surging, sea, but the
sensory pleasure is dashed by her introduction to the haughty, enigmatic,
hot-tempered Brennan Hope. Married life is not at all what she imagined. No
husband in her bed, lonely breakfasts and suppers eaten in solitary silence,
only the ringing sound of Brennan’s footsteps climbing the spiral staircase to
the dome—to the light which must be kept burning—regardless of someone’s
sabotage intended to make it fail.
Savage storms, accidents,
half-truths, an aura of evil, loneliness, all take a toll on Jenna’s
determination to hang onto her dreams. Somehow, she must win Brennan’s love and
help him keep the light burning. But at what cost?
REVIEW
Gothic fiction is a
classic genre that combines elements of both horror and romance, and it's been
entertaining readers for decades. Dying Light is a perfect example of a Gothic
Dianne Price weaves a dark tale of faith, fear, and romance set in a lighthouse.
You will find nothing offensive in this novel, which is nice. I do recommend this novel.
SAVAGE SEAHEDGE
Unprotected from wild,
deadly storms, perched atop an island surrounded by the sea at high tide,
Seahedge Manor is not just the ancestral home of the sinister Holt clan. It
also marks the location of an ancient Indian burial ground . . . and the spirits
that linger in that sacred ground may not be pleased with the interlopers.
Newly orphaned Drew Chase
arrives at Seahedge with nowhere else to go. Her father is dead – drowned in
the waters of the mighty Columbia River – and her uncle's family are her only
remaining relatives. Her welcome is not a warm one, however, and it seems that
the future has nothing in store for her but cruel trickery as she slowly comes
to realize the depths of the danger in which she finds herself.
Whom can she turn to – her
cousin Kit – handsome, attentive, but with a mercurial temperament? Or Duncan,
the austere, remote half-breed with a burning secret? What threatens her most,
the moaning revenants whose eternal rest has been disturbed . . . or an
all-too-human menace lurking in the gloom of Seahedge Manor? Drew's life may
well depend on the answer!
REVIEW
If you're a reader of Gothic romances, then you're sure to enjoy Dianne Price's Savage Seahedge.
There's nothing offensive or racy in this mysterious tale set in the storm-tossed
Pacific Northwest, so it's appropriate for all ages, yet it's still very dark
and suspenseful. Drew Chase is at her wits end trying to deal with the circumstances she's been thrown into, and it's fun seeing how she keeps her faith while dealing with what life throws at her.
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