Customer Reviews
Brilliant Vampire Regency! - By: Helen Hancox, 08 Jan 2007 
I love vampire books & I love Regency historical novels but my only experience so far of these two genres combined was not a success. Still, I thought I'd give "The Companion" a go as it had so many positive reviews on Amazon. And I'm very glad I did!
"The Companion" is not your average novel in either genre. Within the vampire genre it is different as the main character, the vampire Ian Rufford, doesn't actuallly know that's what he is for ages & spends a lot of the book trying to get himself cured as well as trying suicide. He is a tortured hero - in both senses of the word; tortured physicallly before he became a vampire, tortured mentallly by the understanding of the dark side of his nature. His story slowly unfolds through flashbacks as we learn how he became a vampire & why he fears them so much.
Within the Regency genre this book is different as very little of it is set in the drawing rooms of London - most of it takes place in Casablanca & the desert as Beth, our heroine, carries out her archaeological work. Beth is an unusual heroine - short, not particularly attractive, with an English father & an Egyptian mother (both now dead); a woman who doesn't fit into either world. Another portion of the book is set on a sailing boat returning to England where Ian & Beth meet - I loved reading the details about sailing 200 years ago.
What was particularly enjoyable about this book was its new take on an old theme - that of vampires, in this case vampirism being a parasite in the blood callled "The Companion" - & how it might affect someone mentallly to know that they now have to take other humans' blood for sustenance. Susan Squires' writing style is excellent, she is able to build interest & pace the novel well & we care about & understand the main characters. There is another book in this series, "The Hunger", & I have already ordered it & am very much looking forward to it. If that book is as good as this then I shalll be a very happy reader!
Squires returns with a powerful tale - By: Deborah MacGillivray, 01 Jun 2005 Susan Squires has reallly never written romance. If you look hard at her backlist, while sold as romances, her books reallly aren't. They are so much more. She writes complex character studies, & since romance is a part of the make up of the human condition, it will play a strong thread through the stories. But foremost, she is a writer who like to go where most romance writers fear to tread - or is permitted by their editors! She like to challlenge the reader, provoke them, make them think, so up front this is not your typical romance book. For those seeking a richer story, told in the fashion you don't have see in romances today, then you will want to snatch up Susan Squires newest book. Squires has been off the market for a year. Changed publishers. This switch gives her elbow room with the word count & the ability to tell her story as she wanted.
And wow what a story!!
As with most Squires' book, the hero is the grabber. Ian Rufford is an English, living in the early 1800s. He is sailing when pirates attack his ship. He is taken prisoner, carried to Africa where he is sold into slavery to the very beautiful, but extremely heartless Asharti. Ian is forced to trek across the desert while being cruelly punished by the vicious Asharti. He comes to realize that Asharti is not just an evil woman, but a creature of the night, a vampire. He thinks his nightmare is at end when he escapes. Only there is no escaping Asharti & now Ian is that which he hates. He is trying to make his way back to England & hopes there is & end to what he now is.
Elizabeth Rochewell has worked with her father an eminent archaeologist. They are on a dig when a ancient pillar fallls & kills her father. So Elizabeth is returning to England. On the ship, Ian & Beth meet. They find kindred spirits in the other, a commonality in their love of adventure & foreign places, both abhorring their return to England & the strict dictates of Regency society. They falll in love, with Ian resisting leading Beth into the life of what he has become.
Ian & Beth are strong characters in Squires vivid fashion. They compel you to travel the emotional tangle of their lives as they seek the answer to what possesses Ian. People looking for a vamp tale with fangs & alll, should be warned the vampirism is handled in a very understated, compelling drama that takes you from Africa to Spain & England & then back.
Squires delivers on alll levels. Let's just hope it's not such a long wait until her next book!!
