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Hannah Van Evan was a young American who wished to learn about the world and to make her way in it. She was determined to improve herself, but was often baffled by exclusive turn-of-the-century high society.
Nardi de Saint Vallier was a gifted young Frenchman of noble blood who had given up his passion for sculpting. Hell-bent on self-destruction, he resigned himself to a life without beauty—and an engagement without love.
Then Hannah came into his life. They met during a Normandy summer on the grounds of an old French chateau. Hannah was cautious, but intrigued by the somber Frenchman. Nardi thought the American girl hopelessly naive. But slowly her indomitable spirit cast a ray of light upon the darkness in his soul—and opened both of their hearts to the infinite possibilities of love.
Nardi de Saint Vallier was a gifted young Frenchman of noble blood who had given up his passion for sculpting. Hell-bent on self-destruction, he resigned himself to a life without beauty—and an engagement without love.
Then Hannah came into his life. They met during a Normandy summer on the grounds of an old French chateau. Hannah was cautious, but intrigued by the somber Frenchman. Nardi thought the American girl hopelessly naive. But slowly her indomitable spirit cast a ray of light upon the darkness in his soul—and opened both of their hearts to the infinite possibilities of love.
373 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1995
6 people are currently reading
1128 people want to read
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Judy Cuevas
7 books31 followersSee profile for Judith Ivory.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
July 6, 2018
Paris and somewhere in Normandy, 1903
"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life" as Wilde would have put it around those days, and the Aesthetic adage seems to perfectly suit Bernard “Nardi” de Saint Vallier’s case lately. Former enfant prodige on the sculpting scene in fin de siècle Paris, his reality started to deteriorate soon following as his art lost inspiration a couple of years before, and in the best decadent fashion, he’s been able to find a sort of surrogate solace by drinking ether, keeping himself in a constant state of stupor and numbing his frustrations in elusive, synthetic bliss. Now thirty-two and on the brink of complete annihilation, his blue blooded but impoverished relatives have decided to save him, with the side-benefit of engaging him off to a rich heiress and thus replenishing the house coffers. But back from a forced sojourn in a Swiss clinic, while covering the last steps on the path to rehabilitation at the family château in the country, Nardi meets Hannah Van Evan from Florida, vivacious, full of joie de vivre, outré ”Hannah with an h”, arrived at the old pile of charming stones to catalogue its valuables and to show him that maybe an authentic kind of bliss could be within his reach if only he wanted to...
Oh la la, they don’t write ‘em like this anymore.
Where I was expecting a rather gloomy, though already knowing the author extremely well written, tale of ruined lives, overblown artistic blues and melodramatic last-minute love-induced salvations, brighten up toward the end by some improbable happier notes just to assuage the genre’s staples, I have instead encountered an introspective and eventually uplifting story filtered through a subtly humorous and disenchanted glance that I found irresistible. Both leads are imperfect, ambitious and romantic, but in opposite ways, like two sides of the same coin. If Nardi interprets these qualities through a blasé facade, Hannah appears more spontaneous and candid, though they can’t escape the recognition slowly enveloping them.
Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory is a unique writer. It’s rare to have such a strong correspondence among words, feelings and imagery (only Laura Kinsale comes to my mind in this sense), and the language flows with a sophisticated and smooth rhythm, beautifully evoking the mannerism and the spirit of the Belle Époque setting. It may require more patience and attention to details than usual, when a character’s personality or eroticism can be revealed and conveyed by the rustling of a petticoat, an extravagant alpaca coat or the shape of a marble statuette, but the result is rewarding and to savour word by word, line by line.
As sparkling and bittersweet as the champagnes and as fragrant and alluring as the savons the characteristic affiches popular at the time were trying to sell you, it’s not one of those eventful romances and, though the storyline is engaging and complex in a more immaterial way, finely explored emotions and feelings remain in and on themselves the driving force of the plot.
February 7, 2020
Reread 2/6 with Joanna & Whiskey. Still near perfect.
Astonishingly magnificent.
I have had a few experiences reading romances that I think I can't possibly put my review into words after I complete the novel. This again, will be inadequate. Not only have I used the majority of my brain power up in the reading and rereading and BR discussion of this book (simultaneously, because it's that kind of book), but I have too many thoughts to harness.
I'm not going to tell you the plot. I will tell you it's not often, for me, that a book manages to be sensuous, funny, romantic, and intellectually stimulating all in one 310 page package. That my swoons exist for both hero and heroine, as they should. That the setting and details are as lush and evocative as the language. That it all serves a purpose. That somehow, despite the underlying plot, this book doesn't feel angsty or overburdened. Essentially, Bliss was sweeping. I've been swept.
"Everything enduring is French. Everything good in life. Food, style, art, poetry"-he raised one brow-"love." He put on a clowning smugness. "We invented love of course."
She laughed.
"No, no I do not pull your leg. During the Middle Ages, the French came up with the idea of love as we know it today. I could show you literature. I could prove it." He made a mock-modest face. "But I won't rub it in: We also invented diplomacy."
Thanks to Gaufre and Angry for the buddy read (still in progress, but I'm greedy like that)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I never would've seen this book had it not been for Christina's beautiful review last year and Gaufre 5 stars
Astonishingly magnificent.
I have had a few experiences reading romances that I think I can't possibly put my review into words after I complete the novel. This again, will be inadequate. Not only have I used the majority of my brain power up in the reading and rereading and BR discussion of this book (simultaneously, because it's that kind of book), but I have too many thoughts to harness.
I'm not going to tell you the plot. I will tell you it's not often, for me, that a book manages to be sensuous, funny, romantic, and intellectually stimulating all in one 310 page package. That my swoons exist for both hero and heroine, as they should. That the setting and details are as lush and evocative as the language. That it all serves a purpose. That somehow, despite the underlying plot, this book doesn't feel angsty or overburdened. Essentially, Bliss was sweeping. I've been swept.
"Everything enduring is French. Everything good in life. Food, style, art, poetry"-he raised one brow-"love." He put on a clowning smugness. "We invented love of course."
She laughed.
"No, no I do not pull your leg. During the Middle Ages, the French came up with the idea of love as we know it today. I could show you literature. I could prove it." He made a mock-modest face. "But I won't rub it in: We also invented diplomacy."
Thanks to Gaufre and Angry for the buddy read (still in progress, but I'm greedy like that)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I never would've seen this book had it not been for Christina's beautiful review last year and Gaufre 5 stars
February 7, 2020
I read this as a buddy read, for quotes, comments, and discussion: Bliss Buddy Read
"Dis non."
I am wrung out from reading this, I quoted and talked a lot in the buddy read, so I'm going to let that for the most part talk for what I thought about this book.
This was published in 1995, it has a bit of different rhythm to it. The heroine and hero are solidly introduced on their own and their characters are established before they meet (around 35% mark), this completely worked for me and if you're looking for depth to your characters that creates an incredibly emotional story, then it will work for you too.
These characters weren't perfect, our hero is addicted to ether, has some struggles with not being the "hot, talented artist" anymore and our heroine is escaping a reputation that gave her a nickname "Miss Seven Minutes in Heaven" and wants a romantic easy life in Paris. It was the underlining truth to these emotions and characters that will have me thinking about these characters for a long, long time.
It was passages like this:
In the musty dark of the attic, Hannah felt heartened at last. And so very impressed with the real Nardi de Saint Vallier. He might not be a prince, but he was heroic: a man ready to face his nemesis, all that had worn him down before. Better than the fancy trousers and pretty coats that had once impressed her, this man had a magnificent fortitude.
that had me absorbed.
The author brilliantly interweaves societal issues and family dynamics through characters' thoughts and actions; these characters were not perfect but they grew.
Secondary characters had me desperately wanting a Director's Cut of the book so I could get a more thorough look at them.
If you can find this book, grasp it with both hands, I've rarely read a book that had such amazing depth to emotions. Read this, read this, read this (then go the buddy read and comment so I can talk about this book more and for years to come :)
"You should know, Hannah, that I would marry you over and over, as many times as it takes to make the world see I love you."
"Dis non."
I am wrung out from reading this, I quoted and talked a lot in the buddy read, so I'm going to let that for the most part talk for what I thought about this book.
This was published in 1995, it has a bit of different rhythm to it. The heroine and hero are solidly introduced on their own and their characters are established before they meet (around 35% mark), this completely worked for me and if you're looking for depth to your characters that creates an incredibly emotional story, then it will work for you too.
These characters weren't perfect, our hero is addicted to ether, has some struggles with not being the "hot, talented artist" anymore and our heroine is escaping a reputation that gave her a nickname "Miss Seven Minutes in Heaven" and wants a romantic easy life in Paris. It was the underlining truth to these emotions and characters that will have me thinking about these characters for a long, long time.
It was passages like this:
In the musty dark of the attic, Hannah felt heartened at last. And so very impressed with the real Nardi de Saint Vallier. He might not be a prince, but he was heroic: a man ready to face his nemesis, all that had worn him down before. Better than the fancy trousers and pretty coats that had once impressed her, this man had a magnificent fortitude.
that had me absorbed.
The author brilliantly interweaves societal issues and family dynamics through characters' thoughts and actions; these characters were not perfect but they grew.
Secondary characters had me desperately wanting a Director's Cut of the book so I could get a more thorough look at them.
If you can find this book, grasp it with both hands, I've rarely read a book that had such amazing depth to emotions. Read this, read this, read this (then go the buddy read and comment so I can talk about this book more and for years to come :)
"You should know, Hannah, that I would marry you over and over, as many times as it takes to make the world see I love you."
November 24, 2024
When I finished the second book in the series, Dance, I said I felt a bit winded. Now I feel a bit histrionic.
Bliss is about Nardi and Hannah. Nardi is a sculptor that was once praised as a genius, but when compliments turned into criticism Nardi threw in the towel. He wants to be liked. His art is a part of him. How embarrassing that he thrives on celebrity but can only handle the praise that he covets. His last exhibition was ridiculed to high heaven, but the worst part is that Nardi knows that this criticism is correct. Something is wrong with this. Something is wrong with him. Nardi drinks ether obsessively, and it's boring and embarrassing, just like his terrible sculptures.
Hannah is an art appraiser's assistant, severely underpaid because she came no references, thanks to a salacious reputation as "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven." She's a pharmacist's daughter from Miami and former housekeeper who's unworldly enough to be impressed by romantic tails of the Eiffel tower, and smart enough to be chagrined by her naivete later.
Nardi's brother is trying to dry him out at an estate that they used to own and are trying to recapture. Hannah and her employer arrive to help auction off some of the estate's artwork, and in a fit of pique after being reminded of her station and her apparent valuelessness, Hannah seeks Nardi out, despite her employer's instructions not to. They form a tentative friendship. Nardi wants Hannah to bring him ether. Hannah is wary of Nardi but she can't help but like him. He makes her feel beautiful and interesting, but in the back of her mind she knows this is a rich man's trick. "Interesting" can expire after a few hours.
The way I feel a little uneasy talking about how much I like this book feels so apt with how Hannah experiences art. While they're falling in love, Hannah asks Nardi if he likes her brooch. She liked it when she bought it. She thought it was beautiful, but her employer planted doubts in her mind. It's too common, too gauche, and the glass pieces in it can shine and catch light but they don't signify taste. She'd be better served with something smaller and gold, which can be purchased at the same price but would bring understated elegance. Taste.
