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The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig

Tobe Buffenbarger

Title: The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla (Pink Carnation #11)

Author: Lauren Willig

Publisher: Penguin 2014

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 451

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books - W26

In October of 1806, the Little Season is in full swing, and Sally Fitzhugh has had enough of the endless parties and balls. With a rampant vampire craze sparked by the novel The Convent of Orsino, it seems no one can speak of anything else. But when Sally hears a rumor that the reclusive Duke of Belliston is an actual vampire, she cannot resist the challenge of proving such nonsense false. At a ball in Belliston Square, she ventures across the gardens and encounters the mysterious Duke.

Lucien, Duke of Belliston, is well versed in the trouble gossip can bring. He’s returned home to dispel the rumors of scandal surrounding his parents’ deaths, which hint at everything from treason to dark sorcery. While he searches for the truth, he welcomes his fearsome reputation—until a woman is found dead in Richmond. Her blood drained from her throat.

Lucien and Sally join forces to stop the so-called vampire from killing again. Someone managed to get away with killing the last Duke of Belliston. But they won’t kill this duke—not if Sally has anything to say about it.

So this book was a bit of an odd one for the series. I enjoyed reading it, but it lacked the spy angle from most of the other books. I did enjoy Lucien as a main character. Sally got on my nerves a few times throughout. And I kept thinking of her as a schoolgirl, not a leading lady. I realize time has passed since the beginning of the series, but it was a bit weird. Overall, I enjoyed the book but definitely not my favorite of the series.

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