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No Better Angels #1
The Secret Heart
She’s a fortune-hunter. He’s nobody’s prey.
Adam, Earl of Bexley, lives to work. His only relief is the sordid savagery of bare-knuckle boxing. Not women, and definitely not a disreputable, scheming woman who dances in secret with such passion…
Caro Small is desperate to escape her selfish family. Her only chance is a good marriage, and she intends to marry Adam—whether he likes it or not. But the more she schemes to entrap him, the more she risks trapping her own heart.
Adam won’t be caught by a fortune-hunter’s ambitious schemes. But the vulnerable, passionate woman underneath the plots might just bring him to his knees.
Adam, Earl of Bexley, lives to work. His only relief is the sordid savagery of bare-knuckle boxing. Not women, and definitely not a disreputable, scheming woman who dances in secret with such passion…
Caro Small is desperate to escape her selfish family. Her only chance is a good marriage, and she intends to marry Adam—whether he likes it or not. But the more she schemes to entrap him, the more she risks trapping her own heart.
Adam won’t be caught by a fortune-hunter’s ambitious schemes. But the vulnerable, passionate woman underneath the plots might just bring him to his knees.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2014
370 people are currently reading
1474 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
September 20, 2023
Not my favourite book in this series. I have read them out of order, so at least this one provided some more background for characters I've met in Bks 3 and 4. But, personal taste, I have very little interest in boxing themes for romance novels. I've read a few, but even when the romance is nice, I dislike the boxing scenes. I'm also not really a fan of ballet dancer heroines (not sure why LOL), so this aspect didn't really interest me that much either. I did appreciate the complexity of the characters though. Ms Satie does not write your usual cliche HR.
I also did not enjoy the family dynamics in this one. Adam's father is simply horrible - manipulative and power-hungry with no conscience. There were some other unpleasant secondary characters too, such as the charmless Matthew. OK, but my preferred romance reads spend more page time on the developing romance and less on the mean guys and their horrid antics.
Overall I really like Ms Satie's writing style, and I'm sad to read she has given up writing HR (as of her blog post March 2023). But while this particular book for me is not a fav of hers, it was still worth the read, and I will go on and read Bk 2, The Lover's Knot, the only one in this series I haven't yet read.
I also did not enjoy the family dynamics in this one. Adam's father is simply horrible - manipulative and power-hungry with no conscience. There were some other unpleasant secondary characters too, such as the charmless Matthew. OK, but my preferred romance reads spend more page time on the developing romance and less on the mean guys and their horrid antics.
Overall I really like Ms Satie's writing style, and I'm sad to read she has given up writing HR (as of her blog post March 2023). But while this particular book for me is not a fav of hers, it was still worth the read, and I will go on and read Bk 2, The Lover's Knot, the only one in this series I haven't yet read.
December 10, 2014
I'm one of those who are not too happy about the state of historical romance. I've got a few authors on my autobuy (Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas, Cecilia Grant, a few old favourites like Connie Brockway and Mary Balogh), but it's been at least a couple of years since I've discovered a new author I could add to my autobuy list. All this year, several of us on twitter have informally agreed to read and review at least one historical a month, but none of the new authors that has spurred me to try have really worked out. Until now.
The Secret Heart is exactly the kind of historical romance I have found difficult to find. It features complex and challenging (some might even say 'unlikeable') characters who have passions in their lives outside of their romance, which is something I find lacking in so many books.
Caroline Small's passion is ballet. She fell in love with it when her disreputable father installed his ballerina mistress as her governess. Caro doesn't aspire to perform; it's the dancing itself that fulfils her. And to keep her craft at the level she needs it to be, she must practice every day, even when visiting her friend Daphne at her uncle the Duke of Hastings' country estate.
It is when returning from her clandestine practice session that she runs into Adam, who's Earl of Bexley and heir to the dukedom. Adam is out in the middle of the night because he was doing something a bit clandestine himself. He boxes. Boxing was quite common amongst gentlemen (if you've read historical romance for any length of time, you'll have read about countless heroes who box at Gentleman Jackson's), but what Adam does is way beyond that. He trains like a proper athlete (to the point of observing a strict diet to keep his weight down) and he fights incognito in meetings frequented by the navvies building the nearby railway.
As they start getting to know each other (including sharing what it was they were each doing out at night quite early in the relationship, which I found refreshing) Caro sees her chance. See, her father and two older brothers gamble away any money that comes into the house and are slowly but surely destroying any chance of Caroline being considered respectable and making a good match. Worse, her younger brother's schooling keeps getting put off whenever money runs low. Caro needs to marry well, and she needs to marry soon. Bexley is the perfect candidate. He's well-off, aristocratic, clearly attracted to Caro and Caro is attracted to him. She coolly decides she will target him. And she does.
I really enjoyed this. There is a lot to these characters. They have real lives and personalities, and I could understand perfectly how and why they connected as they did. They're not perfect; they have their flaws, and they are self-aware enough to recognise them. I also loved the depth of the writing, especially in the world-building. Where so many historical romance authors just gloss over what they assume is hyper-familiar territory for their readers, Satie really digs in. She clearly has thought about how things would feel and look and smell, and she conveys this perfectly. The book felt incredibly fresh.
So what keeps this from an A grade? Well, I felt some of the secondary characters were a bit cartoonishly and unremittingly nasty, particularly (but not exclusively) Adam's cousin and the cousin's step-mother, who are having an affair. It would have been nice at least some of the subtlety Satie used to create her main characters there. Also, for all that I loved the writing and characterisation, some of it occasionally felt a bit self-conscious. It's hard to explain, but at times I could clearly see the author trying to do X, rather than just seeing X. These were the only instances when I was reminded this is a début, and really, there weren't that many of them. Other than that, the book flowed beautifully.
If you're looking for something new and different from the usual romances set in Regency-land, I highly recommend this.
MY GRADE: A B.
The Secret Heart is exactly the kind of historical romance I have found difficult to find. It features complex and challenging (some might even say 'unlikeable') characters who have passions in their lives outside of their romance, which is something I find lacking in so many books.
Caroline Small's passion is ballet. She fell in love with it when her disreputable father installed his ballerina mistress as her governess. Caro doesn't aspire to perform; it's the dancing itself that fulfils her. And to keep her craft at the level she needs it to be, she must practice every day, even when visiting her friend Daphne at her uncle the Duke of Hastings' country estate.
