Shadowheart: 2 (The Medieval Hearts Series)

I'm a recent fan of Laura Kinsale. Each book is so very different and I love the storytelling; it is very easy to become involved with her characters and their worlds. I loved the darker elements of the relationship in this story.

Excellent condition

I could never praise Laura Kinsale books enough. They are so intelligent and insightful and not even in the same league as so many frivolous romance novels.

A magical book. Pure escapism. Developed characters. A gripping story. Highly recommended read.

The assassin, Allegreto, first appeared in the novel "For My Lady's Heart"and readers screamed for his story to be told. Finally, his story hasarrived! Elena's life had been simple, sweet, and shielded for as long as she couldrecall. When Sir Raymond de Claire went to his lord and asked for Elena'shand in marriage, the customary background check was done of her bloodlines. That was the end of her innocence. The shocking truth was revealed.Unknown to most, including herself, she was Princess Elena Rosafina diMonteverde, the direct descendant from the ruling house of Monteverde. Shewas the granddaughter of Prince Ligurio and long since thought dead. TheLady Melanthe (from "For My Lady's Heart") had hidden Elena, with the helpof an assassin, from the sight of those who would see her dead. The house of Riata ruled Monteverde for now. Knowing the people wouldembrace Elena as the true ruling house, she was charged to marry FrancoPietro which would combine the houses of Riata and Monteverde. Unhappy,but with no other choice, Elena set sail for Monteverde and her marriage. Allegreto Navona, the illegitimate son of the cruel Gian Navonaintercepted Elena's passage. She was taken to his island and was savedfrom being forced to wed the Riata. Instead, she would be forced to wedAllegreto of the Navona house. His marriage to Elena would seal his claimto rule Monteverde. Then he and his men, specially trained by him, wouldinvade the city Monteverde and become the ruling lords. Elena fell in love with Allegreto, but he was a man with many darksecrets. He claimed to have no heart, but pledged his life and service toElena. Once in Monteverde, Elena must somehow return her people to thepeaceful ways of her grandfather. But the houses of Riata and Navonacaused unrest and some others plotted Elena's death, thus eliminating thelast of her house. ***** Author Laura Kinsale and her legendary ability to weave spellbinding tales has come forward once again to offer readers the longawaited story of the mysterious assassin known as The Raven. The result is"Shadow Heart" and it was worth the wait! Elena's character is so realistic that readers can easily sympathize withher and feel the uncertainty that consumes the young princess and slowlychanges her to become the strong leader the people so desperately need. Asfor the two house leaders who fight to claim Elena's hand, the reader isable to see and understand BOTH sides. The story, itself, flows smootherthan silk with remarkable secondary characters that will claim the heartsof all. Highly recommended reading! This book will stand out from allothers on your Keeper Shelf! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I had really high hopes for this book- but to be honest I just think the author is just not my cup of tea. I really gave her writing a chance- because I really like the male heroes she creates- they are amazing. However, there is always this big climax which ends up in a big, well, *poof*. I cannot tell you how many times I had to skip parts in this book- it was just too boring, I mean it is always good to be a little historically referential but the main word being "little". I understand that love isn't just sickly sweet but I didn't really see much love to be quite frank. As this is written for older readers, its not supposed to be 'fairy- taled' structure but it really was in the sense you had to wait till the very end to see their love blossom a little. Still, don't regret reading it, and she is a good writer but not one of my favourite authors like; Lisa Kleypas, Julie Garwood etc.

Allegreto is the illegitimate son of a sadistic tyrant. Forced to spend his youth as his father's pawn and his assassin, it is no wonder he becomes a brooding, violent man. Shadowheart is the story of his salvation, in the capable form of the wild Elena Monteverde, lost heiress to the most powerful and fought over piece of land in Italy. Shadowheart is the story of their trials in regaining their rightful places and of healing the wounds of Allegreto's terrible youth. It is not always pretty, is far from usual romance fare, but it is gripping and emotional in its own right. Laura Kinsale is a romance writer par excellence and although this is slightly darker than her usual writing, it is still going to be a keeper. I have to say though, I thought that Elena, although having good reason to be aggrieved at Allegreto, was maybe a little too spiteful at times. In my opinion it sometimes compounded the way he had been treated all of his life. Yet it is only fiction, so treated as such it is a wild, superbly absorbing book, but don't take my word for it, grab a copy and see.

