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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm going to acknowledge right now that I read Georgette Heyer's The Masqueraders and loved it. I know, Heyer. But anyway, Stuart says in her author's note that Shadow Dance was inspired by The Masqueraders, and you can absolutely see it. We're in Regency England, not Georgian England, but particularly in the beginning, the mannered speech and staging felt so similar.
In Shadow Dance, Juliette has become Julian to get away from a hideous husband. She runs into Philip and his wife Valerie, who are actually half-brothers Phelan and Valerian, on the run to escape murder charges. I mean!
There are two love stories here: Phelan and Juliette, and Valerian and a darling girl named Sophie -- and I might actually love the latter couple more? But they're both great, together and separately. Juliette is never shoved into the Not Like Other Girls box despite the fact that she runs around in breeches all the time and speaks multiple languages due to her childhood with an itinerant father. Valerian is a brilliant character, so game to dress up as a woman who even Juliet thinks is Phelan's "glorious-looking wife." TBH, he even outshone Phelan as a MMC, even though Phelan was a good character himself.
It's not a perfect book, but it is wonderfully bananas in true Anne Stuart style, and I can see myself rereading. 4.5 stars
There is some quite gross homophobia seeded throughout, so you will have to put that to one side.
In Shadow Dance, Juliette has become Julian to get away from a hideous husband. She runs into Philip and his wife Valerie, who are actually half-brothers Phelan and Valerian, on the run to escape murder charges. I mean!
There are two love stories here: Phelan and Juliette, and Valerian and a darling girl named Sophie -- and I might actually love the latter couple more? But they're both great, together and separately. Juliette is never shoved into the Not Like Other Girls box despite the fact that she runs around in breeches all the time and speaks multiple languages due to her childhood with an itinerant father. Valerian is a brilliant character, so game to dress up as a woman who even Juliet thinks is Phelan's "glorious-looking wife." TBH, he even outshone Phelan as a MMC, even though Phelan was a good character himself.
It's not a perfect book, but it is wonderfully bananas in true Anne Stuart style, and I can see myself rereading. 4.5 stars
There is some quite gross homophobia seeded throughout, so you will have to put that to one side.
This is a wonderful romance of disguises and hidden identities. Juliette has fled an abusive husband. Disguised as a boy, she is rescued from the unsavory attentions of a mincing gentleman. However, Phelan and his wife, Valerie, are not what they seem. Valerie is really Valerian, a man. Falsely accused of murder of his father, he is hiding from the authorities, hoping to find the real murderer. This book is funny, sexy, romantic, and thrilling. I have read it numerous times since its publication in 1993. Anne Stuart is a favorite writer of mine. I would highly recommend this book.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
The plot of this novel was surprisingly unique, and yet it fell so flat. Like a girl from a cliff into the whirling sea...
I felt that the supposed romance between Phelan and Juliette was focused on too much and the other more criminal aspects were lost. The murder of the brother's father was just forgotten until Stuart found it necessary to advance the plot of the romance.
The fact that Valerian was described as such a man and then convinced everyone that he was a woman... well I just couldn't get my head around it at all.
I felt that the romance which became the be-all and end-all of the story actually wasn't that romantic. Sure there was an element of lust, but Phelan was just pushing Juliette, making her uncomfortable and using her fears against her... I just didn't buy it as a romance. When compared to Sophie and Val which had an intellectual romance as well as physical.
I didn't like the plot, the sub-plots or any of the characters. Shame!
I felt that the supposed romance between Phelan and Juliette was focused on too much and the other more criminal aspects were lost. The murder of the brother's father was just forgotten until Stuart found it necessary to advance the plot of the romance.
The fact that Valerian was described as such a man and then convinced everyone that he was a woman... well I just couldn't get my head around it at all.
I felt that the romance which became the be-all and end-all of the story actually wasn't that romantic. Sure there was an element of lust, but Phelan was just pushing Juliette, making her uncomfortable and using her fears against her... I just didn't buy it as a romance. When compared to Sophie and Val which had an intellectual romance as well as physical.
I didn't like the plot, the sub-plots or any of the characters. Shame!
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-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
"Suffers" from the Stuart-style rushed ending but still a four-star rating. As the author commented in her forward, this is one of her "lighter" novels.
