WAYS TO BE WICKED

Author: Julie Anne Long ISBN: 0446616877 10/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: WARNER FOREVER
Time Period: Regency England

DAZZLING! Sylvie Lamoureux is the darling of the Paris ballet, renowned for her beauty and passionate dedication to her art. But when a mysterious letter sends her across the English Channel, she finds herself literally landing in the lap of one of London's most notorious men. DARING! With a face that has charmed many a London lady, theater impresario Tom Shaughnessy is used to women falling into his arms. But from the moment this feisty young Frenchwoman leaps into his carriage, he senses he's met his rival in wit, daring…and sensuality. DESTINED! When fate pulls Sylvie into the bawdy world of Tom's theater, a desire neither of them fully expects threatens to upend their well-laid plans. But the past Sylvie never knew she had will force her to make a decision. She can either let it bring down the curtain on their fiery pas de deux…or trust this wicked man with her heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I can't begin to tell you how much I adored reading Sylvie's story. This is the second in Julie Anne Long's lost Holt sisters trilogy, and it is absolutely delightful! It's one of those fast-paced reads that leaves you with that feel good smile on your face once you've finished. The saving grace is, there's one more story in this series to go after this, THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION, but it will still be sad when this excellent trilogy is finished.

Who would have ever thought to plop down into the midst of a bunch of somewhat bawdy theatre dancers, a lithe, worldly French prima donna ballerina and make it work? Along with a love story? Julie Anne Long did, and make it work she did. Every single secondary character she wrote, from the raucous chorus girls to the dictorial dance master, The General (some of whom are carryovers from BEAUTY AND THE SPY, the first sister, Susannah's story), seemed just as alive as Sylvie and Tom. It takes a lot of skill and some very good writing to pull that off, and Long does so in spades.

This story isn't all humor, though. It's also a love story between Sylvie, the ballerina, and Tom Shaughnessy, owner of this risque theatre and its rather unique employees. Of course, their attraction to each other is immediate, from the very first time Sylvie plops down in Tom's lap. Sylvie's not an innocent—she's traveled the whole of Europe, dancing before princes and kings, and even has a rich French lover. Tom, on the other hand, is a self-made man. He's built his theatre up from nothing and seems a happy-go-lucky, lady-killer extraordinaire who's as carefree as a bird. Both have many parallels between their lives, although neither one knows that, at first. But once the veneers are stripped away and souls laid bare, these two opposites are meant to be.

I have to say something about a particular scene when Sylvie secretly dances ballet in the attic, because it is so elegantly written. Sylvie's grace, her fluid movements, her gentle turns and sways across the floor are so beautifully described, you immediately envision this lovely ballerina in the dusky light dancing in a world of her own. You're the voyeur along with Tom, secretly watching her as she leaps, twirls and gracefully arches, and you just can't look away. Tom's pain becomes your pain when he sees for himself just how talented a dancer Sylvie is, and just how far out of reach she is for a man like him. It's one of those rare passages in a story that will stay with you forever: romantic, sensual, yet sadly poignant.

If you've never read a Julie Anne Long romance, then woe be unto you because you're really missing out on an author whose writing excels in so many ways. Original, sensual, at times dramatic, and sparkling with wit and humor, WAYS TO BE WICKED is a definite must read, hands... or should I say, toes... down. Historical romance just doesn't come much better than this.

Nancy Davis