The Beast Within (Silhouette Nocturne Series)
 

The Beast Within (Nocturne)

by Lisa Renee Jones

Only passion can soothe the beast within... Known only as Jag, he leads the Knights of White against the soulless Darkland Beasts who took his wife and his life. Jag is immortal, destined to live with the vengeance he feels in his heart and the dreams that haunt his soul. Sensual dreams of a woman. Dreams that threaten to unleash the beast within...
Karen Gibson is an innocent mortal,... (read more)

Top tags: paranormal romancenocturneparanormalromanceromance-contemporary-paranormal (all tags)

 

Member Reviews

  • Jace
    • Rated 2 stars

    The premise of the story is this – Cain (yes, the one from the Bible) was banished to earth for an eternity for killing Abel. That no-good fellow aligned with the underworld and now rules an army of beasts that steal mortal souls for the underworld. He gets away with his nefarious deeds for a long time, until the good guy Angel Raphael is sent to cramp his style. Angel Raphael assigns his most trusted buddy Salvador to save those souls worthy of serving good against evil. Unfortunately, only men qualify … they are given back their souls and are recruited into becoming one of the Knights Of White.

    I found the plot convoluted and flimsy. Convoluted because there are many things going on all at once, but mainly because the writing style doesn’t make it readable. Flimsy because some plot details are far-fetch, even for a paranormal.

    Jag, the leader of the Knights is a boring and predictable character. Unfortunately, Karen isn’t much livelier or interesting either. There is a lack of character development. They connect through sex, both in dreams and in reality. They bored me so much that I skimmed most of the book.

    The one character who is moderately interesting is the Healer Marisol, and I continued reading the book for her scenes. One of the Knights, Rock, is besotted with her and this couple is more interesting that Jag and Karen.

    The rest of the Knights are terribly predictable, both in looks and in personalities. Nobody stands out, I’m afraid.

    Salvador is somewhat like a new-age angel-type being. He possesses untold powers, but he doesn’t deem it necessary to provide direct answers to ease poor confused Jag. His vague, riddle-like answers are supposed to drive the plot, I’m sure, but they really got on my nerves. He disappears for most of the story but suddenly appears later to almost single-handedly vanquish the enemies.

    This was a difficult story to get into. I skimmed so much that I can’t say how the villain is finally exterminated.

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    Jace wrote this review Tuesday, April 22 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • Jennifer Ray
    • Rated 5 stars

    **Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

    Under the guidance of the Archangel Raphael, the Knights of White were created to protect humankind against the evil Darkland Beasts. But the good knights carry their own beast, and must fight the dark instincts that come with it, else they lose their souls forever. They have one hope of truly harnessing that darkness – through acceptance and love of their true mates. Only then can they hold the beast at bay and come into their full powers.

    Jag is the leader of this band of guardians, and has kept control of The Beast Within for centuries. Now a recurring dream of a strangely familiar beauty threatens to break his control in a way that would destroy him forever.

    Karen has unknowingly shared Jag’s dreams for some time, but it isn’t until this human meets the imposing knight that she begins to remember them upon waking. How could two people have the same dream?

    Jag isn’t certain whether Karen is setting him up or being used as bait, but as the attraction between them grows stronger, he knows he has already lost both his heart and his soul – to her.

    Once again, Lisa Renee Jones show her fans how talented an author she is – no matter the genre. Equally adept with contemporary, paranormal, or anything else she puts her mind to, the common thread is this writer’s fantastic imagination that continuously creates worlds rich with realism (yes, even the paranormal) and characters you not only believe, but who you want to know. OK, maybe I just mean the good guys, because those bad guys – well, she can create some doozies! Never is that more evident than in The Beast Within.

    A tale of good versus evil, this book definitely packs a wallop in the villain department. Just as we have a team of good guys, we have a whole army of baddies, with the dastardly Adrian leading them all. This demon is enough to make you cringe time and again as his evil deeds and plots escalate throughout the story.

    Jag, however, is a whole other story. Jag personifies everything you need in a classic hero. He is tortured, noble, long-suffering, and loves with everything in him. As a leader, he cares about every knight under his command and every human under his protection. He puts everyone else’s needs before his own – even at his own detriment. Believing his love for Karen doomed, he agonizes over her safety – both from the demons bent on destroying them and from himself.

    Karen is the embodiment of goodness and light. Altruistic to a fault, and full of purity and grace, she’s not above kicking butt when she needs to – especially when that butt belongs to the man she loves. She is the perfect heroine for Jag, who finds Karen under his skin before he knows it.

    The Beast Within launches Lisa Renee Jones’ new The Knights of White series, and this book kicks off the saga with a bang! Not only does Jones create a beautiful romance between Jag and Karen, but she deftly spins interest in many supporting characters who are bound to find themselves the star of their own books very soon. Add to that the ongoing war against the Darkland Beasts, and I see a series that readers will crave many more editions of!

    Jennifer Ray wrote this review Sunday, February 10 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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