Review: AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY by Jillian Stone

AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #1)

Author:  JILLIAN STONE

Source:  My Personal Stash

Genre:  Historical Romance

Length: Novel, Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by:  Artemis

London, 1887. Part stoic gentleman, part fearless Scotland Yard man, Zeno "Zak" Kennedy is an enigma of the first order. For years, the memory of a deadly bombing at King's Cross has haunted the brilliant Scotland Yard detective. His investigation has zeroed in on a ring of aristocratic rebels whose bloody campaign for Irish revolution is terrorizing the city. When he discovers one of the treacherous lords is acquainted with his free-spirited new tenant, Cassandra St. Cloud, his inquiry pulled him unexpectedly close to the hear of the conspiracy -- and into the arms of a most intriguing lady. 

Cassie is no Victorian prude. An impressionist painter with very modern ideas about life and love, she is eager for a romantic escapade that is daring and discreet. She sets her sights on her dour but handsome landlord, but after she learns their meeting was not purely accidental, she hardly has a chance to forgive her lover before their passionate affair catapults them both into a perilous adventure.

Characterfest interview #10 with Phaeton by Jillian Stone

Please welcome Phaeton with Jillian Stone 

Jillian Stone

Bitten by Paranormal Romance Characterfest

The Seduction of Phaeton Black

The Moonstone and Miss Jones

Title: Interview with an Antihero: Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator

Jillian: You are the most misunderstood character I have ever written. Why is that?

Phaeton: I suspect it’s because you wrote me in the fine tradition of the Byronic hero. To quote Lord Macaulay, he is a “man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet...” Phaeton adds with a wink, “capable of deep and strong affection."

Jillian: May I finish the thought in Byron’s own words? “That man of loneliness and mystery, scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh.” I also gave you a strange profession, paranormal investigator––care to elaborate?

Phaeton: One might say it is my only other area of expertise after absinthe and lovemaking. A dubious sort of skill foisted upon me from birth. I am able to communicate with gorgons and goddesses, wraiths and demons, succubae and seraphim, bloodsuckers, shape shifters. I could go on...

Jillian: Why is it, do you think, that I didn’t give you special powers to battle these creatures?

Phaeton: I am a man who lives more by his wits than his brawn. I have found that one can negotiate with the darker creatures of the underworld as effectively as one can say...do business with a corporate raider. Recently, after receiving instruction from Doctor Exeter, I have learned to manipulate physical universe using potent aether, but I still rely heavily on my ability to communicate with darker side.

Jillian: In order to write a love story for you, I tossed a rather unique young woman at Phaeton Black––how are you holding up?

Phaeton: Ah yes, Miss America Jones. Enchanting, young Cajun beauty. You introduced us under rather unique circumstances. I was chasing an apparition down a dark alley off Savoy Row, and she was on the run from the filthy, thieving pirates. As I recall, she pressed a knife to my throat and demanded sex...I did my best to accommodate her.

Jillian: A rather shocking experience, wouldn’t you say?