Fiona has finally had all she can take.  Her uncle has basically sold her to one of his cohorts, who is even more brutal than he is.  She is tired of being beaten and abused so she runs for her life.  When it looks like she will be captured, she does the unthinkable and runs into Burgis Keep.  The rumors of the creature that lives in the keep make her weary but she figures that is better than her uncle and Crandell.  She finds the most amazingly handsome man in the keep and is drawn to him.  Will she have the courage she will need to stand up to all and fight for her man, and fight his curse?

Alisdair is cursed and has been since he made a horribly wrong decision a couple of decades ago.  As he doesn’t age, he keeps to himself and does nothing to dissuade the townsfolk from believing the tales that he is a beast.  Mostly as he thinks they are right. He hungers for blood with every breath, and though he has not given into the lust in all these years, it is still a struggle.  When Fiona stumbles into the keep and is looking for protection, he is attracted to everything about her.  But he knows she is in danger from him if she stays, so he sends her away.  When sending her away winds up hurting her even further, all bets are off.  He won’t continue to fight his attraction, only his blood lust urge.  Can he trust her enough to let her into his heart?

I found Dawn of Love a thoroughly well-thought out, well-written, and captiating tale.  The author does a wonderful job of tying mythology into this historical tale, as well as adding demi-gods and vampires to the mix.  Add to this mix an abused woman, who has done nothing to earn this abuse, and someone to realize her worth and you have a wonderful story.  Ms. Childs does a great job retelling the Beauty and the Beast story with a twist.  I think you will like Dawn of Love if the genre interests you.