The Silver Devil in Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous

Jun 13, 2012 Willow rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ridiculously-expensive-hard-to-find

This review has mild spoilers in it. :)

A few weeks ago, I saw a post where they were discussing the difference between old bodice rippers and modern romance novels. At the time, I couldn’t quite put my thoughts into words. I’ve been thinking about it though, and I’m convinced the main difference is a plot strategy where the hero and the villain are pretty much the same character. This provides lots of sexual tension and conflict for the heroine, plus it adds many hilarious WTF moments, like, huh ...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Sarah Mac rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, squeamish-book-cooties, zzz-2012, alpha-asshole-alert, read-borrowed, wishlist-htf, zzz-departed-4-star-not-keeper, cover-me-red

What a delightfully odd book. :)

There's much here that's traditional bodice-ripper material. The heroine (Felicia) is raped by the hero (Domenico), yet she reluctantly comes to love & adore her captor. Her circumstances are more akin to slavery than courtship; she's a bought woman from common background, which gives her no standing except as Domenico's bedwarmer. But whether by choice or necessity, Felicia follows her abusive hero through thick & thin -- much of which includes violent happening What a delightfully odd book. :)

There's much here that's traditional bodice-ripper material. The heroine (Felicia) is raped by the hero (Domenico), yet she reluctantly comes to love & adore her captor. Her circumstances are more akin to slavery than courtship; she's a bought woman from common background, which gives her no standing except as Domenico's bedwarmer. But whether by choice or necessity, Felicia follows her abusive hero through thick & thin -- much of which includes violent happenings & "no, no, yes!" sexual encounters. While dealing with the downsides of her troubled relationship with Domenico, she comes to know the many sides of her lover's personality...which ultimately leads to the confrontation in which our emotionally challenged hero must admit he's equally in love with her.

Yeah, I know...some people get their knickers in a twist over these tropes. Like Christine Monson's excellent but brutal Stormfire, this is a touchstone work in the bodice-ripper genre -- and there's a reason The Silver Devil is branded as such. It incorporates all that makes some readers shriek & rant about women's rights & toss the book aside in favor of bland Regency romances with their cuddlebug woobie-rakes. But as I said in my review of Stormfire, this oh-so-notorious book has much to be appreciated by a more open-minded (or less squeamish) reader.

Denys' style is lyrical & lush -- more dense than the average BR, but not wordy per se. It's a very dark, gothic style; violence & beauty coexist in close confines, often in the same scene...or even the same paragraph. There are some gruesome images in this book, & they're described in picturesque, loving detail -- the same as the instances of beauty & love. (Example: Felicia's virginity-taking is brutal & bloody, yet so elegantly written.) But despite a sweeping backdrop of grandeur & battle, each scene is claustrophic & intensely personal. Karla's review describes the story in terms of an opera, & I'd agree with that. Each scene has the feel of a gloomy, isolated stage piece that highlights the cast & their melodramatic antics. (And yes, I can imagine the dialogue in song, complete with uber-dramatic Italian solos & grandiose hand gestures. :D)

Furthermore, The Silver Devil is narrated first-person by Felicia alone. There are no infodumps on history or culture. Unless the reader has already studied up on Renaissance Italy culture, they'll flounder until the names, places, & relationships become more familiar -- which is no accident, I'm sure. Like Felicia, the reader is forced to rely on context & dialogue to gain their footing.

Bottom line: it's not a book for stupid people. *looks askew at the current crop of Lowest Common Denominator romances* Would I recommend it for general audiences? Probably not. Beautiful writing & style points aside, Domenico is a jerk of the highest order; his commanding neediness drove me nuts, & lowered the rating to four stars. (view spoiler)

...But would I recommend The Silver Devil for more daring readers of romantic historical fiction? Absolutely -- especially those who are tired of the modernized-and-sanitized army of cuddlebug woobie-rakes. (Blech.)

N.B. Much thanks to Karla for lending me her copy. :) ...more

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Jan 05, 2012 April Brookshire rated it it was amazing

Shelves: april-s-favorites, historical

TWISTED and DEPRAVED! This book was awesome in a messed up kind of way. It features the ultimate anti-hero and the unfortunate girl who loves him (despite the fact that he's a sociopath). She loves him in all of his homicidal glory. ...more

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