Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel (Edilean Novels)

Author Jude Deveraux is the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of thirty-eight books. There are more than sixty million of her books in print worldwide. Other titles include: Days of Gold, Lavender Morning, Return to Summerhouse, and Secrets. She resides in North Carolina with her family.

This book is part of the EDILEAN SERIES, though can be read as a stand alone novel.

In the quaint little town of Edilean, Virginia, Sara Shaw is making wedding plans, much to the distress of her family and friends. Greg Anders is not the man they would have chosen for the town's "golden child." Greg isn't like everyone else in town--he's abrupt, rude, and has a superior attitude. Plus, most think he's cheating on her. But Sara is devoted to him, assured that Edilean just doesn't know him. Then Greg leaves town unexpectedly, leaving Sara to wonder when he'll return and where they stand in their relationship. Strangely enough, undercover cop Mike Newland shows up just after Greg leaves. And the town all but bows down to the newcomer. When Sara learns that Mike was sent to Edilean because her fiancé and his mother are career criminals and planning the heist of a lifetime, Sara doesn't know what to do. Worse, she's finding herself attracted to the man, a man who cannot emotionally or physically commit to her. Either way, Mike and Sara need to figure out what it is Greg's family wants from her, before they find it first and she becomes expendable.

The only fault I found with the book was that the characters backgrounds and inner thoughts didn't always seem to match their actions. For instance, Sara is witty and smart, yet she lets this Greg guy push her around and doesn't see through him. And Mike, who refuses to ever commit and marry, who lives a thousand miles away, quickly falls for Sara and is a bit soft at times.

In saying that, I always take pleasure in a Jude Deveraux book. She writes with a poetic simplicity that makes her stand alone. Though a romantic suspense, this is heavy on the contemporary romance with intrigue elements. The hero and heroine were hilarious in their dialog. Back and forth, back and forth. I laughed out loud. As typical of her books, Deveraux is at her best when describing her settings. It puts the reader right there in the pages with the characters. The secondary characters were a nice add to the storyline. I can't wait to read more about them. Recommended.

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
Bookpleasures

Jude Deveraux writes series that are unforgettable. Each book stands on its own. I like that the characters are real people that have flaws and all. If you enjoy reading a contemporary romance about a small Southern town, secrets and a mystery, than this is the book to read!

My review:

Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux was one of the books I won from another book blogger's giveaway. I didn't know what to expect, only the information I saw on the back side of the book and it caught my eye. I read it during my July vacation and enjoyed it incredibly.

Scarlet Nights is a part of Edilean series, it is book 3, but it is standalone book, so I did not even get the feelings that there was some information missing. I read this book in one sitting almost; I just had to get couple of hours of sleep during the night and then continued reading. It was that captivating! Jude Deverauz is a highly professional author who knows how to keep the reader interested; just when you think what is going to happen, something changes. There were couple of very good twists in the book, but to avoid spoilers I `m not going to reveal them.

Scarlet Night was well written book with interesting characters. It gave a wonderful picture of a small town life, how the families are connected and in some cases related to each other and how the history of these families still influences the presence.

Regarding the plot:

The book starts out that FBI agent Mike Newland gets a task to go undercover to a small town in the middle of nowhere called Edilean. Since he is undercover agent, he keeps his private life secret and he is taken by a surprise that somebody actually knows that he is connected to Edilian and that he has a sister living there. Mike takes unwillingly the task and his task will be protecting a woman named Sara Shaw from the notorious criminal who she is about to marry.

Settings in Edilean were wonderfully created. I enjoyed how Jude Deveraux described the small town life where all the families are connected and how the hatred and animosity from generations back influenced the characters. It was genuinely well written.

Regarding the characters:

Besides the plot, author's detailed descriptions of the history of the Edilean, the characters were fabulous! Both main and supporting characters were intriguing and fascinating. Even the smallest characters had their place in the book and were thoroughly though through and described in details. I loved that, it gave so much meat to the bones.

