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Tired of fake rakes and Sex and the City-ish young women in Regency garb? As someone who once had some degree of tolerance for wallpaper romances but who’s now had it up to here with the endless supply of “historicals” (air quotes intended) littering the ground these days, this sexy, smart, and somehow appealingly vintage novel was a real winner for me. Marred ever so slightly by some over the top melodrama and an oh-so-sweet epilogue, The Devil’s Waltz is, nevertheless, a terrific historical romance and anything but today’s usual fare.
I have to confess that I’ve had a girlish affection (and, yes, I really was a girl) for Anne Stuart’s Traditional Regencies for many years. My favorite of those incredible books is Lord Satan’s Bride, a tale an innocent young woman and a truly dissolute rake that’s held a place on my keeper shelf since it was first published. Frankly, when I reread that novel, it’s for Nicholas, the book’s deliciously seductive hero who cemented – right along with Vidal of Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub – my affection for bad boy heroes.
I couldn’t help but think of my beloved Nicholas as I read this wonderful novel, because just like that Stuart hero of so long ago, Christian Montclam is a selfish and morally lax man who doesn’t come even close to reforming when he meets the heroine. The author provides a sympathetic explanation as to how he got that way, but the reader is never allowed to sugarcoat his intentions or plans. But – and I think this is the key as to why Stuart’s bad boys can be so unforgettable – when a hero this bad falls in love, they fall hard, and Anne Stuart makes you feel every bit of it.
Annelise Kempton is a 29-year old woman in a truly untenable position. Penniless, but of too high a birth to stoop to actual employment, she manages some small degree of independence by “visiting” families in need of her services. Her current “position” is not without its challenges: shepherding a young miss through her first ton season with the ultimate goal of securing for her the aristocratic husband her wealthy tradesman father desires. To make matters even more difficult, Hetty, Annelise’s reluctant protégé, has absolutely no interest in benefiting from the older woman’s wisdom and experience and, even worse, has already set her sights on a most unsuitable man.
That man is, of course, Christian. All too aware of his dissolute reputation, Annelise is convinced that the impoverished and impossibly beautiful future Viscount has only one purpose in turning his sights so determinedly on the wealthy Hetty. And, of course, Annelise is right. As for the man himself, Christian finds courting the vacuous Hetty tedious (and tediously easy), especially when Annelise – a woman he quickly terms the “dragon” – is infinitely more intriguing. Though Christian never falters in his determination to wed Hetty’s fortune, he finds planning just how and when he’ll seduce the dragon to be a far more interesting proposition than anything to do with his future bride.
But there are more obstacles in Christian’s path than simply Annelise’s resolve to stop the marriage. Others appear even more determined to keep the two apart – determined enough to stoop to murder.
Unlike a lot of those wallpaper heroines we’ve all gotten to know, Annelise always feels like a woman of her time. Understandably resentful of her lot in life and helpless to do anything about it, she’s also a bit of a snob and truly disdainful of Christian, even as she can’t help but succumb to his overtures. But, again, all of this felt real to me and not as if Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, or Samantha was suddenly transported into the Regency.
As for Christian, whoa, baby! To put it simply, he’s the perfect personification of a multi-layered bad boy whose reformation is both believable and unbelievably romantic. In case you can’t tell, I adored him.
I did have a few teeny issues that kept this from being a DIK for me. Without going into details, there are a few e-e-e-v-i-l characters who struck me as a bit cartoon-y. And, as someone who often prefers to leave the epilogue to my imagination, this one seems both a bit trite and overly sweet. Still, those are small details when there is so much here to enjoy.
Quite honestly, not every Anne Stuart book or character works for me, but The Devil’s Waltz certainly did, so much so, in fact, that if you’ve ever had an affection for bad boy heroes, this book is one I highly recommend. As for me and all those wallpaper romances and modern day “historical” heroines that come up for review, I’ll just grit my teeth and try to bear it because, sad to say, books like this one are all too rare.
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Grade: B+
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 05/02/06
Publication Date: 2006
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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Hello, first time poster here. But when I saw this book was discussed I just had to jump in.
“The devil´s waltz” is probably my all time favorite romance- or at least one of them. I am not quite sure why I find it more appealing than many others, but I remember it totally clicked with me, when I read it for the first time.
One of the things I really love about this romance is the hero/heroine relationship. Both are strong personalities and stay that way till the end. I love that the hero isn´t turning into the superprotector, who wants to keep everything ugly or dangerous away from the heroine. The way I see it, he keeps seeing and appreciating that she is a strong person, who can not only make her own decisions, but also be responsible for them- and eventually bear the consequences.
I am not a fan of overprotective heros, so Christian totally worked for me. But I also love Annalise, and while I am usually a bit of an eyeroler when it comes to melodrama, the scene with Annalises horse got to me. Yeah it was OTT and somewhat unlikely, but -maybe because I love animals and horses and can identify with the dragon- I was touched. Oh and the epilogue worked for me, I can well imagine Annaliese and Christian “breeding powerful she-dragons”- and loving it.
Have you read Reckless or The Absolutely Positively Worst Man In England, Scotland, and Wales?
They both have similar heroes and banter.
Yes! Both favorites too!
This is one of the few romances I bought to read again because the leading man Christian actually leads…the heroine Anneliese into temptation against her better judgment and their witty pas de deux is such a pleasure to follow containing both light and dark. Despite setting mercenary sights on a much younger heiress (and this kind of marriage was more common than not) the experienced rake surprisingly sees the self- abnegating chaperone and knows her in a way that even her beloved father missed. He divines her inner self and is drawn to her as a “side project” he imagines, a reward for when he completes the less appealing “job” with the heiress to preserve his crumbling estate.
