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The Wind Dancer

(Wind Dancer #1)

Iris Johansen (Goodreads Author)

3.99 · Rating details · 4,025 ratings · 121 reviews

A hidden killer...a conspiracy of treachery...and two people caught in the most desperate game of all...

In Renaissance Italy, intrigue is as intricate as carved cathedral doors, but none is so captivating as that surrounding the prized Wind Dancer, the lost treasure of a family--and of the man who will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Lionello Andreas is bound by his vow to ...more

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Paperback, 416 pages

Published February 28th 2006 by Bantam (first published 1991)

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· 4,025 ratings · 121 reviews

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Start your review of The Wind Dancer (Wind Dancer, #1)

Jul 10, 2017 Bubu rated it really liked it

Shelves: hr, 4-stars

While my TBR pile is collecting dust, I'll continue rereading and reviewing the romance novels of my teenage years.

The first in the series, The Wind Dancer is set during the time period of the Italian Renaissance. Sadly, my knowledge of this particular time is rudimentary at best. Something I'll rectify eventually as I've always found it intriguing.

Anyway, The Wind Dancer.

A few warnings before I delve deeper into the book:
- Like Storm Winds, this book is not for the faint of heart
- Sanchia, the ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, strong-romance, adult, strong-heroine, likeable-heroine, obsessive-hero, ow-drama

I picked this up chiefly because I was hoping for something like The Silver Devil. It wasn't anything like that; and I should have known it, because that book is one of a kind. Still, The Wind Dancer is well-written and I quite liked Lion and Sanchia, although I didn't fall in love with them.

It had a number of tropes I secretly love, namely: the slave/master trope with its glorious dubcon; mistress trope (with the hero still married); hero madly chasing heroine; and more. Unfortunately the setti ...more

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Jan 10, 2014 Zeek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-author-all-time, favorites-all-time, romance, hist-rom-exotic-locale, romance-anxst, alpha-hero, favorite-hero, favorite-heroine, hist-rom

The Wind Dancer (Original 90's Version)- first in a trilogy has always been a favorite of mine. It’s the setting you see. One you don’t get often in Hist-rom. The setting in this book- the settings in the entire series really- is the thing I fell in the deepest love with, because it’s what sets the books apart.

In the late 1400’s early 1500’s Italy, the power of the dukes and popes are waning and so, to keep that power, they desire one thing. The Wind Dancer.

A Pegasus made of Gold that gives the The Wind Dancer (Original 90's Version)- first in a trilogy has always been a favorite of mine. It’s the setting you see. One you don’t get often in Hist-rom. The setting in this book- the settings in the entire series really- is the thing I fell in the deepest love with, because it’s what sets the books apart.

In the late 1400’s early 1500’s Italy, the power of the dukes and popes are waning and so, to keep that power, they desire one thing. The Wind Dancer.

A Pegasus made of Gold that gives the possessor an almost mystical power of invulnerability. Yet no matter whose hands have had it, It has always made its way to the Andreas family- even from the times of Troy. But a scheming triumvirate of evil wants it, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it- even murder of entire village.

Our story starts with the heroine, a desperate girl who will stop at nothing to protect the ones she love. Even thievery. It’s as thief that she comes to the attention of the rich and powerful Lionello Andreas.

Lion has a duty to his family and to the golden statue which has been in his family for centuries. The Wind dancer- stolen out from under him- is about to be recovered, but he needs a thief to help him accomplish it.

Sanchia is young, but she’s no dummy. She’ll use whatever it takes to keep herself and those she’s adopted as family safe. She agrees to help Lion, even though as a slave she really has no choice.

In the end Lion will demand much more of her then her skill on the streets- he’ll demand her heart, body, and soul. And she’ll give it. But not before they both lose so much more...

Okay, here’s the thing. Sanchia is only 16. It never really bothered me before, because she had to be 16 in this setting. I figured, otherwise it wouldn’t be truthful. But now, reading it with my over 40 yr old eyes. Oy vey.