Sarah was hard to swallow for me in the beginning. She was so submissive, so vulnerable, and too sweet for my taste in the beginning of the book. During the book her character grew and I found that there is lot of courage, independence in her, which has just being suppressed during her relationship with Greg. She was vulnerable from her relationship with Brian that definitely left some serious scars in her soul. After meeting Mike Sara started to shine, her personality was brightened up.

Mike was adorable! His personality was very easy to like. I loved that fact Jude Deveraux wrote some soft spots into Mike - his protectiveness towards his sister Tess, his complicated childhood living with his granny. I liked that Mike had more into him just being an average FBI macho. He was sweet, had a great sense of humor and he was very resourceful while working on the case.

I loved the supporting characters! Tess, Luke, Brewster Lang, Joyce - they were all wonderful characters! I like when author takes her attention to supporting characters, too, so everything in the story is not only about the protagonists.

Generally:

I loved this book! It had romance, action, and twists in the plot, absolutely believable characters and reliable setting, so I would highly recommend this book!

5 stars out of 5.

Again, since reviewers have already told the plot, I'm going to limit my comments to observations about the characters and the storyline. I absolutely *loved* Scarlet Nights and was thinking about it for days after I finished.

I thought it was a great story and am really dismayed that so many reviewers seem to be missing so much of it. Jude doesn't write formulaic novels, IMO, and this is no different. This is a lesson in how victims are chosen and created, both personally and professionally. It's informative and empowering, and how people missed this is beyond me.

Romance novels are by nature a love story. If there's no conflict, no keeping them apart, no misunderstanding, no challenge, then there's no story. What's she going to say, Dick and Jane met at the grocery, fell in love and lived happily ever after? *Every* romance novel has to have a challenge.

Scarlet Nights is based on a real life crime family who run scams on innocent victims, and her portrayal of how the family members work together to isolate and then exploit victims, woven into the story, was absolutely brilliant. I found it fascinating and disturbing at the same time.

Mike got bashed a lot for being short and bald with a high forehead, but seriously I didn't picture him as unattractive at all. Jason Statham is short and bald with a high forehead and he's a favorite with the ladies, so what gives with this? If Judith had made him tall, dark and handsome I'm willing to bet there'd be reviewers who would criticize her for being unimaginative, and I LIKED that he was original and unique in his appearance. Besides that, he's damned smart, likeable, and I would go out on a date with him in a heartbeat, LOL.

Sara also got bashed for sticking with an a-hole who was abusing and using her. Let's think about this for a minute. She's smart, pretty, talented, loving, loyal - she has a lot going for her. Have you ever known a woman in real life like this, and couldn't figure out why she stuck with that jerk of a boyfriend/husband? Why do women do this? It's so easy to look at them and judge and criticize and be completely frustrated with them when we don't understand.

Jude showed us - told us - why Sara did, and then led Sara to the big "Ah ha" that she needed. I think she did all of us a favor by outlining how a man chooses a victim, charms the hell out of her at first, and then slowly changes, while the victim keeps hanging in there waiting for him to "change back", afraid to look like a fool or a loser, afraid to leave for all kinds of reasons. If one, two, five women who are in abusive relationships read this book and the light bulb goes on, then she's done an enormous service. In fact, putting this out there for everyone to read and hopefully be more understanding and supportive just might help diminish the number of abusive relationships. All you have to do is loan this book to your friend.

Scarlet Nights is a keeper for me, one that I intend to re-read several times.

Jude Deveraux was once a favorite of mine. Now I resignedly borrow her most recent books from the library in the optimistic hope that they will be somewhat interesting. The once imaginative author of A Knight in Shining Armor has fallen far short of this formerly loyal reader's expectations. It is my belief that Jude is banking on her name these days and little else. I thought the Edilean series had a lot of potential. Currently I am struggling through Scarlet Nights (#3 in this series, following #1 Lavender Morning, #2 Days of Gold) and I find myself wondering who made up this mess? Each book is becoming a bit more ridiculous. This book reads like a bad high school English project in which the teacher gives the students an opening idea and each student embellishes on the story, adding to it as they go around the room...and then the hero climbed into the bedroom at night through the secret trap door of a hidden tunnel from the Underground Railroad, and then the abused, submissive, meek and mild seamstress hauled off and slapped her friend's musclebound brother/virtual stranger/undercover cop across the face, and then there was a grumpy old troll of a man who hated everyone in Edilean for some inexplicable reason, grew marijuana in his organic, booby-trapped garden, and guarded a priceless hidden treasurer, and there was a pet graveyard, and then they got married, and then the bedridden, pregnant-with-twins friend decided to go to the fair as a fortune teller to try to identify the dangerous criminal that no one had ever seen, and then her fiancee got out of jail and came back to town...

