"Has Narcissus learned to love someone other than himself?"

Three thousand years ago, Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection. He became so enamored that he eventually died from starvation. Even after death, his soul was not free. Three hundred years ago, his likeness was carved in marble and his soul has been trapped inside ever since.

The statue of Narcissus now resides in a secluded area in a public park. Narcissus asks for a favor from the goddess Aphrodite to live as a man. She agrees to give him two nights and one day with the woman he's chosen, Violet. He has felt close to her ever since she was a little girl and started a tradition of sharing her secrets with him. Now, it's his chance to provide her with the comfort she needs.

Violet Smith's life has taken a real turn for the worse lately. First, she's laid off from her job. Then her louse of a boyfriend dumps her. To top it off, he still has a key to her place and continues to come in and swipe items that he considers "community property". After another fruitless day of job interviews, Violet goes to her favorite place in the park to regroup. So when a near-naked man claims to be her "Nick" and is the statue come to life, she doesn't know what to think. But somehow she finds herself believing him and takes him home with her.

Nick has a childlike innocence about him, which is understandable. This world is so new to him in many ways. He's been exposed to parts of it through the park visitors, but now he can enjoy life with all of his senses. Nick knows Violet as no one else does; he's been the keeper of her secrets for years. Will she accept his love as genuine? Does he dare act on the feelings that have come surging to life in him?

Do Nick and Violet have any hope of a future? If Nick is returned to a statue, what will happen to Violet? Will he be able to stand seeing her become another man's woman? What price will Nick have to pay to make this temporary reprieve a permanent one? Will the cost of gaining his humanity cause him to lose Violet anyway?

I really enjoyed the sweet love story at the heart of VIOLET AMONG THE ROSES. Nick has much to learn about, yet he manages to teach Violet so much as well. There will be more stories involving secondary characters, so readers will have those to eagerly anticipate. Fans of modern-day updating of mythological tales should snap up this intriguing series by Ms. Starr. I think you'll fall a little bit in love with Nick, as I did.

Sensuality: Rated S-ensuous by the publisher. Explicit sex; sexually explicit scenes: 12.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted November 9, 2003

Summary

Three thousand years ago Narcissus was too self-absorbed to love anyone but himself. Trapped in a statue in a public park, he never expected this to change...but then a little girl named Violet stared into his face and called him "Nick".

Now a grown woman whose boyfriend dumped her after she lost her job, Violet is in serious need of a friend—and lover— and Nick wants to be both to her. The goddess Aphrodite has made him human for two nights and a day. Will that be long enough for Nick to learn the true meaning of love, so he can earn his freedom and a place by Violet's side?

Sexual Content: S-ensual. Genre: Contemporary Fantasy.