Award-winning author Susan Carroll delighted readers everywhere with her extraordinary novel The Bride Finder. Nora Roberts called the story "an intriguing tale that proves the wounds of the heart can be healed by the magic of true love." Iris Johansen declared that its "dynamite plot . . . keeps you riveted to the last page and still wanting more." Teresa Medeiros pronounced the book "absolute perfection from start to finish." Now Carroll sweeps us back to the moonlight and magic of the Cornish coast, to the billowing mists swirling about the storm-lashed cliffs, to the mysterious St. Legers and the romantic legend of their Bride Finder. Lance St. Leger is defying his destiny. The eldest son and heir to Castle Leger, he has returned from the army determined to continue his role as rakehell and black sheep, plagued by an infernal restlessness that cannot be appeased. Perhaps because the St. Leger legacy of strange powers is most pronounced in Lance's own dubious gift. He calls it night drifting--his ability to separate his body from his soul, to spirit into the night while flesh and bone remain behind. And it is on one wild night's mad search for a magnificent stolen sword--the icon of St. Leger power--that he finds her. . . . Rosalind, a young, sheltered widow with a passion for the Arthurian legend, mistakes Lance's "drifting" soul as the ghost of Sir Lancelot. Seeing that she is in need of a champion, the St. Leger rogue assumes the role of the tragic knight, not knowing that this woman is his destiny, his perfect mate. But deep down in her heart, Rosalind is all too aware she is a mortal woman with very real desires that only a man of flesh and blood can fulfill--a man like Lance St. Leger. The scandal-plagued scoundrel teases and tempts her, fills her with a yearning her chivalrous phantom knight cannot satisfy. And in this place imbued with both true love and otherworldly magic, where blood ties run as deep as eternity, a new dire portent vows to come full circle. As a murderous enemy challenges the St. Leger power, Rosalind must tempt magic herself to save her beloved from the cold depths of eternal damnation. The Night Drifter captures the magic of Susan Carroll on every page, in the depths of characters you long to reach out and touch, in every breathtaking word that conjures the fathomless power of love--and takes you to the places of the heart where anything is possible. If you believe . . .

The Night Drifter

Literature & Fiction

Carroll, Susan

United States

Ballantine Books

In her award-winning historical novel The Bride Finder, bestselling author Susan Carroll bewitched readers with the legend of the St. Leger men--the descendants of a medieval sorcerer haunted by an unnatural past. Now Carroll once again conjures the unforgettable castle by the sea--a place where love is as mysterious and invincible as the family legacy. . . . Valentine St. Leger is a healer with a wounded heart. Born with the amazing gift to eliminate the suffering of others by taking their pain into his own body, Val's gentle hands cannot change a tormenting truth: he will never marry. According to history, should he defy his destiny and wed, his unfortunate bride would be doomed to an early death. Though he aches for the one woman who knows all his secrets, he cannot return her passion. Until a night of magic transforms Val into a different man, a man with desires he can no longer resist. Kate Fitzleger has loved Val almost her entire life and is not about to let a foolish superstition ruin her chance for happiness. Venturing into a forbidden room of the St. Leger castle to steal an ancient book of sorcery, she desperately hopes to find a powerful love potion. On All Hallow's Eve, when the spirits of good and evil mingle upon the earth, Kate tempts fate with an unholy spell that goes awry. When Val awakens, he has no memory of the bizarre events that have changed him--the visit from an old enemy or the return of a lost heirloom that has altered his soul. All he knows is that life is for the living . . . and his fair Kate is ripe for seduction. He will tempt heaven and hell to have her--even if it means he could lose her forever. Brimming with enchanting characters and stunning atmosphere, Valentine's Bride is a romantic masterpiece that will hold your imagination captive and provide a glimpse of a timeless world found only in dreams or the most treasured love stories.

Midnight Bride

Midnight Bride: A Novel (St. Leger)

From Brittany’s misty shores to the decadent splendor of Paris’s royal court, one woman must fulfill her destiny–while facing the treacherous designs of Catherine de Medici, the dark queen. She is Ariane, the Lady of Faire Isle, one of the Cheney sisters, renowned for their mystical skills and for keeping the isle secure and prosperous. But this is a time when women of ability are deemed sorceresses, when Renaissance France is torn by ruthless political intrigues, and all are held in thrall to the sinister ambitions of Queen Catherine de Medici. Then a wounded stranger arrives on Faire Isle, bearing a secret the Dark Queen will do everything in her power to possess. The only person Ariane can turn to is the comte de Renard, a nobleman with fiery determination and a past as mysterious as his own unusual gifts. Riveting, vibrant, and breathtaking, The Dark Queen follows Ariane and Renard as they risk everything to prevent the fulfillment of a dreadful prophecy–even if they must tempt fate and their own passions.

The Dark Queen: A Novel (The Dark Queen Saga)

Genre Fiction

Skilled in passion, artful in deception, and driven by betrayal, she is the glittering center of the royal court–but the most desired woman of Renaissance France will draw the wrath of a dangerous adversary. Paris, 1575. The consort of some of Europe’s most influential men, Gabrielle Cheney is determined to secure her future by winning the heart of Henry, the Huguenot king of Navarre. As his mistress, Gabrielle hopes she might one day become the power behind the French throne. But her plans are jeopardized by Captain Nicolas Rémy, a devoted warrior whose love Gabrielle desires–and fears–above all. She will also incur the malevolence of the Dark Queen, Catherine de’ Medici, whose spies and witch-hunters are legion, and who will summon the black arts to maintain her authority. With the lives of those she loves in peril, Gabrielle must rebel against her queen to fulfill a glorious destiny she has sacrificed everything to gain. Alive with vivid period detail and characters as vibrant as they are memorable, The Courtesanis a sweeping historical tale of dangerous intrigues, deep treachery, and one woman’s unshakable resolve to honor her heart.

