Customer Reviews

Dancing on the Wind

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mary Jo Putney is better than any romance author I know at creating unique and exciting characters for each of her books. I particularly loved Lucien and Kit in this book. Lucien will be familiar to readers of the Fallen Angel series as the group's mysterious and aloof spymaster. While investigating the Hellfire Club he repeatedly runs into an elusive woman who appears in a variety of guises and to whom he is immediately attracted. Unlike many heros in romance novels, he is not a rake which makes his attraction to the mystery woman even more compelling. Lucien eventually discovers that the woman is "Kit" Travers and unravels her story - she is searching for her lost twin. The adventure that follows is very imaginative and unique, and the romance is particularly poignant.

All of the Fallen Angels stand on their own very well - you can start with this one or with any one in the series. Be forewarned - once you start you'll want to have them all.

Well, if you can set aside the unlikely coincidence of one twin falling for another twin (in a different set!), this is a really interesting book. Lucien's past is revealed in his book. You know, I really had no idea that his sister was his twin, even though I knew that Michael (Lord Michael Kenyon of SHATTERED RAINBOWS) was in love with her as a child and that she had died young. A lot of things about Lucien made sense after this revelation.

Frankly, I had been interested in this character "Lucifer" of the Fallen Angels ever since I encountered him in THUNDER AND ROSES, which was the first of the Fallen Angels series that I read. Lucien's romance is quite interesting, although it stretches my credulity at times.

The story is a complicated one - Lucien is trying to identify the leader of a French spy ring, who is a British nobleman (of course). To this end, he joins a club that styles itself the successor of the Hellfire Club, but whose aim appears to be purely debauchery, unlike the Hellfire's wider political aims. [See my review of Daniel Mannix's book]. At different times and in very different places, he encounters several women who seem to him to be one and the same. He later identifies her, or misidentifies her as a rather repressed young gentlewoman or aristocrat (since she is the daughter of an impoverished earl). However, she tells him that he has mistaken her for her wilder sister, also a twin, who is now an actress. Lucien finds out that there is indeed a twin sister who is an actress, and concludes that he must find that woman to find the lady who both puzzles him and intrigues him. This is the start to an interesting story in which identities switch back and forth, in which the heroine keeps changing her identity and her story, and in which there are several dark secrets.

The explicit stepback cover is somewhat unusual for the usual MJP paperback. However, the cover actually does not do justice to the story, which is about more than the sexual element. One of the key themes in the story is the strength of the twin-bond, and whether that can be successfully challenged by love for a man. That is, will Kit (the heroine) ever put Lucien ahead of her twin, as he wants and hopes?

This book has a lot of intrigue in it, but it is mostly related to the main story, the romance of Kit and Lucien and the important sub-plot - the exposure of the spy ring. Or perhaps I have that the other way around. From that point of view, the story is a lot more satisfying than PETALS IN THE STORM, where the political story took precedence of the romance, and where a secondary character took up most of the space that should have been occupied by the hero.

The book rates at 3.8 (rounded up to 4 stars). I wanted to rate it higher, since I thought Lucien was pretty cool and I thought Kit was an intelligent heroine (upto a point when she starts making some really stupid decisions). Unfortunately I did not like the twin theme, which I thought too much on top of the Hellion club and the espionage theme.

Having met Lucien, Lord Strathmore, in Thunder and Roses (where he was a very sympathetic and likeable character), and again in Petals in the Storm, it was a treat to read his own story and to discover what it was which led him to choose his lonely, covert path as a spymaster. Putney has created another wonderfully complex character in the apparently indolent rakish aristocrat who is really a man of superb intelligence and courage.

Kit, too, is an intriguing and daring heroine, a worthy mate for 'Lucifer.' Her early encounters with Lucien are fascinating and leave the reader wanting to know more about her, never mind what Lucien wants! Attraction flares between them from a very early stage, despite the fact that each is suspicious of the other; one touch I love is the early scene where Kit, while distrusting Lucien, actually saves his life.

As usual with Putney's Fallen Angels series, other Angels play minor roles: Rafe appears briefly at the start - and incidentally, though this book follows Petals in the Storm, it is set chronologically before it - and Michael is briefly involved near the end, thus making readers all the more impatient for Michael's own story. New characters are also likeable and intriguing: Kit's cousin Jason Travers, for instance.

And as usual, Putney's research is impeccable. The Hellfire Club was a well-known gentlemen's organisation in the late eighteenth century, infamous for its fondness for alcohol, women and devil-worship. The Hellions in this story are certainly a credible 'spin-off' from the original Hellfire Club.

Now for Angel Rogue....

Mary Jo Putney is one of the finest contemporary writers of historical romance, together with Mary Balogh and Edith Layton, though her output is more consistent than Layton's. Dancing on the Wind is one of her very best, and extremely original in that most of it is written from the male point of view. The reader shares Lucien's growing fascination with an unusual, elusive woman who fools him time and again. When they finally get together in a memorable scene around the middle of the book, Lucien and Kit make a terrific team, and thus manage to overcome some diabolically vicious enemies

This book, cronologically the second story of the "Fallen Angels" series is about Lucien, the Earl of Strathmore. When his spying business requires him to become a member of the Hellfire League, a club of dissolute rakes, in order to investigate his leaders,who are suspected of treason, he meets Kit Travers. Lucien is more than a little intrigued by the resourcefull girl who appears to have several personalities and the hability to fool even him, a seasoned spy. She is also investigating the club members for reasons of her own, so they both decide to become partners and help each other.

The story is engaging, sensual and fast paced, sometimes funny, and other times poignant.

I liked both main characters a lot. Lucian is not a rake, all the contrary, he is hardworking and dedicated, honorable and respectable. He hides behind his work to escape the hurts of a shattered childhood but yearns for a relatioship where he can find love and intimacy, a person with whom he can share everything.

Kit is a very likeable character too, she is intelligent, resourceful and determined, but what I liked the most about her is that although extreme circumstances have forced her into a world of danger and lies, and she is courageous enough to do what needs to be done, she is not really the adventuresome kind. She is afraid, and nervous and longs for it all to finish so that she can return to her normal life. That makes her character much more real than other heroines that are just too spirited and reckless to be believable.

The only trouble that I had with the story is the extra-sensorial connection that Kit and her sister have. It was a little hard for me to understand and accept it, perhaps because I'm not a twin, and have never experienced anything like that, although I have heard of twins that can sense each other's pain and feelings. But I think the story relied too heavily on the bond between the sisters, and while the bond between twins may be real, in this book I found it somewhat fantastical at times.

That is something I have found frecuently in Mary Jo Putney's novels. In most of them there is a magical or "spiritual" element somewhere in the story, and I'm not sure I like that completely. I like my stories more real. But that is just my personal taste. Except for this small matter I found the book extremely good. The secondary characters (Kit's sister Kira and Jason Travers) are wonderful too, and could have been the main characters of another story.

All in all an excellent book. In fact so far I have not yet read a book by this author that I don't like. Keep them coming Mary Jo Putney!

This is the first book I have read by Mary Jo Putney, and it looks like I just discovered a new author.

Ms. Putney seems to have done her research; at first I thought the premise of the book to be unbelievable in the extreme - but it seems that there was indeed a similar club in that time period! Well, there's something that I certainly didn't learn in school!

The book is extremely well-written, the premise is original, the characters complex - everything I look for in a good book. If I found it a little too long - well, that's only because of my time crunch (I wanted to get to the end, already!) but that's hardly something to detract from a book when it's this well written. It seems to me that Ms. Putney is one of those writers where you feel as if every word she put down on paper was meant to be there - that, combined with a daring and original story makes her one of the best.

You can't help feeling for Kit, and, although another reviewer found it odd that she would go to such great lengths to help her sister, I don't find it odd, but rather touching - and rare. I also did not find the "twin thing" unbelievable as other reviewers did - these things really do happen in real life (both that she "found" another twin, and that she could "feel" what her twin is feeling - at least to some degree).

In short, if what you are looking for is good writing, an original and daring plot, with a touch of the dark side thrown in - this is the book for you.

Dancing on the Wind is truly a most captivating book whose characters come alive and steal a place in your heart. The plot is unique and the characters amazing. A definite must to all historical romance lovers.

I loved this book. No matter how bored I am, I can always pick this book up and still find myself entranced by the plot and the characters. It is one of my favorite books that I have ever read, rating above One Perfect Rose, which is quite possibly my second favorite. She is a great writer, and I have collected all of the Fallen Angels Series, and it is the best out of that series in my opinion. Everyone who likes books written by MJP should read this book. I also recommend One Perfect Rose, which is about Michael's older brother, Stephen. It is entertaining and the story is heartwarming. It was the first Romance Novel I have ever read, and most have not lived up to its story.

This is a simply brilliant book. The hero, a spy master, is just to die for. And the heroine, a mistress of disguise, is truly worthy of him. They really burn up the pages with their passion. You will love this book, and I guarantee it will be on your "keeper" shelf!

Yes, many romance novelists create marvelous characters, but few create consistently interesting and complex heroes the way Mary Jo Putney does. Lucien is fascinating and not your run-of-the-mill hero. She explores the relationship much more from the male's point-of-view. There were some aspects to the story I found a little strange, but I suppose they are original and do not detract from how much I liked this story. I really enjoyed reading about all the different Fallen Angels (and their friends/relatives). These are some truly unique heroes!