"Beauty and the Beast like never before!"

Isabella Vernaducci desperately wanted to save her brother, though the many messengers she'd sent to the palazzo of Don Nicolai DeMarco failed to return. Isabella knew she alone must make the journey to beg assistance against Don Rivellio. Having heard the legends and rumors all her life, Isabella knew she faced insurmountable obstacles but had no earthly idea of the evil she awoke as she crossed the mountain pass onto DeMarco lands. An evil more deadly than the lions that roamed the lands of the Don.

Don Nicolai had accepted his destiny from the time he was a small boy and witnessed the deaths of his parents. He knew he was fated to take the life of his future wife as had generations of his ancestors before him. Nicolai agreed to save Isabella's brother with the condition that she become his bride. As Nicolai began to love Isabella, the beast inside him became stronger and more uncontrollable.

Together, Isabella and Nicolai must fight the beast and Don Rivellio but they must also defeat the legend of the DeMarco family. Only faith and a love stronger than the evil that lurks can undo the terrible wrong from long ago.

IF you are a gothic fan, or a paranormal fan, or a romance lover....this book is perfect for you! I do believe Ms. Feehan has outdone herself this time! I loved THE SCARLETTI CURSE, but while reading this book, I can see how much she's grown as an author in the gothic realm! I could feel the love, evil, sadness, the joy and laughter felt by the hero and heroine as well as the secondary characters. Ms. Feehan brought every emotion to life with the magical ability she has when she creates! As a reader, this rates a great 5 roars and is one of the hottest and most sensuously sizzling reads of the year!!!

Reviewed by Gloria Kruenegel
Posted July 5, 2002

Summary

Impoverished aristocrat Isabella Vernaducci will defy death itself to rescue her imprisoned brother. She'll even brave the haunted, accursed lair of the lion—the menacing palazzo of legendary, lethal Don Nicolai DeMarco. Rumor says the powerful don can command the heavens, that the beasts below do his bidding...and that he is doomed to destroy the woman he takes as his wife. But Isabella meets a man whose growl is velvet, purring heat, whose eyes hold dark, all- consuming desire. And when the don commands her to become his bride, she goes willingly into his muscled arms, praying she'll save his tortured soul...not sacrifice her life.