Nardi tells Hannah that her opinion matters too. Hannah's employer is skilled at quantifying opinions, of monetizing them. But wouldn't we lose ourselves if we are trapped by public opinion? Wouldn't we be down one beautiful brooch?
Bliss is about Nardi and Hannah. Nardi is a sculptor that was once praised as a genius, but when compliments turned into criticism Nardi threw in the towel. He wants to be liked. His art is a part of him. How embarrassing that he thrives on celebrity but can only handle the praise that he covets. His last exhibition was ridiculed to high heaven, but the worst part is that Nardi knows that this criticism is correct. Something is wrong with this. Something is wrong with him. Nardi drinks ether obsessively, and it's boring and embarrassing, just like his terrible sculptures.
Hannah is an art appraiser's assistant, severely underpaid because she came no references, thanks to a salacious reputation as "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven." She's a pharmacist's daughter from Miami and former housekeeper who's unworldly enough to be impressed by romantic tails of the Eiffel tower, and smart enough to be chagrined by her naivete later.
Nardi's brother is trying to dry him out at an estate that they used to own and are trying to recapture. Hannah and her employer arrive to help auction off some of the estate's artwork, and in a fit of pique after being reminded of her station and her apparent valuelessness, Hannah seeks Nardi out, despite her employer's instructions not to. They form a tentative friendship. Nardi wants Hannah to bring him ether. Hannah is wary of Nardi but she can't help but like him. He makes her feel beautiful and interesting, but in the back of her mind she knows this is a rich man's trick. "Interesting" can expire after a few hours.
The way I feel a little uneasy talking about how much I like this book feels so apt with how Hannah experiences art. While they're falling in love, Hannah asks Nardi if he likes her brooch. She liked it when she bought it. She thought it was beautiful, but her employer planted doubts in her mind. It's too common, too gauche, and the glass pieces in it can shine and catch light but they don't signify taste. She'd be better served with something smaller and gold, which can be purchased at the same price but would bring understated elegance. Taste.
Nardi tells Hannah that her opinion matters too. Hannah's employer is skilled at quantifying opinions, of monetizing them. But wouldn't we lose ourselves if we are trapped by public opinion? Wouldn't we be down one beautiful brooch?
April 16, 2022
You know, ART.
January 26, 2015
This book has remained my favorite historical romance since I started making such lists. Nobody writes like Judith Ivory (AKA Judy Cuevas). I'd heard that she stopped writing due to back trouble. If she ever put out a call for someone to type as she dictated, I'd offer to do it for free.
January 3, 2010
Any time I even think of Judith Ivory a/k/a Judy Cuevas' writing . . . all that comes to mind is that I'm totally in LOVE with her sense of prose. We've all experienced the feeling that "reading" in it's best sense is a movie that runs through the mind of the reader. Ivory makes this happen for me 100%. Her writing is clear and concise and instantly places the reader at the scene of whatever her fancy is for any particular story.
"Bliss" opens with Hannah Van Even applying for a position with Ms. Amelia Besom, a well known arts and antiquities appraiser. The year is 1903, and Besom travels in the highest of society circles. Hannah has just been "let go without references" from her work as a housekeeper for an uppercrust family. Rumors swirl around her firing, and Besom is of course savvy to the gossip. Unfortunately, she's morbidly curious of the details, and Hannah isn't giving up anything about the incident, regardless of her desperation for the position Besom is offering. Ivory immerses the reader instantly in this very first scene, painting a vivid picture of the room, Hannah's dress, Besom's overwhelming stiffness and grilling of her, right down to the lighting and tension passing between the women -- and I found myself turning the pages one after another without distraction.
Hannah finds herself (by shear luck of the draw of Besom's odd attraction and curiosity of her) accompanying Besom to France to assess the estate of an aristocratic family fallen on hard times. Hannah's a "dreamy" sort of girl/woman that craves adventure and credibility, though she comes from humble beginnings. She finds herself on the doorstep of the ancestral chateau home of the de Saint Valliers and is in wonder of the place and all its treasures, despite it's fallen into complete disrepair. The family, having entered a deal to "save" their heritage and lifestyle by marrying off their "title" by means of our hero, to a daughter of a wealthy businessman who can bail them out of their montetary crisis. The bussinessman, part of the sterotypical nouveau riche of the day, craves respectibility by means of the uppercrust art community, and by marrying his spinster daughter to a famous name such as the de Saint Valliers believes he's achieved that particular societal pedigree.
Bernard "Nardi" de Saint Vallier was once a great and gifted sculptor who had climbed to the heights of fame and fortune at a very young age (an artistic protegy). However, the utter emotion and attachment he put into his work as an artist overwhelmed his ability to deal with the responsibility of success, and he fell into boosting his courage to deal with the stresses of life by becoming an ether addict. At first he only used it to calm his nerves before attending a showing of his work, but the more dependent he became upon it, the more he lost his muse for his art, and eventually fell into the complete cycle of addiction. Now with his family's determination to maintain all their lifestyles on Nardi's "back," his overbearing and overmeticulous older brother rules Nardi's life with an iron fist. The two brothers are complete opposites, one who sees all things in life as black and white, while Nardi of course sees life through a multitude of colors.
After entering into the "marriage deal," Nardi's brother commits him unsuccessfully to an institution to dry him out, and when that fails, installs him in a cottage on the chateau estate with 24-hour guards to keep him from obtaining ether prior to the wedding. Although Hannah has been warned off to stay away from the "crazy" brother on the estate, her curiosity overwhelms her, and she finds not a disfigured, incoherent monster summoned up by her over-active imagination in the cottage at the edge of the estate, but instead the complete opposite -- a stunningly handsome and charming man that she's immediately drawn to. Although Nardi at first is too caught up in his obession (like any addict) of acquiring more ether, Hannah's fresh view of life enchants him, and he can't help but get caught up in her in turn.
The two clearly have a chemistry that is evident from their first meeting. Ivory seldom writes sterotypical heros/heroines, and this story is no exception. Though Nardi is certainly portrayed as the overly sensitive and cynical artist, Ivory also shows his rebellion against his family's lifelong dependence on him, and the strain it puts on his self-worth. Nardi definitely has reason to try and run away from all the planning and plotting his family has done in taking away his independence while exploiting his talent. Basically, they've ruined the joy he had in being an artist by weighing him down with business success in turning over his art. There's never any doubt in the reader's mind why Nardi became an addict, and I had every bit of sympathy for his situation. I loved how Ivory showed us the path that Nardi takes to dig his way out of his addiction, and his strength and insite in understanding that no one can "fix him"; only he could fix himself.
Hannah is quite naive to Nardi's world, and the larger world in general. Although she's smart and plucky, she has a hard time staying out of the social situations that propriety demands in the upper social classes she so craves to live amongst. Her facination with Nardi and his world leads her down the same path and eventually leads her to yet again be questioned on her behavior by her employer, Amelia Besom. Regardless, Hannah's fresh and straight forward love of life rubs off on not only Nardi, reawakening him to the beauty that can be living and loving, but it even chips away at the outter crust of the hardened and stiff Amelia Besom.
Hannah and Nardi's love story is sweet, tender, turbulent and unconventional. Ivory writes every character with perfect precision and leaves the reader with incredible insight into each of their personalities and how they fit the story. The culmination of all the plotlines in the end is beautiful and believeable, and Ivory takes you right up to the end wondering how Nardi is going to get out of the contracted marriage agreement in a satisfying way to the story. If I could wish for anything at all on this read, it would have been a more thorough epilogue. Although Ivory leaves no hanging plotlines and the epilogue does make the HEA clear I couldn't help crave just a bit more traditional details in the epilogue to satisfy my romantic needs (wrap it up with that usual nice, tidy, bow! Ahh, but alas, it's not the style of Ivory, which is certainly why she's so individual and memorable. ;)
I realize this is a tough book to get ahold of, but if you have an opportunity to read it, you can be assured it's a rich and entertaining experience.
K.
"Bliss" opens with Hannah Van Even applying for a position with Ms. Amelia Besom, a well known arts and antiquities appraiser. The year is 1903, and Besom travels in the highest of society circles. Hannah has just been "let go without references" from her work as a housekeeper for an uppercrust family. Rumors swirl around her firing, and Besom is of course savvy to the gossip. Unfortunately, she's morbidly curious of the details, and Hannah isn't giving up anything about the incident, regardless of her desperation for the position Besom is offering. Ivory immerses the reader instantly in this very first scene, painting a vivid picture of the room, Hannah's dress, Besom's overwhelming stiffness and grilling of her, right down to the lighting and tension passing between the women -- and I found myself turning the pages one after another without distraction.
Hannah finds herself (by shear luck of the draw of Besom's odd attraction and curiosity of her) accompanying Besom to France to assess the estate of an aristocratic family fallen on hard times. Hannah's a "dreamy" sort of girl/woman that craves adventure and credibility, though she comes from humble beginnings. She finds herself on the doorstep of the ancestral chateau home of the de Saint Valliers and is in wonder of the place and all its treasures, despite it's fallen into complete disrepair. The family, having entered a deal to "save" their heritage and lifestyle by marrying off their "title" by means of our hero, to a daughter of a wealthy businessman who can bail them out of their montetary crisis. The bussinessman, part of the sterotypical nouveau riche of the day, craves respectibility by means of the uppercrust art community, and by marrying his spinster daughter to a famous name such as the de Saint Valliers believes he's achieved that particular societal pedigree.
Bernard "Nardi" de Saint Vallier was once a great and gifted sculptor who had climbed to the heights of fame and fortune at a very young age (an artistic protegy). However, the utter emotion and attachment he put into his work as an artist overwhelmed his ability to deal with the responsibility of success, and he fell into boosting his courage to deal with the stresses of life by becoming an ether addict. At first he only used it to calm his nerves before attending a showing of his work, but the more dependent he became upon it, the more he lost his muse for his art, and eventually fell into the complete cycle of addiction. Now with his family's determination to maintain all their lifestyles on Nardi's "back," his overbearing and overmeticulous older brother rules Nardi's life with an iron fist. The two brothers are complete opposites, one who sees all things in life as black and white, while Nardi of course sees life through a multitude of colors.
After entering into the "marriage deal," Nardi's brother commits him unsuccessfully to an institution to dry him out, and when that fails, installs him in a cottage on the chateau estate with 24-hour guards to keep him from obtaining ether prior to the wedding. Although Hannah has been warned off to stay away from the "crazy" brother on the estate, her curiosity overwhelms her, and she finds not a disfigured, incoherent monster summoned up by her over-active imagination in the cottage at the edge of the estate, but instead the complete opposite -- a stunningly handsome and charming man that she's immediately drawn to. Although Nardi at first is too caught up in his obession (like any addict) of acquiring more ether, Hannah's fresh view of life enchants him, and he can't help but get caught up in her in turn.