Shadow Dance
3 Stars
On the run for a murder he did not commit, Valerian Romney disguises himself as a woman and masquerades as his brother, Phelan's, "wife". The problems begin when Valerian becomes smitten with the charming Sophie de Quincy and Phelan falls for Juliet MacGowan, who is masquerading as a boy to escape an abuser.
A "Twelfth Night" style romance that is cute despite the ridiculous shenanigans.
Phelan and Juliette's romance is far more intriguing than Val and Sophie's which is less detailed and developed.
The villain is a true scumbag and although he receives his just desserts, it is disappointingly anti-climactic.
Overall, not a bad way to spend a few hours.
3 Stars
On the run for a murder he did not commit, Valerian Romney disguises himself as a woman and masquerades as his brother, Phelan's, "wife". The problems begin when Valerian becomes smitten with the charming Sophie de Quincy and Phelan falls for Juliet MacGowan, who is masquerading as a boy to escape an abuser.
A "Twelfth Night" style romance that is cute despite the ridiculous shenanigans.
Phelan and Juliette's romance is far more intriguing than Val and Sophie's which is less detailed and developed.
The villain is a true scumbag and although he receives his just desserts, it is disappointingly anti-climactic.
Overall, not a bad way to spend a few hours.
The book had interesting parts but there were too many terrible parts to make it bearable. The plot is thin. Considering that the whole plot revolves around the murder of the two men's father, this is really not important. Phelan spends more time trying to get into the pants (literally) of Juliette than trying to solve the murder. This really is a book about a traumatized woman trying to escape many demons while men around her make decisions for her.
Phelan is straight up a sexual and emotional abuser. He several times forces Juliette to kiss him when she is clearly scared and does not wish to, frightens her against leaving, thereby effectively imprisoning her, sneaks into her room and steals her belongings, literally assaults her several times in the name of romance, tries to force her to exchange sex for her freedom, etc.
The entire cross-dressing scheme is also ridiculous. Juliette is 22 and somehow gets around without being noticed. That is somewhat believable, I guess, but the cross-dressing by Valerian is ridiculous. He uses make-up on his beard and talks in a high voice, and literally no one suspects that he is a male, or at the very least, peculiar. Oh, but he has big feet and a large waist- but that's because he's pregnant! And the woman that Val falls for, Sophie- how awful to that woman. How predatory. It is not funny or romantic.
Anne Stuart books frequently have a predatory gay male side character, but this book was the worst I've read thus far.
AND somehow, even in this book where the girl (Juliette) is raped by her husband, she is still "technically" a virgin. It is the one trope that Anne Stuart just cannot resist.
Phelan is straight up a sexual and emotional abuser. He several times forces Juliette to kiss him when she is clearly scared and does not wish to, frightens her against leaving, thereby effectively imprisoning her, sneaks into her room and steals her belongings, literally assaults her several times in the name of romance, tries to force her to exchange sex for her freedom, etc.
The entire cross-dressing scheme is also ridiculous. Juliette is 22 and somehow gets around without being noticed. That is somewhat believable, I guess, but the cross-dressing by Valerian is ridiculous. He uses make-up on his beard and talks in a high voice, and literally no one suspects that he is a male, or at the very least, peculiar. Oh, but he has big feet and a large waist- but that's because he's pregnant! And the woman that Val falls for, Sophie- how awful to that woman. How predatory. It is not funny or romantic.
Anne Stuart books frequently have a predatory gay male side character, but this book was the worst I've read thus far.
AND somehow, even in this book where the girl (Juliette) is raped by her husband, she is still "technically" a virgin. It is the one trope that Anne Stuart just cannot resist.
This was the most enjoyable historical I have read in a while and has further cemented my desire to plunge my way through Anne Stuart's back catalogue. Both the A and B plots were well crafted and I liked the challenges the characters had to overcome. I had my heart set on a different type of denouement but this is a small grumble about an otherwise very entertaining read.
I am just filled with happy bubbles after this book. There's so much situational humor due to the farce of this book. Because the story is kind of plot heavy and there's really two romance storylines, I don't get a deep emotional connection with either couple. But instead I just get this overarching sense of happiness. I love the way everything wrapped up. It's just like a shot of joy to your insides.