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Shadow Dance
Wrongly accused of his father's murder, handsome Valerian Romney must flee his vengeful pursuers—ingeniously disguised as his older brother Phelan's "wife." But desire endangers the Romneys' brazen masquerade. For ruffles and lace cannot hide Valerian's fevered passion for the lovely and confused Sophie—while Phelan yearns for the tormented beauty, Juliette, who has dressed in man's clothing to escape a heartless abuser. And now both peril and ecstasy await them all as they move in a seductive dance of deception—where every false, protective mask must ultimately be stripped away...to reveal the true, radiant and rapturous love beneath.
377 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
16 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
About the author
Anne Stuart
203 books2,064 followersAnne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
March 25, 2015
One of the best books I've ever read, definitely one of my all-time favorites!
Everything was perfect here, the characters, the story, the writing, just everything!
Two couples, totally different, but both so great in their own way!
Huge huge huge huge huuuuuuuuge rec to everyone <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
My favorite quotes:
"She was trembling. He didn't release her, though he knew he ought to. He was never a man who did something simply because it was what he ought to do."
-------------------------------------
"“I'll come with you,” she said, “on one condition.”
“And that is?”
“That you don't touch me again. You don't kiss me, you don't put your hands on me. Is that agreed?”
He crossed the stretch of sand, took her shoulders in his hands, and hauled her up against him. He kissed her hard, a brief, thorough, devastatingly sexual kiss that lasted just until she began to respond. And then he released her.
“Agreed,” he said."
-------------------------------------
"“I've seen you, I've touched you, I've tasted you. Sooner or later I'm going to have you. It doesn't matter to me that Lemur was first. He only hurt you.”
“You'd hurt me, too.” She paused by the door, and her voice was no more than a thread of sound.
“Never.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “Let me leave,” she begged.
“Never.”"
-------------------------------------
"He was going to send her away, with her diamond-and-pearl earbobs, with every cent he could spare, with the bloody watch his father had given him if need be. He was going to send her away, tomorrow morning, at first light.
Before he couldn't bear to let her go."
-------------------------------------
"He'd already spent the one night he'd ever have with her, and his body was still in torment from it. He probably wouldn't survive another one. Could a man die of frustration? Could his member get so hard for so long that it simply stopped working?
He was going to have a chance to find out, he through wryly, slowing the horses as they approached the outskirts of Hampton Regis. As a medical experiment, it lacked a certain charm. He thought he might possibly prefer death."
-------------------------------------
"“Then we'll have to kill him,” he said flatly. “Might as well, since I'm being hunted for a murder I didn't commit. They're going to catch me sooner or later, and probably hang me. I might as well do something decent to deserve it.”"
-------------------------------------
*buddy with Glam, thanks woman for recing this book!!!*
May 18, 2017
I wanted to read this book because of crossdressing, obviously. OBVIOUSLY. From the back synopsis, I assumed Valerian was the male lead having to disguise himself in women's clothing, but alas, he was only part of the secondary romance. Phelan was the hero, and I REALLY didn't like him.
After reading so many Anne Stuart novels, I've come to recognize certain similarities in her work. One is how the thought process of the heros and how they interact with the heroines. This may work once or twice, but it's gotten to be so annoying for me. Yes, we get it, you don't care. Only you REALLY DO. Yes, you're so dark and clever and able to see through every ruse and anticipate every move. Good for you. I don't care.
Valerian was a much more likeable character, and as a result I liked the secondary romance a lot better than the main one. With both Valerian and Phelan's love interest, Juliette, masquerading as the opposite sex while engaging in their own romances, this book was full of opportunities for interesting musings on sexuality. Unfortunately, every single one of those opportunities was ignored or outright dismissed.
Example: Valerian's love interest, Sophie, becomes attracted to him while he's dressed as a woman, without knowing he's a man. Valerian KNOWS she's not attracted to women, only to him. Even though he's disguised as a woman and Sophie has NO IDEA he's a man. Also, an openmouthed kiss between women is WRONG.
I understand this is a historical novel and being open about one's alternative sexuality was not quite the thing, but that doesn't mean authors can't explore these avenues. Although the writing itself was quite flat and uninspired, the conversations between the characters were often engaging (surprisingly so). However, the book could have been so much more interesting with a few conversations about, say, different kinds of attraction.
Overall, this wasn't the worst Stuart novel I've read (I feel like I've made this statement before), but this just was rather dull despite the murder plot and crossdressing. Phelan wasn't interesting at all as a hero and the women were predictably innocent heroines, even though one of them was married. There were several other nitpicky issues I had , but these were the major ones. This was a disappointing book full of tired clichés and missed opportunities.
One extra star for a man dressing as a woman.
After reading so many Anne Stuart novels, I've come to recognize certain similarities in her work. One is how the thought process of the heros and how they interact with the heroines. This may work once or twice, but it's gotten to be so annoying for me. Yes, we get it, you don't care. Only you REALLY DO. Yes, you're so dark and clever and able to see through every ruse and anticipate every move. Good for you. I don't care.
Valerian was a much more likeable character, and as a result I liked the secondary romance a lot better than the main one. With both Valerian and Phelan's love interest, Juliette, masquerading as the opposite sex while engaging in their own romances, this book was full of opportunities for interesting musings on sexuality. Unfortunately, every single one of those opportunities was ignored or outright dismissed.
Example: Valerian's love interest, Sophie, becomes attracted to him while he's dressed as a woman, without knowing he's a man. Valerian KNOWS she's not attracted to women, only to him. Even though he's disguised as a woman and Sophie has NO IDEA he's a man. Also, an openmouthed kiss between women is WRONG.
I understand this is a historical novel and being open about one's alternative sexuality was not quite the thing, but that doesn't mean authors can't explore these avenues. Although the writing itself was quite flat and uninspired, the conversations between the characters were often engaging (surprisingly so). However, the book could have been so much more interesting with a few conversations about, say, different kinds of attraction.
Overall, this wasn't the worst Stuart novel I've read (I feel like I've made this statement before), but this just was rather dull despite the murder plot and crossdressing. Phelan wasn't interesting at all as a hero and the women were predictably innocent heroines, even though one of them was married. There were several other nitpicky issues I had , but these were the major ones. This was a disappointing book full of tired clichés and missed opportunities.
One extra star for a man dressing as a woman.
August 25, 2016
*Re-read*
Buddy read with Blacky <3<3<3
Over the years, I've read this book many times in French, this was my first read in English.
This book is simply AWESOME. In a day and age where most authors don't seem able to write stand alone anymore or worse start writing serials left and right (a fraud that positively drives me mad), Anne Stuart comes with a jewel of a book.
With Shadow Dance we don't have 1 but 2 full and totally different intermingled love stories beautifully wrapped up within 377 pages. Not only both couples are awesome, the dialogs are rich and full of double meanings, the banters deliciously funny, the sexual tension scorching hot, but we also have a bit of suspense, the language is appropriate for the historical time, and last but not least there was no typo that I was aware of.
Reading this book was pure bliss <3
Blacky, thank you! It was fun reading this book with you :***
I should have counted all the <3 you used :DDDDD
Buddy read with Blacky <3<3<3
Over the years, I've read this book many times in French, this was my first read in English.
This book is simply AWESOME. In a day and age where most authors don't seem able to write stand alone anymore or worse start writing serials left and right (a fraud that positively drives me mad), Anne Stuart comes with a jewel of a book.
With Shadow Dance we don't have 1 but 2 full and totally different intermingled love stories beautifully wrapped up within 377 pages. Not only both couples are awesome, the dialogs are rich and full of double meanings, the banters deliciously funny, the sexual tension scorching hot, but we also have a bit of suspense, the language is appropriate for the historical time, and last but not least there was no typo that I was aware of.
Reading this book was pure bliss <3
Blacky, thank you! It was fun reading this book with you :***
I should have counted all the <3 you used :DDDDD
May 26, 2025
I'm going to acknowledge right now that I read Georgette Heyer's The Masqueraders and loved it. I know, Heyer. But anyway, Stuart says in her author's note that Shadow Dance was inspired by The Masqueraders, and you can absolutely see it. We're in Regency England, not Georgian England, but particularly in the beginning, the mannered speech and staging felt so similar.
In Shadow Dance, Juliette has become Julian to get away from a hideous husband. She runs into Philip and his wife Valerie, who are actually half-brothers Phelan and Valerian, on the run to escape murder charges. I mean!
There are two love stories here: Phelan and Juliette, and Valerian and a darling girl named Sophie -- and I might actually love the latter couple more? But they're both great, together and separately. Juliette is never shoved into the Not Like Other Girls box despite the fact that she runs around in breeches all the time and speaks multiple languages due to her childhood with an itinerant father. Valerian is a brilliant character, so game to dress up as a woman who even Juliet thinks is Phelan's "glorious-looking wife." TBH, he even outshone Phelan as a MMC, even though Phelan was a good character himself.