It is when returning from her clandestine practice session that she runs into Adam, who's Earl of Bexley and heir to the dukedom. Adam is out in the middle of the night because he was doing something a bit clandestine himself. He boxes. Boxing was quite common amongst gentlemen (if you've read historical romance for any length of time, you'll have read about countless heroes who box at Gentleman Jackson's), but what Adam does is way beyond that. He trains like a proper athlete (to the point of observing a strict diet to keep his weight down) and he fights incognito in meetings frequented by the navvies building the nearby railway.
As they start getting to know each other (including sharing what it was they were each doing out at night quite early in the relationship, which I found refreshing) Caro sees her chance. See, her father and two older brothers gamble away any money that comes into the house and are slowly but surely destroying any chance of Caroline being considered respectable and making a good match. Worse, her younger brother's schooling keeps getting put off whenever money runs low. Caro needs to marry well, and she needs to marry soon. Bexley is the perfect candidate. He's well-off, aristocratic, clearly attracted to Caro and Caro is attracted to him. She coolly decides she will target him. And she does.
I really enjoyed this. There is a lot to these characters. They have real lives and personalities, and I could understand perfectly how and why they connected as they did. They're not perfect; they have their flaws, and they are self-aware enough to recognise them. I also loved the depth of the writing, especially in the world-building. Where so many historical romance authors just gloss over what they assume is hyper-familiar territory for their readers, Satie really digs in. She clearly has thought about how things would feel and look and smell, and she conveys this perfectly. The book felt incredibly fresh.
So what keeps this from an A grade? Well, I felt some of the secondary characters were a bit cartoonishly and unremittingly nasty, particularly (but not exclusively) Adam's cousin and the cousin's step-mother, who are having an affair. It would have been nice at least some of the subtlety Satie used to create her main characters there. Also, for all that I loved the writing and characterisation, some of it occasionally felt a bit self-conscious. It's hard to explain, but at times I could clearly see the author trying to do X, rather than just seeing X. These were the only instances when I was reminded this is a début, and really, there weren't that many of them. Other than that, the book flowed beautifully.
If you're looking for something new and different from the usual romances set in Regency-land, I highly recommend this.
MY GRADE: A B.
July 8, 2017
The problem I have with Erin Satie's writing is that there's way too much stuff going on in her books. Major plot points are introduced, not explored and discarded without giving them any depth and as a result, most of the novel felt very flimsy and rushed. Conflicts are resolved way too quickly or not dealt with at all. In this novel alone there's:
-Murder
-Infidelity and incest between secondary characters
-Controlling, abusive villain of a father
-The disappearance of hero's younger sister
-Conflict between hero and his best friend over the said disappearance
-A scheming heroine and the hero who sees through it all but still somehow ends up being manipulated?
I don't know. Like I said, too many things happening at once. The same thing happened in The Young Blood as well, but the main characters were charming enough that I could overlook the bad pacing and other problems with the plot. That was not the case here.
I'll put aside the pacing and writing issues and just focus on the one thing that bothered me the most while reading the book: the entire relationship between the hero and the heroine. Between the two of them, I don't know which one is worse. The heroine manipulates the hero in the first half of the book and the hero becomes bitter and acts as an asshole towards her in the second half. It was a lose-lose relationship.
Caroline is a 17-year-old daughter of an impoverished viscount who needs to marry well to look after her and her younger brother. Adam is the Earl of Bexley and is going to inherit dukedom in the future. Once she sees Adam is interested, she decides to pursue him for his money and title.
But Adam knows what he is getting into
Early into their relationship Adam sees and understands that Caroline is a fortune hunter and decides to avoid her. A perfectly rational decision. But they grow closer and end up having sex.
Was Caroline in the wrong for pursuing Adam for his money and title? Absolutely. I also didn't like how she manipulated Adam's sense of honor to push him towards marriage.
BUT
I don't really think she trapped him into it. Maybe it's weird but I honestly believe it takes two to tango. Both consenting parties involved in a situation are equally responsible for being in that situation. Adam wasn't inebriated or drugged or forced into having sex with Caroline. He chose to do it, just like how she choose to sleep with him.
Adam is not completely free of blame. She is 17 years old. He is easily somewhere between 25-26. It is a bit weird for a 25/26-year-old man to blame a 17-year-old girl for using her 'feminine wiles' to 'seduce' him.
In the end, she is still just a teenager. I don't think it's fair for him to push the entire blame on Caroline and be an asshole to her when he played a part in how far things have gotten between them, when he knew that Caroline was a schemer from the beginning but still chose to sleep with her.
Their entire relationship was based on sex and had very little love involved. Most of the time there was guilt, manipulation, anger and mistreatment from both parties. But they never sort it out, never apologize. Adam doesn't say he loves Caroline even once in the entire book.
The ending was very abrupt and left me reeling. Adam and Caroline were in the middle of a fight and they suddenly start having sex? That's the end. No resolution to their fight. It felt very choppy and unpolished.
-Murder
-Infidelity and incest between secondary characters
-Controlling, abusive villain of a father
-The disappearance of hero's younger sister
-Conflict between hero and his best friend over the said disappearance
-A scheming heroine and the hero who sees through it all but still somehow ends up being manipulated?
I don't know. Like I said, too many things happening at once. The same thing happened in The Young Blood as well, but the main characters were charming enough that I could overlook the bad pacing and other problems with the plot. That was not the case here.
I'll put aside the pacing and writing issues and just focus on the one thing that bothered me the most while reading the book: the entire relationship between the hero and the heroine. Between the two of them, I don't know which one is worse. The heroine manipulates the hero in the first half of the book and the hero becomes bitter and acts as an asshole towards her in the second half. It was a lose-lose relationship.
Caroline is a 17-year-old daughter of an impoverished viscount who needs to marry well to look after her and her younger brother. Adam is the Earl of Bexley and is going to inherit dukedom in the future. Once she sees Adam is interested, she decides to pursue him for his money and title.
But Adam knows what he is getting into
How could he blame her for a bit of ambition? For wanting to marry well and live comfortably? He’d never resented husband-hunting debutantes or their scheming mamas. If he were a woman, he’d want to marry the heir to a dukedom, too.
