Midnight Eyes

by Sarah Brophy

During the turbulent, decadent reign of William II, a royal mercenary finds himself caught in the throes of an unexpected passion--and played as a pawn in a treacherous game. . . The bastard son of a Norman nobleman, Robert Beaumont has blossomed into one of England's fiercest killers--and has found himself well paid for his talents. But now the time has come for him to set aside his sword. The king has agreed to reward him for his last service with...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821780948
• ISBN13: 9780821780947
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.1" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Midnight Eyes

A very good book ,it held my interest,couldn't put it down.I would read it over and over again.

A great tale of courage, love and honor!!! 5++

I always give new authors a chance and Sara Brophy has written a very complex, yet poignant tale that pulls at your heartstrings and it really makes you cheer in the end. Imogen is the lady of Shadowsend. For years she has been a prisoner in her own castle by her evil (and this one is evil) and manipulative brother, Roger. She has been nicknamed Lady Deformed and the world has never know the reason why. Enter Lord Robert Beaumont, who has an uneasy relationship with the King, and has been given Shadowsend and also been told he has to marry the lass. He arrives at the castle and is shocked to discover that that all the rumors concerning Imogen aren't true. Imogen isn't deformed at all, but she is blind and the most beautiful woman Robert has ever seen. A pawn of her brother's evil machinations for years, Imogen is loath to trust anyone. After, she learns that Robert is there to take over Shadowkeep and marry her, and has been sent by the King William, encouraged by her brother, who is his present lover, she is even more unsure of Roger's motives. Though she secretly yearns for salvation from the cruel twist of fate that left her blind and at the hands of her brother's merciless, dark plots, she is unable to grant him a glimpse of the truth for fear that Robert is somehow tied to Roger's depraved plans. Robert falls in love with Imogen almost from the moment her sees her. Not just with her exterior beauty, but he comes to respect and admire her inner strength and fortitude for all she has suffered. This was a wonderful Medieval romance with dark overtones. Not just the harshness faced by the heroine and the degenerate behavior of her brother, but it gives a glimpse of the decadent and dissolute court of King William Rufus' and his debauched sexual preferences. I believe that the reader will be well satisfied with this one. Brophy delivers a well written, emotional romance full of beauty and redemption and the healing power of love and trust. I look forward to more from this talented new writer.

wonderful, moving tale

I really enjoy the Debut books for Kensington. New voices often deliver a story of passion, straight from the heart. It's too easy in this business to start trying to write to please the masses, instead of telling the magical tale within your heart. Authors often lose that daring. I have seen books, including my own, get comments of too much sex, not enough sex; people writing me how they love my books, a few don't. That only shows each book comes to the reader and affects them differently. Often, it's the readers fault as much as a book for not working for them. They bring prejudices, religious, educational exposure, dislike of names, and even hair-colouring, which can "set" them against a book and then they don't give it a fair hearing. Too many times, a reader wants the book to go as they think it should, instead of giving the storyteller the chance to tell it as the author created it. First books don't have writers fretting over these things. They just have an author with a love for their story giving you the sparkle, the freshness. Books after that see them starting to fret over who dislike what. First books are personal -just the writer and the story, so they thrill me for their purity. This is the true storytelling of Auld, the closest we get today to the bard by fireside, spinning tales to fascinate us. Midnight Eyes is one of those "shimmering tales" of a writer in love with her novel. If a writer doesn't love her book, then how can I, eh? It's a delightful plot. Robert Beaumont is the typical Alpha knight, handsome and with things to prove in life. He is the [...] son of a highborn man, and he wins the lands that will make his goals real. Only, they come with the hand of "Lady Deformed". Too busy fighting to discover what is what, after years, Robert is shocked to learn the Lady Imogen is very beautiful. Her "deformity" - she is blind. She was not born this way. The evil of man - in particular one man ¯ robbed her of her vision. Her brother had tried to kill her, though she survived a fall, but it left her without sight. Their parents banished him for this wicked deed, but in true villain fashion, he means to return and finish the job, and has at times, come back and played "games" with the blind Imogen. Imogen fears she will do no better with her new lord husband. Though for the first time, she learns how tender a real man can be. What love is. I applaud the author for having the less than perfect heroine. Many publishers won't take the chance, as if readers only want perfect heroes and heroines. I look forward to the next story from this author, and hope she hangs onto the magic of the "first book" instead of hearing the voices of "too many cooks".

Intense Medieval of Damsel in Distress

When Robert Beaumont, the handsome mercenary knight and bastard son of a Norman nobleman, wins lands and the hand of the infamous "Lady Deformed" in marriage after years of fighting for King William II, little does he realize that the extremely beautiful Lady Imogen Colebrook is not extremely deformed, but merely blind. But there are deep, dark, sick secrets lurking in her dark world, and her evil, sick and twisted brother Roger, the lover of King William, is behind all the darkness, evil and pain. Years ago he was banished by his parents from Shadowsend Keep when he attempted to kill his sister Imogen. Instead, Imogen fell down the stairs and was blinded. Blaming Imogen for his banishment, he returned years later and killed his parents. Since that time, he returns at intervals to administer cruel psychological and physical torture on the blind Imogen, who he keeps captive in her blindness and bed chamber. Through the years Imogen calls these sick contacts as "The Game," and when Robert shows up as the new master of the keep and husband, she feels he is just another playing piece in "The Game." Robert expects the worst of a marriage to "Lady Deformed," but is nearly knocked senseless with desire when he sees the stunning beauty. For the first time in her life Imogen is treated tenderly by a man, and even though she believes Robert was sent by her brother Roger, she begins to fall in love with him. Robert knows his lady is holding deep, dark secrets, but he takes joy in seeing her come out of her dark world and chamber to learn about him, his men and the daily life of the keep. His love grows and deepens and he even begins to feel jealousy at the courtly love his men express toward his beautiful and kindhearted wife. When Robert learns more about her past and this secret "Game" and that her own brother is the cause, he is angered, troubled and pained that she will not trust him enough to share the entire truth. Suddenly the evil breaks into their idyllic life in the form of secretive messages only to be given to Imogen from Roger. Thinking he is a successful, well-trained knight capable of protecting Imogen, little does Robert know that he has become another playing piece in Roger's Game. When Roger finally unveils his complete plan by using King William's love for him, Roger convinces the King that Robert is committing treason by attempting to replace him on the throne with his brother Henry. When Robert is arrested and waiting hanging for treason, he can finally play out his Game with Imogen. When Imogen realizes that Robert's expressions of love are true and that he has become a victim in "The Game" and not a partner with Roger as originally thought, she flees to King William to finally unveil the truth and the years of secrets she has kept to herself. The intense passion and love, together with the constant evil lurking to damage Robert and Imogen's happiness, makes for an enthralling, mezmerizing read that is difficult to put down. Midnight E