The Black Angel

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Synopsis

After losing her mother as a child, Adriana St. Ives grew up with the rest of her family in Martinique, where she frequently ran barefoot on the beaches and played adventure games with her brothers. When her family moved back to England after she was grown, her wild, passionate side led her into an affair with a rake who stole her innocence. Her brothers called him out in a duel, which resulted in his death, something that probably would have been brushed under the rug except for the fact that he was an illegitimate nephew of the king, so her brothers ended up in exile for it. Adriana has spent the ensuing years hiding at her family's country estate to avoid society's censure. Before his recent death, however, Adriana's father arranged a marriage for her to Tynan Spenser, Earl of Glencove, a wealthy Irishman, whose money will save the family's faltering finances. In return, her new husband wants to use her connections to build political clout that he hopes will buy him a seat in parliament. Adriana is reluctant to return to the social whirl, knowing that they'll be talking about her behind her back, but she agrees to help. The more time she spends with Tynan, the more she grows to like him, but he's been keeping a secret that could destroy their fragile bond.

Tynan Spenser has earned the nickname, The Black Angel, for his rakish exploits. His brother, who was his last living relative, was recently murdered, and he's been frustrated by the conflict between Catholics and Protestants that rages through his country. He already holds a seat in the Irish parliament, but thinks that if he could also hold a seat in the English parliament, the power and connections might allow him to help his fellow countrymen more. That's why he agreed to marry Adriana without ever meeting her. While she isn't the most beautiful amongst her sisters, she's far more pleasing to the eye than Tynan expected, but when she makes it clear that she'll only allow him in her bed for the purpose of begetting an heir, he's none too pleased and decides to try to break down her walls one kiss at a time. Soon he discovers that his lovely wife secretly has a passionate side. Cultivating a friendship with her brothers who've returned to England proves helpful to his political causes as well, but unfortunately they're still wanted men who face prosecution and possibly worse for their role in the duel. Then there's the secret that Tynan himself has been hiding. He knows he'll need to tell Adriana the truth soon, but he fears how she'll react when they've only just started to fall in love.

Review

The Black Angel is the first book in Barbara Samuel's St. Ives Family series. Adriana is the eldest daughter of seven siblings. She's a passionate person who lives life on her own terms, but five years ago, her ardor led her into the arms of a rake who ruined her. Adriana's brothers avenged her honor in a duel. However, because her former lover whom they killed was an illegitimate nephew of the king, there was a public outcry from high-ranking people, leaving them with no choice but to leave England. Adriana regrets that her actions led to her brothers' exile, and has vowed to never allow her passions to get the better of her again. Before he died, her father arranged a marriage for her to Tynan, a wealthy Irish earl, who agreed to use his fortune to take care of the large St. Ives family in exchange for the possible political positioning a union with Adriana might afford him. Adriana doesn't meet Tynan until their wedding day. She's surprised to find that he's young and handsome, a development that instantly arouses her lust for her new husband, but she's determined to keep her vow, holding herself at arm's length and leaving him worried that he's married a cold woman. Meanwhile, Adriana's brothers, Julian and Gabriel, who've heard of her impending nuptials, return, trying fruitlessly to prevent the union, thinking she doesn't want it. That only results in Julian being arrested almost immediately and taken to the Tower to await trial for the duel, the outcome of which no one is certain. Befriending Gabriel, Tynan starts trying to cultivate political connections in hopes of buying a seat in the House of Commons, which he thinks he might be able to use to make life better for his people back in Ireland. The more time Tynan and Adriana spend together, the more they start to like one another and eventually she relents on keeping him out of her heart and her bed, but Tynan has been hiding a secret that once exposed could destroy the fragile bond of love that's beginning to blossom between them.

Adriana lost her mother at a young age and spent a number of years with her father, who was an earl, and the rest of the family in Martinique. There she often played adventure games like pirates with her brothers, running wild and free on the island's beaches. She's always had a fervently independent nature, which once they were back in England became her downfall. Adriana was seduced by the king's illegitimate nephew, who eventually tossed her aside, leading to the duel that exiled her brothers. She very much enjoyed the affair at the time and doesn't regret her actions per se, but she does very much regret that it led to a man's death and pain for her family over being broken apart. That's why she's determined never to allow a man to turn her head again. She's spent the last five years hiding at their country estate, avoiding men and the censure of her peers from the scandal. When Tynan arrives, Adriana knows she must marry him for the sake of the family, and she'll allow him in her bed for the purpose of begetting an heir, but refuses to let herself truly enjoy it. This leads to a very awkward wedding night and an unhappy groom. Over time, though, they start to become friends, and eventually Adriana does succumb to passion with her handsome new husband, setting aside her vow when love takes over. But she's deeply concerned about her brother's fate, and with the trial looming, she must still face her scandalous past. Then there's also the matter of Tynan keeping something important from her and whether she'll be able to accept it when the truth comes out.

