Night of the Phantom

Anne Stuart's Greatest Hits, Book 4

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Jean Ann Douglass

Megan Carey was ready to embark on a trip to Europe, finally taking time to do something purely for herself, but when she finds her father on the brink of suicide, her plans go out the window. Her father is being blackmailed by a reclusive genius who’s demanded TK Carey show up to answer for his crimes. Panicked, Megan volunteers to go in his place.

Ethan Winslowe is a brilliant, eccentric architect with a grudge. In his odd, rambling mansion, he waits for Megan’s father to enact his revenge, but when Megan comes in his stead, Ethan has a new prisoner to answer for the crimes.

At first, Megan is afraid of the strange, dark man who tormented her father with threats of public ruin. Ethan is mysterious and deeply secretive, refusing to allow himself to be seen in the light of day. But soon, Megan’s fear is replaced by curiosity and a desire to see the man who haunts her dreams, and even as she’s kept prisoner she’s drawn to him, obsessed by him, on the edge of falling in love with a phantom.

Is there any way she can learn to trust a creature of darkness before the outside forces of evil destroy them both?

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A Beauty and her Beast

Very interesting retelling of beauty and the beast. The story was a bit slow in parts but all turned out well in the end.
The twist is that the hero is bent on revenge against all who see him as a beast instead of just a man. Her love can save him if he will let it.

Toxic, abusive MMC

This modern day Beauty and the Beast romance took all of the bad things and none of the good from the fairy tale. The MMC imprisoned her and waged a campaign of terror over her, even knowing her to be innocent of her father’s crimes. He kissed her while she was drugged, then again while she was unconscious. He gaslit her, sexed her up once she was full-on in the grips of Stockholm Syndrome, then rejected her. Further, this was all by his own choice; there’s no curse or magic forcing his hand.

Was there a single good or honorable act? Well, he paid a desperate mom to be his mistress and then let her work as his maid. No, wait, that’s yet another example of him abusing women. The only marginally good deeds came with baggage. For her part, Megan took it all and caved every time. The HEA wasn’t about his redemption; it was about her capitulation.

The other off things about this book involved the medieval living conditions, pitchfork primitive townsfolk, and magical realism alongside cars and computers. I didn’t understand the point. The more I listened, and the more I came to realize he was always going to be a jerk, the more I resented this story.