Cid not enjoy this book

I must admit if I had just read the print I would have found it harder going but combining the written word with Nicholas Boulton's impeccable voice, well the result is absolutely captivating. Well worth the effort. Laura is as always a gifted story teller

Seriously. After I finished Melanthe and Ruadrick's story, I wanted to read this one, even though I wasn't crazy about Allegretto in the first book. However, so many negative reviews changed my mind, and I didn't want to ruin the great book high I had for For My Lady's Heart. So a year later, I'm so bored from all these new novels that are on my Kindle, and I wanted the beauty and prose of Laura Kinsale's writing. I buy Shadow heart, hoping and praying it wouldn't let me down. It didn't. It's quite different from the first novel, there's no complicated dialogue, WHICH I LOVED NOT HATED in For My Lady's Heart (it made it incredibly unique), the speech is more modernized for easy reading, so you get a different feel for it. Allegretto, the pirate, the raven, also came off as much different from when we were first introduced to him, which was fine with me because I wasn't a fan. I absolutely love Allegretto and Elayne in this novel. She doesn't weep or cry at the slightest stress, and is a very interesting character, just as much as Allegretto. The masochism/sadism was actually a lovely touch, it added a bit of spice to an otherwise very action packed story line, and their love for each other; THAT is what I gave it five stars for. We already know that Laura can write the heck out of a book, she's just wonderful, so that's an automatic 3 stars. But there's another star for the exciting plot, and the deeper meaning of it underneath. The last, fifth star is the believable, breathless love that Allegretto and Elayne have for each other. It wasn't rushed, it did come after the sex, but then it wasn't just about the sex. They sacrificed for each other selflessly, they worried for each other, they pined, and when they came together, it was combustible, those feelings. That's why this book gets five stars. I love to read a book that makes you flutter you eyes closed in the end because the story was just SO satisfying. So, give it a chance. Don't do what I did and put it off for a year. One of my new favorites!

Creo que las dos cumbres de Kinsale son Flores en la tormenta y Shadowheart. Y encuentro que no soy capaz de decir cuál me fascina más. Convertir a un antihéroe, un personaje tan difícil como era el Allegretto de "Por el corazón de mi dama" en un protagonista tan fascinante como éste solo está al alcance de un talento como el de Laura Kinsale. La novela es sombría y a la vez luminosa, llena de violencia soterrada -y a veces explícita-, con una ambientación impecable, con un trasfondo histórico que se integra perfectamente en la trama, a veces sobreponiéndose a la historia de amor, a veces latiendo en un segundo plano, pero siempre dándole sentido. Allegretto es ahora un personaje más maduro, pero tan torturado y solitario como cuando lo conocimos. El personaje femenino está bien trazado, a mi me ha resultado coherente desde un punto de vista histórico, pero es que EL se come la novela. Una obra imprescindible para los lectores de romántica. Espero que pronto la traduzcan y sea accesible para el público mayoritario

To say this book was difficult to review is an understatement. Let me say at the outset that Kinsale writes brilliantly and has obviously done an amazing job of presenting the historical setting of 14th century Northern Italy. The story also held my interest; HOWEVER, it is also problematic and sometimes disturbing and, in places, had me figuratively tearing out my hair. As historical romance, some readers of the genre will have difficulty with parts of it, though they may love her other books (SEIZE THE FIRE is one of my favorites). This is the sequel to FOR MY LADY'S HEART (to which I gave 3 and ½ stars) and much of our introduction to the character of the hero, Allegreto can be found there, should you want to read it. SHADOWHEART won the RITA in 2005 for Best Historical Romance, which is interesting in itself, as you'll see from my comments below. Unlike the prequel, this one is only sprinkled with Middle English, and much better for the change--we can actually understand what Kinsale is saying. (The prequel was so heavy with the old language at times it was difficult to know what was going on.) Set in the late 14th-century, Allegreto, the 16-year-old assassin we met in book one, and bastard son of the Italian Navona family, now in his late 20's, has one goal--to reclaim his birthright in Monteverde (Northern Italy). He is strong, mysterious and ruthless. To secure his claim, he uses treachery to capture the last heir and princess of Monteverde, 17-year-old Elena (who was 6 when we met her at the end of book 1). Much happened after her capture that bothered me. I apologize for some spoilers, but I can't review this book without them. Allegreto (called "Il Corvo" after his island and "pirate" to Elena), rapes her and then calls her "wife," though there is no marriage nor vows of any kind. How he intended to claim her lands with no lawful marriage mystified me but that's how the story begins. That Elena, who seemed a bright, independent young woman, could be so witless as to walk into his trap and believe (prior to the rape) that he had married her and consummated the marriage while she was drugged (when she had no memory nor any physical indications of that happening) was just bizarre. She never challenges it, though with her personality, one would have expected her to show a bit more fire. As to Elena and Allegreto's sexual relationship, I just have to say it was strange for a 17-year-old innocent. While I don't typically quote other reviewers, the following assessment so closely paralleled my own views I thought to use it: "Had she written a bigger buildup of Elena's obsession with her "angel" of the past so there was a foundation for the present relationship, then made Elena a reluctant apprentice in the S&M and bondage in an effort to "save" Allegreto's black heart and soul, the scenes could have been made darkly beautiful and believable. As it was, we had to make some lightning-fast adjustments to keep up with the young girl we were first introduced to who was alarmed by the aggressive kisses of a romantic knight, and within a matter of weeks morphed into a disturbing and disturbed seductress. We were given no reference point from which to understand the flowering of the relationship between Elena and Allegreto, other than the point at which they came together to draw blood. As a result, we have a very hard time envisioning a happily-ever-anything for these two." I, too, found it unbelievable. One could expect Allegreto to engage in such behavior given his background, but Elena? Raised as an educated young woman in a happy home in England, it was hard to believe. It just didn't fit. Almost all the story is in Elena's point of view so we know little about Allegreto's thoughts. We do know (early on) that on his island kingdom he pursued the occult and was creating a generation of young assassins in his own image. Elena, finding that disturbing as well she should, is naïve enough to believe if he promises not to train her own children (when they come) in his murderous ways, those children will somehow be different from their father or the assassin culture all around them. That made her look witless. The change in the hero and heroine over the course of the book was interesting: she started out weak and became a dominating princess and he started out strong and ended up her love slave. I wouldn't recommend this book without the disclaimers in this review. But for those who don't mind all that, I could say it deserves 4 stars simply for the achievement it represents. Believe me, I struggled as to whether to give it 3 and 1/2 stars which for me is a critical dividing point as I only recommend books to which I give 4 or 5 stars.

I`m still out of breath after having read this amazing book. I know Laura Kinsale gives her readers something extra but this was beyond even my high expectations. It`s hard to describe this book without giving too much away and I really don`t want to ruin anyone`s read so I`ll just say that it has a lot of twists and turns and that, even if some can be painful to read, you are tenfolds rewarded if you keep reading. I loved the heroine, Elena. She started out as someone who hadn`t found her path in life and who felt like a stranger even with her own sister. It was such a thrill to see her find her inner strength and what she had inside her. You ended up cheering for her and wanting to be (like) her. The hero, Allegretto, really took my breath away. He was an assassin and very dark but as the story grew we got to see new sides of him and his inter-action with Elena was so well written. This couple was such a perfect fit even if they didn`t seem like that in the beginning. The book was very well written in sort of a dispassionate language that made the passion between the main characters stand out even more. The plot was very well made and kept this reader up way beyond her bedtime to read juuuuust a little more. It`s a book I will recommend very highly to anyone who wants quality in their romance readings. I know this is book two and that I should have read the first one first but it was not a problem to read this as a stand alone.