Bone-white limestone cliffs edged the coast, as though the island of Britain were part of an enormous white cake and some gigantic hand had sliced through the firmament with a serrated knife, separating off a piece.Īir thick with salt and the green tang of the sea scrubbed her throat and filled her lungs. Care has obviously been taken to establish the setting, but it also serves the characterization:Īs she picked her way through the tufts of pricey grass toward the drop, the horizon rose to greet her.
The language is fresh, the tone is serious, the stakes are high in an historically appropriate way, and there’s some heartbreak and redemption. This is the sort of historical that’s very much to my tastes. It’s a short step to attempting to force him to marry her. Caro’s first response to the situation is to try to blackmail Adam. The Secret Heart is the start of a loosely linked series called “No Better Angels,” and “challenging heroines” might be its theme. Adam isn’t particularly starchy, but he is a product of his time. Which leads to an unfortunate late night meeting with the duke’s heir, Adam Spark, who’s been out practicing his own secret passion for public boxing - unfortunate because Adam already looks askance at this visitor, who had warned Daphne that a proposed husband was suffering from a venereal disease. Her Viscount father and older brothers are notorious reprobates, but her dowry and good looks might land her a decent husband and a home for her sensitive younger brother - if her love of ballet is kept secret.īut it’s a love that requires daily commitment - “Remain not, therefore, twenty-four hours without practicing,” wrote the great instructor Carlo Blasis - and so Caro is forced to seek out a practice space when visiting her friend Daphne at the estate of the Duke of Hastings.
(Three, if you count the heroine’s friend, an artist.) Caroline Small is desperately clinging to a threadbare respectability. Set in the early Victorian era, this is a story about two people with disreputable passions. This no doubt influenced my decision to buy the book, but I don’t think it influenced my review. Willaful B- Reviews / Book Reviews Early Victorian / European-Historical / fortune hunter / historical romance / No Better Angels Series 7 Commentsĭisclaimer: The author and I were GoodReads friends and now follow each other on Twitter. NovemREVIEW: The Secret Heart by Erin Satie
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