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Loading... For My Lady's Heartby Laura Kinsale
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A very strange woman and a very odd man fall in love in a world crumbling and cruel, magical without magic, and romantic in spite of itself. With Middle English! I can't do it justice in a review, so I'll just say that there's nothing else quite like it. ( ) more to come once thoughts have simmered longer, initial thoughts: as I have said in updates, the sense of time and space is just excellent and I love Kinsale's characters - like top-notch intrigue! Buttttt as for the plots - of which there are always too many (for me, I should specify) - those intricate threads tend to be wasted on me. BUT! I look forward to reading Shadowheart because I am fascinated by Allegretto (yes, I am aware of all the CWs for Shadowheart). 3 stars for the book, 5 for the narration by Nicholas Boulton. I had trouble getting into this one until it finally got to the lists. Overall, however, I did not like Melanthe at all. I still don't know why Ruck loves her, and I don't understand how their relationship could possibly work with all the lies she has told him. Both of them have a tendency to be noble idiots, as well as idiots in general. The demise of the villain is a bit anticlimactic, but it's clear that the author wanted it to be so. I still would have liked him to have suffered. My favorite parts were the fight scenes, which were unfortunately few and far between. (To everyone saying that the book is in Middle English: it is not. It has some modernized spellings of Middle English words. Granted, we still use some Middle English words (e.g., "napkin" is Middle English: it means "little cloth"). It also has an epigraph that is truly written in Middle English, with a modern translations below it. If this book were actually written in Middle English, only scholars of the language and the occasional linguist or historian would be able to read the whole book because Middle English literally has letters and diphthongs that we no longer use (e.g., ȝ [yogh], þ [thorn], ð [eth], æ [ash]). Kinsale just used authentic words for the time and modernized them. That's all. *End Rant*) What! I finished a book? In a record six weeks? Settle down. Settle down. I don't think I'd like this book as much as a did if not for the Boulton factor. If not for the Allegretto. If not for Kinsale's usual one asshole protagonist. Because, whew, Ruck was a little TOO devoted. Read: boring. He saved himself there right at the end. Melanthe is mean, and a weird combination of vulnerable and commanding and insecure. Basically, I didn't get them. Still convinced of their love...because Kinsale, but despite all that it's likely my least favorite, skirting by on the high action sequences (wonderfully written and performed), the intriguing subplot, and a falcon. So that is that. I'm looking forward to the next story, but I am going to wait a bit. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesMedieval Hearts (Book 1) AwardsNotable Lists
A princess sparks devotion in a chivalrous knight in this medieval romance by a New York Times-bestselling author who "creates magic" (Lisa Kleypas). With Princess Melanthe di Monteverde widowed, a political marriage would tip the balance of power to any kingdom that possessed her. Determined to return to England alive and unwed, she hides behind a mask of witchery. Protecting her is Ruck d'Angleterre, a chivalrous knight who never wavers--and the only man Melanthe wishes could lift the veil of her disguise. He once desired her, but now his gaze reveals distrust. As they flee her enemies, Melanthe's impossible love for the Green Knight grows. Ruck has remained chaste for thirteen miserable years, since his wife entered a nunnery, continuing to honor their marital vows. In that dark hour, when the church stripped him of his spouse and his possessions, the princess secretly came to his aid with two emeralds. Her safety is his duty, yet his heart is not pure. Each time he gazes upon Melanthe's sable hair and twilight eyes, he wants more Showcasing Laura Kinsale's gift for bringing unforgettable characters to life on the page, For My Lady's Heart is yet another winner from the author of Flowers from the Storm, chosen as one of the "Greatest Love Stories of All Time" in a poll of Washington Post and Glamour magazine readers. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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