The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall

Dark Seductions Series, Book 1

By: Lauren Smith

Narrated by: Victoria Aston

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family's past....

Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn't believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family's tragic history.

Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there's more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.

Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house - and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all - even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.

Contains mature themes.

©2014 Lauren Smith (P)2018 Tantor

A Modern Day Gothic Romance

This was a surprise gothic romance that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the possession, curses, mystery, and sexual tension between the characters.

Great story, Bad Narration

It was a great story, with lots of ghostly turns. Good connection between the main characters. They really need to have a male and female doing the narration. Without it, the narration was just not enjoyable!

Love the Mystery

Great story! Not once did I loose interest the characters had me in love with them.

Story good,narration poor

This story is good but the narration is the problem. To begin with the narrator sounds like she is having troubles with the American and English accents. As a result she exaggerates both and at other times their accents sound more relaxed. I preferred it when she relaxed the difference of the accents as the story flowed better. When the narrator seemed to struggle with the accents she detracted from the story. It was this that I found was pulling me out of the story and giving more attention to the narrators unease instead of the story.
Such a shame as the story is quite good.
Some reviews mentioned the push me pull me attitude of the hero. Well given the situation one can understand why he behaved this way. He was very attracted to her but wanted no harm to come to her. He was being protective....this is understandable. However I prefer stories where hero knows what he wants and would never let her go even if he thinks he is protecting her.
I really recommend this story. Before hearing the narration I had read this 3 times.

this was right up my alley

Lauren Smith swept me away with this story. Four souls fighting to right a wrong. A generations long curse from an evil, greedy witch. Oh yeah! I hope there a more stories of this caliber waiting for me.
Victoria Aston brought this to life!

A modern gothic with gosts

This was a modern day romance with an Earl and American heroine which
I really enjoyed.There was even a castle with a evil gost.also the hero owed
An Auston Martin which make think of James Bond.

Love to last thru the years

I love this dark romance with a little of mystery suspense and some steamy hotness. Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth knows his family is cursed. Bastian will not let any ghosts or wicked spirits stop in the renovations of his ancestral home. Jane Seyton is an American scholar who is writing her thesis on Stormclyffe Hall castle. The minute the two characters met, the story explodes off the page. With each clue unfolds and every kiss collected, I could not put this story down. This story is a great mixture of evil calamity and everlasting love. I really enjoyed the narrative.

big Meh.

I know is romance so there is a looooot of fiction there but:
he has a model by the arm all the time
but also a scholar with a lot of degrees
but partying in London all the time
but live on his own in the family mansion

aham
ok
fine
whatever

and she thinks in hyperboles all.the.time "she felt like fainting and that the air was taken from her because they had the same thought at the same time" ermmmmm, really?

the ploy had potential but ...is a nope from me

BlahBlahBlah

Starting things off with a”Very”inappropriate hello.Then denying and teasing for most of the story along with a lot of “woe is me “and..you must leave...no,no stay.It’s not safe,but I’ll do anything,give up anything to keep my cursed castle.Couldn’t wait for it to be over.Un-entertaining.

If you’re looking for a mindless, wannabe smut novel that plays at being gothic, here you go!

I was looking for a gothic read, modern or not. This was terribly disappointing. The characters are not fleshed out very well, on top of having “instant, curious” chemistry that is just so ridiculous it’s unbelievable. I’ve read my fair share of “instant, mind blowing” chemistry between two characters, but this has so little backing and the overall flatness of the characters leaves a lot to be desired. It’s literally two seemingly shallow strangers meeting, and they can’t get enough of each other without any build up.

The female lead is very disappointing. Even though she tries her best to “resist” she just can’t help but have a heaving bosom, despite just wanting to do “research.” What little conviction she had at the start of the novel is all but gone by chapter 3–5.

The male lead was somewhat interesting when first introduced, but rather than stick to his guns.. he, too, throws caution to the wind.

The lack of build up between the two, as well as the lack of characterization makes me feel like I wasted three to four hours of my life. I honestly tried to get through to the conclusion. Just so I can give a more honest review... but I couldn’t. Once I hit the final two hours, I had enough.

Plot: Simple, and what little mystery there is, is easily guessed at.
Characters: Bland. Two-dimensional, at best.
Voice actor/reader: her voice isn’t bad, but her “American” accent for the American in the story is...a little grating. Most of her other characters all sound the same.