Worse is Lion’s reaction to her. He manipulates her innocence, even though she does indeed desire him. But something about it this go around pissed me off. Idk,it probably has to do with the fact that many marriages around me are busting up and I look on in horror as I watch men my age only date women 20 yrs younger then them. I Just. Don’t. Get. It.

But then the setting arises, the plague happens and suddenly, Sanchia is no longer 16 yrs old but a woman who endured death and lived! And Lion is the man who walks out of the fire with her and helps her seek her revenge. That is why I love this story- and that is why I will probably keep rereading it. Because, no matter the ass-hattery of men who think trading in their strong wives for a younger, more malleable, model is just the thing... A strong and noble woman is a thing to behold at any age. And the man who loves her? Well, he has my heart too. ...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Corrine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-uk-historical, thief-con-artist-etc

This is definitely the most unique setting I've read about in a historical novel.

In 1503 Italy, Lionello Andreas is seeking to regain a treasure that was stolen from his family - the Wind Dancer - and to do it, he is on the search for a great thief. His search brings him to Florence where he makes the acquaintance of Sanchia, a slave and pickpocket who impresses Lion with her talent. He immediately buys her papers and helps her settle the children she has taken under her wing. Sanchia, grateful ...more

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Jun 06, 2020 SWEETY rated it liked it

Shelves: alphahero, survivor, erotic-romance, shy-heroine, annoying-heroine, historical, antihero-or-villain, standalone-series-historical, alpha-hero-to-teddybear, bodice-rippers

WHAT THE F IS UP WITH SO MANY AUTHORS THINKING THEY CAN WRITE A BOOK WITHOUT A MOTHERF-ING EPILOGUE!?!?!?!?

...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Regan Walker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: exotic-locale, 5-star-reads, favorite-keepers

Amazing Love Story...Masterfully Woven Tale!

This is the first in the wind dancer trilogy (THE WIND DANCER, STORM WINDS—and the contemporary, REAP THE WIND) and it is amazing--truly a "keeper" romance, one you'll read and re-read.

Set in early 16th century Northern Italy (1503), it tells the story of Lionello Andreas oldest son of an Italian family that has held as its most treasured possession a small golden statue of the winged horse Pegasus that, according to legend, was given to their family a Amazing Love Story...Masterfully Woven Tale!

This is the first in the wind dancer trilogy (THE WIND DANCER, STORM WINDS—and the contemporary, REAP THE WIND) and it is amazing--truly a "keeper" romance, one you'll read and re-read.

Set in early 16th century Northern Italy (1503), it tells the story of Lionello Andreas oldest son of an Italian family that has held as its most treasured possession a small golden statue of the winged horse Pegasus that, according to legend, was given to their family at the fall of Troy. The statue, known as the Wind Dancer, has been stolen from their city state of Mandara by Lion's enemy, Francisco Damari. In his effort to recover the statue, Lion decides to hire a thief and travels with his erstwhile companion, Lorenzo, to Florence where he buys a 16 year old slave girl, Sanchia, who is known an an expert at lifting men's gold. Lion quickly realizes he wants more from the brave and clever young woman than her thieving talents and takes her as his mistress. Believing she has no ability to resist, she complies as any good slave would. Then she helps Lion steal the key to the place the statue is being kept, but in the process and in an act of great courage, Sanchia leads Damari away from Lion only to be captured by the demented and sadistic man. By the time Lion recovers her, she has been tortured and believes Lion did not honor his promise not to leave without her. As a result, she now believes her debt to Lion has been paid and demands her freedom. But Lion, whose feelings for her have grown into an obsession, doesn't want to let her go.

