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~The Dancing Floor~
by Barbara Michaels
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Heroine:
husky |
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American school teacher Heather Tradescant has journeyed to merry Olde England
on a trip that is anything but merry. She is living out her
father's last wishes and visiting the famous ancient gardens as they
had once dreamed of doing together
Heather particularly desires to see the seventeenth century garden of one Troyton House, but is denied access by the owner. Determined to
at least get a glimpse of the fabled grounds, she gives in to impulse
and trespasses on the property, blundering her way through a
monstrous prickly hedge that does far more damage to her than she does to it.
Arriving on the far side of the vegetation Heather is left with a
deep-seated sense of uneasiness extending far beyond that of merely
breaking the law. She senses that perhaps God's own laws are
somehow being broken at Troyton House, but by who or what she does not
know--and is desperately afraid she will find out.
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What worked for me: |
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I give Heather
big points for being a teacher, and a lover of gardening, traditional
Regency romance novels, and chocolate!
I enjoyed the fact that the story was steeped in the lore of several
cultures. I wish it gone into even further detail in some cases,
it was so interesting.
Size-wise Heather describes herself as being big-boned but flat-chested.
But it didn't seem to lessen her appeal to the other gender, as she
had four men interested in her at one time or another.
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What didn't work for me: |
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Reading this
story felt like mentally traversing a maze with its twists,
turns, and false leads. And yet, it wasn't that highly
suspenseful for me. I think I went into it expecting something
shocking, like a "Blair Witch" meets contemporary gothic romance sort of
hybrid, and when I didn't get that kind of intense, high-speed action
I found it to be a bit draggy.
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Overall: |
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"The Dancing Floor" didn't quite have the
zing the back cover blurb really promised. Still, it's
definitely worth the
searching out at the library if you are a fan of witches and/or
gardening.
Warning:
There are several mentions of the occult in this novel and don't
expect many mentions of floors, dancing or otherwise in this
oddly-named story.
If you liked
"The Dancing Floor" you might also enjoy
"Aunt Dimity and the Duke" or
"Thornyhold". |
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