Being seen and understood is what attracts Anneliese even more than Christian’s good looks and despite the danger to her heart since she realizes his ill repute is deserved. She struggles to stay aloof but can’t bring herself to discard even his handkerchief or brief note sent with a nosegay. Their interplay – dueling words with touches of humor, a strained dance, the language of flowers winds inexorably to an explosive night of passion with opposite impact, her confessing her love for him and his brusque rejection thinking she can do better and will be ‘safer” with someone else as he does not trust himself with her heart.
Given Christian’s self doubts, the epilogue was à propos confirming that reformed rakes make the best husbands and family men. The wounded man who had lost everyone who loved him as a boy had found a wife capable of healing the void and his “dragon” was saved from a fire-breathing lonely life by a “prince” after all.
I really think she does this sort of hero better than anyone else. I think I need to read this one!
I like confident heroes, ones who sweep the doubting heroine along until their own heart is involved for the first time and they recognize this relationship is something new for them and different from all the rest. Their previous often licentious life style seems to pall. But they don’t become doubting betas all of a sudden though they may make a miscalculation or detour or two before committing. They work it out in their mind why this particular woman is special and go after her with brio. At the end, they’re not groveling for mistakes and they don’t lose their edge after marriage if there’s an epilogue.
Not many authors spend as much time revealing the masculine viewpoint as they do the heroine’s but where it’s properly balanced, it’s sublime. I say less about matching heroines because strong intelligent women are not rare in Romancelandia compared to alpha males with high EQ (emotional quotient) when they choose to use it. It’s latent until the right woman comes along who requires more than superficial looks or charm to keep her interested.
Those readers who like this kind of hero should enjoy “Dangerous in Diamonds” by Madeline Hunter, “A Duke of Her Own” by Eloisa James (interestingly, both of these are the last book in a series where the hero has appeared earlier sometimes to his disadvantage, culminating in his meeting his own romantic destiny after dabbling in those of his friends). Judith Ivory’s “Black Silk” and Julie Anne Long’s What I Did for a Duke also have complex but ultimately decent male characters who lead strongly in the dance of love. I’ll add Elizabeth Hoyt’s “Duke of Sin” with the warning that he’s got darker shades of villainy like an Anne Stuart creation for those who like the stronger stuff yet is highly amusing.
I love Dangerous in Diamonds. Hunter does the sort of man you’re describing really well. That’s my ideal hero as well. I’ve struggled recently with books where I loved the hero until he becomes a shadow of himself in order to win the woman he loves.
Agreed, the worst turn off for me is when the hero is made to grovel. Apparently some readers enjoy this with comments like “I deducted a star because he didn’t grovel enough in the end” but for me it’s the most unsexy thing a man can do. Sure, apologize if you’ve made a mistake but don’t turn all power over to the woman who’s often behaved no better or expected the man to be a mind reader. Actually, I love the men who DO read the heroine’s mind, or seem to know her better than herself because she won’t admit her “daring” thoughts. I especially like very good looking men with this quality because it plays against type. Most handsome men can coast on their looks. So when they turn out to be the most insightful man in the crowded ballroom – bonus!
Well, different strokes for different folks and there are books for everyone. I wish there were more specific recommendations from fellow readers though to help wade through the dross along the lines of – “if you liked this one, you’ll enjoy these….”.
I think we all have that knowledge but not an easy way to technically do it.
I haven’t read this for a while, but I do remember enjoying it – Stuart makes Christian appealing even when he’s being a git. Plus, it’s funny.
I’m not sure anyone does truly bad boys better than Stuart. In my video review of The Price of Desire, I distinguish between heroes like Griffin who seem like bad boys but are really peach pies and heroes like Christian or a host of other Stuart heroes who really are bad men. Both kinds are given an HEA but peach pie heroes almost always save the heroine whereas bad boy heroes are redeemed by love.
I just love it when a heroine has the hero’s number completely – which is definitely what happens here. She takes no crap – and I always think this exchange (the first sex scene) kinda sums them up:
He tugged at his loosely tied cravat, sending it sailing. He ripped at his own buttons, opening his shirt and reaching for his breeches, when he stopped.
“One last warning, love. This is no fairy-tale business, no pretty dream. It’s real. It’s dark and messy and for you, painful. In the beginning, at least. You’ll end up hating me.”
“Don’t worry about it, Christian,” she said. “I already hate you.”
That dynamic is one Stuart excels at. Charlotte can’t stop criticizing Adrian in Reckless and it’s just the best.
That’s how I remember it, too (heroine having hero’s number and there being some fun banter). My memory for actual plot and specifics is pretty faded, though. I think it was one of the first Stuart romances I ever read and was a gateway to her other books.
I haven’t re-read it, though. I bought way back when I had a Sony ereader and was getting most of my romances from the Sony store. Unfortunately, this was one disappeared from my account when the Sony store shut down. Looks like it is available now for a cheap price on Amazon. For a while it wasn’t available anywhere.
This would be a good book club choice.
I don’t spoil anything for someone who may not have read it yet but is this the one…..
SPOILER ***************************
Where he throws her out of the house after he sleeps with her? That’s what I remember anyway.
Yeah I think honestly I like the peach pies better than the bad men. I have to really believe that someone could change and there has to be some reason or hook why they believably would.
I find it hard to believe if someone is just a thoroughly selfish and lousy person that they would do a 180 degree turn. Now a disillusioned person, or a formerly good person gone bad, or someone with at least some previously good qualities then I can buy into their metamorphosis. If they are out kicking kittens and doing only horrible things before, then I can’t. I just want to tell the heroine “RUN!”
I haven’t read this one in years but I remember wanting to absolutely murder the hero at one point in the story. And if you’ve read it you know what point that is.
This is one of those books where you (and the heroine) have to decide what is forgivable for you and if you are a forgiving person.
This must be why it appeals to me.