It makes me sad that a once talented and entertaining author has sunk to writing this trite and uninspired drivel. I really wanted to like this series but I really don't.

My best advice is to go back to Jude Deveraux's earlier books if you are looking for a good read.

I enjoyed this story and the characters in it. It kept my attention from the start all the way until the end. The banter between our two main characters is fun and I saw the development in both of them take place gradually as they came to appreciate and love one another. The mystery was good and progressed well throughout the story.

More sex than I prefer but a good read.

I love the way Jude Deveraux writes. She always uses witty, compassion, intrigue and wonderful characters. I continue to come back to her books and want to to hear the stories of the supporting characters. This book returns us to the very small and meddling Edilean, Virginia. The loner Mike comes to the town he has avoided on a case. Without realizing it the entire town is conspiring to attach to the troubled Sara Shaw. Sara is fighting everyone because they hate her fiance. She is frustrated and trying to find her way. Mike's goal is save her from the lying fiance but their families have a more permanent outcome in mind. I enjoyed the journey with these two finding their way. It was a lot of fun with family tensions, intrigue, murder, hidden treasure, and a cranky old man who is determined to keep everyone out.

I have enjoyed this series tremendously! Each book moves to a different character that you already know from previous books. This series has everything needed for a page turner. Mystery, small town and folksy, lots of good loving and hot sex. Intelligent characters that you always learn something from. Jude's books completely hold your attention and leave you feeling so good!

With all the upsetting things happening in our country today I, personally enjoy a book that takes me away from the harsh reality of our country's woes. Be sure to start this series at the beginning. Great read.

I'd like to preface my review of "Scarlet Nights" by saying that I've always enjoyed Jude Deveraux' work and the snappy banter between her heroines and heroes that's such a signature of her writing style. This particular book, however, falls short on so many levels that I actually flipped back to see if I hadn't misread the author's name. Contrivances abound, conflict is significantly lacking until the last few chapters and, sadly, Sara is definitely not the sharpest knife in the romance drawer. It's one thing to be led astray by a charismatic villain but the signs are so obvious from the get-go insofar as her beau being a scary control freak that you just can't feel a lot of sympathy for Sara's dilemma. Compounding the problem is the question of why her rescuer thinks she's a fabulous catch. I really think a great guy like that could have done much, much better.

I did not like this book. Sara Shaw was annoying. I was able to tolerate Mike more than her. The dialogue throughout the book between various characters was so ridiculous, I was rolling my eyes most of the time. At first the storyline interested me, but ended up being convoluted in my opinion. I found this book to be emotionless and silly. This is my third book by this author and have yet to be moved by her writing.

Just like my title states, What happened to the Jude I use to love? This story was so rediculous i wanted to just throw it out the window. But because I have a vague memory of the great stories Jude use to write i kept on reading and was once again disappointed. I didn't even care that the hero was odd looking or that the heroine was nuts to be with and ready to marry an abusive guy. My problem was the plot made no sense. Okay so the villain, Greg was marrying Sara to get her inheritance, and the cop came to stop the marriage. The way it unfolded was dumb. The cop married her so she couldnt marry Greg. They "created" tarot(?) cards to bring out the creepy mother. The treasure is hidden behind a door that no one but the cop could find. Really? The evil fiances relationship with the town is mentioned so much that i would have appreciated seeing some interaction between him and anybody.
There is absolutely no way that the person that wrote Knight in Shining Armor wrote this piece of trash. I gave it too many stars.