The Courtesan: A Novel (The Dark Queen Saga)

From Brittany’s fog-shrouded forests to the elegant dark heart of Paris’s royal court, one woman must challenge a country’s destiny–and her own dangerous fate. France, 1585. She is the youngest and most powerful of the “Sisters of Faire Isle,” women known far and wide for their extraordinary mystical abilities. Skilled in healing and able to forecast the future of those around her, Miri Cheney has returned to her ancestral home to take refuge from a land devastated by civil war–and to grieve for her family, driven to exile. But she cannot hide from the formidable new power threatening to seize control of France from the dread “Dark Queen,” Catherine de Medici–a diabolical woman known only as the Silver Rose. Miri has no choice but to turn to the one man she distrusts as much as she desires: Simon Aristide, the charismatic witch-finder who is now himself the hunted, and who has reluctantly made an unholy pact with Catherine. Miri must defy throne and family to save all that she loves most–and command a future greater than she could ever imagine. Vibrant with stunning historical detail, alive with characters as richly passionate as they are compelling, The Silver Rose is a sweeping, exquisitely wrought tale from a mesmerizing storyteller.

The Silver Rose: A Novel (The Dark Queen Saga)

In a time of intrigue and betrayal, the huntress is on a quest that could jeopardize two empires and two great queens: Catherine de Medici and Elizabeth I. The year is 1585–and prophecy has foretold the coming of a daughter of the Earth whose powers are so extraordinary they could usurp the very rule of the Dark Queen herself, Catherine de Medici. Dispatched from Brittany to London, Catriona O’Hanlon, known as the Huntress, must find this mysterious young girl and shield her from those who will exploit her mystic abilities, which have the potential to change the course of history. Catriona’s skill with weaponry is all she has to protect herself and her young charge from spies who snake through the courts of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen–including the girl’s own father, whose loyalties are stretched to the breaking point. But Catriona will soon face menacing forces and sinister plots unlike any she has ever encountered. From Susan Carroll, the celebrated storyteller of historical fiction, The Huntress is an unforgettable portrait of power and passion–and one woman’s courage to risk everything for those she loves. “Susan Carroll writes sparkling dialogue and exquisite prose.” –Teresa Medeiros, author of After Midnight

The Huntress: A Novel (The Dark Queen Saga)

This brilliant new installment in bestselling author Susan Carroll’s mesmerizing Dark Queen historical fiction series is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory. Queen Catherine de Medici is dead, and for Meg Wolfe—successor in a line of legendary healers and mystics known as “daughters of the earth”—it is a time of new beginnings. She strives to be ordinary, invisible in the mists of Faire Isle, and is determined to put the terrifying days of a wicked mother and turbulent childhood behind her. But soon a summons from King James will rekindle a menacing power from the past, bringing haunting visions of a nightmare already unfolding—and a shattering mystery steeped in magic that will determine a destiny from which she cannot hide. Meg’s task: Save the king from the most insidious form of treachery, invisible to those who do not possess Meg’s extraordinary gifts. But as Meg discovers, there are more sinister motivations at play in the king’s world. Torn between two very different men whose motives and secrets are tied inexorably to her own fate, Meg learns that she can no longer trust anyone or anything—not even her own heart. Praise for Susan Carroll’s Twilight of a Queen “[Susan] Carroll’s vivid portrayal of Catherine de Medici is mesmerizing, but the evil queen does not overshadow either the romance or the strong characterization and plot that are Carroll’s hallmarks.”—RT Book Reviews “Fascinating . . . full of twists and turns and a lot of intriguing historical detail.”—Night Owl Reviews

The Lady of Secrets: A Novel (The Dark Queen Saga)

THE WOOING OF MISS MASTERSWhile the entire country prattled over the news that the infamous Duke of Raeburn was to host a ball to choose a duchess, Audra Leigh Masters scoffed at the entire charade. She wouldn't be caught dead at the Duke's ball! And a chance encounter with the insolent Duke only reaffirmed her desire to remain a spinster. Pity the Duke didn't quite see things her way. . . .THE BISHOP'S DAUGHTERIf the bishop's daughter was to be married to a fine, upstanding man of impeccable breeding, why was she drawn toward "Hellfire" Harry, a charming rogue with hardly an ounce of propriety? Damned if she'd fall for such a man! But all the resistance Kate could muster was no match for her racing heart--or Harry's relentless pursuit of a match made in heaven. . . .

Wooing of Miss Masters/The Bishop's Daughter

Romance

Ivy Books

The eldest son and heir to Castle Leger, Lance St. Leger is plagued by an infernal restlessness that cannot be appeased, perhaps because the family legacy of strange powers is most pronounced in Lance's own dubious gift. He calls it night drifting--his ability to spirit into the night while his body remains behind. And it is on one wild night that he finds Rosalind, a young, sheltered widow who mistakes Lance's "drifting" soul for the ghost of Sir Lancelot. Lance teases and tempts her, fills her with a yearning her chivalrous phantom knight cannot satisfy. But in this place imbued with both true love and otherworldly magic, a new dire portent vows to come full circle. As a murderous enemy challenges the St. Leger power, Rosalind must tempt magic herself to save her beloved from the cold depths of eternal damnation.

The Night Drifter: A Novel (St. Leger)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Carroll, Susan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Carroll, Susan