MIDNIGHT WALTZ by Jennifer Blake

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Casablanca, 8/2011
ORIGINAL PUBLICATION: 1984
SETTING: Louisiana, 1856
HEROINE: Amalie Declouet, 24
HERO: Robert Farnum, 31ish
BODICE RIPPER? Maybe
RAPE? Yes
GRADE: B

FROM PUBLISHER: In the aristocratic world of the magnificent plantations of nineteenth-century Louisana, yound Amalie knows how to behave as the new mistress at Belle Grove, but her arranged marriage to Julien Declouet is full of surprises.

Amalie finds her husband perfectly polite, although oddly aloof, by day, but a completely different man when he visits her in her chambers at night, full of white-hot emotions and passion that sweeps her away. As the steamy Louisiana summer swelters onward, and the mystery of her husband's dual personalities intensifies, Amalie finds herself engulfefd in an emotional storm that threatens to wreak destruction on them all...



MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this story. It was definitely different than the rest. Julien and Amalie have a dysfunctional marriage when it comes to sex and we can figure out why. Julien and his cousin Robert, whom I really like, are good friends and Robert is clearly jealous, and envious, of him. They work together, along with Julien's mother, who isn't the sweet old lady she's made out to be, and come up with a terrible plan to fool Amalie. And it works and goes undiscovered...for a time. That's when the unusual plotline comes into play and I enjoyed it. In fact, I've had to seek out more like it.

It was a bit slow moving throughout and there was a lack of background information on the lead characters, which disappointed me. That's why I didn't give it an A+. I was also interested in the murder mystery involving an important character and was surprised to find who was behind it.

Other books with same theme:

Annalise by Libby Sydes
Arrow to the Heart by Jennifer Blake
Autumn Rain by Anita Mills
Blackheart by Tamara Leigh
Cat Lady by Joan Overfield
Deceptive Heart by Maureen Kurr
In the Garden of Temptation by Cynthia Wicklund (ebook only)
Kissed by Shadows by Jane Feather
Lark by Norah Hess (contemp. romance)
Midnight Waltz by Jennifer Blake- does without her knowledge
One Wicked Night by Shelley Bradley
Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey
Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
The Crystal Heart by Katherine Deauxville
The Fulfillment by LaVyrle Spencer
Waking Up With a Duke by Lorraine Heath
Wicked Little Game by Christine Wells

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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