9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful read, May 5, 2005
This review is from: Lady Midnight (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)
Once again Amanda McCabe shows her deft way with words building a lovely romance going from Italy to the English countryside. Full of rich, sensory descriptions, LADY MIDNIGHT tells the story of two people getting a second chance at happiness. McCabe has a way of creating heroes and heroines with pure hearts and spirits. This book has the bonus of a hoyden younger sister and a mysterious jilted lover whose story needs to be told.
A wonderful historical novel to transport the reader to another time and place.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
another winning romance novel from Amanda McCabe, May 13, 2005
This review is from: Lady Midnight (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)
Another winning historical romance novel from Amanda McCabe! It really looks as if one can count on Ms McCabe for a reliable, satisfying and engaging read. And although "Lady Midnight" does make use of a much used plot device, by focusing more on the developing relationships that Kate, the heroine, has with her charges and the hero, Michael Lindley, the author makes "Lady Midnight" a very novel and enjoyable reading experience.
On the very day that Katerina Bruni, the only daughter of the beautiful Venetian courtesan Lucrezia Bruni, was to follow in her mother's footsteps, tragedy strikes. Now, all alone and practically penniless, Katerina gets the chance to strike out on her own and to put the confining and unappealing world of courtesans behind her. And so she reinvents herself: Katerina Bruni died with everyone in the boating tragedy, and in her place lives Katherine Brown, an Italian widow of an English soldier, who has come to England in order to find work as a governess. Her first assignment is with the Lindley family who reside in the wilds of Yorkshire. Michael Lindley, the younger brother of the Earl of Darcy, is a widower, and needs to find a governess for his young daughter, Amelia, and for his fifteen year old sister, Christina. Bookish and budding botanist Christina especially needs help, for the young lady, who will make her debut soon, has no social graces whatsoever -- something that is driving Michael's mother wild with frustration. It is everyone's hope that Kate will help Christina acquire some polish. This is something that Kate is more than willing to do, especially since she's lost her heart to both Christina and Amelia. Unexpectedly, though, Kate also finds that she's dangerously attracted to her handsome and kind employer. And even though she senses that he is equally attracted to her, she knows that nothing can come of this mutual attraction, for her employer is an honourable man. And anyway, didn't she leave Venice in order to escape ending up as some man's plaything? As Kate tries to come to grips with her strong feelings, she also begins to find peace and purpose with her new life in Yorkshire as an instructress to both Christina and Amelia, that is until someone from her past suddenly reappears with the power to destroy her...
Although Amanda McCabe uses a much used plot device (the "young lady with a past masquerading as a servant" plot motif), by focusing more on the blossoming romance between Kate and Michael, as well as the easy and affectionate relationship Kate has with both her charges, the author makes "Lady Midnight" a much more complex and interesting read. So that even though the novel unfolds a tad slowly, the overall effect is one in which a more complete picture of how things progress for Kate and Michael from longing to a fully realised loving relationship is given. Also well done was the manner in which she developed her primary characters -- Kate, Michael, Christina and Amelia -- and the manner in which she would give us glimpses into what certain minor characters were feeling (like Michael's unhappy sister-in-law, Mary for example). Also much appreciated (by me anyway) was how the author avoided the entire BIG MISUNDERSTANDING cliche by actually having Kate confide her past to Michael before it is so spectacularly revealed. However, unlike one of the previous reviewers, I do hope that there is no future novel that will feature the deranged villain of this piece as hero. I thought that Amanda McCabe had done a fantastic job of portraying this character's dark delusions, his volatile emotions as well as his obsessive and possessive tendencies brilliantly, thus making him and excellent foil for the hero. So that on the whole then, I'd say that "Lady Midnight" was an extremely well written and moving romance novel that made for a very satisfying read and that was well worth the cover price.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful weekend read, May 8, 2005
This review is from: Lady Midnight (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)
What fun to discover a new author with a new book for the weekend! I enjoyed this historical fiction with the interplay between Michael and Kate. The whole story was enticing with the references to Shakespeare's romances. All lovers of Regency will have to read this story.
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