Shadowheart

From Barnes & Noble

Allegreto, the charismatic young assassin from For My Lady's Heart, takes center stage in this much-anticipated follow-up by New York Times–bestselling author Laura Kinsale. Known for her compelling, complicated characters, thrilling love stories, and rich historical background, Kinsale outdoes herself in Shadowheart. The dangerous and dashing Allegreto wants nothing more than to regain his rightful place in the rich Italian principality of Monteverde. Happily, the means to do so have just emerged -- in the form of the young Lady Elena (also known as Elayne), newly discovered to be the long-lost Monteverde princess and sole heir to the kingdom. Though she is promised to his rival, Allegreto seizes her ship, takes Elena prisoner, and weds her, thus beginning their battle of wits and passion. While Elena is a naïve young woman when the book begins, by journey's end she becomes Allegreto's equal and, sometimes, master, reuniting the kingdom in the process.

Publishers Weekly

This long-awaited follow-up to Kinsale's last book, For My Lady's Heart (1993), takes place in 14th-century Europe, where Allegreto-assassin, pirate, brute and bastard son of the Navona family-attempts to reclaim his birthright in the Italian principality of Monteverde. To this end, he captures Elena, the princess of Monteverde, and makes her his wife in a particularly violent sex scene ("She met him with a fierce reply, opening her mouth against his shoulder, a willing she-cat to his leopard, biting him as viciously as if she could draw blood"). As Allegreto and Elena journey to Italy to face Franco Pietro, Elena's former fianc and a rival of Allegreto's family, lust and affection spring between the two (in that order), but Elena's disdain for Allegreto's ability to murder without remorse gives rise to an abundance of romantic tension and some intense love scenes. Kinsale's characters speak in stilted phrases resembling Middle English, and she loads the book with historical detail, making it both realistic and ponderous. Those who have waited 11 years for Kinsale's return will lap up this romance, but others will be turned off by its length and its controlling, sometimes cruel, alpha male hero. Agent, Richard Curtis. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In Kinsale's latest, set in the late 14th century, Elayne is shocked to learn that she is the long-lost princess of Monteverde and must resign herself to marrying for political reasons. But when she is waylaid on her voyage to Italy and taken to Il Corvo, the home of the Raven, a handsome renegade assassin-turned-pirate who is determined to claim Monteverde as his own, Elayne not only ends up as a pawn in a deadly power game but also finds herself attracted to the very man who holds her captive. Noted for her well-developed, complex characters, richly descriptive historical detail, and emotionally involving stories, Kinsale has written a number of award-winning romances, many of which tested the limits of the genre in characters and plot as well as setting. Fans will be thrilled with this long-awaited release, which has links to For My Lady's Heart. Kinsale lives in Santa Fe, NM, and Dallas. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.