Bonus Post: Come to Me (Night World #1)

[vintageromancereader]

Samira is the lowliest creature of the Night World: a mere succubus, a winged spirit bringing dreams of passion to sleeping men. She knows every wicked wish that lurks in their hearts, and yet she has never felt the touch of a man’s loving hand. Nor has she wanted to . . . until now.

Shattered by war and banished to a crumbling fortress, Nicolae turns to the dark arts. He plans to use Samira as a tool to find a means to oust the invader from his lands and regain all that he’s lost. When she arrives on his doorstep in human form, his long-sought vengeance is lost. What happens next will change their worlds forever.

Original Publisher: Dorchester Love Spell
Original Year of Publication: 2004
Page Count: 326

The January 2025 #TBRChallenge is “New Year, Who Dis?” I went for a triple crown to start this year’s challenge: new series, new author, new subgenre – and this book does not disappoint!

The year is 1423. In the heart of Transylvania, 3 families are warring for supremacy: Dragosh of Maramures, Bogdan of Moldavia, and Vlad of Wallachia. Samira is a succubus (a female dream demon), known not only for her expertise in giving men pleasurable dreams, but also well-regarded for her ability to induce sexual nightmares. An incubus (male dream demon), Theron, has requested that Samira give an especially horrible dream to Dragosh. Samira doesn’t know why Theron has requested this, but she goes along with it, even though by dabbling in the dreams of princes, they are breaking all of the rules of the Night World which they inhabit. She doesn’t realize it at the time, but Samira gives Dragosh an especially cruel nightmare about his beautiful young sister, one that inadvertently changes the course of history.

Six years pass, during which Samira is wary of her status in the Night World. Succubi and incubi are children of Sleep, and grandchildren of Nyx, the Queen of Chaos. They are lowly demons, soulless beings with humanoid bodies and black leathery wings who serve mortals by giving them sexually pleasurable dreams to help slake repressed or rejected lust. Succubi and incubi have no feelings, no hearts, no real notions of morals; they reflect what their humans are thinking and dreaming about; they can see into the mind and pick out greatest wishes or worst nightmares, depending on what that person deserves to experience. Samira knows that she crossed the line with her dream to Dragosh, not only because of his royal status but because she sensed that he didn’t deserve what she gave him. If she’s caught by Nyx, she will be destroyed.

One night, she spies an especially strong strand of lust emanating from a small island in the middle of nowhere. She descends, curious, and finds a brutally scarred man asleep over a heap of books. She dives into his unconscious and tries to give him a pleasurable dream, but he seems to know that she’s there and that she’s a succubus, and thus he resists with all of his might. Samira is concerned; humans are not supposed to know that they are visited in their dreams by her kind. She notices a crude drawing of a succubus in one of the books and her concern trebles.

She leaves, but can’t quite leave it alone, mild curiosity about the man with such strong repression and dark thoughts. The next night, she is actually summoned by the man and trapped by a spell. The man tells her that he wants to use her to wreak revenge on his enemy: Dragosh of Maramures, who six years ago abruptly severed the betrothal between his sister and himself. The man who has captured Samira is Nicolae of Moldavia. He has been banished to a crumbling monastery on a remote island with a mere five men by his father, Bogdan. Nicolae is desperate not only for revenge, but also to return to his father’s good graces and assist with the war against Maramures and Wallachia. Apparently Dragosh has formed a new alliance with Vlad – now called Vlad Draco, or Vlad the Dragon – and has promised his sister, Lucia, to Vlad as part of the deal.

Samira listens with growing horror as Nicolae tells her all this. She’s the one who induced the nightmare that made Dragosh break the betrothal between Nicolae and Lucia. She holds herself responsible for everything that has happened to Nicolae in the meantime, and becomes desperate to find a way to assist him. He’s holding onto her too long, however; daylight will immediately destroy her, and Nicolae doesn’t believe her until its almost too late.

Samira disappears from the mortal realm, only to find herself still intact in the palace of Nyx, Queen of the Night World. Nyx demands to know who requested that Samira meddle in the dreams of Dragosh, a prince, but Samira refuses to name Theron. She’s ready to accept her fate of immediate death, but pleads with Nyx to give her the chance to assist Niholae and make right what she inadvertently made wrong to begin with. Nyx eventually agrees, and drops Samira back onto Nicolae’s island as a full-blown mortal woman, warning her that she only has 30 days to successfully assist Nicolae and to learn why mortals are so precious to the demons of the Night World who serve them.

It's a lot of setup for the story, but it’s weaved together quite seamlessly. Nicolae has turned away from violence, at which he failed (and for which he has been so brutally disfigured), and towards dark magic in his quest against Dragosh. He grudgingly accepts Samira’s help once she appears to him as a mortal human woman. After all, what could it hurt?

Samira spends her time discovering (and complaining about) her human body, and trying to find a way to help Nicolae, to whom she increasingly becomes attached. She even tells him of the part she played at the start, which leads Nicolae to confess to her why and how he was disfigured. Their bond grows stronger as the story progresses, and she assists Nicolae in discovering his latent abilities as a wizard. Theron shows up again to cause trouble, but ultimately gives them a piece of information which is key in turning the tides of war against their enemies. Samira then has to face Nyx and her destiny – will she be allowed to live, or be destroyed by the all-knowing Queen of Chaos?

I really enjoyed this story, especially when Samira is turned into a human. She has no idea what it’s like to be human – her only knowledge is sexual, and the thoughts and fantasies that humans only dream about. She doesn’t know how to read, or eat, or even dress herself. She’s an interesting contrast to the human characters, and to Nicolae, who is mired in deep depression for the mess he’s made of his life. Samira’s child-like joy at the smallest things, like a sunrise, remind Nicolae that there’s more to life than darkness and heartache. They do fall in love with each other, even though neither can quite believe it (and Nicolae’s men frequently remind Samira that she is a demon); the third act breakup is an interesting twist on the usual misunderstanding.

This is also a very spicy book. Succubi and incubi are dream demons who work in the realm of sex, so there are a lot of explicit scenes, some of them pretty grim (see: Dragosh’s nightmare). But there is also some great emotion, especially when Nicolae acknowledges and grieves his own past, and when he realizes that he doesn’t want anyone to touch Samira except himself.

As for the historical background, it appears to line up fairly well with the actual history of the Transylvania region of present-day Romania. Vlad Draco referred to in the text is likely not the one we immediately think of, but his father, Vlad II Dracul. The human superstitions around religion and demonology also play a role here, especially in the climax of this story.

I enjoyed this immensely. It has both serious and lighthearted moments, spice, sex, and death, all wrapped up into an engrossing fantasy world. I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this duology, which stars Theron, who is a complete asshole in this one. He has his own ambitions and is ready to defy Queen Nyx, and has also made a dastardly deal with Vlad Draco. I am curious to see how he will be redeemed!

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