The two clearly have a chemistry that is evident from their first meeting. Ivory seldom writes sterotypical heros/heroines, and this story is no exception. Though Nardi is certainly portrayed as the overly sensitive and cynical artist, Ivory also shows his rebellion against his family's lifelong dependence on him, and the strain it puts on his self-worth. Nardi definitely has reason to try and run away from all the planning and plotting his family has done in taking away his independence while exploiting his talent. Basically, they've ruined the joy he had in being an artist by weighing him down with business success in turning over his art. There's never any doubt in the reader's mind why Nardi became an addict, and I had every bit of sympathy for his situation. I loved how Ivory showed us the path that Nardi takes to dig his way out of his addiction, and his strength and insite in understanding that no one can "fix him"; only he could fix himself.
Hannah is quite naive to Nardi's world, and the larger world in general. Although she's smart and plucky, she has a hard time staying out of the social situations that propriety demands in the upper social classes she so craves to live amongst. Her facination with Nardi and his world leads her down the same path and eventually leads her to yet again be questioned on her behavior by her employer, Amelia Besom. Regardless, Hannah's fresh and straight forward love of life rubs off on not only Nardi, reawakening him to the beauty that can be living and loving, but it even chips away at the outter crust of the hardened and stiff Amelia Besom.
Hannah and Nardi's love story is sweet, tender, turbulent and unconventional. Ivory writes every character with perfect precision and leaves the reader with incredible insight into each of their personalities and how they fit the story. The culmination of all the plotlines in the end is beautiful and believeable, and Ivory takes you right up to the end wondering how Nardi is going to get out of the contracted marriage agreement in a satisfying way to the story. If I could wish for anything at all on this read, it would have been a more thorough epilogue. Although Ivory leaves no hanging plotlines and the epilogue does make the HEA clear I couldn't help crave just a bit more traditional details in the epilogue to satisfy my romantic needs (wrap it up with that usual nice, tidy, bow! Ahh, but alas, it's not the style of Ivory, which is certainly why she's so individual and memorable. ;)
I realize this is a tough book to get ahold of, but if you have an opportunity to read it, you can be assured it's a rich and entertaining experience.
K.
July 9, 2020
Oh how much I enjoyed this book. Every page was like a gift that I have always been searching for.
When I saw page of contents,
1. The Ether Drinker
2. The Radish Eater
3. Disintoxification
I laughed and knew I will love this story. The ingenuity and sense of humor of the author leaps out straight from the beginning.
I would describe the plot as a juicy peach and its main characters as many layered onions.
Hannah is an American girl working for art appraisal lady.
From the beginning there is mystery to Hannah. some people try to figure her out while others have clearly made up their minds about who she is. As readers, we are only a little better off knowing her.
The same it is with Nardi (Bernard). He is revealed to us slowly yet he is being very honest about who he is. It’s just that he is so lost in his addiction he doesn’t even know who he is anymore. As the ether drinker becomes a radish eater the beauty of his character starts shinning brighter and brighter.
Until Hannah along with me is totally in love with him.
“Heavens, yes, was she ever in potatoes; was she ever in hot hot water. Hannah felt peeled, boiled, baked, puréed in love”
Oh their romance so beautiful but never too sweet or too cheesy. There is French country side, there is art, there are drugs, Seine and dancing during lovely summer evenings.
There is also supple humor through out the book that kept me grinning the whole time.
“And Hannah hereby ordained herself as “someone” accepting this mission as wholeheartedly as a young nun in a first hour of her calling.”
Only her role could not have been further from a nun.
Judy Cuevas (Judith Ivory) seems like a poetry lover and she writes her books with beautiful layers of metaphors and deep wisdom of life.
There are many fluffy, overly sweet romances. This book is like a top quality needle lace, intricately woven, sexy and feminine.
I am very happy I found this book in print (it seems it has became a sort of rarity) and I will treasure it for many years to come.
When I saw page of contents,
1. The Ether Drinker
2. The Radish Eater
3. Disintoxification
I laughed and knew I will love this story. The ingenuity and sense of humor of the author leaps out straight from the beginning.
I would describe the plot as a juicy peach and its main characters as many layered onions.
Hannah is an American girl working for art appraisal lady.
From the beginning there is mystery to Hannah. some people try to figure her out while others have clearly made up their minds about who she is. As readers, we are only a little better off knowing her.
The same it is with Nardi (Bernard). He is revealed to us slowly yet he is being very honest about who he is. It’s just that he is so lost in his addiction he doesn’t even know who he is anymore. As the ether drinker becomes a radish eater the beauty of his character starts shinning brighter and brighter.
Until Hannah along with me is totally in love with him.
“Heavens, yes, was she ever in potatoes; was she ever in hot hot water. Hannah felt peeled, boiled, baked, puréed in love”
Oh their romance so beautiful but never too sweet or too cheesy. There is French country side, there is art, there are drugs, Seine and dancing during lovely summer evenings.
There is also supple humor through out the book that kept me grinning the whole time.
“And Hannah hereby ordained herself as “someone” accepting this mission as wholeheartedly as a young nun in a first hour of her calling.”
Only her role could not have been further from a nun.
Judy Cuevas (Judith Ivory) seems like a poetry lover and she writes her books with beautiful layers of metaphors and deep wisdom of life.
There are many fluffy, overly sweet romances. This book is like a top quality needle lace, intricately woven, sexy and feminine.
I am very happy I found this book in print (it seems it has became a sort of rarity) and I will treasure it for many years to come.
April 22, 2012
Judy Cuevas, aka Judith Ivory is phenomenal!
Have you ever felt like
you opened the perfect book
for the perfect moment
for maximum enjoyment?
That's me, right now having just finished this wonderful book.
The novel is:
Dark and light.
Simple yet layered and complex.
Accessible while feeling at times esoteric,
as though I have a special grasp of it meaning and can to see into it's brilliance. It felt personal for me. I could relate to the metaphors and messages.
It plays with themes of art and beauty; criticism, failure and arrogance; addiction, judgment, innocence and temptation.
No one is truly bad and
no one is purely good... oh my. I love when even the side characters are so well-drawn. Here they are vivid, strong and well-meaning but so very flawed.
The whole of it is brilliant, masterful and soulful.
The issues in and around addiction are woven through the text, but with a light hand. If you have been touched by the addiction dynamic in your own life, this book holds even greater appeal and the text more meaning.
The book isn't "about" addiction, but the Hero is both an active and recuperating ether addict in the story (or whatever the term would have been in 1903).
I was anxious the whole time I was reading because I loved both lead characters and felt the inevitable "big misunderstanding" or "forced separation" coming around every corner, which is the usual impetus for the plot climax/resolution. I was so nervous about it that I interfered with my own enjoyment of this unique arc in which the characters worked together for their own ending. Is that a spoiler? I hope not. I hope it spoils you to NOT look for ghosts around corners that don't really exist. There is tension, there is conflict, there might even be some tiny little separation in there somewhere, but the author does not wreck you in the process.
Ivory said in a roundtable on the All About Romance site: "Complex plots don't mean a separation of the protagonists at all. It just means multiple conflicts going on at once."
http://www.likesbooks.com/histroundta...
Bliss was certainly an example of that statement and I for one, loved it.
Big shout out to my friend Crista, who blessed me with this book.
I will be paying it forward :)
For those who enjoy the dimension and tone of Kinsale and Chase, this is a must try!
January 31, 2025
I really don't have a lot of ~intelligent~ things to say right now about BLISS, but I'm so very glad I read it. Woefully out of print, if you can get your hands on a copy or if someone wants to try to get the publisher to put it back into print or have the author self-pub, PLEASE let's get on this.
An American, from Florida, is caught sleeping around society (in order to escape an unwanted marriage with a rich boy who wants her as an object) and is slut-shamed out of any recommendations or referrals. She manages to secure a job as an assistant to a famous art critic and appraiser who is looking to secure unique and expensive pieces during an upcoming tour of Europe. Ms. Besom is reluctant to fire "Miss Seven Minutes in Heaven" but also uses this as a tool to control Hannah and form her into her own righteous, "upright", image. Also because I do truly thing she sees 'potential' in Hannah as one with a great eye for art and value, if only she could have "manners" and "poise." lol Ms. Besom is a whole ass character who is truly shitty but also deeply compelling to read about. She's Hannah's ticket to Europe, to Paris, to maybe a new life.
When Ms. Besom accepts a job in the French country-side with the de Saint Valliers to assess art and possessions at a crumbling estate desperately in need of funds for repairs, Hannah finds herself drawn into two brothers struggle with addiction, money problems, and grief. Warned to not talk to or associate with the brother being guarded in a cottage, Hannah is nonetheless pulled into the orbit of the struggling, tempestuous and ether addicted Nardi.
What follows is a stunning show case of HOW WILL THIS EVER WORK combined with some of the most breath taking and TRULY ODD sentences I've ever read, that absolutely work for the slow burning romance that develops between two people who desperately need to find their place in a world that is set out to hold them down, hold them back.
I don't think I've ever felt the gut punch like when Nardi's brother is telling Hannah about Nardi's addictions and struggles, and her immediate reaction isn't to empathize with the brother, but to be like what happened TO Nardi to set him on that path. WHEW, trauma informed care!
The moments with the woods, the butterflies, I just will need to keep re-reading until i have better more informed thoughts.
ALSO the ending was just so fucking great, because the very thing that was The Big Villain (the ether) was the thing to set them all free.
An American, from Florida, is caught sleeping around society (in order to escape an unwanted marriage with a rich boy who wants her as an object) and is slut-shamed out of any recommendations or referrals. She manages to secure a job as an assistant to a famous art critic and appraiser who is looking to secure unique and expensive pieces during an upcoming tour of Europe. Ms. Besom is reluctant to fire "Miss Seven Minutes in Heaven" but also uses this as a tool to control Hannah and form her into her own righteous, "upright", image. Also because I do truly thing she sees 'potential' in Hannah as one with a great eye for art and value, if only she could have "manners" and "poise." lol Ms. Besom is a whole ass character who is truly shitty but also deeply compelling to read about. She's Hannah's ticket to Europe, to Paris, to maybe a new life.
When Ms. Besom accepts a job in the French country-side with the de Saint Valliers to assess art and possessions at a crumbling estate desperately in need of funds for repairs, Hannah finds herself drawn into two brothers struggle with addiction, money problems, and grief. Warned to not talk to or associate with the brother being guarded in a cottage, Hannah is nonetheless pulled into the orbit of the struggling, tempestuous and ether addicted Nardi.
What follows is a stunning show case of HOW WILL THIS EVER WORK combined with some of the most breath taking and TRULY ODD sentences I've ever read, that absolutely work for the slow burning romance that develops between two people who desperately need to find their place in a world that is set out to hold them down, hold them back.
I don't think I've ever felt the gut punch like when Nardi's brother is telling Hannah about Nardi's addictions and struggles, and her immediate reaction isn't to empathize with the brother, but to be like what happened TO Nardi to set him on that path. WHEW, trauma informed care!
The moments with the woods, the butterflies, I just will need to keep re-reading until i have better more informed thoughts.
ALSO the ending was just so fucking great, because the very thing that was The Big Villain (the ether) was the thing to set them all free.
September 7, 2019
My first buddy read with Sam and Gaufre! Such a wonderful experience!
There are so many things about a book that irritate me. Lying by omission. A naive silly heroine. A character making bad decisions that then come back to bite them on the ass. Flowery descriptive writing full of imagery I don’t deem “necessary” to the book.