This is a story of passionate love, of finding love in an unlikely place and then denying it when honor would suggest another path be taken. The story is well told, the dialog gripping and the twists and turns complex. You will feel like you are there in Renaissance Italy. The physical relationship between Lion and Sanchia is explosive and sensual and Johansen does a superb job of describing it. Like a tapestry with many threads coming together, Johansen has woven many lives into the story in a convincing manner. She has also created (once again) a great cast of secondary characters with their own passions and unique qualities. Lorenzo Vasaro, Lion's stalwart friend and an assassin with a jaded past and a wisdom that insists reality be pursued even if costly, adds a richness to the tale. I highly recommend this one!
...more

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Jul 01, 2015 Jordan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, vaginal-fantasy, lady-lit

I read The Wind Dancer as a precursor to Storm Winds (the second book in this series) which was the Vaginal Fantasy alt for July. I should've just skipped it, as I realized after dialoguing with some other VF readers and Felicia (who mentioned that she read the summary for this first book, and thought it looked stupid and realized that it was unnecessary to the plot of the second one, which was really chosen for its placement during the French Revolution, the theme for July). But I only made tha I read The Wind Dancer as a precursor to Storm Winds (the second book in this series) which was the Vaginal Fantasy alt for July. I should've just skipped it, as I realized after dialoguing with some other VF readers and Felicia (who mentioned that she read the summary for this first book, and thought it looked stupid and realized that it was unnecessary to the plot of the second one, which was really chosen for its placement during the French Revolution, the theme for July). But I only made that realization after actually reading it. It started off promising, and then devolved steadily from there.

Sanchia is a lowly street rat/slave/thief, working for a man who copies documents and books in Renaissance Florence. While dealing with the drunken anger of her owner, she also protects three children that she's assumed care of. But that carefully balanced act is thrown for a loop when Lion enters her life, and steals her away from her previous owner in an effort to utilize her skills as a thief to regain ownership of a family heirloom: The Wind Dancer, a statue of a horse. (Okay, it's described much more romantically and even magically in the book, but really, it's a statue of a horse. And it has little to nothing to do with the plotline in the end anyway.) But something intrigues Lion about Sanchia, and he just can't seem to keep his hands off of her. Even when she asks him to. Because the man has literally no self control. But we'll get there. Of course, they eventually get the statue back, after everyone decent has died from the plague.

Obviously this was a really uplifting read, as you can tell from the outcome. I have a lot of vitriol in my heart for this book, so let's just jump right in. Sanchia. We barely see her thief skills, and in fact, the first time—aka the only time—that we see her thieving, she almost gets caught. Not exactly the great example of her acclaimed abilities that one would hope for. I liked her protectiveness over the other children, although I don't really understand the point of laying all that out when they disappear for her life (almost forever) in the first 25 pages of the book. Then we find out that Sanchia also has this photographic memory, which is convenient, and not used that much either. There's all of this development and setup for Sanchia to be just a badass lady, and then the exact opposite happens. Like many other reviewers on Goodreads, I felt a bit disappointed that Sanchia seems as though she's going to be an independent, skilled, compelling character, but then quickly falls flat when she gets sold to Lion.

Also, Lion? Really?

Of course, Lion falls immediately in lust with this 15-year-old girl—even though he's at least twice her age—because that's how they did it during the Renaissance, folks. But even barring that little detail, this book gives 50 Shades a run for its money where abusive and unhealthy relationships are concerned. The power dynamics of him literally owning her, and her being submissive, I had a big problem with. It made me reflect on something like Kushiel's Dart, where she is a sex worker but has agency in her work. Here, Sanchia has no control over how or why Lion treats her a certain way. As we'll see later, this leads to a particularly emphatic form of Stockholm Syndrome.