Early into their relationship Adam sees and understands that Caroline is a fortune hunter and decides to avoid her. A perfectly rational decision. But they grow closer and end up having sex.
Was Caroline in the wrong for pursuing Adam for his money and title? Absolutely. I also didn't like how she manipulated Adam's sense of honor to push him towards marriage.
Bexley broke away again, breathing more heavily now. “Leave, Caro. You should leave.”
“Untie my laces.”
“I’m sending you away in the morning. Nothing’s changed.” He reached around and picked the knot at the small of her back, his fingers clumsy on the strings. “I won’t marry you.”
“Yes, you will.” Caro cradled Bexley’s cheeks between her hands, drawing his eyes up. She ought to keep quiet. If she wanted her gamble to pay off, she needed him to spring the trap. Once he took her virginity, he’d have to marry her. But she couldn’t let him continue without warning him. “Your conscience won’t let you.”
He froze in the middle of ruffling up her skirts. “You’re wrong.”
“You’re a good man, Lord Bexley. And I’m a virgin.”
BUT
I don't really think she trapped him into it. Maybe it's weird but I honestly believe it takes two to tango. Both consenting parties involved in a situation are equally responsible for being in that situation. Adam wasn't inebriated or drugged or forced into having sex with Caroline. He chose to do it, just like how she choose to sleep with him.
“I wish you weren’t kind.” He bent his forehead to hers, mingled their breaths. “Go home. You don’t need to do this.”
“Put me down and stand up. I’ll follow right behind.”
“I don’t want to.”
Adam is not completely free of blame. She is 17 years old. He is easily somewhere between 25-26. It is a bit weird for a 25/26-year-old man to blame a 17-year-old girl for using her 'feminine wiles' to 'seduce' him.
Adam’s lip curled. “I’ve seen the falseness in you from the beginning. How hard you work to please and flatter. I can’t stand it.”
Caro ducked her head.
“But I thought I’d glimpsed the real woman beneath the pretense,” he continued. “I thought you’d let me in on a secret—”
“I did,” Caro whispered.
“And I felt clever,” he finished. “Special.”
“You are.”
“I let you fool me, I bloody helped you do it—wrapped myself up in a bow for you, didn’t I? I was drunk and distraught and I fell right into your hands.”
“Why are you so eager to hate me?” Caro thumped her chest. “It’s hard for me, too. But I’m here—”
“You did this,” Adam interrupted. “You stole the choice from me.”
“Did I?” Caro tossed her head, blood thrumming in her ears. “Then why was it so easy?”
In the end, she is still just a teenager. I don't think it's fair for him to push the entire blame on Caroline and be an asshole to her when he played a part in how far things have gotten between them, when he knew that Caroline was a schemer from the beginning but still chose to sleep with her.
Their entire relationship was based on sex and had very little love involved. Most of the time there was guilt, manipulation, anger and mistreatment from both parties. But they never sort it out, never apologize. Adam doesn't say he loves Caroline even once in the entire book.
The ending was very abrupt and left me reeling. Adam and Caroline were in the middle of a fight and they suddenly start having sex? That's the end. No resolution to their fight. It felt very choppy and unpolished.
Read
December 12, 2014Disclaimer: Not star rating because professional connection.
I wanted to rec this as the start of a new series with a nicely dark tone to it. If you like your historicals well researched and grounded, and your characters gnarly and difficult and awkward-edged till they find out how they fit together, this will float your boat, and it's the first of four linked titles.
I wanted to rec this as the start of a new series with a nicely dark tone to it. If you like your historicals well researched and grounded, and your characters gnarly and difficult and awkward-edged till they find out how they fit together, this will float your boat, and it's the first of four linked titles.
September 29, 2021
An interesting and somewhat complicated HR. No easy read this, populated as it was with flawed characters and nasty individuals. The writing is very good and if you enjoy HR where the couple really have a struggle achieving their HEA, you will enjoy this one. Probably not the best book to read after nearly 3 months in Covid lock-down (thank you, Melbourne)!
Adam, the Earl of Bexley, is very much under the thumb of his controlling, almost cartoonishly evil, father, the Duke of Hastings. He needs his father's financial support for some financial ventures and spends his spare time working out his frustrations by boxing in private fights. He is a passionate and almost brutal man, but also very caring of those he loves. Adam is actually a pretty decent bloke, but has always been too afraid to tell his dad to just f*** off.
Caro, an amateur ballet dancer trained by a misandrist courtesan (the former mistress of her father), has a disgustingly profligate and useless family (surprise- only the male members remain!) She is determined to somehow provide financial support for the only brother she likes and respects. This plan includes forcing Adam to marry her- by having him ruin her. She is herself still a virgin, but has seen so much in her short life- hard to believe she is just seventeen in this book, tbh, -that she is prepared to trap the earl without compunction, assuaging her guilty conscience by vowing to make the earl "very happy". And let's not pretend that women had many options in those days- they didn't.
Yep- a great bunch, folks. They do improve upon acquaintance, however, and are much more nuanced and complex than I originally thought them to be. Kingston, the rake from The Young Blood, book 4 in the series, is introduced as a truly loathsome and manipulative creature, and he does NOT improve upon acquaintance!
I did love the passion and, ultimately, the noble and selfless actions of the MCs, when I was mostly despairing of them ever doing the brave and decent thing.
Definitely worth a look, although I am worried the rest in the series will be just as difficult to read!
Adam, the Earl of Bexley, is very much under the thumb of his controlling, almost cartoonishly evil, father, the Duke of Hastings. He needs his father's financial support for some financial ventures and spends his spare time working out his frustrations by boxing in private fights. He is a passionate and almost brutal man, but also very caring of those he loves. Adam is actually a pretty decent bloke, but has always been too afraid to tell his dad to just f*** off.
Caro, an amateur ballet dancer trained by a misandrist courtesan (the former mistress of her father), has a disgustingly profligate and useless family (surprise- only the male members remain!) She is determined to somehow provide financial support for the only brother she likes and respects. This plan includes forcing Adam to marry her- by having him ruin her. She is herself still a virgin, but has seen so much in her short life- hard to believe she is just seventeen in this book, tbh, -that she is prepared to trap the earl without compunction, assuaging her guilty conscience by vowing to make the earl "very happy". And let's not pretend that women had many options in those days- they didn't.
Yep- a great bunch, folks. They do improve upon acquaintance, however, and are much more nuanced and complex than I originally thought them to be. Kingston, the rake from The Young Blood, book 4 in the series, is introduced as a truly loathsome and manipulative creature, and he does NOT improve upon acquaintance!
I did love the passion and, ultimately, the noble and selfless actions of the MCs, when I was mostly despairing of them ever doing the brave and decent thing.
Definitely worth a look, although I am worried the rest in the series will be just as difficult to read!
May 24, 2015
Unique characters make this a fairly good historical. Set in 1838 England the story starts with our heroine, Caroline Small, a daughter of a viscount and a guest of a duke's house, creeping through the night garden. She is not there for any love trust or spying assignation. No, she is there to complete her ballet routine. Ballet and viscount daughter? What is going on? It gets even more interesting when we find out when and how Caroline acquired such an unusual "occupation". You see, her impoverished and shameless father wanted to kill two birds with one stone: "Before he squandered the last of the family fortune, he is taken Royal Ballet dancer Giselle as a mistress. When accident made it impossible for her to perform on stage, viscount took pity and hired her as a governess to his young daughter" So, the uneducated but always available governess/mistress taught her charge many life-defining lessons along with ballet. Ballet became Caroline's way to escape reality, to find peace. And these last two things she needed the most during her stay at the Duke Hastings estate. Specially, after her encounter with duke's son , Adam Spark. Stiffened by his powerful father, powerless against his machinations, Adam finds boxing as a way to free himself and escape reality. His boxing is not a leisure gentleman pursuit but a brutal rounds of bare-knuckle fighting with railroad workers who (unaware of his elevated status)don't give him any handicap. When "boxer" and "ballerina" met , they both intrigued, attracted and know how wrong they are for each other. The author didn't give us a "feel good" characters but rather complex, sometime unsympathetic , manipulative ones. At one point I thought the book is definitely dnf but I was glad I continued. It got much better when both Caroline and Adam joined forces against Adam's father and the ending was wonderful.
August 30, 2020
Nothing happens. And then there was love and passion and murder and incest (by villain, not hero/heroine!). First I dnf at 35%, but then I tried again when I couldn’t sleep.
Still, it was a bit weird about a lord who is also a secret boxer and a very young lady, girl of seventeen, who is a secret ballerina and entraps/seduces hero.
Not for me.
Still, it was a bit weird about a lord who is also a secret boxer and a very young lady, girl of seventeen, who is a secret ballerina and entraps/seduces hero.
Not for me.
January 30, 2015
A promising, if flawed, historical romance debut, with lots of unusual, intriguing emotional moments, but some confusing ones, too. The writing is strong, with a hint of the literary, which I find quite appealing.
Caro Small, daughter of a dissolute aristocrat and sister to a parcel of dissolute brothers, is barely holding on to respectability. Her secret love of ballet—not watching it, but performing it, taught by a former governess (really a mistress of her father's)—makes that hold even more precarious. Caro hopes that during a visit to the country estate of a schoolmate she'll be able to find a respectable man to marry her, so she'll be able to remove her younger, bookish brother from the negative home-life he (and she) have been subject to.
Adam, Earl of Bexley and future duke, a relative of Caro's schoolfriend, is suspicious of Caro already—she warned her schoolfriend that her suitor had a venereal disease, something no reputable gentlewoman should know anything about (she picked up the gossip from her dissolute brothers). Yet when Caro discovers Adam's secret—he takes out his frustrations and guilt over the disappearance of his wild sister and the betrayal of his best friend by engaging in bare-knuckle boxing matches—she thinks she can blackmail him into keeping hers. What's more, Caro, recognizing Adam's physical attraction to her, decides to seduce Adam, knowing that this good man will not allow himself to ruin a gentlewoman and not marry her. The seduction isn't quite what Caro had envisioned, though (a fascinating scene). So often we have male protagonists who actively avoid the marriage-mad, entrapping women; it was refreshing to have a story from HER POV for a change, and to be asked to buy into such a character as heroine.
This becomes difficult, though, when Adam is accused of murdering his vile cousin, and Caro announces that he and she were together when the killing occurred, thus simultaneously clearing Adam and making it known that they'd engaged in carnal relations. Caro feels bad about her actions—"He'd been right to accuse her of opportunism. She had seen an opportunity and she had seized it. Of course she had. And then she'd done it again. This time within spitting distance of a corpse, scheming for herself" (Loc 1776)—but doesn't take them back. Though Adam insists he won't marry her, she uses her feminine wiles, and his obvious physical attraction to her, to persuade him to do so.
The murder subplot is a bit dull, with evil villains without half the nuance of our main characters. Wish the focus could have been more on our protagonists, without having to take time away to deal with flat villain characters.
It's rare for a romance to present courtship and relations between the sexes as a power struggle; I admired Satie's interesting in facing this issue head-on. But still, I had a difficult time caring for Caro, or fully sympathizing with her manipulative behavior. I'm not usually one to judge a character, but the narrative here doesn't give me enough to sympathize with, to explain or to counterbalance her negative behavior, at least when she is manipulating Adam.
The story takes a turn for the better when Adam and Caro start to work together against Adam's intolerant, hide-bound father, who, for obvious reasons, objects to his heir marrying the disreputable Miss Small. I really enjoyed the way Caro and Adam manage to win each other over, and to put one over on stuffy papa.
I'll definitely be on the look-out for future titles from Satie.
Caro Small, daughter of a dissolute aristocrat and sister to a parcel of dissolute brothers, is barely holding on to respectability. Her secret love of ballet—not watching it, but performing it, taught by a former governess (really a mistress of her father's)—makes that hold even more precarious. Caro hopes that during a visit to the country estate of a schoolmate she'll be able to find a respectable man to marry her, so she'll be able to remove her younger, bookish brother from the negative home-life he (and she) have been subject to.
