Norah-Jean Perkin’s first romance for LoveSpell is part time-travel, part ghost, and part contemporary romance. All the action takes place in the present, and while the pacing and general quality of writing was strong enough to keep the pages turning, the book is plagued by a number of character and plot problems.

Valerie Scott has just inherited part of her beloved great-uncle Arthur’s Lake Aurora resort in northern Ontario, which coincides nicely with her need to run from her ex-fiancé in Chicago after he nearly strangled her to death. On her first night at the Aurora Lodge, she discovers a man lying unconscious on the beach, and tries to take him to the hospital. (Warning sign #1: a 115-lb woman is able to drag an unconscious 180 lb man a significant distance, albeit with difficulty. Warning sign #2: she has a cell phone, but doesn’t call an ambulance; several nice, strong EMTs could have done the carrying for her. Consider these events as foreshadowing of future believability and intelligence, or lack thereof.)

Of course, the man awakens and convinces her not to take him to a hospital. And she listens. Despite the fact that she is still understandably scarred by her encounter with her ex, and generally terrified of the large, powerful stranger in her backseat, she takes him back to the resort, instead of to the hospital, where he would pose far less of a threat. He introduces himself as Jack Wilder – who just happens to be the co-inheritor of Uncle Art’s resort – and against her better judgment, she lets him stay in one of the lodges that her uncle had kept reserved for him until they can sort out what to do with the place. Meanwhile, Valerie realizes that she’s become attracted to Jack, which is a dangerous proposition considering her recent experiences with men, and the fact that Jack is so obviously hiding something from her. She can’t trust him, but she thinks she may be falling in love with him.

Jack Wilder has a secret that is strongly hinted at throughout most of the book, although he doesn’t get around to sharing it with Valerie until the last quarter of the book, and the reader is strung on…and on…and on…until his revelation. While no doubt supposedly suspenseful, this reviewer found it irritating instead. His secret was only known to Arthur Pembroke and is related to the mystical Northern Lights – to say more than that would constitute a spoiler, but I can say that the Auroa Lodge has always been a safe haven for Jack, and Valerie wants to sell. Not only that, but he’s very attracted to her and may even be falling in love, which, because of his secret, would never do. And then, to make things worse, her ex, Reed, shows up, and Valerie won’t let Jack scare him off. The clock is ticking away for Jack (this has to do with his secret), but how can he leave Valerie alone with the man who nearly killed her?

Believability is this book’s major problem. The whole paranormal aspect failed, for more than one reason. Jack has a theory to explain his secret, but the reader isn’t presented with enough information to accept the theory. What’s worse is that his behavior doesn’t jibe with reality. It’s difficult to say more without including spoilers, but the underpinnings of this paranormal tale are extremely shakey.

Even with the holes in the paranormal plot, the book might still have been a decent read if it hadn’t been for character and relationship issues; I could have overlooked the rest if the love story had been strong. But that wasn’t the case. Readers never really learn much about Jack as a character. We’re shown his paranormal problems, and a little bit about his history – and very little else. Valerie thinks that “he’s not abusive like Reed.” A good thing, to be sure, but hardly a ringing endorsement for undying love. Lots of men aren’t abusive. Jack just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and I wasn’t at all convinced (especially with the total lack of communication) that theirs was any kind of actual or lasting love.

Valerie on the other hand, starts off as basically sympathetic. She’s been abused, she wants to get away, and she’s not very trusting, which is understandable. But she seems very interested in hopping into bed with Jack on a rather short acquaintance, and falling in love with him in the process. The real problems, however, occur when Reed shows up, and Valerie starts acting like she left her brains in Chicago, right along with her will. She tells him she’ll never go back, he insists she will. Jack tries to help, she says no, she wants to handle this herself. But Reed keeps coming back. And getting more and more menacing. Does it even cross her mind once to alert the authorities? I mean, this woman ought to be afraid for her life. But no, she lets herself end up in secluded areas with him time after time. And what’s worse is that, while she kept insisting that she wouldn’t go back to him, it began to appear increasingly likely that she would. Even though she didn’t love him – even though he abused her. She seemed to be totally weak-willed and ineffective, yet unwilling to have any backup whatsoever. This may have been meant to make her appear independent, but it ended up making her seem lacking in both willpower and intelligence.

A final conflict predicated on a painfully predictable yet blindingly convenient coincidence sealed the fate of Night Secrets. The endemic plotting and characterization problems contrast with Ms Perkin’s surprisingly readable style. She may well become a writer to watch, but books like this won’t help her get there.