This is a rather odd book that is less romance than Gothic, but despite the description hinting at it, this is not a horror novel. A Deep Dark Call is about the truth behind ancient beliefs and the cost of being spread across an unbelieving world. There is a lot of graphic sex at times, but the focus is more on the shifter history and limitations, and the sex is an integral part of that. What I first thought was awkward description from the perspective of a virgin turns out to be much more complicated.

The biggest weakness in the book is secrecy. Despite the characters knowing what is going on, the reader is given hints and teases without facts for far too long. Even worse, the secret, when it is revealed, is not significant because I had already figured it out, so it was a false suspense that felt more like being on the outside of an inside joke. There’s no question that I’d have been happier without the information withholding, but it acted as a minor distraction rather than enhancing the story tension as I assume was intended, and there are many more strengths to counter it.

One of those strengths is Lucy’s relationship with her charge, Alexandra. Lucy comes into the family as a governess. The relationship with Alexandra’s father, Ioan, is an unexpected occurrence that raises its own complications. The story is a clash of old world and new, of greed and tradition, with Lucy’s ignorance an added match to an old fire. The book offers a lovely story with some very dark moments, but not the horrific ones I’d initially feared.

There are mentions of spanking and bondage as sex play that seemed out of place in a historical novel, though the late reveal of the year, and other things like her focus on her curves as a negative, made it seem less like the 1880s than a modern novel. The remote nature of the village assisted in this lack of clarity, while other things supported a less modern era much more. However, as the story occurs mostly in isolation, the time period is less critical than the strong sense of place and culture within this village and its manor.

The story offers interesting differences in cultural expectations between Lucy’s English upbringing and the village culture. Ioan is a sophisticate who permits the old ways but is rather forward thinking in his own perspective and appreciative of his daughter’s clever mind. Alexandra is both smart and aware for her age, but she is still very childlike in certain aspects. The issues of language and how it can be used as a screen for dislike were also well done. I enjoyed the interactions between Ioan and the real (non-shifter) wolves as well, especially in dominance conflicts and how they were resolved.

The concept of these shifters is a fascinating blend of mythology and traditional shifter abilities. It’s both well concocted and complex, with layers that cause many of the rifts and complications in the relationship between Lucy and Ioan.

Ultimately, it is a good story with an interesting history behind it and characters I could connect with. The love story was more an instant attraction and tied into the shifter philosophy at first, but by the end, they’d learned a lot about each other and bonded over the connection with his daughter, so it felt more real.

Despite the issues I had, I enjoyed the read and how everything came together.

P.S. I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book. It was supposed to be a gothic style PNR, with an English-governess in Wallachia who falls for her enigmatic employer. The blurb promised a sinister manor house, a possible curse, and questionable circumstances surrounding the death of the hero’s first wife. I was expecting Rebecca meets Dracula or something. What I got was a story I had to put down three times in eye-rolling frustration before I finally walked away for good around the halfway point. It should tell you a lot that I couldn’t get any further, since the book was only about 43,000 words.

It started out with a lot of scene setting, which ok, the author was trying to set the mood. Wallachia is very different from London and wolves howl a lot. Lucy, the heroine, has some kind of Past which forced her to leave her home and strike out somewhere entirely new. At first, I figured someone must have deflowered her, especially since she wondered if her new employer was going to ravage her the first time they met (an idea she was clearly not adverse to) but since we later discover she’s a virgin, I can tell you that wasn’t it.

Anyway, Lucy and Ione have an immediate connection (ie. they want to boff each other right away.) This makes Ione run away to a brothel with his buddies where they often go to all have sex in the same room. Mind you, this is not an orgy-kinky/guy on guy thing. I guess in Wallachia, brothels do it differently. The first time I set down the book was when Ione started ruminating on how his friends liked to do it with their various whores. For instance, he wonders what he himself would have looked like from outside in moments like this. An impatient, insatiable lover like George? Rough like Iancu? Skilled and patient? Fastidious? After all, we get to see the various ways his friends are boning through Ione’s eyes.

I left the story and tried again. Lucy keeps dreaming of Ione. Ione admits to dreaming of her. Of course that leads him to the obvious question… if they’re dreaming of each other, could they be sharing the same dream? (Seriously, why the hell would you jump to that conclusion?) His admission makes Lucy stomp her foot and tell Ione he’s inappropriate in the stable, and then they end up hiding and peeping on another couple engaging in some spanking and nookie. It gets her all hot. It was as if his essence was already inside her, filling her. Yet again she inhaled a scent that was unmistakably his–soap and tobacco, very discernably all male, cock and unspent seed, blood that was hot and burning for her. What in God’s name does that even mean???

OK, now at this point, they just want to have sex with each other. She says no, it wouldn’t be proper, so he proposes. When she says she doesn’t want to marry him, he replies, “I don’t particularly want to marry you either, but I want to fuck you and you want it too.” I mean, who wouldn’t swoon with a proposal like that? Of course she says yes. Then they get to the wedding night where Ione can smell Lucy’s virginity and asks her if she’s wondering how she’ll fit this strange looking thing inside her.

That was when I quit.

I’m pretty sure Ione’s a wolf-shifter of some kind, because there a lot of talk about wolves and the foreshadowing is rather heavy-handed. I just couldn’t stick with it to find out.

This has some pretty good reviews on Goodreads, so maybe it’s just me. Your mileage may vary.

A Deep Dark Call by Rose Vane is the story of Lucy and Ioan.
Lucy has come to town to be a live in governess for Ioan's daughter, Alexandra. They have instant attraction to each other but also a complicated one for sure.
This was a really Hot quick read with about 133 pages.

A Deep Dark Call, debut fiction from Rose Vane, is an incredible dark romance. It pulls you in with secrets and envelops you in enchanting lore.

