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The Music of the Night (Signet Eclipse)

by Lydia Joyce

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1204225,505 (3.17)1
Sarah Connolly leaves a bleak past in London to help an old friend in Venice. There, she discovers dark secrets and a mysterious, rather shadowy figure--he is Sebastian Grimsthorpe, Earl of Wortham. Grimsthorpe once lead a carefree life, but is now bent on exacting revenge on the man (Bertrand de Lint) who had nearly destroyed him. His plot is obscured when he discovers Sarah, whose tragic eyes mystify him and seduce him (and her) into a world of secrecy and deception.… (more)
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A complex, confused, dark, disturbing, and unsatisfying romance-noir.

Sebastian Grimsthorpe, Earl of Wortham, has to be one of the most unsympathetic male leads of any romance I've read. For most of the book he's plotting revenge on the rapist of his illegitimate daughter, and chooses Venice as the place to do it. Part of his scheme consists of seducing the rapist's courtesan, a woman he believes was involved in the rape, but he discovers far too late that his victim is no courtesan but the hired companion of the rapist's mother.

Feelings of remorse and attraction induce him to adopt his victim and install her as the housekeeper of the shabby Venetian mansion he is renting.

Meanwhile, he continues on his path of vengeance, culminating in a staged ball at which the real villain behind the rape and several attempts on Sebastian's life is unmasked.

Not only the characters but the geographical setting are revealed in what must be the least flattering light possible. Selfish, dissolute, amoral aristocrats and the gloomy, muddy and smelly city of Venice.

Most of this negativity seems gratuitous, as in this description of a well-known tourist spot:
Murano, where Sarah had gaped in horrified fascination at the intricate and hideous works of glass for which the island was famous.

Or a striking but unpleasant description of a cemetery, with its
...verdant lawn dotted with white markers of the dead that lay across the grass like a thousand spilled teeth.

So many plot holes litter the narrative as to make one doubt the author's commitment to the book. Some of the most glaring holes are covered but not filled during the true villain's improbable confession at the end of the book, but by then the damage has been done.

Perhaps the only saving grace in this gloomy book is the indomitable character of Sarah, who has risen from slum prostitute to lady's companion and has vague hopes of maintaining control of her future by serving the sexual needs of rich patrons as a high-class mistress.
( )
  skirret | Jan 2, 2015 |
This is a historical novel, and basically, the story is about a former prostitute who gets caught up in a man's quest for revenge. I read a few reviews online that proclaimed this novel a winner and that it was a fantastic read, I have to beg to differ. It felt like it drug on forever, and Sarah Connolly, the heroine of the book is pretty much treated like crap through the entire book.

To be titled Music of the Night, there really was no music in the night. Maybe fifty pages before the end you find out that the hero plays the piano, but really there was no music. Go figure.

Sarah finally got her life on track somehow, she wound up going to some school for girls, she had began prostituting at age 13 after being raped in a back ally. At age 16 she starts attending some school for girls (the book never really explains this satisfactorily) and then she gets a pretty nifty job as a companion to an old lady who doesn't make any demands on her.

In walks our Hero. I use that term loosely, trust me. Apparently he had an illegitimate daughter who was living with him (again not explained satisfactorily) and Sebastian Grimsthorpe, the Earl, was a pretty wild guy. He had a party at his house and his 12 year old daughter is raped by a friend, he believes. The villain, Bertrand de Lint laughs it off and denies doing it, but Sebastian is sure he's the culprit and sets out to exact revenge.

And this where the entire story moves from England to Venice. And Sebastian becomes de Lint's pimp and we learn the different vices of the villain. The daughter's tutor said that a woman with a scared face helped the rapist and Sebastian sees Sarah with de Lint's party in Venice and assumes it's her. (Oh another oddity, Sarah has a pock marked face, which she thinks makes her extremely ugly). This is where you start seeing Sebastian play mind games with everyone in the book.

In the end Sarah winds up losing her cushy job with de Lint's mother, almost gets raped AGAIN by de Lint, and winds up Sebastian's mistress.

