Anthropologist Dr Tessa Bergin was aboard the Meadowlark on a mission to make contact with a civilization light years away from earth, but between the time they left earth and arrived at their destination, something had happened to that civilization which decimated it. After the first shuttle had gone down and not returned, and those remaining had opted to abandon the mission, Tessa took the second lander to locate and rescue the first crew. As she was about to land, she saw bodies and tried to climb, but it was too late; and then these red devil-like creatures attacked the craft. With the help of her own lasers, her attackers were vanquished by one of their own-taller, stronger with a mane of long black hair, this red horned winged creature looked just like the traditional renditions of Satan. This last one spoke to her in English-he called it Saitren-and said he had come to help her. The next thing she knew, he had swooped her up in his arms and flown away. There was something about him-a chemical attraction from his skin-that calmed her, even though she was shocked to be in the arms of a flying devil.

His name was Lucien. He flew her to a penthouse in the largest of the large buildings in a beautiful city. It was very like earth: the trappings of a technical civilization were there, but there was no power-except that the few inhabitants were red, horned and winged. Lucien was a scientist, and his world had been decimated by a virus for which he had found a vaccine. He called the ones who had wrecked her ship "wreckers" and they had possibly taken Laylah, a scientist from the other crew. Tessa was powerless to resist Lucien's advances. Tessa felt as if he somehow drugged her, manipulating her chemically not to resist him. He kissed her and she fell under his influence. And he claimed her as his.

Earth is a future world, where children are limited and pregnancies are punishable, and Lucien wants her to bear his children. If she has his children, she could never go back. Tessa only knew she wanted to find Laylah-she missed home-and when he punished her, he did so erotically for days on end. And he wanted her to love him. He realized if he wanted to keep her, he must be prepared to defend her from any others of his kind.

WHEN NIGHT FALLS is a Futuristic Romance between a woman and a romancing "devil" conqueror. Kaitlyn O'Connor has given the biblical devils and angels a planet of origin and a new beginning in a post-apocalyptic Eden between a "devil" and a human. There is plenty of story, and romance that falls on the side of erotica, the variant with the dominant male and a reluctant partner who requires convincing. The language is necessarily explicit as there are anatomical differences to be explained and explored but this is handled without being overly crude. Very spicy.

Reviewed By: Maitresse
(c) June 2004