I have to admit that I had some trouble getting a read on Adriana. She's said to be mercurial and a woman of a thousand faces. I think that maybe she was a little too changeable, because it was difficult for me to figure out and understand the core of who she really was. That said, though, I sympathized with her having to deal with the scandal her actions caused. It sucks that women of that time had few choices and were censured if they had a sexual relationship outside marriage and were found out. A part of me admired that Adriana didn't really make any apologies for having the affair. I also like that with Tynan's help she held her head high as she navigated returning to society. She grows and changes throughout the story, gradually taking charge of her life, fighting her own battles, and taking responsibility for the consequences of her actions even if they were unfair. I like that in the end, she's able to stand by Tynan's side proudly, prepared for whatever the future holds for them.

Tynan is a wealthy Irish earl with a dangerous secret that could cause him to lose everything or possibly even be killed. His brother, who'd been his last living relative, was recently murdered, so he misses the closeness of family. His title affords him a seat in the Irish parliament, but there's a lot of unrest in the country between Catholics and Protestants. Tynan thinks that if he could secure a seat in the British parliament as well that he might be able to use the political clout to make changes back home. To help that plan along, he made the deal with Adriana's father to marry her. However, she isn't exactly warm and welcoming when he arrives for their wedding, and she seems rather icy, fighting her own body's natural reactions on their wedding night, leading to an awkward first coupling. When Adriana's brothers return, though, he sees a completely different side of her, and genuinely starts to like her. Tynan is determined to enter into society to make connections, so he also doesn't allow her to hide herself away in avoidance of the scandal, instead encouraging her to face it head on. Although he gradually begins to fall for Adriana, there are times when he's angry and jealous that she's holding herself away from him, but he eventually starts to win her over and discovers a truly passionate woman under her forcibly buttoned-up exterior. He knows he'll have to tell her the truth about himself soon, though, and fears what it will do to their relationship when she finds out. Overall, Tynan is a good guy. I like the way he dragged Adriana out of the shadow of the scandal and pushed her to face it. In so doing, I think he helped her to grow and change as a person. In his moments of anger and jealousy, though, I struggled a bit to connect with him. A part of me understood where he was coming from, but I think maybe I needed it spelled out a little more clearly. I also felt like his secret drug on a little too long.

All of Barbara Samuel's books I've read up to this point have been keepers for me. The Black Angel didn't quite clear that hurdle for me, but it was still a pretty good story. I never disliked Tynan or Adriana, but there were times when I didn't feel strongly connected to them. There was just a little something missing for me in their characterizations that I can't quite put my finger on, but I didn't always understand their actions as well as I wanted to. One such thing was Adriana giving in to her passions when she'd tried so hard to fight them. I couldn't really pinpoint what it was that changed her mind. I did enjoy Adriana's growth arc that occurs later in the book, though. Despite my personal disconnect, I did feel a connection between the characters that helped me to believe in their love and rightness for one another. The plotline regarding the scandal was well done and woven seamlessly into the narrative. However, Tynan's troubles seemed a little more distant. We see him occasionally brooding and worrying about telling Adriana, and he takes his good sweet time getting there. In fact, he doesn't really tell her at all, instead leaving a note for her to ask her brother, whom he'd told before leaving to deal with a tragedy that occurred back home. I kind of felt like this should have come out sooner. Also a bit more historical background on the conflict in Ireland wouldn't have gone amiss in helping to explain Tynan's character more. The ending was a little bittersweet, too, and not quite as happy as I'm used to seeing in a romance. It's still an HEA in that Tynan and Adriana are together and deeply in love, but there's an admission that their future is somewhat uncertain and could be rather dangerous.

One thing I loved about the story, though, was Adriana's big multi-cultural family. Four of her siblings are full, legitimate brother and sisters, but she also has two half-siblings who were the results of an affair her father had with a black woman in Martinique. Yet all of them are just one big happy family who love each other and don't see skin color, which isn't something you often see in a historical story. So even though I didn't end up loving The Black Angel like many of the author's other books, it still had some very good elements. I look forward to checking out the sequel, Night of Fire, which is Adriana's sister, Cassandra's story, soon.

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Barbara Samuel

Themes

Tortured Heroes