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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shadowheart is the sequel to For My Lady's Heart (one of my top books of 2024!). It takes place years later; Allegreto is no longer the spiteful youthful boy courtier Melanthe kept by her side, but a grown pirate and master of his own domain. Elayne, who we met as a child in the epilogue of FMLH, is a young woman learning her own place in the courtly intrigues of Richard II's reign and her own birthright as a powerful key to an important city-state.
I've been deep in the medieval world this week, and Shadowheart feels deeply tied to the historical context. Elayne's native Monteverde is an invented Italian city-state, but this era saw the rise of many such economically powerful city-states vying for power throughout the region, and I love the way Kinsale imagines the rise of power for a woman to rule such a realm. The way Kinsale focuses on the politics, infighting, and courtly persuasion, makes this one of my favorite styles of historical romance.
That said, the book itself is complicated. Allegreto was always a deeply flawed character - he's up there on the list of tortured sad boi heroes for Kinsale - and seeing him as a complicated anti-hero and mastermind was not as satisfying as I had hoped. He's extravagant and manipulative, and also cruel. He's directly cruel to his heroine, Elayne (CW: SA!!) and he's cruel to children on-page. (Don't worry, he mostly has a redemption arc.) Elayne is in love with one man, promised to another, and then captured by Allegreto - and all three of those men play a key role in the plot of the book. She's a strong character, and we see how she grows into her power as well as her understanding of love. But she does fall for Allegreto rather quickly and without much explanation. One day she's his captive and married to him mostly against her will, and the next she's taking control of him in the bedroom and suddenly she thinks she loves him. We're in Elayne's head for the majority of the book, and yet, I didn't understand all of her choices and emotions. The central romantic relationship proved challenging for me to fully engage and enjoy.
Kinsale completionists, anti-hero aficionados, and lovers of medieval romance, pick this one up. It was published in 2004, and yet has one of the "oldest school feels" of Kinsales books that I've read to date, from the plot to the hero. I liked a lot of it, but recommend with reservations to most readers.
I've been deep in the medieval world this week, and Shadowheart feels deeply tied to the historical context. Elayne's native Monteverde is an invented Italian city-state, but this era saw the rise of many such economically powerful city-states vying for power throughout the region, and I love the way Kinsale imagines the rise of power for a woman to rule such a realm. The way Kinsale focuses on the politics, infighting, and courtly persuasion, makes this one of my favorite styles of historical romance.
That said, the book itself is complicated. Allegreto was always a deeply flawed character - he's up there on the list of tortured sad boi heroes for Kinsale - and seeing him as a complicated anti-hero and mastermind was not as satisfying as I had hoped. He's extravagant and manipulative, and also cruel. He's directly cruel to his heroine, Elayne (CW: SA!!) and he's cruel to children on-page. (Don't worry, he mostly has a redemption arc.) Elayne is in love with one man, promised to another, and then captured by Allegreto - and all three of those men play a key role in the plot of the book. She's a strong character, and we see how she grows into her power as well as her understanding of love. But she does fall for Allegreto rather quickly and without much explanation. One day she's his captive and married to him mostly against her will, and the next she's taking control of him in the bedroom and suddenly she thinks she loves him. We're in Elayne's head for the majority of the book, and yet, I didn't understand all of her choices and emotions. The central romantic relationship proved challenging for me to fully engage and enjoy.
Kinsale completionists, anti-hero aficionados, and lovers of medieval romance, pick this one up. It was published in 2004, and yet has one of the "oldest school feels" of Kinsales books that I've read to date, from the plot to the hero. I liked a lot of it, but recommend with reservations to most readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: War
I'm not quite sure where to start with this book. Laura Kinsale surprises me often by the sheer variety of stories that she can write, all romance, and yet all of them with such unique story lines and depth of characters that I find lacking in lot of churn-a-novel-out-every few months romance authors. Shadowheart provides an engrossing story that also shows a deeply twisted, unhealthy and yet grossly fascinating relationship. This is not a novel for romance readers who prefer a heroine who submits to the hero and falls in love with the bad boy because of the "good in him"... this is a story for those who like their villains and their "antiheros" truly dark. I could go on about the delightful ability for Kinsale to stay true to a truly dark hero, unlike so many who write a bad boy that is just "misunderstood", but instead I can just say she brings to life a world in Medieval times, up to and including the importance of religion to those of the time period. Every detail in this book about the time period just serves to enrich the story. So; read this if you like a villain as the hero, a lost girl who finds herself, or a plot of political intrigue with a dark romance underlying it all.
This is a sequel to For My Lady's Heart set about 15 or so years in the future and written a decade after the first book's publication, which I think is a good thing. It is blessedly free of copious Middle English, but it's still not going to be everyone's cup of tea.
It focuses on the assassin from the previous book who is now all grown up and not quite so castrated and the younger sister of the spy who was his wannabe beloved. I liked this book well enough, but it does definitely have some questionable elements. The hero kidnaps and rapes the heroine while she is at sea on her way to Italy to be married, and she responds to the act with a combination of fear, outrage, and practicality. (Her new husband would probably have done similarly.) They then spend time together on his secret island staffed by children, and she gets a puppy, and at some point the heroine discovers that she enjoys inflicting pain in bed and the hero enjoys receiving it.