This book had all of that. And it was magnificent. It was like Anne of Green Gables with addiction and Frenchness and lurve.
I loved the story within the story. The vivid images that said as much or more than the characters. I adored the innate sweetness. And the character growth was believable and incredibly enjoyable. This read like an enjoyable classic. It had layers on layers that were delightful to peel away. And all of this was done with the utmost delicacy.
Characters and writing with shading and shadows. A story that engrosses you from the prologue. Beauty shining off of every page.
Definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read.
There are so many things about a book that irritate me. Lying by omission. A naive silly heroine. A character making bad decisions that then come back to bite them on the ass. Flowery descriptive writing full of imagery I don’t deem “necessary” to the book.
This book had all of that. And it was magnificent. It was like Anne of Green Gables with addiction and Frenchness and lurve.
I loved the story within the story. The vivid images that said as much or more than the characters. I adored the innate sweetness. And the character growth was believable and incredibly enjoyable. This read like an enjoyable classic. It had layers on layers that were delightful to peel away. And all of this was done with the utmost delicacy.
Characters and writing with shading and shadows. A story that engrosses you from the prologue. Beauty shining off of every page.
Definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read.
February 24, 2017
Verbose & slow. I did like the setting & the era (an old French chateau in the early 1900s), but there was no plot to speak of.
Despite the plotless nature of the story, my biggest complaint is the characters. Hannah was an idiot & Nardi was a whiner. (Also, I don't care if he never outgrew his childhood pet name -- "Nardi" is a pansy-ass monicker for your hero.) At one point we had a 25-page scene of conversation between the H/h as they discussed turnips, then translating telegrams from French to English, then back to turnips. And eventually back to telegrams. (No, I'm not kidding. I had to keep reading just to see how long the exhaustive nothingness was exploited.) Because this is a romance novel, I'm assuming there was supposed to be sexual tension in this particular scene -- but I didn't give a rat's ass either way. Hannah is too stupid to control her problematic hormones, & Nardi is wondering how she can be so dumb that she doesn't realize he's manipulating her into bringing him ether to feed his addiction. Now that's a winning combination of protagonists. >___<
Seriously, the angst level in this book was off the charts. Not quite Sherry Thomas angst, but definitely Cecilia Grant angst -- so if you're a fan of either ST or CG, I'd recommend this book. But if you demand a romance with actual Things Happening(tm), skip it.
Despite the plotless nature of the story, my biggest complaint is the characters. Hannah was an idiot & Nardi was a whiner. (Also, I don't care if he never outgrew his childhood pet name -- "Nardi" is a pansy-ass monicker for your hero.) At one point we had a 25-page scene of conversation between the H/h as they discussed turnips, then translating telegrams from French to English, then back to turnips. And eventually back to telegrams. (No, I'm not kidding. I had to keep reading just to see how long the exhaustive nothingness was exploited.) Because this is a romance novel, I'm assuming there was supposed to be sexual tension in this particular scene -- but I didn't give a rat's ass either way. Hannah is too stupid to control her problematic hormones, & Nardi is wondering how she can be so dumb that she doesn't realize he's manipulating her into bringing him ether to feed his addiction. Now that's a winning combination of protagonists. >___<
Seriously, the angst level in this book was off the charts. Not quite Sherry Thomas angst, but definitely Cecilia Grant angst -- so if you're a fan of either ST or CG, I'd recommend this book. But if you demand a romance with actual Things Happening(tm), skip it.
May 29, 2025
Fourth read March 2024: group read!
Third read, December 2023: I am obliterated! It's difficult to speak to the enormity of the force of this book by Judy Cuevas. With each read, I am humbled by her magnificence and made whole again because I live in a world where this book exists and it is in me.
First read, March 2023: I used get annoyed by gifs in reviews bc I wanted words not pictures. I have come to realize the folly in underestimating the gif-infused review because right now all I can say about this book is *gif of David Rose crying and laughing.
Third read, December 2023: I am obliterated! It's difficult to speak to the enormity of the force of this book by Judy Cuevas. With each read, I am humbled by her magnificence and made whole again because I live in a world where this book exists and it is in me.
First read, March 2023: I used get annoyed by gifs in reviews bc I wanted words not pictures. I have come to realize the folly in underestimating the gif-infused review because right now all I can say about this book is *gif of David Rose crying and laughing.
July 15, 2018
bliss
noun
A state of perfect happiness, typically so as to be oblivious of everything else.
ether
noun
A flammable liquid. Borrowed from Old French ether, in turn from Latin aethēr meaning “the upper pure, bright air”.
~~~~~
In the world of Bernard de Saint Vallier -‘Nardi’- bliss was ether. Introduced to the substance when stress was at an all time high, the young man became addicted. Neither cocaine nor morphine provided the exquisite acceptance that this pleasant-smelling and colorless liquid gave him. Before long, he was immersed in a dark and decadent reality.
Nardi was the answer to his family’s prayers. The youngest of four children, he developed into a brilliant sculptor. His pieces were sought after by members of high society and provided his family with their necessary income. But as an artist, he was his own worse critic.
When Hannah Van Evan and Nardi met for the first time, he was in recovery and watched over by bodyguards: services his older brother had bought. Hannah, an American, worked for the prudish Amelia Besom. She helped tag and catalog items of the de Saint Vallier family that were to be auctioned. Within days, the young woman became Nardi’s bright spot. He was fascinated with her naivety and briskness.
In a strange way -at least for me- the storyline had both highs and lows similar to using a substance. If I did not know better, I thought Ms. Cuevas intentionally wrote the story in this fashion. If so, kudos to the author.
Nardi was not always likable but familial bits and pieces kept surfacing. I understood his attraction to ether. Oh, the pressure he must have endured!
Oddly, I would have liked more background- a history- of Mrs. Besom. She was an insecure snoot. And Hannah? It has been several days since I finished this romance and she is still in my mind.
If you enjoy angst with your historical romance, search for this turn-of-the-century paperback. As far as I know, it is not available in e-format.
noun
A state of perfect happiness, typically so as to be oblivious of everything else.
ether
noun
A flammable liquid. Borrowed from Old French ether, in turn from Latin aethēr meaning “the upper pure, bright air”.
~~~~~
In the world of Bernard de Saint Vallier -‘Nardi’- bliss was ether. Introduced to the substance when stress was at an all time high, the young man became addicted. Neither cocaine nor morphine provided the exquisite acceptance that this pleasant-smelling and colorless liquid gave him. Before long, he was immersed in a dark and decadent reality.
Nardi was the answer to his family’s prayers. The youngest of four children, he developed into a brilliant sculptor. His pieces were sought after by members of high society and provided his family with their necessary income. But as an artist, he was his own worse critic.
When Hannah Van Evan and Nardi met for the first time, he was in recovery and watched over by bodyguards: services his older brother had bought. Hannah, an American, worked for the prudish Amelia Besom. She helped tag and catalog items of the de Saint Vallier family that were to be auctioned. Within days, the young woman became Nardi’s bright spot. He was fascinated with her naivety and briskness.
In a strange way -at least for me- the storyline had both highs and lows similar to using a substance. If I did not know better, I thought Ms. Cuevas intentionally wrote the story in this fashion. If so, kudos to the author.
Nardi was not always likable but familial bits and pieces kept surfacing. I understood his attraction to ether. Oh, the pressure he must have endured!
Oddly, I would have liked more background- a history- of Mrs. Besom. She was an insecure snoot. And Hannah? It has been several days since I finished this romance and she is still in my mind.
If you enjoy angst with your historical romance, search for this turn-of-the-century paperback. As far as I know, it is not available in e-format.
Read
December 15, 2022All-Timer.
Great romance novels do not have to have substance abuse plots, but so many of them do. I need to reread Black Silk, but my instinct is that I liked this one even more. Cuevas's characters are just very very real. They do things that are funny and natural and make them seem like real people that you want to be friends with--the author that gets the closest to this is Loretta Chase, though her little gestures, I think read more like movie character gestures than real life gestures, little bread crumbs of characterization that will important later, even if isolated on their own, they still are resonant.
The maddest romance people ever get at me on the internet is when I argue that that Kleypas/Austen connection is based in aesthetics and not structure. Kleypas does not build books and worlds the way Austen does. I always try to point this out because I am interested in how I see the genre having this structural conventions that have to come from somewhere and I don't see them in Austen.
But Bliss does have Austen elements! I can't remember if this is how Black Silk worked, but the slipping in and out of characters' minds here is the closest I have read to a free indirect discourse--she doesn't use it all the time and there are definitely Hannah Scenes and Nardi Scenes, but we jump into a bevy of characters' minds to hear their thoughts, sandwiched into between a more distant narration.
I was worried the whole book that Nardi was going to hurt Hannah, but I think this stemmed from a place of not trusting either of them. It is this pairing of a wastrel and a TSSL heroine (I hate this phrase!) that has its beats played out over and over again. But what Cuevas does so well is characterize the couple in each other's eyes/perspectives and have that not quite be right. I worried that Nardi would hurt Hannah because she was worried that he would, I thought that Hannah might be making decisions that would lead to anguish out of ignorance because that is what Nardi is worried about. Resolving those questions is where Cuevas finds narrative tension, more than even really internal conflict in the relationship. It is like structural conflict.
Incredible!
Great romance novels do not have to have substance abuse plots, but so many of them do. I need to reread Black Silk, but my instinct is that I liked this one even more. Cuevas's characters are just very very real. They do things that are funny and natural and make them seem like real people that you want to be friends with--the author that gets the closest to this is Loretta Chase, though her little gestures, I think read more like movie character gestures than real life gestures, little bread crumbs of characterization that will important later, even if isolated on their own, they still are resonant.
The maddest romance people ever get at me on the internet is when I argue that that Kleypas/Austen connection is based in aesthetics and not structure. Kleypas does not build books and worlds the way Austen does. I always try to point this out because I am interested in how I see the genre having this structural conventions that have to come from somewhere and I don't see them in Austen.
But Bliss does have Austen elements! I can't remember if this is how Black Silk worked, but the slipping in and out of characters' minds here is the closest I have read to a free indirect discourse--she doesn't use it all the time and there are definitely Hannah Scenes and Nardi Scenes, but we jump into a bevy of characters' minds to hear their thoughts, sandwiched into between a more distant narration.
I was worried the whole book that Nardi was going to hurt Hannah, but I think this stemmed from a place of not trusting either of them. It is this pairing of a wastrel and a TSSL heroine (I hate this phrase!) that has its beats played out over and over again. But what Cuevas does so well is characterize the couple in each other's eyes/perspectives and have that not quite be right. I worried that Nardi would hurt Hannah because she was worried that he would, I thought that Hannah might be making decisions that would lead to anguish out of ignorance because that is what Nardi is worried about. Resolving those questions is where Cuevas finds narrative tension, more than even really internal conflict in the relationship. It is like structural conflict.
Incredible!
September 2, 2017
A very different romance!I wasn't sure how everything would work out at the end, but it did. I also found the characters unusual, the hero is a lost artist, lost in the world of his addictions. While the heroine seems to be spunky, full of dreams and in some ways lives in the clouds dreaming of a better life. I liked how these two discover reality and each other.
