Customer Reviews

Winter Dreams (Signet Super Regency Romance)

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Layer upon layer upon layer: characterization, plot, setting. Some books one reads (or attempts to, at least) seem always to be missing one or more of these rather important elements. When you add in writing (and/or sometimes editing) skills-or the lack of them-finding a great book to read can be a task filled with mytery. Not so with the books of Sandra Heath, and in particular, her latest, Winter Dreams.

The story begins in Lisbon, Portugal during the Napoleonic wars, then travels to London and then to Cornwall. In addition to French spies and English espionage, there is a prima donna who could give Maria Callas lessons in the art of being one; brother/sister twins with a psychic connection; a ghost; an old love gone awry but come to life again-and a hero to die for.

This book has everything. Everything! It has mystery and atmosphere and adventure and a romance that transcends years and distances to reunite Judith Nicholls Callard with her first love, Daniel, Lord Penventon. Although marriage between the two had been long planned, the younger Judith had fallen for the practiced charm of another man, Robert Callard, only to be widowed when he fought a duel not quite a year before the opening of the story. She'd had no plans whatever to meet up with Daniel again, but had accompanied her twin, Jamie, on his government assignment to Lisbon.

Daniel is known to have been consorting with the celebrated opera star, Madame Bella Barnardi, who has also caught the eye of Napoleon, along with those of seemingly every other man on the face of the earth! She is as volatile as dynamite, whether on- or off-stage, and what she wants, she will have. Currently, she wants Daniel, and lures him to her side (with the help of the British government) by offering secret information of a very personal nature about and from Bonaparte.

Bella blackmails the British government, which then blackmails Daniel into cooperating with the singer, entirely against his wishes. Finally, he is able to convince the new Foreign Secretary to assist in a plot to trick the diva into divulging her secrets, rendering her threats useless, and freeing Daniel to pursue his love, Judith. Except for one small detail.

Fearful of Bella's vengeful nature and several previous attempts on her life (both in Lisbon, onboard ship sailing back to England, and then again in London) Judith has taken herself off to Cornwall, and Daniel is unable to find her for several weeks.

The resolution is fast and furious-and eminently satisfactory-as Bella gets her comeuppance, leaving Daniel and Judith to live happily ever after in mysterious Cornwall. This is a book to be read and re-read, over and over again. Purely marvelous!

Judith Callard has a special link with her twin brother who is a British representative in Portugal. One night she follows the man responsible for her brother's position -Lord Penventon- into one of Lisbon's seedier districts. She was once been his fiance, but married another after a scandal. She always loved him, though. Now a widow, Judith is torn between loyalty to her country and jealousy as she watches Penventon's involvement with a famous opera singer who can provide vital information about Bonaparte. A series of attacks endanger her safety and she must also deal with the premonition of a mortal danger threatening her brother.

Maybe I'm being too picky, but I can't sympathize with the heroine. The hero is constantly trying to reassure her of his devotion, but she is always so insecure and jeopardize his activities as a spy. I don't know how can he still love her after the 100 pages of complains. And the solution the hero comes to at the end of the book for his problem of how to manage his would-be-lover, it is so simple and stupid, I just couldn't feel all the tension the characters were being through, I just thougth that was stupid. There is a bit of action at the very end that helps a little, but then I just didn't care much anymore.

I bought this book because someone said it was for people who like Georgette Heyer. All I can say is that could only work for people who like Georgette Heyer for far different reasons than I like her. Every sentence is painfully awkward. It feels strained and false. If it were only a parody it would be very funny.

Stay away unless something set during the time of the English Regency is terribly important to you.

There are a number of reasons I love regency novels. One big one is that usually there is very little sexual talk and sex in general. Not in this book. Very disappointing. I've read other of Heath's books and enjoyed them, so I was excited to read another. But it was full of sex! Come on. Do we really need that to have a good story? Especially back then. Let's keep them clean, like good ol' Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, etc. We need more good clean books. We have enough filthy ones! Keep them clean!