You don't generally find any degree of S&M in your typical romance (or at least I haven't; this was mostly biting and fingernails in sensitive places, some restraining), so that was new and different, and while the descriptions were graphic enough to have me cringing on Allegreto's behalf on more than one occasion, it's nowhere near what you find in true S&M erotica.
In between the sex, there's a lot of political machinations continuing from the first book taking place, which sometimes got convoluted and boring. Kinsale certainly doesn't talk down to her readers. I would've have been happy with less of that and more of an emphasis on the complex main characters and their complicated relationship. I do think the unfolding and progression of their relationship was amazing and often wrenching to observe, and the uniqueness of their bedroom antics as compared to most other standard market historical romances gave the book some nice spark.
It focuses on the assassin from the previous book who is now all grown up and not quite so castrated and the younger sister of the spy who was his wannabe beloved. I liked this book well enough, but it does definitely have some questionable elements. The hero kidnaps and rapes the heroine while she is at sea on her way to Italy to be married, and she responds to the act with a combination of fear, outrage, and practicality. (Her new husband would probably have done similarly.) They then spend time together on his secret island staffed by children, and she gets a puppy, and at some point the heroine discovers that she enjoys inflicting pain in bed and the hero enjoys receiving it.
You don't generally find any degree of S&M in your typical romance (or at least I haven't; this was mostly biting and fingernails in sensitive places, some restraining), so that was new and different, and while the descriptions were graphic enough to have me cringing on Allegreto's behalf on more than one occasion, it's nowhere near what you find in true S&M erotica.
In between the sex, there's a lot of political machinations continuing from the first book taking place, which sometimes got convoluted and boring. Kinsale certainly doesn't talk down to her readers. I would've have been happy with less of that and more of an emphasis on the complex main characters and their complicated relationship. I do think the unfolding and progression of their relationship was amazing and often wrenching to observe, and the uniqueness of their bedroom antics as compared to most other standard market historical romances gave the book some nice spark.
emotional
2000/10 we used to know how to do romance, where is this energy now etc etc
3.25/5🌶️, MF, medieval HR, forced marriage, pirate and princess, standalone, part of a series, ebook
Unfortunately, I read this book at the wrong time. There was so much to potentially enjoy in this book: medieval Italian setting, a forced marriage between a pirate-assassin and a princess who doesn’t know she is a princess, family feuds and forced proximity due to fleeing other assassins. However, because I started this book at a time when my personal life was exhausting me, I didn’t have the time to devote to fully immerse myself into this book. Due to the writing style and language Kinsale uses, it takes a while to get into the flow of the prose, however, because I was only reading a bit at a time, I found it took me a few minutes each time I picked up the book to find the flow again. While I did enjoy many aspects of this book, because it was so slow and hard to get into, I never really sensed the couple romance building. It went from “I hate you because you kidnapped me and you are an evil man” to “I’m hopelessly in love and will follow you to hell.” There were a few long time jumps where the main couple was separated and for the majority of the book, each of the characters are trying to escape/stay away from the other. Then to cap it off, I was not prepared for the amount of Catholicism, absolution, and heaven and hell talk, especially in the last part of the book. So, I’m sad to say this was a bit of a miss for me, despite enjoying bits and pieces along the way.
Unfortunately, I read this book at the wrong time. There was so much to potentially enjoy in this book: medieval Italian setting, a forced marriage between a pirate-assassin and a princess who doesn’t know she is a princess, family feuds and forced proximity due to fleeing other assassins. However, because I started this book at a time when my personal life was exhausting me, I didn’t have the time to devote to fully immerse myself into this book. Due to the writing style and language Kinsale uses, it takes a while to get into the flow of the prose, however, because I was only reading a bit at a time, I found it took me a few minutes each time I picked up the book to find the flow again. While I did enjoy many aspects of this book, because it was so slow and hard to get into, I never really sensed the couple romance building. It went from “I hate you because you kidnapped me and you are an evil man” to “I’m hopelessly in love and will follow you to hell.” There were a few long time jumps where the main couple was separated and for the majority of the book, each of the characters are trying to escape/stay away from the other. Then to cap it off, I was not prepared for the amount of Catholicism, absolution, and heaven and hell talk, especially in the last part of the book. So, I’m sad to say this was a bit of a miss for me, despite enjoying bits and pieces along the way.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shadowheart felt like a ten hour road trip. I had to take a lot of breaks so I could replenish my will to continue on. At first, I thought this was your typical girl doesn't know she's a princess kind of storyline. But the story follows Elena on a long journey from naive 17 year old to a princess on the run with her forced husband, mystery guy with chip on his shoulder, Allegretto to young queen in charge. The book felt very long but not terribly exciting. Elena's growth was gradual but believable even when I thought she was absurdly naive in her peacemaking efforts. I think the thing I found most jarring was their fem dom sex and the violence of it. I don't think these two had a intimate scene that wasn't violent/rough. The weird thing is that it's Elena who craves and initiates the violence (bites and scratches that bleed). So while I think this was an odd element for this character to have, Allegretto dug it.
I don't think this is a book I would personally recommend, if you're looking for a long medieval romance, this might do it for you.
I don't think this is a book I would personally recommend, if you're looking for a long medieval romance, this might do it for you.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes