Angel In a Red Dress [Kindle Edition]

For those of us who view Judith Ivory as one of the finest writers working in the romance genre, the release of "Angel in a Red Dress" is a very welcome return of one of our favorites. The book is a re-release of the hard-to-find "Starlit Surrender", Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas's first book which was published originally in 1988. Although Ivory's style has gotten more polished over the years, SS/AIARD is one of my favorites of her books with its rich, uncompromising characterizations and adventure-filled plot full of Scarlet Pimpernel-esque overtones.

Judith Ivory is one of the few romance writers who is able to create truly flawed characters and make them both engaging and wonderfully real. The hero and heroine of AIARD are far from perfect individuals, but they are some of the most memorable in the genre, IMO. The hero of the story is Adrien Hunt, the Earl of Kewischester, an arrogant half-French British peer with a well-deserved reputation as a libertine. Adrien is rich, intelligent, handsome and lethally charming. The heroine, Christina Pinn, is the lovely, somewhat spoiled daughter of a wealthy London barrister who comes to shelter at the earl's estate while she is in the process of getting a divorce from her stodgy baronet husband. The attraction between Adrien and Christina is immediate and palpable, with some of the most sensual scenes in the genre as Adrien attempts to charm the reluctant Christina into an affair. (The seduction scene in greenhouse is one of my all time favorites!) Adrien is certainly no "fake rake"--he has actual illegitimate children from some of his previous affairs and Christina finds this fact as disturbing as one might expect. Adrien is a consummate aristocrat--a man who is used to getting his own way in all things and he cannot understand why the proud Christina refuses to become his mistress. But unlike the usual romance heroine, common-born Christina is really tempted by the earl's title, social position, wealth and power as well as by his physical beauty. Christina's dilemma is that Adrien is everything that her bourgeois father has raised her to desire, but it is clear that the earl has no intention of marrying her.

Adrien is a complex, fascinating, very imperfect hero--selfish, high-handed, stunningly autocratic, but he is also intelligent, resourceful, non-judgemental, brave and protective of his friends. Christina is also refreshingly imperfect and three-dimensional as she struggles to maintain her dignity while carrying on an affair with a man that she is sure will eventually break her heart.

The story is set in England and France at the time of the French Revolution and the second half is jam-packed with action and adventure as Adrien (in Scarlet Pimpernel mode) tries to rescue imprisoned French aristocrats from the guillotine. But the main focus of the story is on Adrien and Christina and their complicated, passionate relationship as Adrien slowly comes to realize how much Christina means to him.

Judith Ivory's prose is (as always) exceptional and her characters wonderfully memorable. This is not a "Disney-style" historical romance with a storybook perfect hero and heroine, but readers who prefer a more angsty, emotional story are in for a treat.
Highly recommended--one of my favorite romances!

This book was originally published under the title "Starlit Surrender". You can view the reviews under that title to give you more reviews on this wonderful book. Why the publisher decided to name the book "Angel In A Red Dress" is beyond me as I don't recall the heroine wearing a red dress. In spite of that small item, this is a wonderful book. It is the love story of Christina Bower and Adrien Hunt. I have read hundreds of historical romance, but never one that left me thinking of Christina and Adrien long after I finished reading the book. There is just something so special about this story and to this day I cannot put my finger on it. I own 2 copies of the original published book as it is very hard to find the older title. Without giving too much away Adrien Hunt is every women's nightmare. He is the bad boy with a kind heart. He is a womanizer of the worst sort and doesn't give a damn what other people think. He comes kicking and screaming to profess his love of Christina and he realizes close to the end he does indeed love her. This is a dark story but not one page was boring it kept me revited to the very end. Bravo to you Judith Ivory for a story I could sink my teeth into!! If I could have given this book 10 stars I would do it.

This book was originally published in the 1980s, and the plot-line and the jerk hero characterization really reflect that.

The book is mainly centered around the hero pushing the heroine around, at one point kidnapping her and forcing her to have sex with him over and over again--edging on toward rape, if not over the line. How romantic!

The only thing that differentiates this story from the worst of the early Johanna Lindsey books is that the writing is more slow and deliberate.

The French Revolution setting was interesting and could have made for a fun backdrop and enriched the storyline, but the main characters were so unlikable that the setting was wasted.

Basically, the story, like ALL of Judith Ivory's books, goes like this:

HERO: I'm a mad, bad, and dangerous-to-know super-hot hot hot rake whose glaring character flaws are excused by the fact that I'm so incredibly beautiful and (supposedly) charismatic. Hey, you woman! My incredibly forceful personality compels me to bully you and have sex with you without your consent!

HEROINE: Oooh, look how pretty my skirts are! Listen to how they swish and swash as I walk! I love taffeta!

HERO: I am now going to impregnate you against your will. It's okay, because I'm obsessed with you and romance novel heroes can do anything they want if they're obsessed with the heroine.

HEROINE: Oh no, stop it! Stoppit! Oh, stop, stop, stop--Oh all right.

HERO: I'm like the poor man's Stavrogin! And yet--and yet--all of my mad-badness combined cannot overcome my powerful desire for you, Heroine. I love you!

HEROINE: Well, that's something, I guess.

In sum: unlikable characters render the book unreadable. Leaves a bad taste in the mouth. A painful slogging read.