Thea Harrison – Night’s Honor

The seventh book in the Elder Races series, published September 2, 2014.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: meh, the heroine is human so the cover doesn’t fit. My book has the smaller cover, which I prefer. He sure has nice abs ...




In the latest novel of the Elder Races, a woman finds herself in need of protection – and seduced by honor...

On the run from her former employer, Tess knows that she’s vulnerable on her own amongst the Elder Races. That’s why she decides to audition to become the human attendant of a powerful Vampyre of the Nightkind demesne. But while her position affords her the safety she seeks, her protector turns out to be more than she bargained for.
The right-hand of the Nightkind King, Xavier del Torro is both terrifying and alluring. While his true nature frightens Tess, she can’t ignore the appeal of his innate sense of integrity and self-restraint. Thrown into Xavier’s world, Tess must quickly learn to navigate the dangers both to her life and to her heart. But the biggest threat comes from her own past ...


I was intrigued by Tess from the start. She needed protection from one of the world’s most powerful predators, so she sought out the help from an even bigger predator. She was scared to death of Vampyres, but she also knew she would be safe from bigger harm once the contracted was signed. All she had to do was donate some blood; she could do that, right? So when the second most powerful Vampyre took an interest in her, she had to take the opportunity. She was sleeping in her car, afraid to use her own apartment or bank accounts; she needed to disappear for a while. It was bad enough that her former boss send her nightmares.

Tess claims to be an accountant, and also a great hacker, and Xavier sure can use those skills. So after hiring her for a year, she will train to be one of his personal attendants. Xavier doesn’t have as many attendants as some vampires do, nor does he abuse them as he pleases. To Tess’ surprise, she is trained in combat daily. Running, fighting, building her strenght and condition. But until she offers Xavier her own blood in a ritual, she will not be bonded to him, nor profit from the healing powers that bond will offer her.

First Xavier will get her to fear him less, as she is rousing the predator in him. Let alone if she encounters other vampires who love the smell of fear in their prey. He will have some business to attend in the city, but after that, he will personally take a hand in her training. Whatever is thrown at her, Tess is stubborn, she will persevere. After a hard life as a foster child, going in and out of homes, the one worse than the other, she was determined to make something of herself. So she got herself through college, and got a good paying career. Until she stumbled upon her boss’s machinations, and put a stop to that. So she had to leave her good life behind, and keep running just to stay alive. Being a Vampyre attendant was the only solution she saw.

Maybe Xavier is not the monster she thinks he is. Of course she heard the stories about him, and he himself acknowledges them as true. Still, he keeps his word and his distance, and does not force her to do anything. Can a monster be a monster when he has so much honor? And dancing together slowly turns into something magical ...
But Xavier has enemies, enemies who would love to see him dead, permanently...


I really enjoyed this book, and I did stay up way past my bedtime to read this one (thanks for the t-shirt again Maia!). Each installment in this series enriches the world, and I loved to learn more about the vampires. I did love Carling’s book, but this one gives a peek into the King as well, and perhaps I can dislike him a little less now. He sure has his own problems, with his Courth, and with the woman he probably loves but doesn’t know that he does.

The book does end on a slight cliffhanger, but it is only just to wet your appetite for the next book. I hope Thea Harrison will write many more books in this series, as I love it. And perhaps, there is a tiny chance that she is coming to the Love Letter Convention in Berlin, Germany, next year ... I sure hope so!

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian