The magic she tries to hide . . .

Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. But Cat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Fey and human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.

. . . is the magic he desperately wants.

From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . . and into the violence of the Other world that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

A tasty treat Earl of Darkness by Alix Rickloff was an entertaining story filled with magic and danger at every turn. Cat, the main character is a down on her luck thief who takes a job as a favor for her friend and partner.  When she breaks into the house to steal a diary and get caught right in the act, things go from regular to crazy.

The unique plot drew me into the story and kept me interested throughout. I was eager to figure what would happen to both Cat and the mysterious Aidan. I enjoyed the romantic tension with Cat and Aidan bringing the romance up to a steamy temperature. Cat and Aidan were both interesting characters that I wanted to learn more about what with their crazy backgrounds.  They both had demons in their closets that they had to deal with that made them realistic in a magical world. The romance didn’t just instantly happen but gradually grew into something more.

While there was action and danger, when the plot came towards the end I felt that there could have been more intense moments and crazy scenes.  Rickloff created this crazy world filled with magic and wonder and I felt that I wanted to see more of it throughout the story. Rickloff did a good job in describing her world, the story flowed nicely and I felt that I was right there with Cat and Aidan on their adventure. Since this was a period piece Rickloff made it believable with how the characters spoke and the setting. She focused on the plot and didn’t focus on describing every single thing which I appreciated. All in all I enjoyed Earl of Darkness and I will like to see where Rickloff takes the story next. Readers who like a period piece filled with magic, romance and action will enjoy Earl of Darkness.