Isabel’s review of Shadowheart (Medieval Hearts #2) by Laura Kinsale.

Allegreto, the charismatic young assassin from For My Lady’s Heart, takes center stage in this much-anticipated follow-up by New York Times-bestselling author Laura Kinsale. Known for her compelling, complicated characters, thrilling love stories, and rich historical background, Kinsale outdoes herself in Shadowheart. The dangerous and dashing Allegreto wants nothing more than to regain his rightful place in the rich Italian principality of Monteverde. Happily, the means to do so have just emerged — in the form of the young Lady Elena (also known as Elayne), newly discovered to be the long-lost Monteverde princess and sole heir to the kingdom. Though she is promised to his rival, Allegreto seizes her ship, takes Elena prisoner, and weds her, thus beginning their battle of wits and passion. While Elena is a naïve young woman when the book begins, by journey’s end she becomes Allegreto’s equal and, sometimes, master, reuniting the kingdom in the process.

I tried people. I really tried to finish Shadowheart but I can’t.

It started off really slow. I was on chapter 3 and I was ready to close to the book but I didn’t. It started to pick up once the hero of the book made his entrance but it wasn’t really enough to keep me interested in it. It was just really dry and slow going.

Elena finds out she’s a princess. Her guardian ships her back home to marry some guy. On the way, her ship is taken by pirates. Enter the hero. Turns out he smuggled her out of her homeland in the first place. She has faint memories of him and because she dreamed about him, she thought he was her guardian angel.

She tells Allegreto she does not want to marry the guy who is waiting for her, that she’ll do anything to not marry him. She wakes up with an awful headache and spots of blood on her sheets. A maid tells Elena she is now married and it was consummated. Elena is furious but tells everyone that yes, she wanted the marriage. It’s that or become soiled goods. Turns out the marriage wasn’t consummated. He made it seem like it was. Ok…

But the first time they do have sex, is not pretty. He doesn’t exactly force her but she fights him. She bites him and struggles. He doesn’t do anything to really soothe her or make it nice. It’s like it turned him on even more. And what I mean when I say he didn’t force her, he started off by kissing her and she realizes she likes it, that she is wanton. That’s when she struggles.

So I don’t know. I wanted to give this book another week to read but I’m just kind of tired of forcing myself to read it. Ames and someone else said the book is really good so I’ll try again later to read it. So for now, it’s upgradeable.

Grade: DNF

This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can purchase it here.