March 24, 2019
The prose of Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory is sublime. She manages to convey her heroin's feeling by the simple swishing a petticoat. Or how different the main characters' background is when the hero puts on his expensive and luxurious alpaca coat. It is masterful.
Hannah is an American of more modest origin who attracted to the lifestyle of high society, their people, money and beautiful things. She is bright, full of life and curiosity, but her enthusiasm sometimes makes other people underestimate her. Her taste are seen as too garish and not refined enough. For example, when she is hired as the the companion/assistant of an art antique dealer, Amelia Besom, and needs new clothes, she buys a much beloved colorful petticoat that makes swooshing sounds, to Amelia's disapproval. Amelia and Hannah travel to France to valuate the art collection in an old French castle.
Nardi is the younger brother of a noble French family. He is a talented sculptor who fell from favor and started drinking ether to numb his apprehensions and failures. In an effort to please his family, he agrees to marry a rich heiress so his family can regain the family's prized property: the chateau d'Aubrignon, the same castle where Hannah and Amelia's work is. Nardi possesses a luxurious Alpaca coat.
The characters are complex and relatable. Anyone who yearned understand art and to possess beautiful things can relate to Hannah. And Nardi is equally approachable. Who hasn't felt nervous about presenting their work? And crippled by critical reviews?
This book is in my top 5 best romance novels ever. Judy Cuevas is definitely the winner of my "best prose" award.
Hannah is an American of more modest origin who attracted to the lifestyle of high society, their people, money and beautiful things. She is bright, full of life and curiosity, but her enthusiasm sometimes makes other people underestimate her. Her taste are seen as too garish and not refined enough. For example, when she is hired as the the companion/assistant of an art antique dealer, Amelia Besom, and needs new clothes, she buys a much beloved colorful petticoat that makes swooshing sounds, to Amelia's disapproval. Amelia and Hannah travel to France to valuate the art collection in an old French castle.
Nardi is the younger brother of a noble French family. He is a talented sculptor who fell from favor and started drinking ether to numb his apprehensions and failures. In an effort to please his family, he agrees to marry a rich heiress so his family can regain the family's prized property: the chateau d'Aubrignon, the same castle where Hannah and Amelia's work is. Nardi possesses a luxurious Alpaca coat.
The characters are complex and relatable. Anyone who yearned understand art and to possess beautiful things can relate to Hannah. And Nardi is equally approachable. Who hasn't felt nervous about presenting their work? And crippled by critical reviews?
This book is in my top 5 best romance novels ever. Judy Cuevas is definitely the winner of my "best prose" award.
August 30, 2025
The first book in the series de Saint Vallier Brothers by Judy Cuevas. Unlike so many I was not in love with this book. It started slow for me and I kept going because of all the hype about it. I didn't totally hate it but I couldn't love it either.
October 5, 2015
Fans of Kinsale might very well like Cuevas/Ivory. It is lighter and more humorous but there is definitely some poetic prose and more than surface human interaction. Not quite as exceptional as Kinsale but very good. I even had to look up some words - always a plus to me.
Some flowery passages--
Struggling hero describes his love affair with ether consumption (apparently they did this as an alternative to alcohol - do not try this at home!)
"Sulfuric ether was sweet and hot, pungent and burning to the palate. It did not smell the least, to Nardi, of turpentine, but rather of large, white, oversweet flowers, fat, fleshy, prehistoric in their size and substance. He thought of these flowers as fringed, mouthed, and pistiled with sticky aroma, with pink-tipped, translucent styles and stigmas that moved in flower throats like beckoning fingers. Lush, languorously heavy, meltingly ephemeral, an indulgence to the New World tropics or an Old World greenhouse - something akin to night-blooming cereus. Ether, to him, was the nectar of such flowers, gathered and carried in the mouths of foot-long bumblebees, its aroma as old as Egypt, as modern as white walled hospitals, as personal and familiar as his own vague euphoric befuddlement."
Describing Hannah in an overgrown ancient butterfly garden on the castle grounds-
"Against the blue day, her image lit upon his eye, as splendidly colorful as the butterflies. It pleased Nardi to think of her in this way - her energy as swift as sailing as the swallowtails', and erratic and hypnotic as the flit-and-flutter of skippers. She was both as ordinary as orange tips and as exotically impossible as the monarchs that made their way here every year across the Atlantic. This was her spirit, a thousand butterflies of every category and variety, crossbred into one magnificent specimen. Lepidoptera Hannaeus."
Not all of it reads like this, so it's not overkill, just enough.
Like Kinsale she does a good job of developing characters - their relationships and their depth of knowledge of one another whether in friendship or romance. She also tackles the damaged hero who becomes more self aware or works to resolve issues - of course with the help of a strong and spirited but quirky woman.
Not your usual historical romance either in the that the heroine is a turn of the century pharmacist's daughter of dubious reputation from Miami and the hero an elegant but fallen once famous French sculptor. The setting is a dilapidated huge castle where many artistic treasures are discovered throughout its resurrection (part of Hannah's job is to help catalog and auction them - yes she is a working woman.)
Though there is some intimacy in this, it is not the focus and infrequent. The story does have some closure but seems also to be set for the next novel called Dance. This book was hard to find! Really just a fun and well written historical romance. My second Ivory - I will read more.
Some flowery passages--
Struggling hero describes his love affair with ether consumption (apparently they did this as an alternative to alcohol - do not try this at home!)
"Sulfuric ether was sweet and hot, pungent and burning to the palate. It did not smell the least, to Nardi, of turpentine, but rather of large, white, oversweet flowers, fat, fleshy, prehistoric in their size and substance. He thought of these flowers as fringed, mouthed, and pistiled with sticky aroma, with pink-tipped, translucent styles and stigmas that moved in flower throats like beckoning fingers. Lush, languorously heavy, meltingly ephemeral, an indulgence to the New World tropics or an Old World greenhouse - something akin to night-blooming cereus. Ether, to him, was the nectar of such flowers, gathered and carried in the mouths of foot-long bumblebees, its aroma as old as Egypt, as modern as white walled hospitals, as personal and familiar as his own vague euphoric befuddlement."
Describing Hannah in an overgrown ancient butterfly garden on the castle grounds-
"Against the blue day, her image lit upon his eye, as splendidly colorful as the butterflies. It pleased Nardi to think of her in this way - her energy as swift as sailing as the swallowtails', and erratic and hypnotic as the flit-and-flutter of skippers. She was both as ordinary as orange tips and as exotically impossible as the monarchs that made their way here every year across the Atlantic. This was her spirit, a thousand butterflies of every category and variety, crossbred into one magnificent specimen. Lepidoptera Hannaeus."
Not all of it reads like this, so it's not overkill, just enough.
Like Kinsale she does a good job of developing characters - their relationships and their depth of knowledge of one another whether in friendship or romance. She also tackles the damaged hero who becomes more self aware or works to resolve issues - of course with the help of a strong and spirited but quirky woman.
Not your usual historical romance either in the that the heroine is a turn of the century pharmacist's daughter of dubious reputation from Miami and the hero an elegant but fallen once famous French sculptor. The setting is a dilapidated huge castle where many artistic treasures are discovered throughout its resurrection (part of Hannah's job is to help catalog and auction them - yes she is a working woman.)
Though there is some intimacy in this, it is not the focus and infrequent. The story does have some closure but seems also to be set for the next novel called Dance. This book was hard to find! Really just a fun and well written historical romance. My second Ivory - I will read more.
July 21, 2025
4th read - no one else can transport and spear my insides like Judy MF Cuevas.
3rd read - utterly transcendent in all the ways
2nd read
“"Art," he said suddenly as they turned to a slide of the fiddle, "with the possible exception of our part in bringing forth new babies, is the only thing we do worthy of heaven. Everything else is drudgery. In every other regard, we are not different from the ants.”
Just to be contrary, Hannah said, "Love is what separates us from the ants."”
My review from Instagram copied below:
With only one book in her backlist left for me to read, I thought I knew what to expect when reading a Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory — the authentically drawn, layered and magnetic characters, breathtaking physicality, sensual and luscious settings and details (the clothes omg!), unconventional and riveting plotting, and luminous prose that as fellow Judy super fan @socarr says “makes you want to howl at the moon”. Almost every Judy book has made me laugh, cry, and swoon.
And yet with Bliss, Judy brought me to new heights and depths. I am overwhelmed just thinking what seems to be a thousand moments (see exhibit of my tabs) when her writing in this book just spoke to my soul and rocked me to my core. I’m not going to recap all of that nor summarize the plot or characters, though will encourage you to check CWs as there’s a lot of dark themes covered.
What I will attempt to share is why this absolutely transcendent, exquisite book has become THE ONE for me. At the core of Nardi and Hannah’s path to their happily ever after is a story about self worth — how arbitrary, devastating, and ultimately affirming it can be when they find love. I felt their struggle with it in my bones, in only the way Judy can incisively and precisely write their complex, paradoxical feelings and plot their journey in bold, brave, unconventional ways. That this is done within the backdrop of a crumbling French chateau and a story arc around art created a beautiful, unforgettable reading experience that swept me away.
I feel my words do not even come close to capturing how intensely and earth shatteringly Bliss has moved me. How immensely lucky I feel that this book exists and that I have read these astounding words by Judy Cuevas.
1st read
This has rocked me to my core, rearranged my lungs, kidneys, and entrails. Just omfg.
3rd read - utterly transcendent in all the ways
2nd read
“"Art," he said suddenly as they turned to a slide of the fiddle, "with the possible exception of our part in bringing forth new babies, is the only thing we do worthy of heaven. Everything else is drudgery. In every other regard, we are not different from the ants.”
Just to be contrary, Hannah said, "Love is what separates us from the ants."”
My review from Instagram copied below:
With only one book in her backlist left for me to read, I thought I knew what to expect when reading a Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory — the authentically drawn, layered and magnetic characters, breathtaking physicality, sensual and luscious settings and details (the clothes omg!), unconventional and riveting plotting, and luminous prose that as fellow Judy super fan @socarr says “makes you want to howl at the moon”. Almost every Judy book has made me laugh, cry, and swoon.
And yet with Bliss, Judy brought me to new heights and depths. I am overwhelmed just thinking what seems to be a thousand moments (see exhibit of my tabs) when her writing in this book just spoke to my soul and rocked me to my core. I’m not going to recap all of that nor summarize the plot or characters, though will encourage you to check CWs as there’s a lot of dark themes covered.
What I will attempt to share is why this absolutely transcendent, exquisite book has become THE ONE for me. At the core of Nardi and Hannah’s path to their happily ever after is a story about self worth — how arbitrary, devastating, and ultimately affirming it can be when they find love. I felt their struggle with it in my bones, in only the way Judy can incisively and precisely write their complex, paradoxical feelings and plot their journey in bold, brave, unconventional ways. That this is done within the backdrop of a crumbling French chateau and a story arc around art created a beautiful, unforgettable reading experience that swept me away.
I feel my words do not even come close to capturing how intensely and earth shatteringly Bliss has moved me. How immensely lucky I feel that this book exists and that I have read these astounding words by Judy Cuevas.
