SHADOW HEART

Author: Laura Kinsale ISBN: 042516232X 4/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: BERKLEY
Time Period: Medieval Europe, late 14th Century

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I’ve awaited Laura Kinsale’s return to historical romance as avidly as any other Kinsale fan. Just the same, I’ve kept my expectations for SHADOW HEART at midrange level, knowing that this book was such a struggle for her to write, taking her several years to do so. From what I remembered of Allegreto from the first book, FOR MY LADY’S HEART, I knew that a love story for him – a dark and tortured man if ever there was one – would be difficult to develop for any author, even one as seasoned and adept at the task as Laura Kinsale.

But plunder and pillage this man’s soul for his story, Kinsale did. In SHADOW HEART, Allegreto becomes more than just another deeply tormented and wounded hero so typical of Kinsale’s stories. He is a paradox, a devil-in-the-flesh to flayed-alive pilgrim. This is a cold and unemotional man already living in Hell here on earth, who can kill at the drop of a hat, with no conscience and no remorse. And yet, excommunicated from the church, he is in the next breath tormented by the damnation of his eternal soul. (No other romance I’ve read illustrates so well the power over people, and the hypocrisies, that religion played during this time in history.)

The foil to Allegrato’s dark heart is Elena, the last princess of Monteverde. Allegreto kidnaps her for revenge against his enemy and to use as a tool to restore the House of Navona back to the throne of Monteverde. However, this seemingly naïve and timid princess is no flailing damsel in distress. This is a woman who, once caged in the Raven’s lair, finds in her relationship with Allegreto a deep but dark and passionate hunger, a need to control and to dominate. Paired with Allegreto’s need to suffer, their relationship evolves to become as volatile and explosive as dynamite to a flame. The sex between them, which borders about as close to S&M as you can get without the whips and chains, proves not only painful to the reader’s eye, at times, but also strangely erotic and sensual. Elena becomes the dominatrix in these spicy bedroom games, while Allegreto becomes the total subservient.

To be honest, I’m still not sure what to make of SHADOW HEART. Like watching a bad train wreck, on the one hand I’m horrified and somewhat appalled by what I’ve read. It’s violent and, at times, seems almost sick. On the other hand, Elena is the perfect good-wants-to-be-bad to Allegreto’s bad-wants-to-be-good, and I can’t help but thinking what marvelous villains these two would make together somewhere down the line in another story (Sorry, I guess Kinsale ’s brought out my own darkside as well *G*)

Laura Kinsale’s telling of time and place is, as usual, superb, and her prose seems as strong and enrapturing as in her previous works. The characters are all well-drawn, with several from FOR MY LADY’S HEART making reappearances now and again, and still much the same as I remember them. But it’s the depth of Allegreto’s character that Kinsale has captured so well, and that alone makes SHADOW HEART a worthy keeper for me.

One thing is for sure…this is one book by Laura Kinsale that will take its readers by surprise. Some will love it and some will hate it, and I’m sure it will be talked about for a very long time to come. But in the end, all I can say is, I am still in awe of this fantastic author’s ability to weave such a thought-provoking and emotionally riveting romance, far different from what I had ever imagined from her. It is just so wonderful to have her back.

Nancy Davis