All in all, Sarah was boring, Sebastian was kinda nutty, and de Lint grossed me out. Not what I was expecting after reading all the reviews online.

You can tell that Lydia is a good writer, she was very descriptive and I could imagine everything happening exactly as she describes, but the characters just sucked!
  caseym22 | Oct 27, 2010 |
I really loved the setting of Venice which was excellently done giving an authentic ambiance to the book. The entire story was focused around the hero's need for vengeance against a man who he was convinced raped his young illegimate daughter. Normally, I'm not too fond of revenge stories but Joyce makes this one work because of the setting and an unusual heroine. I never did warm up to the hero, Sebastian Grimsthorpe, but I loved the heroine. Sarah Connelly carries scars on her face from a case of small pox she suffered as a child. Sebastian mistakenly believes she is the mistress of her employer's son and he publicly seduces and humiliates her. What an a**! Why is it that a hero out for revenge always picks on the completely innocent heroine. Sheesh! She is essentially ruined and is forced to flee her employer's household and confronts him. He realizes his mistake and offers her a position as his mistress and housekeeper of his decaying Venetian villa. He never redeems himself in my eyes, but I loved how intelligent and strong Sarah is as she takes over the refurbishing of the house. Joyce's lush descriptions of Venice was captivating and the sensuality was steamy hot. (Grade: B) ( )
  reneebooks | Sep 6, 2009 |
Sebastian Grimthorpe, Earl of Wortham, is bent on revenge after his former friend, Bertram deLint, raped Sebastian's young, illegitimate daughter. A carriage accident gives Sebastian the excuse to fake his death, and he goes to Italy, where he makes an elaborate plan to pay deLint back.

When deLint and his family arrive, Sebastian notices a young woman with a pock-marked face, and remembers the mistress who'd abetted deLint in the rape, so he decides to add her to his scheme.

The scarred woman, however, is deLint's mother's companion, Sarah Connolly. She'd been born in the slums (hence the pox marks), but has raised herself as high as she's able, given her past.

The more Sebastian sees of Sarah, the less he wants to involve her in his plan for revenge. Still, his guilt over not protecting his daughter drives him to revenge, even though he knows it'll destroy Sarah's regard for him.

Sarah, on the other hand, is happy to have his attention and affection, but her knowledge of her status is deep-rooted, and she can't believe her future holds anything better than working as a companion until she's too old, hopefully accruing enough savings to support herself in her old age.

So they're both holding back, but of course, love is a steamroller.

The ending fell a little flat for me. I'm not sure how I was expecting it to turn out, and I loved the twist, but I think the villain's recitation of his misdeeds was my biggest problem. It seemed forced, like an actor in a play addressing the audience directly.

There was also the issue of a certain part of Sarah's past. It seemed tacked on at the end, almost like a change of mind. I couldn't figure out a good reason for the deception, nor a reason for what amounted to "oh, by the way...." I guess I just wish it had been either left out or expanded on.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Venice setting. It's been over 22 years since I was there, but the descriptions still evoked memories. I also enjoyed the characters trying very hard not to fall in love with each other. I'd figured out Sebastian's revenge plot ahead of time, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat, begging him not to go through with it.

I'd read (and loved) The Veil of Night when it first came out, but unfortunately forgot to keep looking for Lydia Joyce's books. I've remembered now, and don't think I'll forget again. I have her next two books in my TBR pile. ( )
  Darla | Nov 18, 2008 |
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Sarah Connolly leaves a bleak past in London to help an old friend in Venice. There, she discovers dark secrets and a mysterious, rather shadowy figure--he is Sebastian Grimsthorpe, Earl of Wortham. Grimsthorpe once lead a carefree life, but is now bent on exacting revenge on the man (Bertrand de Lint) who had nearly destroyed him. His plot is obscured when he discovers Sarah, whose tragic eyes mystify him and seduce him (and her) into a world of secrecy and deception.

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