When Lion realizes his lust for Sanchia, he tells her that he's going to wait for her to want him, but then doesn't actually wait for that point, and engages her in romantic liaisons before she is really ready. (I'd argue that she's not ready for any sort of intimate entanglement with the messed up man that is Lion, but whatevs.) As I mentioned before, he has literally no self control, and indeed makes this clear to Sanchia—along with making clear that he's her owner, so he can make her do whatever he wants, with or without her desire, and shouldn't he get a pat on the back for not forcing her to do those things? Here's his first speech to her about her duties: "I'm going to touch you whenever I like." He slipped the material of the gown off her shoulders. "When it pleases me, I'll bare this pretty flesh and fondle you. No matter where we are. No matter who is watching." (58) In a situation where the power dynamics are different, this might have been a hot statement. Not so here. And here's Lion introducing Sanchia to his lack of self control: "My appetites are great. Sometimes it's like a frenzy, a madness. You must not fight me or I might injure you." (86) And another: "When I need you, then you must take me into you. There will be many occasions when I won't be able to wait until we find a bed." (104) I have no words.

Beyond that lack of interest in Sanchia's consent or enjoyment, Lion says some pretty creepy things. Like when they're engaging, he says to her, "You're so small it was like handling a child and yet you're a woman here." (93) Ugh, dude. Could you be any more grotesque?

Eventually, Sanchia actually starts to be into the romantic encounters (aka just sex, nothing romantic about it), but then is kidnapped and tortured when they are attempting to recover the Wind Dancer. After her three day confinement, when she is rescued, she emphasizes that she doesn't believe it's right for one person to own another person—even though that's been hammered into her throughout her entire life by everyone in her life, and even though that was perfectly acceptable given the time period. Three days is all it takes to change lifelong beliefs. Noted. It's after this point that Lion thinks to himself, oh, this is unacceptable. I paid for this girl and I will get my due. He refuses to listen to her when she says that she's not interested in sharing his bed anymore, and makes him so desperate that he even proposes to her in order to get her to succumb to his "charms." Finally, in an effort to convince her, Lion says, "It must be love. I told you I had feeling for you. What else could it be?" (269) Um, horniness? Jackassery? Rape tendencies? Then there's this romantic proposal: "I want you to live in my home and sleep in my bed, not only now but for the foreseeable future. I wish you to bear my children. In return I will give you your freedom, honor, and respect. What do you say to that?" (222) What a deal! He adds later, "I suppose you're going to try to leave me again. Well, I won't permit it. If you want me to tear up your bondage papers, you must wed me." He glanced away from her. "It will not be a bad life. If you do not anger me, I'll try to be gentle with you." (342) Oh well, I'll work hard on trying not to anger you. I definitely don't have anything else in life to worry about, like the plague that's sweeping the continent. And you have such an even temperament, I'm sure it won't be a problem.

Even the other people who are observing this relationship basically tell her to get her shit together and just give into him. Lion's long time friend, and someone who Sanchia admires, tells her that the house she's occupying (which used to house Lion's father's mistresses) could be hers "if you'd stop worrying about being free and start worrying about how to please Lion." (187) Oh, I knew I forgot to put something on my to-do list.

Spoiler alert: she realizes that she "loves" him (aka, finally succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome) and they leave Italy for France, in order to escape all of the death and destruction behind them. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that basically everybody who is a halfway decent human being dies of the plague? Great. Sanchia's youngest kid from Florence is kidnapped by the bad guy, exposes him to the plague, then sends him to Sanchia. That kid dies. Then all of Lion's family dies, including his golden child brother, Marco, and Lion's wife and mother. (Oh, also, Lion is married. Not a big deal, guys. Everyone was having affairs back then. Plus, she's "simple" as they used to say, and she's in love with Lion's brother Marco. So it's not like they even had a real relationship. Because real relationships center on sexual interactions, everyone knows that.)

