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A review by xterminal
The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
3.0
Barbara Michaels, The Dancing Floor (Harper, 1997)
Well, it had to happen sooner or later: Barbara Michaels is winding down. After writing a surprisingly large number of witty, original gothic romances, Michaels is starting to get-- gasp-- predictable.
Our (spunky, not overly attractive, pits in the self-esteem department) heroine, fulfilling plans she made with her recently-deceased father, has traveled to Britain to tour the great gardens therein. At one, she is staunchly rebuffed and refused entrance, but she gains entrance anyway. Surprisingly, the lord of the crumbling demesne is overjoyed to see her, and invites her to stay in his home for as long as necessary. He (older cad, dashingly handsome, filthy rich) has both a son (standoffish, far more interested in his research than in the goings-on around him, needlessly harsh with his words when forced to interact) and a servant (who looks and acts something like Pan) who are both around heroine's age. Add in some seemingly-supernatural goings-on and... hmm. Bet you can't predict how THAT one's going to turn out.
Still, Michaels is Michaels. The plot moves along at a fine clip, the characetrs have just enough depth to make her work stand out from the pack, and everything is quite satisfactorily put to rest at the end of the book. It's pure escapism of the most guilty kind. Good for turning one's brain off. But if you're looking for real quality, earlier Mchaels novels are the way to go-- Prince of Darkness, Houses of Stone, Black Rainbow, etc. ** 1/2
Well, it had to happen sooner or later: Barbara Michaels is winding down. After writing a surprisingly large number of witty, original gothic romances, Michaels is starting to get-- gasp-- predictable.
Our (spunky, not overly attractive, pits in the self-esteem department) heroine, fulfilling plans she made with her recently-deceased father, has traveled to Britain to tour the great gardens therein. At one, she is staunchly rebuffed and refused entrance, but she gains entrance anyway. Surprisingly, the lord of the crumbling demesne is overjoyed to see her, and invites her to stay in his home for as long as necessary. He (older cad, dashingly handsome, filthy rich) has both a son (standoffish, far more interested in his research than in the goings-on around him, needlessly harsh with his words when forced to interact) and a servant (who looks and acts something like Pan) who are both around heroine's age. Add in some seemingly-supernatural goings-on and... hmm. Bet you can't predict how THAT one's going to turn out.
Still, Michaels is Michaels. The plot moves along at a fine clip, the characetrs have just enough depth to make her work stand out from the pack, and everything is quite satisfactorily put to rest at the end of the book. It's pure escapism of the most guilty kind. Good for turning one's brain off. But if you're looking for real quality, earlier Mchaels novels are the way to go-- Prince of Darkness, Houses of Stone, Black Rainbow, etc. ** 1/2