Adam, Earl of Bexley and future duke, a relative of Caro's schoolfriend, is suspicious of Caro already—she warned her schoolfriend that her suitor had a venereal disease, something no reputable gentlewoman should know anything about (she picked up the gossip from her dissolute brothers). Yet when Caro discovers Adam's secret—he takes out his frustrations and guilt over the disappearance of his wild sister and the betrayal of his best friend by engaging in bare-knuckle boxing matches—she thinks she can blackmail him into keeping hers. What's more, Caro, recognizing Adam's physical attraction to her, decides to seduce Adam, knowing that this good man will not allow himself to ruin a gentlewoman and not marry her. The seduction isn't quite what Caro had envisioned, though (a fascinating scene). So often we have male protagonists who actively avoid the marriage-mad, entrapping women; it was refreshing to have a story from HER POV for a change, and to be asked to buy into such a character as heroine.
This becomes difficult, though, when Adam is accused of murdering his vile cousin, and Caro announces that he and she were together when the killing occurred, thus simultaneously clearing Adam and making it known that they'd engaged in carnal relations. Caro feels bad about her actions—"He'd been right to accuse her of opportunism. She had seen an opportunity and she had seized it. Of course she had. And then she'd done it again. This time within spitting distance of a corpse, scheming for herself" (Loc 1776)—but doesn't take them back. Though Adam insists he won't marry her, she uses her feminine wiles, and his obvious physical attraction to her, to persuade him to do so.
The murder subplot is a bit dull, with evil villains without half the nuance of our main characters. Wish the focus could have been more on our protagonists, without having to take time away to deal with flat villain characters.
It's rare for a romance to present courtship and relations between the sexes as a power struggle; I admired Satie's interesting in facing this issue head-on. But still, I had a difficult time caring for Caro, or fully sympathizing with her manipulative behavior. I'm not usually one to judge a character, but the narrative here doesn't give me enough to sympathize with, to explain or to counterbalance her negative behavior, at least when she is manipulating Adam.
The story takes a turn for the better when Adam and Caro start to work together against Adam's intolerant, hide-bound father, who, for obvious reasons, objects to his heir marrying the disreputable Miss Small. I really enjoyed the way Caro and Adam manage to win each other over, and to put one over on stuffy papa.
I'll definitely be on the look-out for future titles from Satie.
December 31, 2014
Complicated, flawed characters made this historical romance unique. The Secret Heart doesn't fall prey to the usual overblown hist/rom tropes but strong emotions and a quiet tone give the story a strong impact. Really enjoyed it.
May 18, 2015
I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Well written, well-researched, well-drawn and interesting characters with faults and flaws but understandable ones. There was much depth and a wonderful unique hero.
October 7, 2015
I liked the writing in this book better than I liked the story. It didn't 100% work for me as a romance novel mainly because I didn't actually enjoy the two main characters very much. They didn't make me happy for them. However, I appreciate the level of flawed characterization they bring to the story as well as the intensity of their relationship. This is not a typical light Hist Rom -- nor is it a typical angsty Hist Rom. There are some complex levels at work here that I appreciate even I couldn't wholly enjoy them.
In this story we meet Adam, the Earl of Bexly, a young man who has a very complicated and somewhat combative relationship with his powerful father, the Duke of Hastings. Actually, everyone in the book has a somewhat complex and combative relationship with the Duke. When we first meet Adam he has the clear signs of having fought on his face -- black eye, split lip, blood caked around his nostrils. He likes to box and does it kind of on the down low because it is something a titled Earl just does not do.
We also meet Caro Small, the heroine. She has been invited to the country home of the Duke at the behest of her best friend, the Duke's ward. Caro's family is on the edge of ruin and has somewhat of a shady reputation. Her father and brothers are spendthrifts and Caro is desperate to make a good marriage before they spend her dowry. Like Adam, Caro has an avocation that is frowned upon, she had balletic training thanks to family retainer who hails from the demimonde, so she practices dancing ruthlessly.
I actually liked Adam who I thought had a really good character trajectory. He goes from an enigmatic character to one who become sympathetic once you realize his relationship with his father to one you root for once he decides to really take his own fate in his hands.
Caro was a lot more difficult to like. She was a schemer. She needed to marry and her every thought had a calculating edge to it. I think I would have been more sympathetic to her if more of her inner dialogue was tempered with some genuine emotion. There were flashes, but I felt the 'I will act this way to create the result I need' angle of her personality took precedence over more genuine thought/feeling. So it was not easy to like her. She did soften and start to feel more authentic in her reactions to Adam, but that happened very, very late in the book.
There are other key supporting characters in the book all part of Adam's family all under his father's thumb. Outside of the romantic plot there is a murder mystery that affects the relationship. And another example of Caro using something to further her agenda in a rather calculating way.
By far the most fascinating character in the book is Adam's father, the Duke of Hastings. He is not necessarily a villain in the strict sense, but he is definitely an antagonist. He is a powerful man who wields his power and control over his family like a sledgehammer. They are resentful and, in some cases, cowed. He is definitely mean and callous. But I also liked that the author gave him a point of view so he just wasn't being am asshole just because the book called for one. He is a rich man who is the head of his household. He has a strong vision of what his family is supposed to be like and he takes pains to preserve that vision. He does it ruthlessly. He is also a master manipulator who thinks three moves ahead of everyone else. I did not like Hastings, but I can't deny that his scenes had a crackling energy that a lot of the rest of the book lacked. And thus I was always interested when he was in a scene.
In the end our hero & heroine do get together, but like I said they didn't make me happy. I just felt satisfied that they triumphed over Hastings.
In this story we meet Adam, the Earl of Bexly, a young man who has a very complicated and somewhat combative relationship with his powerful father, the Duke of Hastings. Actually, everyone in the book has a somewhat complex and combative relationship with the Duke. When we first meet Adam he has the clear signs of having fought on his face -- black eye, split lip, blood caked around his nostrils. He likes to box and does it kind of on the down low because it is something a titled Earl just does not do.
We also meet Caro Small, the heroine. She has been invited to the country home of the Duke at the behest of her best friend, the Duke's ward. Caro's family is on the edge of ruin and has somewhat of a shady reputation. Her father and brothers are spendthrifts and Caro is desperate to make a good marriage before they spend her dowry. Like Adam, Caro has an avocation that is frowned upon, she had balletic training thanks to family retainer who hails from the demimonde, so she practices dancing ruthlessly.
I actually liked Adam who I thought had a really good character trajectory. He goes from an enigmatic character to one who become sympathetic once you realize his relationship with his father to one you root for once he decides to really take his own fate in his hands.
Caro was a lot more difficult to like. She was a schemer. She needed to marry and her every thought had a calculating edge to it. I think I would have been more sympathetic to her if more of her inner dialogue was tempered with some genuine emotion. There were flashes, but I felt the 'I will act this way to create the result I need' angle of her personality took precedence over more genuine thought/feeling. So it was not easy to like her. She did soften and start to feel more authentic in her reactions to Adam, but that happened very, very late in the book.
There are other key supporting characters in the book all part of Adam's family all under his father's thumb. Outside of the romantic plot there is a murder mystery that affects the relationship. And another example of Caro using something to further her agenda in a rather calculating way.
By far the most fascinating character in the book is Adam's father, the Duke of Hastings. He is not necessarily a villain in the strict sense, but he is definitely an antagonist. He is a powerful man who wields his power and control over his family like a sledgehammer. They are resentful and, in some cases, cowed. He is definitely mean and callous. But I also liked that the author gave him a point of view so he just wasn't being am asshole just because the book called for one. He is a rich man who is the head of his household. He has a strong vision of what his family is supposed to be like and he takes pains to preserve that vision. He does it ruthlessly. He is also a master manipulator who thinks three moves ahead of everyone else. I did not like Hastings, but I can't deny that his scenes had a crackling energy that a lot of the rest of the book lacked. And thus I was always interested when he was in a scene.
In the end our hero & heroine do get together, but like I said they didn't make me happy. I just felt satisfied that they triumphed over Hastings.
June 30, 2018
Unexpectedly good! One of the most interesting historical romance I've heard in a while. Well-researched, beautiful language, complex plotlines, and unique charaterizations. I may not like the H/h very much but I really enjoyed the story. This won't be the last Erin Satie's book I read.
August 10, 2023
As I mentioned a few days ago, I was saddened to read Satie is no longer writing. I have this series on my Kindle so decided to dive in. I imagine it improves, as this was her first book. I will stick with the series and hope that's the case.
August 4, 2015
It's all a matter of control and how little we often have over our own lives. In The Secret Heart by Erin Satie, the characters are all under constraints- by the rules of society, the behavior of family members, financial concerns, addictive habits, sexual tensions, and the ties of love. Within these confines, our protagonists stretch their boundaries until they are reigned back in by their own flawed life experiences. Adam Spark, the Earl of Bexley mingles in disguise with the navvies, relieving his tensions through barbaric bare knuckle boxing while seventeen year old Caroline Small, daughter of an impoverished Viscount, furtively tests her endurance through the daily intensive ballet routines which she is compelled to pursue. Neither activity is appropriate for members of the English nobility of the ton in 1838. Both characters are searching for financial security. Adam is under the thumb of his father, the Duke of Hastings, who keeps his dutiful son on a short leash. Caroline is spending time at Irongate with her best friend Daphne Morland, ward to the same Duke, seeking to escape her dysfunctional family with a father and two brothers who gamble and frequent whorehouses while spending down her inheritance whenever they can finagle a way to get into her account. After Adam discovers Caroline's little secret and she discovers his, an attraction grows between the two. When Caro sees the lust in his eyes, she gambles that the gentlemanly Adam could be the answer to her future, but she doesn't bargain on her own physical reaction to the handsome Earl. When Lord Hastings shows his head, all bets are off as he takes control of the situation, just as he always does when family members go rogue. Nobody can win a battle of nerves with the all knowing, all powerful patriarch who easily exerts absolute control on his dependents until everyone falls into line. Adam has to decide whether he is willing to give up his dreams once again, or find a way to stand up to his father - a feat that no one has ever successfully accomplished.
All the characters are flawed. The Duke is an emotionless, manipulative bastard who makes sure his decisions are obeyed no matter what the consequences. Caro has been taught by her father's courtesan, the renowned ballet dancer Giselle Villiers, to treat all men like pet dogs, showing them little attentions to gather their adoration while keeping an emotional distance. She's been warned that falling in love will ruin a perfect relationship. Adam knows that the innocent Caro is using her wiles to entrap him, but, then again, he is only human and cannot resist her charms. His father won't allow them to wed anyway. The darkness of the story provides an additional dimension to the seamy plot line, unlike the more traditional Victorian romance novels. There is evil or perhaps simply self interests which cloud the characters' decisions, layering an additional dimension to the plot - and that's what makes this book so riveting. Further pursuits are explored in the additional three novels of the No Better Angels Series. 4 stars.
Please note, I was given a free download of this title in exchange for an honest review.
All the characters are flawed. The Duke is an emotionless, manipulative bastard who makes sure his decisions are obeyed no matter what the consequences. Caro has been taught by her father's courtesan, the renowned ballet dancer Giselle Villiers, to treat all men like pet dogs, showing them little attentions to gather their adoration while keeping an emotional distance. She's been warned that falling in love will ruin a perfect relationship. Adam knows that the innocent Caro is using her wiles to entrap him, but, then again, he is only human and cannot resist her charms. His father won't allow them to wed anyway. The darkness of the story provides an additional dimension to the seamy plot line, unlike the more traditional Victorian romance novels. There is evil or perhaps simply self interests which cloud the characters' decisions, layering an additional dimension to the plot - and that's what makes this book so riveting. Further pursuits are explored in the additional three novels of the No Better Angels Series. 4 stars.
Please note, I was given a free download of this title in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2015
Somewhat too sensual for my taste, but well written
Erin Satie has skillfully written a tale of intense emotion. Her characters are gritty and real and our hero, Adam and heroine, Caro, grow to a deep understanding of their inner motivations as well as their true desires and goals in life. The heroine is raised within a debauched family. Her governess, a disabled ballerina and her father's mistress, teaches her all she knows-to take a cynical outlook on life, and to immerse her body and soul into dance as a form of self discipline and control. During a visit with her friend, a gifted artist and ward of a duke, Caro sets out to find a suitable match to marry, but instead falls for Adam, an earl and the duke's son and heir. He is a man full of conflict who still blames himself for his sister's death years before, and secretly engages in bare knuckle boxing, a scandalous activity for a gentleman as an outlet for his angst. As these two dance around each other's vulnerabilities, tragedy strikes and Adam is framed for murder. To prevent his arrest, Caro announces that he was with her all night, ruining her reputation. The duke who has nearly destroyed his family by continuous manipulation tries to prevent her marriage to Adam by bribing the couple. Caro acccepts the Dukes offer, believing there is no alternative and returns home. Will Adam come to his senses and after being the "good son" all his life, defy his father and take whatever chances necessary to make his own way, and fight for what he truly wants? Can he succeed in convincing Caro to take a chance on him? The author makes generous use of the arts to infuse a raw sensuality into her story. The plot is fairly complex and both the main and supporting characters are well drawn. I suggest due to mature themes and graphic scenes that this novel is most appropriate for adult readers.