Lucy Cross travels to a strange, distant Wallachia because there is nothing and no one left for her in England. She is hired as governess for Ioan Marcu's daughter, Alexandra. The harsh winter and language barrier make for a bleak future, but the immediate attraction to the boyar and intelligence of her new charge gives Lucy hope. Ioan is the guardian of his people and the wolves that live in the surrounding forests. The pull of wild attraction goes both ways between them. For Ioan has found the means to unleash his supernatural other half. Lucy is the key he's been waiting for since he first learned about the dark power held within.

Lucy walks into a world where old traditions are alive and thriving. The hidden truths about herself are fighting to rise and she can no longer remain ignorant of her destiny. Normally, I despise having to wait for secrets to be revealed. In this story, though, Rose Vane tactfully reveals pieces of information as it becomes relevant. I never had to wait too long for answers to the questions that were raised in the outset of the story. The quick pace makes it seem as though you have been thrust into the middle of an extravagant tale that has been unfolding for some time before you're introduced to the characters. There aren't any long passages of backstory even though this world is unfamiliar. The setting is a breath of fresh air as it transported me to somewhere new and unusual.

Every page builds up to a marvelous ending. I will be looking for more from Rose Vane because she brings a touch of something different to the romance genre. I'm eager to see what else she has in store for her readers!
*ARC provided in consideration for a review*

I'm not quite sure what to say about this one. This is my first read from this author, so I can't compare A Deep Dark Call to her other works. But this one didn't work for me for several reasons.

I did like the setting of Wallachia/Romania, as that is still somewhat unique when it comes to the staging for romance and paranormal stories. And given the release date, I was happy that this was set around Christmastime with lots of snow. But that is about where it ended for me.
Lucy traveled alone from England to Wallachia to act as a governess for Ioan Marcu's young daughter, Alexandra. It's clear that she is leaving England in disgrace and is determined to make this new employment work, but she wasn't expecting to fall in instant lust with her dark and mysterious employer. Ioan suffered from the same problem on his first whiff of Lucy. There is a quite a bit of earthy lusty thoughts happening, and things move very quickly from there. Unfortunately, despite the instant lust, Ioan and Lucy never seemed to like each other. Even when they were together, there was a coldness to their interaction that I did not like.

In addition to the hot and cold relationship, things moved too fast. I know this is a novella, but I felt like it was all tell and no show. I wanted more character development, more details, and more emotional involvement. Much of the dialogue was strange and confusing and I was left scratching my head as to the author's meaning. The prose was too earthy to be purple, but it was no less unappealing. The plot conflicts were also weak and too easily resolved. The whole story just left me feeling cranky and unsatisfied.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher, Carina Press.

I expected what I came for in Wallachia: a job as a governess and a fresh beginning, far away from all that tormented me in England. Instead, I found a sinister manor house with secrets lurking down every dim corridor.

Eerie, erotic nightmares plague my sleep—inspired, no doubt, by tales of the village’s mystical guardians and my darkly handsome employer.

Ioan Marcu is as enigmatic as the lands where he and his daughter make their home. The locals say that he is cursed, that he is behind the questionable circumstances of his first wife’s death.

But I feel an almost supernatural pull toward him, despite the wall of solitude he’s built around himself.

Our passion has reached a fever pitch, and I know we must confront the consequences of our lust.

For Ioan is no normal man, and I may just be the key to his powers’ full potential.

Review:

Great first book for this Author!

I really liked this mixing of mythos to come up with a new twist on werewolves.

This story had a gothic romance feel which I loved. It was dark, atmospheric and super sexy. It is a very fast paced story, so the romance is amped up. Though Ioan and Lucy don’t like each other for the first part of the story, for me it was more of not wanting to want the other and them throwing up walls.

As far as it is posted this looks as though it is a stand alone title but I really think this would make a good series. There were Ioan’s friends who were quite intriguing and would make great stories.

I can’t wait to see what this Author offers next.

4Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

A quick and easy read. I didn't like it that everything happened so fast. Lucy and Ioan met and the insta-lust was off the charts. They were consumed with sexual thoughts about each other. I wouldn't have minded so much if they genuinely seemed to like each other but they did not. The story was set up that way for a reason, but it was weird for a romance to have two main characters not like each other much. If more time had been spent developing their relationship this would have been very good.

3.5 stars.

This was an okay read for me, overall.

A Deep Dark Call by Rose Vane is the first book that I’ve read by this author. The execution fell apart here and there, but I enjoyed the gothic feel to this paranormal story.

Lucy travels to the wilds of Wallachia to be a governess. She doesn’t expect the enigmatic owner or the mystery that seems to live within the walls and tapestries. There’s so much to uncover in a place shrouded in myths and paranormal whispers.

The original blurb really peaked my interest! I love darker storylines, and each page had enough intrigue to keep me flipping through.

Ioan is the master of the house, and he has this Mr. Rochester vibe that I really, really loved. He’s not your average man, though, and Lucy’s intrigued not only about his past but the erotic dreams she keeps having about him.

I just wish that Lucy’s understandings of her situation didn’t feel so glossed over. She comes to just know certain things and I wanted more push/pull. Her reactions just felt a bit off to me. I also wanted her connection to Ioan to have more time to develop.

That said, I really enjoyed the look into this world. The side characters were interesting, there was just enough steam to singe the pages, and enough twists that make this story stand out. I recommend it for anyone who loves a good paranormal mystery.

Ioan is more animal than man at times, “then everybody will be able to see I’ve branded you as mine,” he said with something akin to a growl of masculine satisfaction." I loved when Lucy found her voice, “then I shall come with you,” she said, leaving no room for further argument." I liked this book, although Ioan could be a little uncaring at times I grew to like him.