RETURN TO ME – Julia Templeton

Berkley Publishing

ISBN:  978-0-425-21541-8

August 2007

Erotic Paranormal Historical Romance

Scotland 1314 and London 1818

Darius MacLeod was mortally wounded on the battlefield and knows that he will not live much longer.  Before he takes his last breath, a beautiful angel appears before him and asks if he wants to live.  Unable to answer, Darius is shocked when his twin brother Demetri suddenly appears and begs the angel to save Darius’s life.  Later, Darius awakens without a scratch and doesn’t believe Demetri’s claim that he is now a vampire.  The truth doesn’t sink in until he takes the first drink of Remont’s, Darius’s maker and Demetri’s lover, blood.  Darius returns home to his wife and tries to live as if nothing has changed, but, he can’t hide his late night activities or the fact that he sleeps throughout the day.   His wife, Rose, astutely puts the clues together and one day runs away from him in fear.  In her haste, she falls and dies, along with their unborn child.

Five hundred years later, Darius is still haunted by the death of Rose and their child.  He can’t believe his eyes when he sees a woman who is the spitting image of Rose.  He sends his most persuasive call to her ‘return to me.'

Gabrielle has problems of her own.  Her gambling and drunkard brother sold her to the Viscount of Sutherland for money to cover his debts.  The Viscount is a lecherous and conniving murderer who is purported to have killed his first two wives.  Gabrielle is determined to run away when the opportunity arises and hopes that she gets her chance to do so at tonight’s ball.  A talented witch in her own right, Gabrielle is entranced by the call of a man across the ballroom.  She is sure that she has never met him before, but he is unsure why he seems so familiar.  Her magical gifts tells her that he is not human, but her heart tells her to ignore this difference and claim him as her own.  What will happen in a romance between a witch and a vampire?

RETURN TO ME is a light and easy read that is full of vampires, witches, and ghosts.  Gabrielle has the ability to heal and can hear other’s thoughts.  Darius is a vampire with unlimited and unimaginable powers.  He is stunningly handsome and determined to claim Gabrielle as his own.   RETURN TO ME has all of the elements of a great book.  As a lover of paranormal romances, I was so excited to read RETURN TO ME because there is a little hocus-pocus mixed in with vampires and the reunion of lost lovers.  However, this one fell a little short of my expectations.  The primary characters were not completely established and I failed to connect with them.  Similarly, the powers of Gabrielle and Darius were never fully explained, which could have made them more interesting.   

During the tale, her mother’s deceased ghost guides Gabrielle from harm and danger, which also lends a mysterious quality to the tale.  However, no further appearances from her mother are made after a few scenes.  Other loose ends involve the enhancement of Gabrielle’s powers.  Readers will find that as the story continues, her powers grow but won’t get a chance to really see to what extent.   

Categorized as an erotic tale, the sex scenes in RETURN TO ME are numerous but aren’t descriptive enough to visualize.  The real star of RETURN TO ME is the relationship between the secondary characters, Remont and Demetri.  The pain Remont experiences as a result of loving Demetri is brilliantly portrayed to readers.   I’ve read rave reviews of Ms. Templeton’s work, but RETURN TO ME fell shy of being a great read.  However, the concepts are intriguing and the characterization issues are fixable.  I would like to read more by this author to see where her future tales take us.

Ariel Summer