It's not a perfect book, but it is wonderfully bananas in true Anne Stuart style, and I can see myself rereading. 4.5 stars
There is some quite gross homophobia seeded throughout this 1993 book, so you will have to put that to one side.
In Shadow Dance, Juliette has become Julian to get away from a hideous husband. She runs into Philip and his wife Valerie, who are actually half-brothers Phelan and Valerian, on the run to escape murder charges. I mean!
There are two love stories here: Phelan and Juliette, and Valerian and a darling girl named Sophie -- and I might actually love the latter couple more? But they're both great, together and separately. Juliette is never shoved into the Not Like Other Girls box despite the fact that she runs around in breeches all the time and speaks multiple languages due to her childhood with an itinerant father. Valerian is a brilliant character, so game to dress up as a woman who even Juliet thinks is Phelan's "glorious-looking wife." TBH, he even outshone Phelan as a MMC, even though Phelan was a good character himself.
It's not a perfect book, but it is wonderfully bananas in true Anne Stuart style, and I can see myself rereading. 4.5 stars
There is some quite gross homophobia seeded throughout this 1993 book, so you will have to put that to one side.
January 11, 2020
I was going through some of my books from a couple of bookshelves we had to take down and this one was on that shelf. I recall how much I enjoyed this book and greatly look forward to reading it again.
June 11, 2010
I hate writing spoiler reviews but I don't think I can relay what I liked about this book without using spoilers, considering the book wasn't really great until the end.
The story is about two brothers on the run from murder charges. One dresses in drag and plays as his brothers wife. The transvestite falls in love with a blue-blooded woman who is pretty uninteresed in dudes and the other brother falls for a woman who is in drag and on the run from her abusive husband. This is why I got the book and stayed with it until the end. I love gender-benders and this had a 2 for 1 deal.
The first 80% of the book is predictable and is just below the bar for as funny as the premise warrents, and then the resolutions begin and the two heroes are outed as completely dispassionate and useless where as the women settle everything with awe inspiring practicality.
The transvestite get's revealed as a man to his lady friend (who remains pretty asexual to the end) after she's planned out a lesbian union for them. She get's mad and leaves. He shrugs and sulks. No attempt to go after her or "claim what is his" as we see in most romance novels. After a few hours she comes back and forgives him. She efficiently (albeit grudgingly) re-works her lesbian romance to fit his cock in.
Funny.
There is one man, the other woman's husband, who is mentioned throughout the novel as the Big Bad Wolf and it seems obvious the book will end with a heroric rescue of his wife from his clutches...but instead he shows up at around 2/3rds of the way in, the brothers let him stay with them and take his wife with him when he leaves. You can't very well kill someone who has manners as nice as his. A few scenes later the wife awakens to find an old woman over her with a knife and her husband slashed to death next to her in bed. The old woman is all "I met your husband. He's kind of a dick so I killed him. I killed my maid too, so you better get my bags for me."
Really funny.
The dramatic climax of the book has the non-trans brother making a valent attempt at a rescue of the newly widdowed trans-woman from the murderous elderly woman, but he ends up being 0% useful and his love interest falls to her death in the ocean. He sulks and goes home. Hours later she shows up at his door and his reaction is, "I thought you died," and she says something to the effect of, "I can swim, dumbass."
The End
I loved this book.
The story is about two brothers on the run from murder charges. One dresses in drag and plays as his brothers wife. The transvestite falls in love with a blue-blooded woman who is pretty uninteresed in dudes and the other brother falls for a woman who is in drag and on the run from her abusive husband. This is why I got the book and stayed with it until the end. I love gender-benders and this had a 2 for 1 deal.
The first 80% of the book is predictable and is just below the bar for as funny as the premise warrents, and then the resolutions begin and the two heroes are outed as completely dispassionate and useless where as the women settle everything with awe inspiring practicality.
The transvestite get's revealed as a man to his lady friend (who remains pretty asexual to the end) after she's planned out a lesbian union for them. She get's mad and leaves. He shrugs and sulks. No attempt to go after her or "claim what is his" as we see in most romance novels. After a few hours she comes back and forgives him. She efficiently (albeit grudgingly) re-works her lesbian romance to fit his cock in.
Funny.
There is one man, the other woman's husband, who is mentioned throughout the novel as the Big Bad Wolf and it seems obvious the book will end with a heroric rescue of his wife from his clutches...but instead he shows up at around 2/3rds of the way in, the brothers let him stay with them and take his wife with him when he leaves. You can't very well kill someone who has manners as nice as his. A few scenes later the wife awakens to find an old woman over her with a knife and her husband slashed to death next to her in bed. The old woman is all "I met your husband. He's kind of a dick so I killed him. I killed my maid too, so you better get my bags for me."
Really funny.
The dramatic climax of the book has the non-trans brother making a valent attempt at a rescue of the newly widdowed trans-woman from the murderous elderly woman, but he ends up being 0% useful and his love interest falls to her death in the ocean. He sulks and goes home. Hours later she shows up at his door and his reaction is, "I thought you died," and she says something to the effect of, "I can swim, dumbass."
The End
I loved this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2022
3.5 stars (why, oh, why can't GR update it's system to include 1//2 star?)
There are 2 romances in this book as per the norm for Ms. Stuart books. The main hero, Phelan in this book is an exact copy of Francis from Ruthless. So, if you like that book, you'll like this one as well. I believe her books are formulaic, so this one is a standard fare. I was pretty much on auto-cruise whilst reading. This one didn't inspire any strong emotions in me. This was just okay.
There are 2 romances in this book as per the norm for Ms. Stuart books. The main hero, Phelan in this book is an exact copy of Francis from Ruthless. So, if you like that book, you'll like this one as well. I believe her books are formulaic, so this one is a standard fare. I was pretty much on auto-cruise whilst reading. This one didn't inspire any strong emotions in me. This was just okay.
June 17, 2024
On a second read, Sophie is wildly annoying, but I still love this book.
OG Post:
I am just filled with happy bubbles after this book. There's so much situational humor due to the farce of this book. Because the story is kind of plot heavy and there's really two romance storylines, I don't get a deep emotional connection with either couple. But instead I just get this overarching sense of happiness. I love the way everything wrapped up. It's just like a shot of joy to your insides.
OG Post:
I am just filled with happy bubbles after this book. There's so much situational humor due to the farce of this book. Because the story is kind of plot heavy and there's really two romance storylines, I don't get a deep emotional connection with either couple. But instead I just get this overarching sense of happiness. I love the way everything wrapped up. It's just like a shot of joy to your insides.
December 19, 2010
Anne Stuart, historical romance, enough said. sigh........
August 3, 2022
I have so many thoughts here. First, I'm not sure how to rate this so I'm going to split the baby (that's truly a horrible phrase) at 3 stars.
Juliette is a young woman on the run from an abusive husband and has disguised herself as a boy. Valerian is man accused of murdering his father and has disguised himself as a woman. Phalen, his half-brother, is on the run out of solidarity and is masquerading as Valerian/Valerie's husband. Sophie is the young woman who finds herself attracted to the "dashing" woman down the road.
All of this is very Shakespearean and evoked some feelings of The Twelfth Night because of the risk of same-sex attraction due to cross-dressing in merry old England.
(I need to go off on a non-spoilery tangent for just one minute here: does anyone else remember a book where there was a cross-dressing plot and the woman actually fooled the man into believing she was a young man and he struggled with his sexuality before finally accepting he might not be attracted to all men, but he was attracted to this one? And then finally toward the middle/end of the book realizing she really was a woman? If that sounds familiar to anyone else, please comment or send me a message. I'd really like to read it again.)
Once again, Anne Stuart proves problematic for me in her depiction of homosexuality among men -- but then proves surprisingly open-minded about it between women. I've commented in other Stuart reviews where the villain turns out to be gay, bi, or trans. I understand why authors used it, especially in the days of the 90s and before, when straight people were still trying to wrap their heads around LGBTQ+ people. I know it was frequently used in older books as shorthand for "other", and in the case of some trans villains, could also be a quick way to fool the reader because the woman in the background they'd been reading about was -- tada! -- a man the whole time. In this case, there is a minor background character who is an admitted pedophile, that lusts after Juliette while believing she is a boy, who is constantly belittled for his "mincing" behavior and while he isn't a villain in this book, is also definitely not a good person. For the record, pedophiles who prey on the young (male or female) are never okay, and Sir Neville even says that he prefers to "spoil innocence," or something along those lines, at one point, so I'd say he falls into the "creep" category. I just really wish that the only genuinely homosexual person in this book wasn't such a gross human being, and that a bigger deal had been made of his preference for the young making him "other", rather than his preference for the same sex. Additionally, I lost count of how many times the term "mincing" was used in this book. I think there was a record set.
