What do You think about Black Rainbow (2005)?
Black Rainbow is a prequel to Someone in the House. If you read it in publication order, then you will watch the foreordained dance and have additional layers of enjoyment. If not, you still have a rather nice piece of historical fiction. Note that the novel is not romantic suspense or gothic romance as usually Barbara Michaels writes, but is still well written and thought provoking. One character lets us see the time through a more modern glass, but it doesn't feel too out of place. Still the bit of "preachiness" about the upper class and women during the time moved it down a notch. I wish I could give it 4.5 stars. If you are looking for romantic suspense or a gothic, don't pick this book as you will not enjoy it. If you are willing to let it stand on its own merits as historical fiction, then give it a whirl.
—Jean
Barbara Michaels usually writes wonderful Gothic romances with great plot twists, wonderful characters and witty dialogue. You won't find any of that here. I had to force myself to finish this dreadful book.The "heroine" is actually the plain-looking and plain-spoken sister Jane. The governess who you think will be the heroine is a pretty idiot who can't see the obvious flaws in the man she works so hard to entrap. Except for Jane and a few workmen, every character in this book is so boorish, selfish or sociopathic that you don't care what happens to them.Forget this book. Read instead Michaels' clever Stitches in Time or her even better Wait for What Will Come. They're both so excellent you'll mourn when you come to the last page.
—Ivonne Rovira
I love Barbara Michaels--even more so when she writes as Elizabeth Peters, but I found Black Rainbow very disappointing. I hate to say the story was mediocre, so I'll just say it wasn't very exciting. A bigger disappointment was in the writing itself. When I read a line to the effect that "Megan's heart popped out of her chest and landed with a plop at his feet" I literally closed the book, vowing not to open it again. I did finish it, however, because it's my policy to finish any book I start. I found myself checking the cover frequently though, as I simply couldn't believe that the book was actually written by Barbara Michaels. A major disappointment from a much loved author.
—Maxine
