The Shadowed Heart

by Nina Beaumont

Luca Zeani Had the Face of a Fallen Angel...

It was a face Chiara had never forgotten, for it belonged to the man who had ruined her sister -- the man she had vowed to destroy. But though she burned with vengeance, Luca's passionate kisses ignited a hotter flame that made her his captive in body and soul. Could the whisperings of her wayward heart lead her to the light of truth, or was she forever destined to love a man of darkness?

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Italy, Harlequin Historical

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Nina Gettler was born in Salzburg, Austria, home to Mozart and the Von Trapp family. She is of Russian descent, whose family tree includes the Stroganoff family, Count Zhubov, who is reputed to have been Catherine the Great's last lover, and several other interesting historical characters. She grew up in Massachusetts, USA, and after spending her first two years of college in Austria, graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in French and an M.A. in German.

Returning to Austria in 1970, Nina worked for sixteen years as a translator for Russian, French and Italian before turning to writing full-time. Her life-long interest in history and her fluency in several languages has been of great help in the in-depth research she does for her books, which includes traveling to where the stories are set. After spending 25 years in Austria, she relocated to Seattle in July 1995 on the strength of a gut feeling that this was the right place for her to go.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read: 9/7/25
Setting: 1767 Venice
Trope: class difference, psychic abilities, mistaken identity
3.5 stars

plot: Chiara is a clairvoyant Gypsy on a mission of revenge. Her aristocrat father kicked her mother out when he was tired of her, causing the death of her mother. Because Chiara was mixed race, she and her sister weren't welcome in either world. She came to Venice to destroy her father. First, she needs some money. Chiara trusts a man who offers her a job. He takes her to a house ( bordello) to read people's fortune. She doesn't know that the madam has her own plans for Chiara.

Now, Chiara doesn't exactly read fortunes. She can see people's auras and parts of their past and future. There, she meets Luca, who has the face of a fallen angel. Chiara recognizes him immediately. He is the man who brutally violated her sister and caused the girl to have a mental breakdown 3 years ago. But something doesn't make sense. Why is this monster surrounded by white light instead of dark? How can that be?

Luca is drawn to the Gypsy girl immediately. He can't explain the instant connection he feels towards her. After buying her (slavery was legal), he takes her to his home. 👀 Luca hates the confusion, hatred, and fear coming from Chiara. He would never force a woman, but for some reason, he can't let Chiara go either. Slowly, these two fall in love. But how can she have feelings for this man who SA her sister? Chiara goes back and forth, trying to make sense of the confusion.

At the same time, Luca becomes involved in a risky conspiracy. Unbeknownst to him, there is an evil villain who is plotting to destroy him. Chiara warns him, but he is reluctant to believe her.

Soon, the truth is revealed to Chiara, but will it be in time to save everything she holds, dear?

likes:
1. Chiara was an interesting character. She's so strong and brave. Her clairvoyant powers added some intrigueing scenes to the plot. I also admired her determination to not end up like her mother. She can't be his mistress, but how can she deny her feelings for Luca?
2. Luca was a good guy except when it came to Chiara. The moment he laid eyes on her, he felt that she belonged solely to him. He, of course, makes a mess of it with his possessiveness. Luca hopes to seduce her, but she will not cooperate with his plans. His backstory with his brother (not a spoiler) also added some intrigue to the plot.
3. The chemistry between these was off the charts! They were destined to be together. Near the end, they are so simpatico that they can occasionally hear one another's thoughts.
4. This book was well written and had a very intriguing plot. Even when I was unhappy with the direction of the plot, I couldn't stop reading. So Bravo, Mrs. Beaumont!
5. Turns out Chiara has a legitimate half-brother. I adored him right away! 😍 He was treated cruelly by both his parents. I wish he was in the story more because he was fabulous!
6. I like the results of Chiara's revenge against her father. It doesn't end the way she expects.
7. I'll admit the Venice setting drew me to this book. I've been fascinated with this city since I read The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker. I highly recommend that book! The laws at this time were crazy.
history facts:
●The patricians of the rich upper-class were subject to many laws. For example, only one son of a family was permitted to marry. This was done in order to not dilute the inheritance among too many children. If no male child was forthcoming, then sometimes a younger son could marry. This also resulted in women being coerced into convents since there weren't enough husbands. It was asinine, and it led to many families dying out. 🤪
●Carnival was an interesting part of Venician history. The masks allowed a person indemnity to do whatever they wanted. It also made it easier for family rivals to kill each other. I wish the author used this fact more in her book.
● Slavery was legal in Venice in the 1700s. Who knew? 🤷‍♀️ Venice had one of the biggest slave trades with North Africa. That's scary!

I just found this time period in Venice history fascinating. Though, it all changed once Napoleon conquered Venice.

dislikes:
1. It took the h too long to discover Luca had a twin. The back and forth internal struggle got old.
2. These two held onto their secrets a way too long.
3. Luca was a fool when it came to his brother. He knows the evil that resides in Matteo. Still, Luca has felt guilty ever since he sent his brother to jail for murdering the woman he loved. Really? Guilty? I found that hard to believe. Chiara also keeps warning him that he's in danger, but he ignores her. Then, once he discovered the leader is his evil twin, he still trusted him! 🤪 The author ruined the ending with that BS.

Conclusion:
I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't like where some of the plot went, but I couldn't stop reading either. This is my 1st book by this author, and it won't be my last. This is book 3 in the series. I plan on going back and reading the other books.

*Wow, that was a longer review than I intended 😬

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE SHADOWED HEART is an underrated historical classic set in Venice in the 1700s. It's also almost everything I want out of a romance, with echos of tension and danger that at times make it feel like a dark romance. The two main characters are Chiara, a half-Romani girl with noble lineage, and Luca, a noble son from a patrician family.

Chiara wants to kill Luca because she thinks he's the man who assaulted her sister at their camp in Padua. But the man who did that had an aura of evil (btw, the heroine is psychic) and was also a coward (the author makes a point of telling us that he screamed girlishly when she tried to stab him lol). This man reminds her of a predatory Lucifer and as much as she hates him, she's strangely attracted to him too, and that, I think we can all agree, is the absolute best kind of hate in a romance novel.

I loved the Venetian setting and how in-depth the author went into all the history and politics for such a short novel. There was also tons of intrigue and action, and even though I'm not usually into psychic characters in books, like, at all, the author made me not mind it. Although I did personally think it was cheesy and made a lot of things way too neat that otherwise would have been difficult to resolve or explain.

This book fell a little short with me with regards to the ending. I felt like Luca fell into TSTL territory, and since we were let to believe he was actually quite calculating and scheming, this felt extremely out of character for him. So did his huge blindspot regarding his psychopath brother who he knew was a psychopath because he personally had him jailed for SA-ing and murdering the woman he loved. I also liked his character more as the suave and dangerous playboy, and felt like he had become too nice by the end of the book (and I love a nice hero, and all, but that's not the Luca I married in my head!).

Overall, though, THE SHADOWED HEART was absolutely wonderful and I will be reading other books from this author for sure because I am in love with her ability to weave a metaphor.

4 stars

[Mia Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Shadowed Heart by Nina Beaumont is a lovely tale, exciting and beautifully written. This is the third book in the Magic in Italy Historical Romance Series

The author brings the beauty and breathtaking majesty of Venice to life with her skillful writing and intriguing storyline. Her characters come to life from the start pulling you into their story. Her imagery is exquisite and she captivates your heart and soul in this passionate tale of love and romance. Chiara and Luca’s story is one of searing passion, light and dark, danger, mistaken identity, and suspense.

Thank you so much Ms. Beaumont for such a thrilling love story.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the Magic in Italy Historical Romance Series a story that kept me turning pages. Clairvoyant Gypsy Chiara and Luca Zeani's story of suspense, drama, danger, brothers, villains, and romance. The story was well worth reading. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Reader03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting thrilling time travel romance with plot, romance and several twists. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Morgan]

dnfed at 50%

[Natalija · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book knowing the heroine was clairvoyant, but I didn't expect the paranormal elements to completely take over the story. The writing felt somewhat pretentious, though that may have been an attempt to capture the atmosphere of 1767 Venice. While the characters weren't bad people, both were frustratingly inconstant. The author also relied on a lazy plot device to drag out the animosity between Chiara and Luca by refusing to reveal the actual reason for her hatred. Ultimately, the biggest downfall was the simplicity of the conflict and its resolution, which felt far too thin for the buildup.

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book i read of Nina beaumont and i thought it was a lovely book. i really commend on nina's writing style which is quite colourful. she weaves the suspense aspect with so much precision. loved the storyline of mistaken identity and revenge and overwhelming passion. After this i really look forward to more of Nina beaumont books.

[NatalyaVqs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super sexy intrigue set in Venice, a well written historical romance.