Dark Angel

by Elizabeth Ashton

Francesca Temple came to Italy to stay with her parents and to introduce them to her fiancé Desmond. But fate decreed that her visit was to end in her marriage to another man — the disturbing Angelo Vittorini.Could Francesca ever understand the enigmatic man who was her husband? Could she ever love him?

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Romance

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Elizabeth Ashton was a British writer of romance novels to Mills & Boon from 1969 to 1990.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

An arranged marriage story with all sorts of narrative choices that mar many vintage romances:

Slooow beginning with a convoluted backstory of how the grandmother groomed the heroine for an arranged marriage to their wealthy Italian neighbor.

Insipid parents the heroine is supposed to sacrifice her happiness for.

Insipid OM (name of "Desmond" *snort*) who scurries away at the first sign heroine is not a wealthy heiress, but he manages to return to muck things up for the heroine.

Insipid heroine who leaps to conclusions, showers the obviously smitten hero in hostility and does everything wrong in relationship 101 - like everything.
1) secretive - with her parents, the hero, her friends
2) rolls over when the author needs her to and rebels for the same reason
3) runs off with the OM on her wedding night but H stops her
4) listens to the OW and OM and no one else - I think she has more conversations with them than the hero
5) leaves her husband to accompany her mother to England for an operation
6) never tells hero she's pregnant
7) doesn't tell the hero he has a daughter


Enigmatic hero who tries to make the heroine jealous and then is angry heroine is jealous and rebelling. His lack of patience (rough sex on their wedding night), petulant silences, whiplash changes in mood, and all-or-nothing pronouncements do not bode well for a happy domestic life.

So why 2.5 stars?

At least stuff happens - even if it is stupid stuff. I doubt if heroine could sustain too many thinky-thoughts like the modern HP heroine do - so there's that. Plus the last bit was angsty enough and hero did come after her.

Ending is very abrupt - yet another relic of vintage days. I think it would have been too much work to show that H/h are now getting along - since they rarely did. LOL

Don't read unless you're well-versed in vintage romances - otherwise this one will disappoint big time.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and romantic marriage of convenience story.

[MissKitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very unsatisfactory.

Started of well with a marriage of convenience but a misunderstanding puts doubts in the heroine’s mind. A disaster of a wedding night leads to 6 months of a truly cold marriage bed. Then a years separation, a secret baby and a super abrupt ending.

Big likelihood the Hero was cheating during their separation.

[Lena Papanikolaou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Παλιό υπέροχο χαρμάνι ! Δεν έχει να ζηλέψει απολύτος τίποτα από ένα λογοτεχνικό βιβλίο ίσως μονο το μέγεθος του, γιατι πλέον οι γραμματοσειρές είναι μικρές παντού! Ατμοσφαιρικό ανάγνωσμα γεμάτο μαγικές περιγραφές και το μεγαλύτερο ατού του η απίθανη μετάφραση της αξέχαστης Τασσώ Καβαδία

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

She is pathologically reserved, and acknowledges that she only showed him affection once. Also, I have come to a realization based on this H's behavior: it's obvious he will never attempt to truly put her mind at ease about other women, even if he isn't actually cheating. As far as I'm concerned, that's cheating. Yes, I said it, failure to deny cheating emphatically is cheating. It's cruel and it's a form of gaslighting/destroying the h's feeling of stability. I have henceforth creating the following term: Lasslighting -- when the H lets the h thinks he is cheating to cause her psychological stress and instability. (If you make the h do the time, then you did the crime, bud.)

[Aou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly dolt MCs but angst was good.

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - so much promise but fell flat. I loved what seemed to be a ruthless manipulative hero… but the author never really committed to that fully. I loved the innocent heroine, but then she turns all cold and aloof, and by the end, a raging bitch, keeping the hero from his child. The hero dropped some good lines at the beginning about being a jealous man who would not allow his wife out of his sight… and yet he lets the heroine go so easily and blocks her from his life assuming she’ll remarry…. And we never did get a good explanation for the evil other woman…. The abrupt ending was too abrupt. They had just started to talk about what all happened and it felt like they were cut off mid thought as if the author was only allowed a certain number of words, and she reached her limit. 🫤

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a really stupid book!!! Omg she was so silly it was pissing me off. I would have been at least willing to take him at his word. He did tell her he did not sleep with the bitch which is more then they usually do. She was a sweet naive girl and he did not give her much of a chance as he was mad and he told her he would never forgive her for what really?! He did leave her on their wedding day!!! He should have said he would take her with him and find out together. It was their wedding day.

[Lena Papanikolaou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Παλιό υπέροχο χαρμάνι ! Δεν έχει να ζηλέψει απολύτος τίποτα από ένα λογοτεχνικό βιβλίο ίσως μονο το μέγεθος του, γιατι πλέον οι γραμματοσειρές είναι μικρές παντού! Ατμοσφαιρικό ανάγνωσμα γεμάτο μαγικές περιγραφές και το μεγαλύτερο ατού του η απίθανη μετάφραση της αξέχαστης Τασσώ Καβαδία .

[Chon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disturbing and made me feel sad. I actually wondered if it would have a twisted ending. Should be renamed Dark Romance.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my very first Harlequin romances I ever read when I was 12 years old ....so I love it