Regarding the A-plot, Juliette and Phalen are mostly at-odds with each other for this one, until suddenly they aren't. I enjoyed both characters, although I admit, I was hoping for one of Stuart's "darker" heroes from Phalen. He was pretty middle of the road, for a romance novel. Brooding, and refusing to fall in love or marry due to a genetic madness he worries about passing down to his potential children.
I also ran into a trope with Juliette that I am not overly fond of: Additionally, her reasons for marrying her abusive husband just didn't seem that convincing to me. It was very use your words, only I usually add to that shelf when it's the main characters who don't communicate, and this time a lot could have been cleared up and avoided with a clueless well-intentioned father.
Regarding the audiobook (this was a Hoopla audio borrow), I'm going to go with 3-stars. The narrator was actually pretty talented, I just hated a lot of her choices, both in voices and line delivery. I found myself wondering a few times if I'd like the book better if I was reading instead of listening.
One last thing, I don't usually comment on covers, but the cover on this book was absolutely gorgeous (keep in mind I'm referring to the audio version, which currently has a woman in a man's style coat, looking out over sun setting on two boats at sea). It was absolutely perfect, evoking just a bit of the Shakespearean influence while still being unique. Five stars for that cover.
All in all, I had fun with this, but I'm glad I didn't spend money on it. I would probably buy the book on Kindle if I ever found it for $2 or less, but I don't think I'd ever want to revisit the audio again.
Juliette is a young woman on the run from an abusive husband and has disguised herself as a boy. Valerian is man accused of murdering his father and has disguised himself as a woman. Phalen, his half-brother, is on the run out of solidarity and is masquerading as Valerian/Valerie's husband. Sophie is the young woman who finds herself attracted to the "dashing" woman down the road.
All of this is very Shakespearean and evoked some feelings of The Twelfth Night because of the risk of same-sex attraction due to cross-dressing in merry old England.
(I need to go off on a non-spoilery tangent for just one minute here: does anyone else remember a book where there was a cross-dressing plot and the woman actually fooled the man into believing she was a young man and he struggled with his sexuality before finally accepting he might not be attracted to all men, but he was attracted to this one? And then finally toward the middle/end of the book realizing she really was a woman? If that sounds familiar to anyone else, please comment or send me a message. I'd really like to read it again.)
Once again, Anne Stuart proves problematic for me in her depiction of homosexuality among men -- but then proves surprisingly open-minded about it between women. I've commented in other Stuart reviews where the villain turns out to be gay, bi, or trans. I understand why authors used it, especially in the days of the 90s and before, when straight people were still trying to wrap their heads around LGBTQ+ people. I know it was frequently used in older books as shorthand for "other", and in the case of some trans villains, could also be a quick way to fool the reader because the woman in the background they'd been reading about was -- tada! -- a man the whole time. In this case, there is a minor background character who is an admitted pedophile, that lusts after Juliette while believing she is a boy, who is constantly belittled for his "mincing" behavior and while he isn't a villain in this book, is also definitely not a good person. For the record, pedophiles who prey on the young (male or female) are never okay, and Sir Neville even says that he prefers to "spoil innocence," or something along those lines, at one point, so I'd say he falls into the "creep" category. I just really wish that the only genuinely homosexual person in this book wasn't such a gross human being, and that a bigger deal had been made of his preference for the young making him "other", rather than his preference for the same sex. Additionally, I lost count of how many times the term "mincing" was used in this book. I think there was a record set.
Regarding the A-plot, Juliette and Phalen are mostly at-odds with each other for this one, until suddenly they aren't. I enjoyed both characters, although I admit, I was hoping for one of Stuart's "darker" heroes from Phalen. He was pretty middle of the road, for a romance novel. Brooding, and refusing to fall in love or marry due to a genetic madness he worries about passing down to his potential children.
I also ran into a trope with Juliette that I am not overly fond of: Additionally, her reasons for marrying her abusive husband just didn't seem that convincing to me. It was very use your words, only I usually add to that shelf when it's the main characters who don't communicate, and this time a lot could have been cleared up and avoided with a clueless well-intentioned father.
Regarding the audiobook (this was a Hoopla audio borrow), I'm going to go with 3-stars. The narrator was actually pretty talented, I just hated a lot of her choices, both in voices and line delivery. I found myself wondering a few times if I'd like the book better if I was reading instead of listening.
One last thing, I don't usually comment on covers, but the cover on this book was absolutely gorgeous (keep in mind I'm referring to the audio version, which currently has a woman in a man's style coat, looking out over sun setting on two boats at sea). It was absolutely perfect, evoking just a bit of the Shakespearean influence while still being unique. Five stars for that cover.
All in all, I had fun with this, but I'm glad I didn't spend money on it. I would probably buy the book on Kindle if I ever found it for $2 or less, but I don't think I'd ever want to revisit the audio again.
April 7, 2025
3.5 again
Another dated story for certain, with some elements I've found unappealing, mostly related to characterization.
However, considering the big picture, I liked other things well enough to see this positively. I especially liked the two romances and their dilemmas.
Another dated story for certain, with some elements I've found unappealing, mostly related to characterization.
However, considering the big picture, I liked other things well enough to see this positively. I especially liked the two romances and their dilemmas.
October 3, 2014
The plot of this novel was surprisingly unique, and yet it fell so flat. Like a girl from a cliff into the whirling sea...
I felt that the supposed romance between Phelan and Juliette was focused on too much and the other more criminal aspects were lost. The murder of the brother's father was just forgotten until Stuart found it necessary to advance the plot of the romance.
The fact that Valerian was described as such a man and then convinced everyone that he was a woman... well I just couldn't get my head around it at all.
I felt that the romance which became the be-all and end-all of the story actually wasn't that romantic. Sure there was an element of lust, but Phelan was just pushing Juliette, making her uncomfortable and using her fears against her... I just didn't buy it as a romance. When compared to Sophie and Val which had an intellectual romance as well as physical.
I didn't like the plot, the sub-plots or any of the characters. Shame!
I felt that the supposed romance between Phelan and Juliette was focused on too much and the other more criminal aspects were lost. The murder of the brother's father was just forgotten until Stuart found it necessary to advance the plot of the romance.
The fact that Valerian was described as such a man and then convinced everyone that he was a woman... well I just couldn't get my head around it at all.
I felt that the romance which became the be-all and end-all of the story actually wasn't that romantic. Sure there was an element of lust, but Phelan was just pushing Juliette, making her uncomfortable and using her fears against her... I just didn't buy it as a romance. When compared to Sophie and Val which had an intellectual romance as well as physical.
I didn't like the plot, the sub-plots or any of the characters. Shame!
June 21, 2018
DNF at 55%
The main hero is one of the biggest alpholes I've seen, and a rapey dick to boot. He keeps threatening the heroine! Apparently later on he sends her back to the abusive husband she's been fleeing, but I'm giving up before I reach that bit. The main heroine is cross-dressing as a boy, and it could have been a lot of fun, but so far it's mostly the hero glowering at her and thinking about how he wouldn't be able to stop himself from fucking her.
I only picked this up because I thought the main hero was going to be cross-dressing as a woman
but he's the hero's brother, and it barely comes up! and they always make sure to mention that he's a real man and doesn't enjoy being in a dress!
Ugh. It all left a very bad taste in my mouth.
The main hero is one of the biggest alpholes I've seen, and a rapey dick to boot. He keeps threatening the heroine! Apparently later on he sends her back to the abusive husband she's been fleeing, but I'm giving up before I reach that bit. The main heroine is cross-dressing as a boy, and it could have been a lot of fun, but so far it's mostly the hero glowering at her and thinking about how he wouldn't be able to stop himself from fucking her.
I only picked this up because I thought the main hero was going to be cross-dressing as a woman
but he's the hero's brother, and it barely comes up! and they always make sure to mention that he's a real man and doesn't enjoy being in a dress!
Ugh. It all left a very bad taste in my mouth.
March 31, 2008
This is a wonderful romance of disguises and hidden identities. Juliette has fled an abusive husband. Disguised as a boy, she is rescued from the unsavory attentions of a mincing gentleman. However, Phelan and his wife, Valerie, are not what they seem. Valerie is really Valerian, a man. Falsely accused of murder of his father, he is hiding from the authorities, hoping to find the real murderer. This book is funny, sexy, romantic, and thrilling. I have read it numerous times since its publication in 1993. Anne Stuart is a favorite writer of mine. I would highly recommend this book.
abandonados
April 21, 2022A ver. Este libro me ha terminado de convencer de que esta escritora no es para mí.
La premisa me ha parecido interesante y, al elegirlo, me dejé llevar por las buenas reseñas y, sobre todo, por la ilustración de la cubierta. Por favor, es maravillosamente kitsch. Pero, ojo, es lo único que me gusta de este libro.
Lo he abandonado habiendo leído el 70%. La gota que ha colmado el vaso, aparte del sexismo, las escenas sexuales rayando el abuso y la trama que, después del primer capítulo, se pierde por el camino: el personaje gay malo. Por lo que he leído es algo típico de esta autora, incluir un personaje homosexual muy negativo (villano, pervertido, rozando la violación, etc.) en muchos de sus libros. Yo, la demonización de este personaje, demostrando una homofobia muy heavy, la he visto muy clara: es la primera vez que en la descripción del personaje la escritora dice que tiene "los dientes amarillos" (es un recurso de demonización muy occidental que he leído en decenas de libros) porque las malas personas siempre son feas y tienen mala dentadura. Entre otras cosas. Por lo visto, para esta autora, también son homosexuales...
Luego me he dado cuenta de que este libro fue escrito en los 90, concretamente en el año 1993. Sinceramente, creía que era de los años 80. Hay ciertas cosas que puedo "tolerar", hasta cierto punto, teniendo en cuenta el año y las circunstancias en las que se escribió un libro.
Se me ha agotado la paciencia con Stuart.
Abandono lectura y, a partir de ahora, evitaré activamente leer a esta escritora.
La premisa me ha parecido interesante y, al elegirlo, me dejé llevar por las buenas reseñas y, sobre todo, por la ilustración de la cubierta. Por favor, es maravillosamente kitsch. Pero, ojo, es lo único que me gusta de este libro.
Lo he abandonado habiendo leído el 70%. La gota que ha colmado el vaso, aparte del sexismo, las escenas sexuales rayando el abuso y la trama que, después del primer capítulo, se pierde por el camino: el personaje gay malo. Por lo que he leído es algo típico de esta autora, incluir un personaje homosexual muy negativo (villano, pervertido, rozando la violación, etc.) en muchos de sus libros. Yo, la demonización de este personaje, demostrando una homofobia muy heavy, la he visto muy clara: es la primera vez que en la descripción del personaje la escritora dice que tiene "los dientes amarillos" (es un recurso de demonización muy occidental que he leído en decenas de libros) porque las malas personas siempre son feas y tienen mala dentadura. Entre otras cosas. Por lo visto, para esta autora, también son homosexuales...
Luego me he dado cuenta de que este libro fue escrito en los 90, concretamente en el año 1993. Sinceramente, creía que era de los años 80. Hay ciertas cosas que puedo "tolerar", hasta cierto punto, teniendo en cuenta el año y las circunstancias en las que se escribió un libro.
Se me ha agotado la paciencia con Stuart.
Abandono lectura y, a partir de ahora, evitaré activamente leer a esta escritora.
May 30, 2022
Interesting story with characters in disguise. Not as intense as this author can be. There were 2 romances involved which distracted a bit. Cross dressing was involved and kudos to the author for not dwelling on homophobia
July 10, 2017
Shadow Dance
3 Stars
On the run for a murder he did not commit, Valerian Romney disguises himself as a woman and masquerades as his brother, Phelan's, "wife". The problems begin when Valerian becomes smitten with the charming Sophie de Quincy and Phelan falls for Juliet MacGowan, who is masquerading as a boy to escape an abuser.
A "Twelfth Night" style romance that is cute despite the ridiculous shenanigans.
Phelan and Juliette's romance is far more intriguing than Val and Sophie's which is less detailed and developed.
The villain is a true scumbag and although he receives his just desserts, it is disappointingly anti-climactic.
Overall, not a bad way to spend a few hours.
3 Stars
On the run for a murder he did not commit, Valerian Romney disguises himself as a woman and masquerades as his brother, Phelan's, "wife". The problems begin when Valerian becomes smitten with the charming Sophie de Quincy and Phelan falls for Juliet MacGowan, who is masquerading as a boy to escape an abuser.
A "Twelfth Night" style romance that is cute despite the ridiculous shenanigans.
Phelan and Juliette's romance is far more intriguing than Val and Sophie's which is less detailed and developed.
The villain is a true scumbag and although he receives his just desserts, it is disappointingly anti-climactic.
Overall, not a bad way to spend a few hours.
December 19, 2009
I have not been dissapointed by Anne Stuart yet. Good book.
February 4, 2022
Very reminiscent of The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer.
April 14, 2019
How are people ever supposed to get into romance novels when blurbs like these exist? SPOILER TIME: the two couples teased at the start get together in loving relationships. Along the way, they have orgasms in one another’s company. I don’t wish you to pry, but I’m quite sure that if you all were to be impertinent with your acquaintances, you’d find that many of them are in this same situation.
