Rating:
Published: 1980
Illustrator: Elaine Gignilliat
Published by: Fawcett
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era Romance, Bodice Ripper
Pages: 286
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader
SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
The Treacherous Heart by Angela Alexie is a tale of a Gaelic, black-haired, fiery-spirited lass forced by circumstances to become a thief to provide for her family, only to be thwarted by an arrogant, scar-faced, golden-haired Duke…
Don’t Tell Me You’ve Heard This One Before!
Hmm. Where have I heard this plot before? Oh yes, Laurie McBain‘s Moonstruck Madness!
Sadly, that’s where the similarities end. If you remove all the intelligent writing, the interesting side characters, and the sexual chemistry between the leads from McBain’s book, we have this dull, meandering read.
Except for Jennifer Blake, I’ve come to find that most Fawcett-published bodice ripper romances were rarely ever excellent. This dud is another to put in the slush pile.
The Plot
The Treacherous Heart begins one day in Lancashire, England. Some drunken soldiers looking for excitement come upon the house of the Avory family. They ransack the home, kill the dog, the Irish-born widow Lady Delilah, and her young son before raping the teenage daughter.
The eldest sister and heroine, Raven, was not in residence while this occurred. She arrived only in time to witness the aftermath of her home’s destruction. So Raven flees with her sister Crystal to London to find comfort with relatives.
While her relations are suitably affluent, Raven and Christie find their financial circumstances are tenuous at best. A greedy land manager’s mishandling of their estate has left them destitute.
Raven enters Society, going to balls while escorted by her adoring cousin Wesley, who is gaga over her. At a masquerade, she meets the Duke of Dorchester, Eric Draquewall, our hero, who is predictably cold and arrogant. The Duke glares at Raven and then insults her, but to his shock, her response is to laugh in his face, causing the Duke to vow that he’ll teach the haughty chit a lesson!
Responsible for her convalescing younger sister and reliant upon the charity of relatives, Raven decides she’s too good to marry a wealthy chinless wonder. Within mere pages (by page 35), she decides to be a thief. She steals jewels and precious items from the gentry who welcomed her into their homes.
Soon, tales of the audacious jewel thief make the rounds. The burglar is given the moniker “The Black Cat.” (Get it? The heroine is named Raven and has black hair and green eyes, just like a black cat! Just like a cat burglar. And nobody even knew. Does that blow your mind, or what?)
The Romance
Jealous of Raven’s close relationship with her male cousin, the handsome Duke of Dorchester hires an investigator to find out if they’re secret lovers.
By page 60, he finds information that proves Raven is behind the jewel-napping antics. Dorchester could reveal her secret.
However, as Eric is attracted to Raven–what do you think that glaring and insulting was all about? That’s how these old-school romance heroes showed how much they liked a girl–he decides to blackmail her into being his mistress.
Or his wife.
Or mistress. Eric’s not really sure. All he knows is whatever Raven’s got under her velvety skirts. He wants in on that.
Raven finds that she responds to Eric’s caresses, despite her initial distaste towards any physical touch.
Raven was so disturbed by the brutality perpetrated upon her sister that she vowed no man would ever touch her.
Ironically, Crystal, the one who was violated, had an easy time finding healing through romantic and physical love. Okay, people react differently to trauma. Perhaps in the hands of a nuanced author, Raven’s survivor’s-guilt aversion to sex would have been a compelling part of her character. Alas, it isn’t. It’s just a plot contrivance to keep the hero and heroine from getting together. Circumstances occur mechanically here, without any flavor.
It Keeps Going and Going and Going…
And so Eric and Raven engage in a cat-and-mouse-will-they-or-won’t-they game for a few more pages.
Eric befriends Raven’s sister, showing he’s a nice guy. Eric’s mother thinks Raven would make the perfect wife for Eric. Raven resists the thought of marriage to this wealthy, handsome, friendly, attractive Duke because… Reasons?
