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Silk and Shadow
Arielle had been touched by tragedy - now she must adjust to a new life in a strange new land. By the misty, jungle-strewn bayous near New Orleans, on a plantation riddled with violent passions and intrigue, she must become the wife of a man she has met but once, a man with a secret that will keep them wed in name alone, a man hopelessly tied to his mother, the iron-willed Madame Villere.
- GenresRomance
Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
23 people want to read
About the author
Aola Vandergriff
38 books27 followersaka Kitt Brown
Married to New Mexico State Senator William Vandergriff. She wrote over 2,000 short stories, novels and poetry.
Married to New Mexico State Senator William Vandergriff. She wrote over 2,000 short stories, novels and poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 28, 2016
DNF, pg 215.
Friends, I have been more than fair. I've given this every chance to get rolling & present a storyline -- ANY storyline -- that catches my attention, let alone investing me in the antics of these knuckleheads.
...But nope.
The heroine is a clueless moron & the hero is a flatline non-entity. Even worse, the entire cast wanders around aimlessly in an unending parade of to'ing & fro'ing -- trucking from one place to another & back again. Meanwhile the plot spins its wheels & anything that manages to happen is consistently off-screen or relayed via secondhand information (unforgivable, given the prose is 3rd person).
Drab, dull, & utterly forgettable. *dismissive gesture*
Friends, I have been more than fair. I've given this every chance to get rolling & present a storyline -- ANY storyline -- that catches my attention, let alone investing me in the antics of these knuckleheads.
...But nope.
The heroine is a clueless moron & the hero is a flatline non-entity. Even worse, the entire cast wanders around aimlessly in an unending parade of to'ing & fro'ing -- trucking from one place to another & back again. Meanwhile the plot spins its wheels & anything that manages to happen is consistently off-screen or relayed via secondhand information (unforgivable, given the prose is 3rd person).
Drab, dull, & utterly forgettable. *dismissive gesture*
January 4, 2025
Oh my my my. Aola Vandergriff is one of my favorites, and this standalone, set in New Orleans during the War of 1812, does not disappoint.
Rating this one was tricky, as history, characters, plot, etc, definitely get five stars, but I have to deduct for things like written out dialect, and use of words such as the n-word. If I were editing this for rerelease, I would change those things.
That aside, this standalone kept me riveted. Our heroine, Arielle, left stranded with her younger half sister and the stepfather who didn't know they existed, after the sudden death of their actress mother, has to think fast to secure a good future for herself and her sister. An opportunity leads her into the heart of a family with far different intentions than she first assumes. If you like a brilliantly written antagonist, as Arielle finds in her mother-in-law, historical figures (Jean Lafitte, for one) playing pivotal roles in the plot, and a romance that very much is influenced by the time in which it was set, then give this a try.
Rating this one was tricky, as history, characters, plot, etc, definitely get five stars, but I have to deduct for things like written out dialect, and use of words such as the n-word. If I were editing this for rerelease, I would change those things.
That aside, this standalone kept me riveted. Our heroine, Arielle, left stranded with her younger half sister and the stepfather who didn't know they existed, after the sudden death of their actress mother, has to think fast to secure a good future for herself and her sister. An opportunity leads her into the heart of a family with far different intentions than she first assumes. If you like a brilliantly written antagonist, as Arielle finds in her mother-in-law, historical figures (Jean Lafitte, for one) playing pivotal roles in the plot, and a romance that very much is influenced by the time in which it was set, then give this a try.
November 16, 2016
Not bad. A little low on the romance but very intriguing story and characters. Not too fluffy either.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews