Lord of the Night: A Night Slayer Book    by Robin T. Popp Order:  USA  Can Forever, 2007 (2007) Paperback Read an Excerpt    Reviewed by Martina Bexte This new chapter of Popp's series moves to England and delves into another branch of Night Slayer mythology. It introduces Erik Winslow, an aristocrat whose encounter with a colony of chupacapra two centuries before, turned him, as well as three of his close friends, into vampires. The men made a pact to deny themselves human blood and to destroy any of their kind who ignored their edict. Fast forward to the present as Kacie Renault returns to Winslow's ancestral castle, where she'd been raised and trained as a vampire slayer after her family's brutal deaths at the hands of vampires. Kacie has spent the last few years in America where she studied for a new career and found love. She plans to return to the US, settle down and put her vampire slayer days behind her. But once she crosses paths with Erik Winslow again, those well-laid plans dissolve. The schoolgirl crush she once harboured grows into full-blown desire. Nor is Erik immune to the intriguing and beautiful woman Kacie has become. Both know that any sort of relationship would be ill advised given their past history. But when Kacie is accused of the cold-blooded murder of a powerful member of the undead, Erik must make a choice: stand with his vampire brethren or defend the life of the woman with whom he's fallen hopelessly in love. The beginning of this fourth instalment gets off to an excellent start as Popp outlines Erik's history and his cautious relationship with his former student, Kacie. The author also does well building up the leads' relationship from tentative to combative to scorching. Unfortunately, though, I came to dislike Kacie - her tendency to repeatedly leap first and ask questions later was not an endearing character trait. In the end, Popp tells a serviceable story and adds a few new layers to her mythology, but sluggish pacing and character inconsistencies failed to elevate Lord of the Night to the same level as previous instalments of the Night Slayer series. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews