Shadowheart

Medieval Hearts, Book 2

By: Laura Kinsale

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

A fatally dangerous man...and the woman who stands in the way of all he's ever desired.

Beautiful and ruthless, the elegant assassin Allegreto will stop at nothing to regain his rightful place. And the perfect instrument has just fallen into his hands, in the lovely form of Lady Elena - the long-lost princess of the land he intends to wrest back from his enemies. But she is no mere maiden to be possessed. Even as he forces her to bend to his will, in the heat of desire and fury Elena finds the hidden power in her own soul, a merciless passion and command that will bind her dark lover and bring him to his knees. Her mastery may destroy him…or build an unexpected future from the bitter ashes of his life and dreams.

©2004 Hedgehog Inc (P)2014 Hedgehog Inc

Great final 2 hours - the rest was too dark for me

The first three quarters of the book was too rape-y and disturbing for me to really enjoy it. Laura Kinsale's writing is good. And the narrator was excellent. But the dark, disturbing, elements of nonconsensual sex we're just too off-putting for me to really recommend this one.

true love

Where does Shadowheart rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

this is top notch. it doesn't follow the typical love story. there are personal and outer battles to be fought.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Elena and Allegretto

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

yes

WOW.

Laura Kinsale has seriously outdone herself with this beautiful, exhilarating, mesmerizing, heart wrenching, and fun love story set in the middle ages. I would recommend first listening to For My Lady’s Heart to get the background context leading up to Elena and Allegreto meeting as adults. But while I loved For My Lady’s Heart, Allegreto and Elena have a charged and dynamic chemistry that makes their romance especially compelling.

There are several interesting developments in the story - a young woman comes into her own and learns to harness powers she didn’t know she had, a son strives to ingratiate himself with his father’s mortal enemy, a principality tries to establish equilibrium after decades of upheaval, and houses clash with one another as they compete for power. All this against the dramatic backdrop of the sea and the mountains of Italy, which help to make the story feel almost magical and fantastical.

But the real star of the novel is Allegreto. In For My Lady’s Heart, we knew him as the beautiful, ruthless, cunning, and deadly assassin - with a streak of morality and benevolence that doesn’t start to come through until the end. In Shadowheart, his roguish mask is gradually stripped away by his adoration of Elena and the power she wields over him. We see his vulnerability laid bare - the PTSD he suffers from the dysfunctional relationship he had with his father, his remorse for the sins he’s committed, and his despair at the idea of being cast out of God and the Church’s good graces.

Transformed from Elena’s captor into her submissive, Allegreto finds himself emotionally eviscerated. And interestingly, it’s when he’s forced to abandon his cool façade and bare his soul that he becomes all the more intriguing and captivating.

Nicholas Boulton’s narration - charismatic and affecting - combined with Kinsale’s brilliant writing skills makes this audiobook intoxicating. As an author / narrator collaboration they represent to me the pinnacle of excellence when it comes to the potential of audiobooks.

Enjoyable in every way

The book was suspenseful, romantic, full of interesting characters, and well-read. This book took me through many miles of running!

this story is not for the faint of heart

I thought this story a bit deep in emotional and sexual views alike. I think that if I didn't love the author so much I would have not finished it. It's a great story but my goodness the tensions are crazy! I would be stuck at my sink, cup in hand , frozen as the scene played out. If you are looking for a light or funny read this is not for you. However if you want to be captivated and pulled into passionate love and hate that you can feel in your soul ...well my friend this is your lucky day... I'm glad I trusted this author to bring me out on the other side.

Please, Laura, may we have some more?

I have listened to this book twice now, and love the story and the performance. I keeping wishing that Laura Kinsale will write more novels. They are as intelligent as they are entertaining!!! #historicalnovel #medievalnovel #unexpectedromance #edgeofyourseat #Machiavellian #tagsgiving #sweepsstakes

A great story

I love a story with love, intrigue and a happy ending!!! On to the next Laura Kinsale story!

Another Kinsale Winner!

Once again, Laura Kinsale has delivered a detailed story with an arduous subject for that time period. The medieval world comes alive with power struggles between families and the corrupt Catholic Church.

I realize this book isn't going to be everyone's 'cup of tea' but if you've read "For my lady's heart" you'll gain more understanding as to why Allegreto has become so ruthless and thinks that he is beyond redemption. We met Elena is the first book as a young 6 year old girl. In this book she has become a young woman of 17. Together they have a strange and unusual relationship. The erotic love scenes (s&m) were intense and sometimes difficult to listen to but their relationship does have an unusual sense of balance. This story is mysterious, intense, sensual and has a love and redemption aspect that I found touching and endearing.

If you enjoy the deeper darker side of Kinsale books you will love this. If not, you might want to skip this one.

P.S. I know I've said it before but Nicholas Boulton is one of the best narrators on Audible!! He makes good books even better!

Why the S&M?

I have eagerly awaited every book by Laura Kinsale. Her writing style is unlike any other's I've read. I have consistently given 5 stars to all of the previous books, and in all fairness I must admit this story did not disappoint as an absolutely wonderful story. I had to take one star off due to the heavy S&M. I'm not sure if this form of lovemaking was chosen because everyone seems to be jumping on the "50 shades" band wagon, or if Ms. Kinsale had some other reason for this change.

I am not judgmental, and respect everyone's right to do what ever they wish with another consenting adult human. I personally do not find pain erotic, and when I read a passage in which one person is harming another, whether it is in a savage beating or for sexual satisfaction, I feel the same level of abhorrence.

I read the other reviews and knew this book had some rough sex scenes, but I was not expecting that level. I found myself fast forwarding through the sexy scenes (usually my favorite...) so I could get back to what was a wonderful love story. I felt as though that element was just thrown in as a way to attract readers that enjoy books like 50 shades.

If you don't mind the S&M, or if you can fast forward through them as I did, you will read a wonderful book with characters so finely drawn, it is almost like watching a movie. And for that, I must thank Ms. Kinsale for another excellent story.

I Absolutely LOVE Allegreto!!!

Would you listen to Shadowheart again? Why?

YES. I love Allegreto. The only thing that could have made this book better was more from Allegreto's POV and not so much of the dom/submissive relationship between him and Elena. Even with that, this book was fantastic! Lots of twists and turns, betrayal and redemption. Elena and Allegreto had a weird kind of connection but it was definitely love.

What did you like best about this story?

Allegreto of course. I loved learning more about this heartless assassin and we see him fall in love more and more as the story progresses. The relationship w/ him and Elena disturbed me initially but that feeling deteriorated more and more as I read it. I realized that Elena really did love him and though I didn't like some of her decisions, she had her reasons. We see him become less cold and I feel that though he's done some horrible things, he redeemed himself.

What does Nicholas Boulton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brought a lot of character emotion to the reading, he's awesome.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes although I paced myself to enjoy the story more :)

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this one better than For My Lady's Heart. This is worth the credit, no worth two credits! Don't pass this one up!