Erin Satie has skillfully written a tale of intense emotion. Her characters are gritty and real and our hero, Adam and heroine, Caro, grow to a deep understanding of their inner motivations as well as their true desires and goals in life. The heroine is raised within a debauched family. Her governess, a disabled ballerina and her father's mistress, teaches her all she knows-to take a cynical outlook on life, and to immerse her body and soul into dance as a form of self discipline and control. During a visit with her friend, a gifted artist and ward of a duke, Caro sets out to find a suitable match to marry, but instead falls for Adam, an earl and the duke's son and heir. He is a man full of conflict who still blames himself for his sister's death years before, and secretly engages in bare knuckle boxing, a scandalous activity for a gentleman as an outlet for his angst. As these two dance around each other's vulnerabilities, tragedy strikes and Adam is framed for murder. To prevent his arrest, Caro announces that he was with her all night, ruining her reputation. The duke who has nearly destroyed his family by continuous manipulation tries to prevent her marriage to Adam by bribing the couple. Caro acccepts the Dukes offer, believing there is no alternative and returns home. Will Adam come to his senses and after being the "good son" all his life, defy his father and take whatever chances necessary to make his own way, and fight for what he truly wants? Can he succeed in convincing Caro to take a chance on him? The author makes generous use of the arts to infuse a raw sensuality into her story. The plot is fairly complex and both the main and supporting characters are well drawn. I suggest due to mature themes and graphic scenes that this novel is most appropriate for adult readers.
September 21, 2015
I've had this book for months and I wish I had read it sooner. It's one of those must-savor indulgences that leave the reader completely satisfied. Ms. Satie writes with a gentle, lyric voice yet her prose is sharp with insight. The Secret Heart is thoughtful and frequently poetic as it tells the story of a moving & unforgettable romance. I did not feel for a moment that any of the people in this book were characters. They were living, breathing people braving their way through a complex muddle of love and survival and passion. To top things off, the story contains several utterly brilliant twists, one of which made me tear. I couldn't and didn't put it down.
November 20, 2016
All right, how do I feel about this book?
It was good. I really liked Cora's pragmatism. It was really refreshing to read a heroine who wasn't constantly moping over the man she loves. I also loved how up front she was regarding her scheming plans for Adam.
Her 'I'm going to seduce you & you will marry me because your a fine upstanding gentleman' approach was unique.
Adams family left a bitter taste in my mouth. Obviously he & Daphne we're cool. I enjoyed the scene where Adam cried. Crying is not exclusive to women & I'm happy Satie put that in.
I would have liked more of an epilogue ending but I gather we'll see more of Cora & Adam in future stories.
All around good romance.
It was good. I really liked Cora's pragmatism. It was really refreshing to read a heroine who wasn't constantly moping over the man she loves. I also loved how up front she was regarding her scheming plans for Adam.
Her 'I'm going to seduce you & you will marry me because your a fine upstanding gentleman' approach was unique.
Adams family left a bitter taste in my mouth. Obviously he & Daphne we're cool. I enjoyed the scene where Adam cried. Crying is not exclusive to women & I'm happy Satie put that in.
I would have liked more of an epilogue ending but I gather we'll see more of Cora & Adam in future stories.
All around good romance.
December 30, 2014
The Secret Heart by Erin Satie is a story about a boxer and a ballerina. A boxer and a ballerina, who are also an Earl and a Lady and boxing and dancing are not suited to their sort of people. Besides this rather strange, awkward and not believable love story, there is also a criminal story, which is also strange, awkward and not believable. I know its fiction and it can't no way be believable, but I like my fiction books to be at least plausible.
For me it was not a good read.
For me it was not a good read.
September 15, 2020
Fascinating romance!
The class structure and levels of classes among the nobility are interesting. The desperation of a 17 year-old young woman and depth of manipulation she goes to to secure a marriage for comfort and a life of peace was shocking. Somehow everyone’s conscience wakes up in the end.
The class structure and levels of classes among the nobility are interesting. The desperation of a 17 year-old young woman and depth of manipulation she goes to to secure a marriage for comfort and a life of peace was shocking. Somehow everyone’s conscience wakes up in the end.
February 21, 2015
I honestly don't know what to think of this book. It was darker than most romances, emotionally. And I'm not sure I liked the characters a lot of the time. But it was different and compelling and real. I will definitely buy more from this author.
November 29, 2014
My review at Dear Author: http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/ov...
December 20, 2014
Well, I have a new author on my auto-buy list... more thoughts to come.
December 25, 2014
New author (to me) with a distinct and terrific voice. Picking up the second in the series now.
May 11, 2021
I’m almost finished with this and am literally skimming through the last few chapters.
It started out with so much promise, but went downhill quickly.
I am not a prude. Either in my reading or in real life. I realize this is the internet, and I could be lying out my ass, but I’m not.
I do not like reading about sex (a fairly explicit PG13) featuring an adult and a 17 year old. I don’t care that the age gap is historically accurate. It was wrong then, and it’s definitely wrong now. Maybe if Caroline had been in her early 20s. Shit, maybe even 19, I at least wouldn’t have that to complain about. But nope. She’s 17. And I do not like it.
The age of one of the protagonists is only one thing I am not enjoying about this book.
Instalust? Check
Cruel father? Check (I like angsty romances and this is a trope I like in a fairytale retelling sort of way,)
Unusual hobbies? Check and check
Taboo relationship? Check
The Protective Sibling? Check
Caroline is so damn manipulative and a user of people. Sure, her home life sucks, and she’s trying to help her brother, but sheesh.
I didn’t like any of the characters. Two of the ancillaries are clearly being set up for their own book - maybe I’d find them less annoying, but I doubt it because they’ll have a similar age gap.