1st read
This has rocked me to my core, rearranged my lungs, kidneys, and entrails. Just omfg.
March 6, 2024
God. What a gorgeous gorgeous book.
May 8, 2018
She is so good. I love that Sebastien is nuanced, I must get my hands on that book, too.
May 25, 2020
Miami, FL and France 1903
Nardi: brilliant sculptor, ether drinker and addict, world-weary, aristocratic, French, handsome, disillusioned, has conviction and guts
Hannah-with-an-H: ruined reputation, American from Miami, impulsive, intelligent, beautiful, redhead
Nardi is resentful and disillusioned with everyone and everything. He no longer earns the acclaim of others, but their disdain. He no longer sculpts, he just stays belligerently under the influence of ether and spirits. He lands in the predicament of becoming a fiancé to a woman he doesn’t know in an arranged marriage in order to make his family happy and reclaim their family home.
Hannah arrives at Nardi’s family home to help appraise assets to be sold to finance repairs to the estate. She was reluctantly hired by the appraiser, Madam Besom as an assistant and companion even though she has no references and a terrible reputation.
Nardi is relegated to a cottage where he is guarded to ensure that he doesn’t relapse after being kicked out of a Swiss rehab facility.
Eventually their paths cross and Nardi is stirred by Hannah’s innocence and wit. He hasn’t felt anything for anyone in years.
This author is incredibly talented. The characters have such depth and you feel as if you know them well. I couldn’t put this book down. The prose is beautiful. The descriptive language transports you. There is a blend of light and dark. Should Hannah trust Nardi? Probably not, as he seems to be an irredeemable addict, but I adored Nardi. This book has such a satisfying HEA. Hannah does something quite unexpected.
I loved to hate Sebastian and his controlling, self-righteous antics but I look forward to reading his story next, if I can find it.
Nardi: brilliant sculptor, ether drinker and addict, world-weary, aristocratic, French, handsome, disillusioned, has conviction and guts
Hannah-with-an-H: ruined reputation, American from Miami, impulsive, intelligent, beautiful, redhead
Nardi is resentful and disillusioned with everyone and everything. He no longer earns the acclaim of others, but their disdain. He no longer sculpts, he just stays belligerently under the influence of ether and spirits. He lands in the predicament of becoming a fiancé to a woman he doesn’t know in an arranged marriage in order to make his family happy and reclaim their family home.
Hannah arrives at Nardi’s family home to help appraise assets to be sold to finance repairs to the estate. She was reluctantly hired by the appraiser, Madam Besom as an assistant and companion even though she has no references and a terrible reputation.
Nardi is relegated to a cottage where he is guarded to ensure that he doesn’t relapse after being kicked out of a Swiss rehab facility.
Eventually their paths cross and Nardi is stirred by Hannah’s innocence and wit. He hasn’t felt anything for anyone in years.
This author is incredibly talented. The characters have such depth and you feel as if you know them well. I couldn’t put this book down. The prose is beautiful. The descriptive language transports you. There is a blend of light and dark. Should Hannah trust Nardi? Probably not, as he seems to be an irredeemable addict, but I adored Nardi. This book has such a satisfying HEA. Hannah does something quite unexpected.
I loved to hate Sebastian and his controlling, self-righteous antics but I look forward to reading his story next, if I can find it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2019
5 Stars
My one thought as I started reading this book was, "I hope it's worth the work it took to find an available copy!" Happily, it was. Bliss was a refreshing change and while written over 20 years ago, the writing style never felt dated. In fact, I can say it was impeccable compared to some of the mass market HR's currently being released. I'm not sure that I've read many "turn of the century" (1903) HR's, but I really enjoyed this time period and the France setting. Convincingly, the author depicted the contrast between liberal-minded Europe and the fierce hold on Victorian societal dictates within the U.S. upper-crust very well. This division in mind-set was a significant component of the story and romance.
Unwilling to share her scandalous past, Hannah retreats to France from the U.S. with a haughty new employer from the art world. It's in France where she meets and befriends the emotionally broken and forcefully isolated artist, Bernard (Nardi.) Hannah relishes her new position and her friendship. Nardi doesn't judge her or hold her to an impossible standard. I absolutely loved the evolution of this couple's relationship and Nardi's recovery which was hastened by Hannah's indomitable and encouraging personality. Their honesty with each other was a comforting shift compared to the common misunderstanding in a lot of romance. When conflict arose and options were presented, the character motivations and indecision were believable. Neither Nardi or Hannah were perfect or even likable 100% of the time, but it never stopped me from caring for them. I also enjoyed how steadfast Nardi was in his life choices, regardless of when they weren't the healthiest.
The luscious prose, honest dialogue, and authentic characterizations set this classic romance apart from so many others. I loved every minute of it!
February 25, 2010
Not going to do a huge review. I do want to say that it took a long time to read this book. Not because it was a slog or that it was slow or anything, because that is definitely not the case. But because Cuevas' prose is really, really lovely, you really need to pay attention to her writing and her words. She takes her time with the story/plot. Instead you really get immersed in the characters and their sense of time and place.
I loved how very unconventional (for historical romance) her characters were, Nardi in particular. I honestly believe if she tried to pitch this story today they'd make her change him. Also the romance and connection between Hannah and Nardi leapt off the page.
I drop a star because, while I did enjoy the book and appreciate it for it's technical excellence, it didn't transport me like a 5-star book should. And really, if the writing wasn't as good as it was I'd drop even another star. And i wanted more for the ending.
But I can and do fervently recommend this one.
I loved how very unconventional (for historical romance) her characters were, Nardi in particular. I honestly believe if she tried to pitch this story today they'd make her change him. Also the romance and connection between Hannah and Nardi leapt off the page.
I drop a star because, while I did enjoy the book and appreciate it for it's technical excellence, it didn't transport me like a 5-star book should. And really, if the writing wasn't as good as it was I'd drop even another star. And i wanted more for the ending.
But I can and do fervently recommend this one.
January 1, 2013
4.5 stars
This took me a LOOONNGG time to finish...not sure why. Judy Cuevas aka Judith Ivory writes beautifully (I've read
and
and so far, The Proposition is my favorite). One thing that may be a drawback is all the French used, while generally translated, it was still quite daunting to someone who speaks no French. I did the best I could with it and enjoyed it, for the most part. Also, the middle of the book dragged. The last 100 pages were the best and I didn't know how this was going to work out; I was truly surprised at the ending.
This is the story of Nardi de Saint Vallier - a Frenchman, artist, ether addict, on the cusp of marriage to a wealthy woman to save his family from financial ruin - and Hannah Van Evan - a young American woman, with a tainted reputation, working for an American art dealer/seller. Both of them were flawed - him more outwardly because of his addiction and her more inwardly because of how she felt about herself and the mistakes she made .
Funny thing about love and marriage: whatever your ideas are going into it, your reality is another thing altogether. Hannah's thoughts on this: Hannah was coming to understand that not only was Nardi not exactly as she had imagined, love itself was different from what she'd thought. The emotion she felt for him was almost frightening; it felt tenuous, not at all solid, not even precisely definable. There were times when she wished for her old dreams back, when material accomplishment seemed so certain, so graspable. Living with and loving, her dear, funny, talented, handsome husband was like living perpetually three feet off the ground, while looking down endlessly, fretting over the loss of gravity. It was a time of flux for Hannah, a time when she knew herself to be caught in the unsettling hiatus between an old life and a new one.
Being an addict to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography - can have devastating effects on the person suffering with the addiction and everyone they live with and interact with - and one of the effects the addict seeks is a numbness. The numbness to dull whatever pains them. Nardi used ether and other substances, which rendered him incapable of true human interactions and love - a basic human need. Even though a young man, he was even impotent from his drug use. His life was basically over even though he was still alive. His recovery was amazing. Nardi's thoughts on life: Nardi felt like a man coming out of a coma. His emotional existence, like his awakened sexuality, both long thought anesthetized into a permanent numbness, proved to have been merely quiescent, unused, uncalled upon, until now. It wasn't just a matter of feeling alive. Nardi was happy. Nardi could hardly remember what had driven him into exile from himself, into the swamp, the land of ether and forgetfulness. It was there, he knew. A place he didn't want to go. A miasma of unsorted feelings, half-forgotten events, resentments, unresolved umbrages and offense. But he wouldn't think about it now. Nardi was too content with Hannah and the pleasure of refound productivity. His days were filled with satisfying work. His senses were filled with the woman beside him, with whom he settled in, forever so far as he was concerned, to live as happily ever after as possible - which certainly seemed forever in the limbo reality of a nursery-rhyme cottage at the edge of a fairy-tale castle.
So while I didn't give this 5 stars, it is an excellent story and I recommend it to any of Ms. Cuevas' fans. Through my library system, I was able to borrow this - it's very hard to find.
This took me a LOOONNGG time to finish...not sure why. Judy Cuevas aka Judith Ivory writes beautifully (I've read
and
and so far, The Proposition is my favorite). One thing that may be a drawback is all the French used, while generally translated, it was still quite daunting to someone who speaks no French. I did the best I could with it and enjoyed it, for the most part. Also, the middle of the book dragged. The last 100 pages were the best and I didn't know how this was going to work out; I was truly surprised at the ending.This is the story of Nardi de Saint Vallier - a Frenchman, artist, ether addict, on the cusp of marriage to a wealthy woman to save his family from financial ruin - and Hannah Van Evan - a young American woman, with a tainted reputation, working for an American art dealer/seller. Both of them were flawed - him more outwardly because of his addiction and her more inwardly because of how she felt about herself and the mistakes she made .
Funny thing about love and marriage: whatever your ideas are going into it, your reality is another thing altogether. Hannah's thoughts on this: Hannah was coming to understand that not only was Nardi not exactly as she had imagined, love itself was different from what she'd thought. The emotion she felt for him was almost frightening; it felt tenuous, not at all solid, not even precisely definable. There were times when she wished for her old dreams back, when material accomplishment seemed so certain, so graspable. Living with and loving, her dear, funny, talented, handsome husband was like living perpetually three feet off the ground, while looking down endlessly, fretting over the loss of gravity. It was a time of flux for Hannah, a time when she knew herself to be caught in the unsettling hiatus between an old life and a new one.
Being an addict to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography - can have devastating effects on the person suffering with the addiction and everyone they live with and interact with - and one of the effects the addict seeks is a numbness. The numbness to dull whatever pains them. Nardi used ether and other substances, which rendered him incapable of true human interactions and love - a basic human need. Even though a young man, he was even impotent from his drug use. His life was basically over even though he was still alive. His recovery was amazing. Nardi's thoughts on life: Nardi felt like a man coming out of a coma. His emotional existence, like his awakened sexuality, both long thought anesthetized into a permanent numbness, proved to have been merely quiescent, unused, uncalled upon, until now. It wasn't just a matter of feeling alive. Nardi was happy. Nardi could hardly remember what had driven him into exile from himself, into the swamp, the land of ether and forgetfulness. It was there, he knew. A place he didn't want to go. A miasma of unsorted feelings, half-forgotten events, resentments, unresolved umbrages and offense. But he wouldn't think about it now. Nardi was too content with Hannah and the pleasure of refound productivity. His days were filled with satisfying work. His senses were filled with the woman beside him, with whom he settled in, forever so far as he was concerned, to live as happily ever after as possible - which certainly seemed forever in the limbo reality of a nursery-rhyme cottage at the edge of a fairy-tale castle.
So while I didn't give this 5 stars, it is an excellent story and I recommend it to any of Ms. Cuevas' fans. Through my library system, I was able to borrow this - it's very hard to find.
September 27, 2021
I'm not sure how to rate this book, to be honest. I believe it's the second or third Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory novel I've read. Her prose is so beautiful and lush without becoming purple. The way she sketches her characters and portrays their actions is nuanced and the manner in which she arranges and balances her sentences--it's total euphony. She isn't just slapping words on a page; there seems to be intention behind every word. This novel, in particular, was just beautifully written.
But, and I'm sure you saw a "but" coming, I just didn't find the romance itself that compelling. I got to around the 40-50% mark and realized I cared about the characters as individuals, they were intriguing and not at all cookie cutter, but I was pretty apathetic about their relationship. I literally did the Joy Behar 'so what, who cares?' shrug at one point while reading this.
I think, perhaps, I walked into this with my expectations too high as Meredith Duran said this is her favorite historical romance ever and Laura Kinsale has a blurb on the front cover. I eventually began to root for the couple, but they never really gave me all the feels. They don't even meet until one-quarter of the way into the novel, which made the first 100 pages or so feel like a beautifully rendered but too-long prologue.
I read historical romances pretty compulsively and can easily finish one in a day or two, but this one took me a good deal longer than normal. I feel so conflicted. I found it a worthwhile read just for the lovely writing, but the story itself was not to my taste. I'll still keep reading this author's novels. I adored The Proposition.
3.5 stars
But, and I'm sure you saw a "but" coming, I just didn't find the romance itself that compelling. I got to around the 40-50% mark and realized I cared about the characters as individuals, they were intriguing and not at all cookie cutter, but I was pretty apathetic about their relationship. I literally did the Joy Behar 'so what, who cares?' shrug at one point while reading this.
I think, perhaps, I walked into this with my expectations too high as Meredith Duran said this is her favorite historical romance ever and Laura Kinsale has a blurb on the front cover. I eventually began to root for the couple, but they never really gave me all the feels. They don't even meet until one-quarter of the way into the novel, which made the first 100 pages or so feel like a beautifully rendered but too-long prologue.
I read historical romances pretty compulsively and can easily finish one in a day or two, but this one took me a good deal longer than normal. I feel so conflicted. I found it a worthwhile read just for the lovely writing, but the story itself was not to my taste. I'll still keep reading this author's novels. I adored The Proposition.
3.5 stars
May 20, 2010
I've never read anything like this before!!!!!
Nardi de Saint Vallier is a "burned out" French sculptor. He is ether addicted and is destroying himself. Hannah is a "ruined" woman who has come to France as the companion to an art dealer. Hannah and Nardi meet on the grounds of an old French chateau as Nardi is being "watched" as he "detoxifies" and Hannah is helping her employer look through the old, worn down chateau looking for anything that could be auctioned off. This is the backdrop for this unusual and very compelling romance.
Judy Cuevas uses the French language brilliantly and "sounds it out" so that the reader can actually "hear" how Nardi sounds....it's brilliant. The setting, the time, the plot, the characters....everything moves together at the right pace and this book never gets boring.
Nardi's "disintoxication" is something to behold, and Hannah's help in this process speaks to the power that we have in the lives of the people who love us. The ending is far to abrupt, but this book will captivate you. I loved it and don't regret the cash it took to secure my own copy!
Nardi de Saint Vallier is a "burned out" French sculptor. He is ether addicted and is destroying himself. Hannah is a "ruined" woman who has come to France as the companion to an art dealer. Hannah and Nardi meet on the grounds of an old French chateau as Nardi is being "watched" as he "detoxifies" and Hannah is helping her employer look through the old, worn down chateau looking for anything that could be auctioned off. This is the backdrop for this unusual and very compelling romance.
Judy Cuevas uses the French language brilliantly and "sounds it out" so that the reader can actually "hear" how Nardi sounds....it's brilliant. The setting, the time, the plot, the characters....everything moves together at the right pace and this book never gets boring.
Nardi's "disintoxication" is something to behold, and Hannah's help in this process speaks to the power that we have in the lives of the people who love us. The ending is far to abrupt, but this book will captivate you. I loved it and don't regret the cash it took to secure my own copy!
March 9, 2014
The start of the book was intriguing and Cuevas writing was rather captivating. I love Nardi as the all too human hero, battling his demons and his self-serving family members. Hannah appeared initially as a sunny, intelligent and irrepressible energy source, but turned out to be this impulsive, immature creature with rather loose morals for someone from her era, all too willing to go the distance with any attractive rich male in sight. What's worse was that she was completely unapologetic about her past actions and felt herself unjustly labelled by others. Even Nardi could not understand her justifications for her casual sexual part encounters. As for Sebastian, Nardi's brother, who is supposed to be the hero in the next book, he was arrogant and totalitarian in enforcing Nardi's rehabilitation. It was less for the good of his brother, than for the greater good and greed of the family. Too many awful shallow people!
April 8, 2020
"Words thrill me. I collect them. Some I save and fondle, just
waiting for that day when I will need just this specific word to
get a point across." (Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas interview
with Margaret Fraser "Florida Romance Writers newsletter 1996.)
"Bliss" was written in 1995 by Judy Cuevas (later Judith Ivory), her second novel. I read my first Judith Ivory book in 2009 so I was VERY late to this party, but it only took one book for me to realize that this author had something very special in the way she puts words together. And, really, that's what a book is - just words strung together to make an image, express an idea, get a point across. While most anyone can do this, only a few writers can do it in such a way that the story lingers long past the final page, the last word, that last image. Even more significant, most of the authors who can do this cannot do this consistently, hitting that magic spot dead center sometimes but missing the mark at other times. However, that's why Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas books are beyond special. Every single one of them is unique, just simply unforgettable. It's understandable that, indeed, "words do thrill" her and, in turn, thrill the lucky reader who opens up one of these gems.
What's so special about "Bliss"? Well, how many books have you read that were set in France? At a ramshackle chateau? In the Normandy countryside? In 1903? Not many, I'd wager. I know from reading blogs and review sites that there are lots of readers, like me, who wonder why most historicals today are set in jolly old England and why there aren't more diverse settings. The chateau in "Bliss" is not just a backdrop for Hannah Van Evan, Nardi de Saint Vallier, and the other characters. It is almost as much a character, albeit an ethereal magical one, as the de Saint Valliers, Amelia Besom, and Nardi's bodyguards. The chateau and its treasures are perhaps the only things Sebastien holds dear - more dear than his wife, his children, perhaps even more than loves his brother, Nardi. Because it is the reclamation of the chateau that motivates all of Sebastien's actions in "Bliss". Sebastien's single-minded pursuit of having the chateau back where it belongs - under the control of the de Saint Vallier family in general and his control specifically - is comparable to a man in pursuit of a woman as lover, mistress, or wife. He will stop at nothing to ensure he meets this goal. It is his raison d'être.
Hannah's first awe-struck glimpse of the chateau adds to the feeling of the chateau's presence as more than just a building.
"The road turned again, narrowing, the boughs of trees folding into each other overhead until the roadway became a kind of tunnel and the leaves above became a deep, vaulted ceiling. It was at the end of this, in an open square of sunlight, that Hannah caught her first glimpse of the Chateau d'Aubrignon.
It appeared in the opening of the trees, a composition of rosé-colored bricks interspersed with quoined geometric patterns of white eggstone, the whole perspective peering from behind a bramble garden that rose in front of the building. Hannah's preoccupied glance became full interest." (48)
The chateau is three stories high, with French windows, "a steep mansard roof" and "[t]here, ahead of her in the widening aperture, Hannah watched the amazing place expand, bend, turn." (49) Oh please let this be a real place and please let me be fortunate enough to see it some day. I almost understand Sebastien's obsession with the chateau just from this description alone.
But it's not just the setting and time that make "Bliss" stand out. There are characters, my friends, characters that feel as real and three-dimensional as you or I. Not. One. Single. Solitary. Cookie. Cutter. Character. Not one. And not one Duke, Earl, Marquess, or Baron can be found here either. Alleluia!
First, there's Hannah Van Evan. She's American, a former housekeeper to a socially elite family in Miami who cannot forget her poor beginnings. Her father was a pharmacist who grew and sold weed as a"miracle energy tonic". (220) As Nardi says, "Monsieur Van Evan had been quite a character and something of a charlatan." (221) Hannah's mother left her father when she was two, leaving only four sterling silver teaspoons which Hannah and her father used to fish for barracuda. Hannah is smart, very ambitious, obsessed with money and material things, and has a weakness for beautiful things and beautiful young men. Her predilection for young men is the reason she was known as "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven" in Miami and could be seen almost as addicting as ether is for Nardi.
"She never seemed to know what hit her until she was bowling along
in a carriage with the young Mr. Stanton all over her. Or in a dark
hallway off a hotel restaurant wiggling up against Michael O'Hare.
Or on a beach with Aubrey Winfield. Or on a sailboat with James
Lee Vandermeer." (103)
Bernard de Saint Vallier, aka Nardi, was raised in wealth and privilege, was once the wunderkind of the art world whose sculptures were hailed as genius. To Nardi, if you love his art, you love HIM. He and his work were one and the same. His sculptures were how he placed value on himself. To calm him before a showing, he was given cocaine and morphine which didn't help at all. Finally, Sebastien, his brother, gave him ether which did help to calm him without causing him to bounce off the walls or just pass out. Ether made Nardi "pleasantly drunk and wore off quickly." (243)
When Nardi's sculptures began to receive nasty criticisms, Nardi was not able to handle it. So he began to drink ether to anesthetize himself to the pain of rejection. Soon that was all he did. He stopped creating art, he stopped caring about anything beyond his next bottle of ether. He explains to Hannah:
"Hannah, the private part-creation and how I feel about what I made-
and the public part-showing it, selling it-well, I have never been able
to put these comfortably together. (...) In my irrational moments,
though, this commerce makes of my nerves, eh, en pelote, eh,
comme, like a ball of wool, all tangled, tight, for fear prices, attention,
these external things mean something, that people like me-or don't.
My art, even old things I have done, I am afraid would still seem too
much a part of me. For my own safety, I don't let any of it matter any
longer." (239)
Nardi likes Hannah but doesn't know why, and she feels the same. However, when she attempts to "fix" Nardi, he angrily tells her:
"You cannot fix me. I am the devil himself when it comes to people
trying to. (...) I don't let people make me over. I fight them if they try.
And I fight without rules." (171)
How does Ms. Cuevas make what appears to be an ambitious would-be gold digger into a heroine I really loved? How does she make Nardi, a liar, a manipulator, a man so needy that any criticism sends him scurrying for a bottle or two or four of ether? She made them human with all of the good and the bad. Hannah is not just "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven". She graduated first in her class at a local girls' school. She is determined, charming, smart, and genuinely cares about people. She is MORE than her sordid past. She took action to ensure that she did not trade love for social position, wealth, and a nice house. And Nardi is charming, sexy (after all he is French), and completely honest with himself regarding his flaws.