When cousin Wesley finds out that Eric has been less than honorable with Raven, he challenges the Duke to a duel. Wesley is wounded in the swordfight, Eric gets scarred, and later Raven’s sister gets married. Then Eric sweeps Raven off to his estate, declaring his love for her before they finally get it on.
But Raven can’t be with Eric, because remember reasons!
So she flees to America to mooch off other family members, and The Treacherous Heart is only halfway through, and… OMG, make it stop!
Eric follows Raven to America, blah, blah, blah, a possible other woman makes an appearance, blah, blah, blah, Eric and Raven reunite, blah, blah, blah, villain seeks revenge, blah, blah, blah, happy ending.
Final Analysis of The Treacherous Heart
Events happened in Angela Alexie’s The Treacherous Heart. Characters engaged in dialogue, and time passed on, yet it was so dull.
All the pieces were in place, but the story was lifeless, like a dead frog connected to a car battery by jumper cables. Turn the ignition all you want; there’s just no spark here, no animation.
When boring writing is combined with a drawn-out, pale imitation of superior work, it makes for a 1-star read. In this case, as I appreciate the Elaine Gignilliat cover, I’ll give this sucker approximately one-and-a-half stars.
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| Overall: | 1.4 |
Synopsis
The lady was a thief, the gentleman was a rogue. Their stormy romance defied propriety with a daring covenant of love.
Dire circumstances had left the beautiful young Lady Raven Avory bereft of family and funds. A desperate situation demanded a desperate remedy, and so she began stealing small jewels from the wealthy who had welcomed her as a guest.She had not counted on being caught at her game, especially not by the handsome Duke of Dorchester. Suddenly she found herself forced into his debt, into his arms, into a star-crossed affair that would sweep her into a whirlwind of tangled hearts and the most brazen ecstasies of love.
The Treacherous Heart by Angela Alexie
I agree with your point of view, your article has given me a lot of help and benefited me a lot. Thanks. Hope you continue to write such excellent articles.
Thanks, Introvert Reader. Fun review. Surely more fun to read than the novel!
I haven’t read “The Treacherous Heart”, but I can’t help but notice who wrote it. Angela Alexie is also the author of “Sometimes a Stranger”, 1980, easily one of my all-time favorite romances. Which sounds nothing at all like this turkey. It’s not even in the same subgenre. “Sometimes a Stranger” is a contemporary.
Maybe that’s part of the explanation. Some romance authors can do no wrong in whatever subgenre they choose. Others should stick to just one.
Hello Mary Anne,
I’m more than willing to give Angela Alexie another try! 🙂 I looked it up and “Sometimes a Stranger” sounds intriguing. I noticed it’s a Richard Gallen book. You’ve read a variety of books from imprints that I’ve never heard or recently became aware of! That’s the kind of unique perspective you bring to this site. We as reviewers and readers have so much individual knowledge to contribute into a centralized space. Thank you!
Regarding Alexie’s work: that two books written by the same author may contrast in quality is not unusual. Charlotte Lamb is one of my favorite authors, but she’s also written many turkeys! I love some books, hate others. No one can please everyone all the time.
Blue Falcon has written an article about authors we have a love/hate relationship with. I’d like to revisit this subject in future weeks. By the way, if ever you’d like to post any romance-related issues in a blog, please feel free to do so, or let me know if you’d like me to dedicate a post or page a particular topic. Your contributions are valuable and much appreciated!
Thanks so much, Jacqueline. I can think of several topics related to vintage romances.
But I think this one would be most useful. Tips on finding, buying, and assembling collections of these books.
I’ve been doing this for many years. But as technology changes, so does the search. I’m constantly having to learn more. Or relearn that which I thought I already knew.
Good luck!
Hello Mary Anne,
I think that’s great idea. I’ve spoken to a few book collector friends on twitter and elsewhere and they’ve given me hints on collecting and viewing old books. I know a few sots on the internet to access older books like Library thing. If you’ve any hints, would you mind e-mailing me some, so I can put them all together for an article? Thanks so much for the idea!
Jacqueline