I was always confused by the names and who’s related to whom. I got to the point where I realized it didn’t matter because they were all unlikable, and I just want to see if the Duke gets his comeuppance.
I got this for free on Kindle and am glad I didn’t pay for it.
I have a sample of another of Satie’s books which I downloaded because of the review on SBTB. I am hesitant to spend the money on it, because I’m afraid it’ll be one big disappointment.
Oh? Did I mention this is really long?
It started out with so much promise, but went downhill quickly.
I am not a prude. Either in my reading or in real life. I realize this is the internet, and I could be lying out my ass, but I’m not.
I do not like reading about sex (a fairly explicit PG13) featuring an adult and a 17 year old. I don’t care that the age gap is historically accurate. It was wrong then, and it’s definitely wrong now. Maybe if Caroline had been in her early 20s. Shit, maybe even 19, I at least wouldn’t have that to complain about. But nope. She’s 17. And I do not like it.
The age of one of the protagonists is only one thing I am not enjoying about this book.
Instalust? Check
Cruel father? Check (I like angsty romances and this is a trope I like in a fairytale retelling sort of way,)
Unusual hobbies? Check and check
Taboo relationship? Check
The Protective Sibling? Check
Caroline is so damn manipulative and a user of people. Sure, her home life sucks, and she’s trying to help her brother, but sheesh.
I didn’t like any of the characters. Two of the ancillaries are clearly being set up for their own book - maybe I’d find them less annoying, but I doubt it because they’ll have a similar age gap.
I was always confused by the names and who’s related to whom. I got to the point where I realized it didn’t matter because they were all unlikable, and I just want to see if the Duke gets his comeuppance.
I got this for free on Kindle and am glad I didn’t pay for it.
I have a sample of another of Satie’s books which I downloaded because of the review on SBTB. I am hesitant to spend the money on it, because I’m afraid it’ll be one big disappointment.
Oh? Did I mention this is really long?
March 20, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded to four because I had trouble putting it down
The writing was excellent. The people populating the book were monsters, to greater or lesser degrees, with the possible exception of Adam, the hero, who was more passive survivor than hero. The plot was character-driven so all these monsters did damage to each other, and the literary landscape was littered with the breathing remains of unhappy people and a couple of corpses before all was said and done. It was bleak. It felt hopeless. It was disturbing. It was complicated to the point that when the book ended I still didn’t know if I was rooting for or against the heroine. What I was clear on, though, was that I didn’t like her.
And yet…it intrigued me. It challenged me. It engaged my brain and my viscera. It was enough to draw me into the next book of the four-book series and, fair warning, I’m gonna want to smash some heads if Lily really is dead.
The writing was excellent. The people populating the book were monsters, to greater or lesser degrees, with the possible exception of Adam, the hero, who was more passive survivor than hero. The plot was character-driven so all these monsters did damage to each other, and the literary landscape was littered with the breathing remains of unhappy people and a couple of corpses before all was said and done. It was bleak. It felt hopeless. It was disturbing. It was complicated to the point that when the book ended I still didn’t know if I was rooting for or against the heroine. What I was clear on, though, was that I didn’t like her.
And yet…it intrigued me. It challenged me. It engaged my brain and my viscera. It was enough to draw me into the next book of the four-book series and, fair warning, I’m gonna want to smash some heads if Lily really is dead.
March 25, 2018
The Secret Heart is different from most historical romances and has complex characters that aren't always likeable. I loved all the unusual activities such as ballet, boxing and paint making. The attention to detail was wonderful. In general, I really liked Erin Satie's style of writing. I just felt there was a little too much of everything which made other aspects (such as the romance and even more so Adam) remain underdeveloped. Also, some of the subplots didn't get the attention they deserved. I think another round of edits would have made this book a lot more focused, because it has the potential of being a very good book.
January 13, 2018
.......Teeny Tinyy Spoiler.....
This is a nice read. I am a little confused that why they declared Lily dead but it doesn't bother me much. I haven't looked at the whole series but I hope there'll be a book about Alfie.
p.s. I just checked. There is a book about Alfie and don't you know one about Lily too but about being together. Now I want to read the whole series. BTW I love the cover on these. It shouldn't really matter but I am finding on new finds that if I like the cover I am more likely to read it.
This is a nice read. I am a little confused that why they declared Lily dead but it doesn't bother me much. I haven't looked at the whole series but I hope there'll be a book about Alfie.
p.s. I just checked. There is a book about Alfie and don't you know one about Lily too but about being together. Now I want to read the whole series. BTW I love the cover on these. It shouldn't really matter but I am finding on new finds that if I like the cover I am more likely to read it.
August 9, 2017
A duke and old royalty
I like reading about the old society rules and how love had nothing to do with marriage. Until it does. Then the families manipulate and coerce. So many mistresses and cheating husbands, secret lovers and jealous murders because that was better than being with the one you loved. Only the very brave were truly happy because they went against society and sought true love.
I like reading about the old society rules and how love had nothing to do with marriage. Until it does. Then the families manipulate and coerce. So many mistresses and cheating husbands, secret lovers and jealous murders because that was better than being with the one you loved. Only the very brave were truly happy because they went against society and sought true love.
April 28, 2021
Ooh, I devoured this in one sitting (#baddecisionsbookclub) and I just loved it. This is the first book I've read by this author, and everything totally worked for me - I can't wait to check out the rest of this series. I particularly liked that everything wasn't all sweetness and light, which is so prevalent in a lot of the historical romances I read - this book is full of difficult characters making tough choices, and I cannot get enough of that.
October 13, 2023
An Unexpected Romantic Mystery
Here's a romance between two beautifully written, broken, characters; Adam and Caro. I was expecting to read a Historical Romance which this novel was, and much more. Steam was off the Charts. H and h so broken and relatable along side such dastardly characters you couldn't wait to find out what happens next. This is my first book by author Erin Satie, but it isn't my last. I'm ready to swan-dive into the rest of th "No Better Angel" Series.
Here's a romance between two beautifully written, broken, characters; Adam and Caro. I was expecting to read a Historical Romance which this novel was, and much more. Steam was off the Charts. H and h so broken and relatable along side such dastardly characters you couldn't wait to find out what happens next. This is my first book by author Erin Satie, but it isn't my last. I'm ready to swan-dive into the rest of th "No Better Angel" Series.
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