Books › Evening Star
Evening Star
First published 1996 · 532 pages
A sweeping, high-drama historical romance where a scandalous bargain in Rome ignites a years-long battle of revenge and desire.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage historical romance feels like stepping into a whirlwind of high-stakes melodrama and intense passion. The narrative moves at a brisk, sweeping pace, carrying the reader from the scandalous, shadowy corners of Rome to the polished, competitive society of London. It is steeped in a mood of tense anticipation and dramatic reversals, exploring themes of fierce independence, revenge, and the dangerous bargains we strike for love and freedom. The prose is unapologetically dramatic, leaning into the intense emotional clashes between a heroine fighting for success in a man's world and a hero driven by a relentless desire for retribution. It will delight readers who crave the unapologetic intensity, sweeping scope, and scandalous setups of classic 1980s historical romance.
- Mood
- scandalous
- tense
- sweeping
- Tone
- melodramatic
- intense
- passionate
- dramatic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- revenge and desire · women in a man's world · scandalous bargains · second chances
- The writing
- Dramatic and sweeping, characteristic of vintage historical romance, focusing on intense emotional clashes and high-stakes encounters.
- The arc
- Moves from shocking vulnerability and scandalous bargains to fierce independence and a tense, revenge-fueled reunion.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vintage, high-drama historical romances featuring scandalous setups, revenge plots, and fiercely independent heroines.
Content notes
- brothel settings
- human auction/bidding on virgins
- coercion
- revenge
About the book
Evening Star, formerly titled Sweet Surrender, first appeared in 1984. I have not rewritten it, but now this novel is where it belongs --- it's the first book in what has become the Star Quartet. In Midnight Star, the first book in the former Star Trilogy, you met Delaney Saxton in San Francisco in 1851. Evening Star features his older brother Alex Saxton, with Delaney making a cameo appearance.
Giana Van Cleve, the heroine, has fallen in love with a vicious fortune hunter. Her mother, the renowned shipowner and builder Aurora Van Cleve, is desperate to save her daughter. She agrees to support Giana's wedding if Giana agrees to first spend an unusual three months in Rome with her Uncle Daniele. But Giana's uncle takes his bargain far beyond Aurora ever imagined.
Thus, Giana first sees Alex Saxton not in a society drawing room, but in a brothel. The next time she sees him, she is one of the virgins to be sold to the highest bidder at the infamous Roman Flower Auction. He wins the bid and her but not for long.
Four years later, when Alex meets Giana again in London, she has become a woman intent on success in a man's world. Alex is set on revenge --- he will have her and nothing will stop him.
Would you make Giana's bargain with Daniele? Would you keep the bargain? Agree to be part of the Roman Flower Auction? Let me know ---
Description from Open Library.
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