We deal with issues like this skewed power dynamic a lot in romance and specifically in Vaginal Fantasy. This book felt like an extremely heightened version of it, and to be fair, it wasn't even a pick for Vaginal Fantasy, but rather the first in the series of the alt pick. Tertiary to the club at best. But it makes me wonder again what women find appealing about a "relationship" like this. The average rating of this book is 3.96 stars (out of 5) on Goodreads. That's quite good. Are readers willing to forgive some questionable treatment because it takes place 500 years in the past? Is this a type of safe wish fulfillment, that women want to see what it would be like to be completely submissive to somebody else? Is it an overly exaggerated version of the manly, dominant man that woman "want"? Further, Lion's lack of self control when it comes to sex perpetuates stereotypes of men who don't know how to human and can't control themselves; who, without restrictions in place, would devolve to raping and pillaging at will. By and large, these books are read predominantly by women, so it's not catering to the perceived male desire for female submission. I find the whole thing fascinating, in the most disturbing and destructive way possible. ...more

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May 28, 2019 Jewel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

I expected this to be a bodice ripper, but it definitely wasn't. The hero was very alpha, but the storyline never descended into awesome bodice ripper madness.

The beginning of this story was engrossing. I loved the writing, and the hero and heroine were electric together in every single scene. Then came a plot twist, and it rather emotionally disconnected me from both the characters.

It took me till near the end of this book to get back into the story, but when I did, I was completely engrossed ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Dan rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

I read this novel because I really enjoy Johansen's suspense thrillers and her extensive use of dialogue to move plots. Reading her writing is like taking a free clinic in how to do it. She started as a romance writer, moved to historical romance, neither of which genres particularly interest me. This book marks her first effort to expand her range beyond those two genres and is therefore where I want to start in my study of her writing.

The novel is 50% historical fiction, 40% romance/historical I read this novel because I really enjoy Johansen's suspense thrillers and her extensive use of dialogue to move plots. Reading her writing is like taking a free clinic in how to do it. She started as a romance writer, moved to historical romance, neither of which genres particularly interest me. This book marks her first effort to expand her range beyond those two genres and is therefore where I want to start in my study of her writing.

The novel is 50% historical fiction, 40% romance/historical romance, and 10% action/suspense thriller. The historical fiction component is superb. The late Italian Renaissance is a period and setting too rarely seen in our novels and Johansen really surprises with the depth and accuracy of her research of the period. I had no idea popes and the Vatican were this corrupt. The action/suspense was okay, especially the scene when the protagonists were trying to escape a maze, but there was not enough of this. The romance was the main surprise in that it was better than I expected.

I knew there would be an element of romance in this work since it was all Iris Johansen had tried her hand at up until this point in time, but I had hoped it would be less. Nevertheless, I found I didn't mind after all that there was so much. The romance was a very different sort of love story than I've ever seen before, which made it interesting. The only part I didn't care for was that it was often more graphic than I needed in its portrayal of the love scenes. Sensibilities have changed since the last century and scenes that graphic are mostly saved for erotica (or porn) these days where those who want to read that sort of thing know they can find it and not be disappointed. In the 1960s through 1980s, before the internet era, graphic erotica was less commonly obtainable, especially of any quality, and therefore found its way more into mainstream fiction. This book is an example. Johansen has changed with the times, but it's still unpleasant to see this unnecessary gratuitousness.

Many women, I see, object to the difference in power between the love interests, automatically applying today's standards to call their relationship rape, at worst, or harassment, at best. Nonsense. The truth is that in 1504 women weren't equal, yet sex happened. It isn't possible to portray love in that period authentically as being between equals except in the silliest form of infantile wishful fantasy thinking that could only satisfy the most naive reader. Equality in love relations didn't exist then, and I believe it's not as common even today as many women like to assume it is. I don't approve; I just recognize. Johansen left that young audience far behind for this work. She wanted to elevate her game, and succeeded.

