"Emotionally intense - you know you are in love when you no longer see the scars."

Ten years ago Kirk Grayson had a car accident while driving his parents home one night, killing both of them and leaving him disfigured. He chose not to have plastic surgery, keeping his face like it is, as punishment for the accident. Kirk has since lived the life of a hermit, not going out or seeing anyone besides his brother Quinn and his sister Elaine.

Elaine has donated her life to helping her older brothers and trying to find a way to get Kirk to face people and meet the world. The three siblings live in the old mansion built by their father's ancestor. Elaine is very protective of her brothers, not believing she is giving anything up for them.

Quinn Grayson is not scarred outside like his brother Kirk, but maybe caring for his bother with his sister has damaged him inside. Quinn is not a very nice person. He has lured Chyna Marsh out to Mystic Island because he wants her. Quinn hasn't even asked if she wants him, it doesn't matter so long as he gets what he wants.

Chyna Marsh, a romance novelist, has traded the bustle of New York for the quaint village of Mystic Island, New Jersey. Hoping the slower pace will activate her imagination for new stories to write. Getting out of a huge city where people lived so close together, and you didn't know anyone. Mrs. O'Hanlan was there to take care of the house and cook meals, freeing up time for Chyna to write her next novel.

Chyna tries to thank Kirk for coming to her rescue the night she fainted by the cliff. Kirk is shy and keeps to the shadows, thinking everyone will faint if they see his scars. Chyna doesn't let Kirk's scars deter her from using every means at her disposal to entice Kirk out into the real world.

You know you're truly in love when you no longer see a person's scars. SHADOW LOVER is lengthy at 265 pages, but you need all those pages to really get this substantial story. I adore the line in SHADOW LOVER, "I only wish more men would read romance novels. Maybe there wouldn't be so many disappointed women in the world." It goes a long way to showing why men like Cyrano were so popular. SHADOW LOVER shows that a scarred man is beautiful and another man without physical scars is ugly inside.

A warning should be placed on SHADOW LOVER though, because of a couple of rape scenes towards the end, and NOT by the hero. The only other thing I found difficult was the wishy washyness of the Kirk, in believing his brother rather than the women he says he loves. Even with this you can't help but fall in love with Kirk.

Sensuality: Sexually explicit. Monogamous sex. Ménage a trois. Warning: Contains rape and suicide.

Reviewed by Hunter McKenna
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted April 15, 2003

Summary

Chyna Marsh surrounds herself with men. Perfect men. Dark, blonde, tall, muscled or dimpled, she loves them all. Being a romance writer she creates perfect men for a living. But when the dashing paper hero steps from between the pages of her latest novel Rogue of Love, she thinks the rush of the big city is getting to her, and relocates to a slow-moving coastal town. It's here that she meets two men. Quinn Grayson is dark and devilishly handsome, but his brother Kirk has a severely scarred face and hides deep in the mansion's cellar. Even though his hideous appearance provokes such names as Beast! Monster! Freak! Chyna is helplessly drawn into the midnight shadows where he lurks. What is there about this illusive phantom that fascinates her... this sinister silhouette whose glowing eyes burn with hunger when they look at her... this hulking creature she has come to know as... Frankenstein!

Note: Extremely sensuous. Adult Language, Explicit sex, Forced Sex.