Are ‘ecstasy’, ‘rapturous’, ‘fevered passion’ and ‘radiant’ really necessary? OK, admittedly it’s a very special case of blue balls when it’s 1815 and you get intimately close to the girl you’re in love with only because you’re dressed as a woman, but relax.
Meanwhile, the blurb wastes no time slobbering over the passionate beauty of the four characters, so wrapped up in this obsession that only one of them gets an unconnected adjective. (Sophie is ‘confused’. Since her defining character trait is her scholarly wish to learn, this is odd, to say the least.)
It’s a good book. Yes, the focus is romance. The ways the two very different couples get into loving relationships is compelling (probably more so than the ways your acquaintances got into them) and the orgasms don’t lack interest either. But I’ve said it before about this genre, and I’ll say it again: if a man wrote this, the blurb wouldn’t look like this.
Are ‘ecstasy’, ‘rapturous’, ‘fevered passion’ and ‘radiant’ really necessary? OK, admittedly it’s a very special case of blue balls when it’s 1815 and you get intimately close to the girl you’re in love with only because you’re dressed as a woman, but relax.
Meanwhile, the blurb wastes no time slobbering over the passionate beauty of the four characters, so wrapped up in this obsession that only one of them gets an unconnected adjective. (Sophie is ‘confused’. Since her defining character trait is her scholarly wish to learn, this is odd, to say the least.)
It’s a good book. Yes, the focus is romance. The ways the two very different couples get into loving relationships is compelling (probably more so than the ways your acquaintances got into them) and the orgasms don’t lack interest either. But I’ve said it before about this genre, and I’ll say it again: if a man wrote this, the blurb wouldn’t look like this.
July 6, 2018
What a great great great read.
A few small issues that bothered me, but overall, a wonderful read. I could not put it down.
Valerian & Sophie- brilliant story!!
Phelan and Juliette - even better.
I would have enjoyed a epilogue for both couples.
I believe the author's note states that this book was written in a similar style to Georgette Heyer. I think I need to put "these old shades" by Heyer higher up on my TBR list.
5 star book.
A few small issues that bothered me, but overall, a wonderful read. I could not put it down.
Valerian & Sophie- brilliant story!!
Phelan and Juliette - even better.
I would have enjoyed a epilogue for both couples.
I believe the author's note states that this book was written in a similar style to Georgette Heyer. I think I need to put "these old shades" by Heyer higher up on my TBR list.
5 star book.
May 31, 2021
L'autrice dichiara di essersi ispirata a 'Masqueraders' della Heyer. Ma, nonostante qualche momento di comicità, lo spirito 'acido' della sua narrazione pervade la storia, cancellando ogni aspirazione a quella leggerezza che rende inimitabile la divina Georgette, e ho trovato disturbante l'interferenza tra i due livelli: ho tardato a finirlo, il che, detto di un romanzo della Stuart, è quasi un abominio.
July 12, 2023
I loved everything about this. The writing had me enthralled, the story kept me on the edge of my seat, and the characters; THE CHARACTERS. I’m absolutely obsessed with Sophie and Valerian, and Juliette and Phelan were great as well. I really enjoyed both romances. I had so much fun reading this. One of my new all time favorites.
June 24, 2025
Great fun! The slightly darker themes are still there like all Anne Stuart books, but this overall a fun book. All the characters are fun and likeable. I liked how it was two romances with opposite cross dressers. The MMC is falling for a girl who is pretending to be a boy, and his brother (who is cross dressing as a girl) is falling in love with a girl.
October 27, 2019
I liked this book but couldn’t actually recommend to anyone because there are too many issues (mostly with consent).
Full blog post here: http://castoffcovers.blog/2019/10/27/...
Full blog post here: http://castoffcovers.blog/2019/10/27/...
September 7, 2020
Great cross dressing story!
I love Anne Stuart and I really love her historicals. This had a Shakespearean farce vibe going on . Complex storyline with parallel romances.
I love Anne Stuart and I really love her historicals. This had a Shakespearean farce vibe going on . Complex storyline with parallel romances.
July 26, 2022
Loved This Book
It took a while to get to the story but it was well worth it. Great story of people disguising as the opposite sex. Also a very good love story.
It took a while to get to the story but it was well worth it. Great story of people disguising as the opposite sex. Also a very good love story.
April 18, 2023
Appearance can be deceiving
What an enchanting story. Something different from this author. What a marvelous plot with twists and turns all in the name of love.
What an enchanting story. Something different from this author. What a marvelous plot with twists and turns all in the name of love.
March 26, 2024
4.5/5.
no-fcking-ways
June 1, 2025H h cross dressers.
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