"He had some sterling qualities. (He was a wonderful liar, which made
for good stories. He was a sharp at cards, which made him fun to
beat when they could. And of course he could drink ether, in
quantities that would have anesthetized a battalion of legionnaires,
and still remain standing. He was always a good drinking companion,
he had a hollow leg.) But in all his years, he could never remember
liking himself better than he had for his youthful renown, his public
success at age twenty." (131)
Beyond an unusual time and setting, and characters who I felt could step out of the pages of this book, there's also the writing style of Ms. Cuevas all of which make "Bliss" my all-time favorite book. There are no euphemisms in the sex scenes, and there is no purple prose anywhere in this book. She writes crisply and clearly and beautifully. She doesn't write down to her readers. There are passages that are so funny I laughed out loud. For example, Hannah and Nardi's conversation about how superior all things French are.
"'Everything enduring is French. Everything good in life. Food, style,
art, poetry' he raised one brow - 'love.' He put on a clowny
smugness. 'We invented love, of course.'" (213)
Or Hannah's disgust with Sebastien's suggestion that she be very nice to Nardi. She is angry and thinks if
"she had been a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, she would
have grabbed him by his natty shirtfront as he passed, jerked him
over the door of his jaunty little caleche, and thrown him summarily
on the ground, where she would have pummeled him until he
couldn't stand up in his shiny-toed, hand-tooled oxfords." (207)
There are those that I read and re-read because I was just dumbstruck. Like the passage in which Nardi is relating how far he has fallen:
"Ah, Celebrity, my old darling, he thought. Nardi sighed. For he knew:
He had taken up with Intoxication and Notoriety, old bastard girls that
they were, strictly for the sake of their being half-sisters to the one
whom he had loved who had left him behind." (131)
The love story, the romance, between Hannah and Nardi is one of the best I have ever read. They become friends before jumping into bed. Nardi's fascination with Hannah was funny, sexy, and riveting. The epilogue is short but poignant as it is a letter to Hannah from Nardi while he is completing work in Italy. I know that they are happy and together. I know that Nardi is sculpting again and receiving some acclaim. More importantly, the epilogue, though very short, communicates how living happily ever after is an ongoing process. He still struggles with his need for praise, but he and Hannah are working together to ensure they are happy. I believe in this HEA.
I read "Bliss" once, and immediately re-read it and then a third time. Each time I read it, I still felt the same wonderful feeling from the first reading. "Bliss" worked for me on all levels. It is beyond sad that Ms. Cuevas/Ms. Ivory is no longer writing. This, this is the way historical romances should be written, and no one does it better.
waiting for that day when I will need just this specific word to
get a point across." (Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas interview
with Margaret Fraser "Florida Romance Writers newsletter 1996.)
"Bliss" was written in 1995 by Judy Cuevas (later Judith Ivory), her second novel. I read my first Judith Ivory book in 2009 so I was VERY late to this party, but it only took one book for me to realize that this author had something very special in the way she puts words together. And, really, that's what a book is - just words strung together to make an image, express an idea, get a point across. While most anyone can do this, only a few writers can do it in such a way that the story lingers long past the final page, the last word, that last image. Even more significant, most of the authors who can do this cannot do this consistently, hitting that magic spot dead center sometimes but missing the mark at other times. However, that's why Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas books are beyond special. Every single one of them is unique, just simply unforgettable. It's understandable that, indeed, "words do thrill" her and, in turn, thrill the lucky reader who opens up one of these gems.
What's so special about "Bliss"? Well, how many books have you read that were set in France? At a ramshackle chateau? In the Normandy countryside? In 1903? Not many, I'd wager. I know from reading blogs and review sites that there are lots of readers, like me, who wonder why most historicals today are set in jolly old England and why there aren't more diverse settings. The chateau in "Bliss" is not just a backdrop for Hannah Van Evan, Nardi de Saint Vallier, and the other characters. It is almost as much a character, albeit an ethereal magical one, as the de Saint Valliers, Amelia Besom, and Nardi's bodyguards. The chateau and its treasures are perhaps the only things Sebastien holds dear - more dear than his wife, his children, perhaps even more than loves his brother, Nardi. Because it is the reclamation of the chateau that motivates all of Sebastien's actions in "Bliss". Sebastien's single-minded pursuit of having the chateau back where it belongs - under the control of the de Saint Vallier family in general and his control specifically - is comparable to a man in pursuit of a woman as lover, mistress, or wife. He will stop at nothing to ensure he meets this goal. It is his raison d'être.
Hannah's first awe-struck glimpse of the chateau adds to the feeling of the chateau's presence as more than just a building.
"The road turned again, narrowing, the boughs of trees folding into each other overhead until the roadway became a kind of tunnel and the leaves above became a deep, vaulted ceiling. It was at the end of this, in an open square of sunlight, that Hannah caught her first glimpse of the Chateau d'Aubrignon.
It appeared in the opening of the trees, a composition of rosé-colored bricks interspersed with quoined geometric patterns of white eggstone, the whole perspective peering from behind a bramble garden that rose in front of the building. Hannah's preoccupied glance became full interest." (48)
The chateau is three stories high, with French windows, "a steep mansard roof" and "[t]here, ahead of her in the widening aperture, Hannah watched the amazing place expand, bend, turn." (49) Oh please let this be a real place and please let me be fortunate enough to see it some day. I almost understand Sebastien's obsession with the chateau just from this description alone.
But it's not just the setting and time that make "Bliss" stand out. There are characters, my friends, characters that feel as real and three-dimensional as you or I. Not. One. Single. Solitary. Cookie. Cutter. Character. Not one. And not one Duke, Earl, Marquess, or Baron can be found here either. Alleluia!
First, there's Hannah Van Evan. She's American, a former housekeeper to a socially elite family in Miami who cannot forget her poor beginnings. Her father was a pharmacist who grew and sold weed as a"miracle energy tonic". (220) As Nardi says, "Monsieur Van Evan had been quite a character and something of a charlatan." (221) Hannah's mother left her father when she was two, leaving only four sterling silver teaspoons which Hannah and her father used to fish for barracuda. Hannah is smart, very ambitious, obsessed with money and material things, and has a weakness for beautiful things and beautiful young men. Her predilection for young men is the reason she was known as "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven" in Miami and could be seen almost as addicting as ether is for Nardi.
"She never seemed to know what hit her until she was bowling along
in a carriage with the young Mr. Stanton all over her. Or in a dark
hallway off a hotel restaurant wiggling up against Michael O'Hare.
Or on a beach with Aubrey Winfield. Or on a sailboat with James
Lee Vandermeer." (103)
Bernard de Saint Vallier, aka Nardi, was raised in wealth and privilege, was once the wunderkind of the art world whose sculptures were hailed as genius. To Nardi, if you love his art, you love HIM. He and his work were one and the same. His sculptures were how he placed value on himself. To calm him before a showing, he was given cocaine and morphine which didn't help at all. Finally, Sebastien, his brother, gave him ether which did help to calm him without causing him to bounce off the walls or just pass out. Ether made Nardi "pleasantly drunk and wore off quickly." (243)
When Nardi's sculptures began to receive nasty criticisms, Nardi was not able to handle it. So he began to drink ether to anesthetize himself to the pain of rejection. Soon that was all he did. He stopped creating art, he stopped caring about anything beyond his next bottle of ether. He explains to Hannah:
"Hannah, the private part-creation and how I feel about what I made-
and the public part-showing it, selling it-well, I have never been able
to put these comfortably together. (...) In my irrational moments,
though, this commerce makes of my nerves, eh, en pelote, eh,
comme, like a ball of wool, all tangled, tight, for fear prices, attention,
these external things mean something, that people like me-or don't.
My art, even old things I have done, I am afraid would still seem too
much a part of me. For my own safety, I don't let any of it matter any
longer." (239)
Nardi likes Hannah but doesn't know why, and she feels the same. However, when she attempts to "fix" Nardi, he angrily tells her:
"You cannot fix me. I am the devil himself when it comes to people
trying to. (...) I don't let people make me over. I fight them if they try.
And I fight without rules." (171)
How does Ms. Cuevas make what appears to be an ambitious would-be gold digger into a heroine I really loved? How does she make Nardi, a liar, a manipulator, a man so needy that any criticism sends him scurrying for a bottle or two or four of ether? She made them human with all of the good and the bad. Hannah is not just "Miss Seven Minutes of Heaven". She graduated first in her class at a local girls' school. She is determined, charming, smart, and genuinely cares about people. She is MORE than her sordid past. She took action to ensure that she did not trade love for social position, wealth, and a nice house. And Nardi is charming, sexy (after all he is French), and completely honest with himself regarding his flaws.
"He had some sterling qualities. (He was a wonderful liar, which made
for good stories. He was a sharp at cards, which made him fun to
beat when they could. And of course he could drink ether, in
quantities that would have anesthetized a battalion of legionnaires,
and still remain standing. He was always a good drinking companion,
he had a hollow leg.) But in all his years, he could never remember
liking himself better than he had for his youthful renown, his public
success at age twenty." (131)
Beyond an unusual time and setting, and characters who I felt could step out of the pages of this book, there's also the writing style of Ms. Cuevas all of which make "Bliss" my all-time favorite book. There are no euphemisms in the sex scenes, and there is no purple prose anywhere in this book. She writes crisply and clearly and beautifully. She doesn't write down to her readers. There are passages that are so funny I laughed out loud. For example, Hannah and Nardi's conversation about how superior all things French are.
"'Everything enduring is French. Everything good in life. Food, style,
art, poetry' he raised one brow - 'love.' He put on a clowny
smugness. 'We invented love, of course.'" (213)
Or Hannah's disgust with Sebastien's suggestion that she be very nice to Nardi. She is angry and thinks if
"she had been a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, she would
have grabbed him by his natty shirtfront as he passed, jerked him
over the door of his jaunty little caleche, and thrown him summarily
on the ground, where she would have pummeled him until he
couldn't stand up in his shiny-toed, hand-tooled oxfords." (207)
There are those that I read and re-read because I was just dumbstruck. Like the passage in which Nardi is relating how far he has fallen:
"Ah, Celebrity, my old darling, he thought. Nardi sighed. For he knew:
He had taken up with Intoxication and Notoriety, old bastard girls that
they were, strictly for the sake of their being half-sisters to the one
whom he had loved who had left him behind." (131)
The love story, the romance, between Hannah and Nardi is one of the best I have ever read. They become friends before jumping into bed. Nardi's fascination with Hannah was funny, sexy, and riveting. The epilogue is short but poignant as it is a letter to Hannah from Nardi while he is completing work in Italy. I know that they are happy and together. I know that Nardi is sculpting again and receiving some acclaim. More importantly, the epilogue, though very short, communicates how living happily ever after is an ongoing process. He still struggles with his need for praise, but he and Hannah are working together to ensure they are happy. I believe in this HEA.
I read "Bliss" once, and immediately re-read it and then a third time. Each time I read it, I still felt the same wonderful feeling from the first reading. "Bliss" worked for me on all levels. It is beyond sad that Ms. Cuevas/Ms. Ivory is no longer writing. This, this is the way historical romances should be written, and no one does it better.
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