This novel is shorter than the next in the series, which takes place in revolutionary France, an era that has never interested me much. So many Louis's, so little sense. However, the next book is more highly regarded. Therefore, in a month or two I will be taking it up. Maybe she can change my mind about this period of French history. ...more

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Jul 13, 2015 Zoe rated it really liked it

I have only read the second book from the series before and loved it. This book is the first one in the series. I liked the first half well enough and couldn't put it down. This all but changed in the second half.
Lion the hero is painted a possessive man with "strong appetite". That's fine. Sanchia the heroine, is portrayed as someone "unique" for her station in life, being born into servitude. Strangely when Lion was "just obsessed", I thought the book was better. After Lion started going on an ...more

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Jun 24, 2015 Agnieszka "Aeth" Jędrzejczyk rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mystery, did-not-finish, historical

DNF at 25%. It's not you, book, it's me. While I love the Italian Renaissance setting (very assassin's-creed-y), the dynamic dialogues, beautiful writing and of course Lorenzo, I don't think this is the story I was looking for. I was hoping for a battle of wills among two equals, not a master/slave relationship between a 16-year-old girl, mouthy as she is, and a giant of a man who can think of nothing else but to possess her body and soul. I suposse things bet better along the way, but I'm not e ...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Jane Stewart rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romantic-suspense

Enjoyable and a worthwhile read.

This is not a typical romance novel. It has romance but it is more about political intrigue, murder and suspense. Although there is revenge, justice and a happy ending, there were too many loved ones who died which makes it too sad for me. Aside from that, it is well written with intriguing characters. There is heroism and great love. Sexual content: mild.

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Dec 04, 2016 Ira rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars.

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Jun 15, 2015 fenixphire rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish

This book started out with so much promise. I was completely enthralled with it from the first chapter. That lasted all of another 3-4 chapters. Sanchia started out so interesting. She was clever, insightful, and pragmatic. Then (view spoiler), and turns in to a naïve child that expects nothing bad will happen to her. Less than half way in to the book, she experiences yet another profound change in character (view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 19, 2014 Susan (the other Susan) rated it liked it

Shelves: his-throbbing-euphemism, historical-romance

Finely aged cheese! I don't know what it says about me , that I liked Iris Johensen's bodice-ripper-y early work a lot more than the Eve Duncan series... No, wait, maybe I do; it means I'm sick to death of Eve Duncan. I read Wind Dancer and a few other historical romances by this author way back in the day, so I can't comment on any specifics. I recall some interesting sex scenes, though, which sadly went missing in later series. Maybe I'd have liked Eve Duncan & Co. a lot more if there had been ...more

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May 21, 2008 Starket rated it it was amazing

After years of searching for a copy of this book, I finally got my hands on one. I could not put this book down. It was much different from Iris Johansen's other stories. I loved the time setting of the book. This was another book that I was sad to have end. I felt so much for the characters. I can't wait to read the other 2 books in the series. ...more

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Jan 22, 2017 Totoro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: wonderful

the first romance i ever read. well it was thriller and mystery as well. sort of like the works of Sidney Sheldon, with great description, by then i was too young to understand complicated sentences and the change in narrators but the cliff hangers and excitement kept me going.

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Jan 23, 2014 Edward Beavers added it · review of another edition

Ended better than it began.

I don't think that this is as good as I was expecting from the Eve Duncan series. it was ok. ...more

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Dec 27, 2020 Mary Lou Webb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rags to Riches to Rags to Riches

Sanchia knew only the life of a slave, and she had taken to thieving to feed the three ragtag urchins she had rescued. She was good; she had to be good because the penalty, if caught, was to have her hands chopped off. Her skills rescued her from her life of poverty when a Lord named Lion Andreas had need of a skilled thief. After proving her skill to him, he purchases her, not knowing he was gaining a veritable protective tigress. She insisted that her three char ...more

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Jul 23, 2017 Kathy O'Mara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was lucky enough to stumble across Iris Johansen years ago when perusing the paperbacks at the local drug store. I can't remember which book I first read, but it was definitely a historical romance and I remember thinking I hated the title, but the description sounded good so I bought it anyway. Thank goodness I didn't let the title stop me from buying the book! I not only read that book, I quickly bought up any other Iris Johansen book I could find and read them too. I've read all of the Eve ...more

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Mar 11, 2020 TMDGReviews rated it it was ok

I started reading with great hope. The idea that Lion needed a thief for a very complicated, delicate, and essential theft got my mind moving. However, once Sanchia completed the heist, things got a little strange for me. Lion decided he would keep her as a slave, even though he didn't believe in slavery, and he intended to keep her in his bed. The intimate scenes between the two of them made me uncomfortable. At points, the story would stop, so Lion could drag her to a corner and have very roug ...more

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Jul 09, 2020 Shannon rated it liked it

Sold as a historical romance, I felt it was actually about how wealthy people are willing to risk the lives of the hoi polio to get what they want. In this novel, a gold Pegasus statue has been stolen from the home/castle of Andreas Lion. Andreas believes that it must be returned to his country -- and so many people are threatened / killed -- lives are unimportant bargaining chips. The original thief wants it back and is willing to allow thousands of villagers to die to regain the statue. And fi ...more

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Aug 30, 2017 Marzena rated it did not like it

Shelves: ebook, romance

Years ago I read Storm Winds and enjoyed it so much I immediately got other volumes of the series.

Jesus on the stick. Either I was blind back then, or reading a completely different author's novel.

The Wind Dancer is a talentless hack's impaired, loveable child. I can't put it delicately. It's a fine piece of graphomania and when I was not busy wiping down blood from my eyes, I was busy sighing disgustingly. The plot is laughable, the characters promising but ~~lust-blinded~~ utterly stupid. Don't ...more

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Jan 20, 2019 DKC rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure-fantasy, romance, historical-fiction

Re-read this one for the first time in several years. I still enjoy it, and I'm not even going to apologize. You know why?
1. The cheesy melodrama is fun.
2. The chemistry is pretty intense.
3. The setting and period is unusual.
4. The take on historical figures of the time is interesting.
5. It makes me cry. Every time.

True, there are trite tropes and overly-familiar themes, as with all romance novels (or novels in general). Nevertheless, I find myself caught up in the adventure; boo-ing the villain ...more

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Oct 14, 2019 Stephanie Ohsewcrafty rated it really liked it

Fascinating setting, Renaissance Italy as city-states war for dominance. Speaking of dominance, battle hardened Lionello certainly exerts his over young Sanchia, a slave who has learned the skill of thievery on the backstreets of Florence. He needs her to regain a practically mythic family artifact- the golden Pegasus sculpture “Wind Dancer”, which was stolen. The treatment of women is appalling, but it is historically accurate. Great characters and multilayered plot.

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Oct 17, 2018 Erth rated it really liked it

now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

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Jun 12, 2019 Alan Leo rated it liked it · review of another edition

Thankfully It's Over

It is quite a long tale, but I found it unsettling to read and complete. There was no joy for me with either character development or plotting.
The entire book and plot were lifeless in their characterizations and drawn out scenes. It's sad but I wouldn't recommend this tale or book to anyone, and I'll never get back the time I wasted reading this book. ...more

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Jul 07, 2020 Susan rated it it was ok

Read this years ago and pulled it off a shelf since I've been dragging this series around with me forever. Now I wonder why. I guess if you leave out all the lusty stuff, which is about half the book, it is a pretty good thriller with an interesting setting and time period (Renaissance Italy) and the secondary character of Lorenzo is fun. ...more

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Jun 08, 2018 Cinthia rated it it was ok

Not what I was expecting from the description. This is a romance novel with some stuff happening in the background. The most exciting stuff were summarized in 1-2 sentences. The rest was romance and sex (with dubious consent issues). Too bad because it had a great start.

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Jun 09, 2018 Betty S. Holliday rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wonderfully challenging reading. Keeps you thinking,

This is one if the best, and I have enjoyed many. Her entwined history, with fiction and making the characters come to life with each gripping situation. One you want to on forever.

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About Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen

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Iris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great su ...more