I'm so glad I found this book. I absolutely adore all retellings of Dangerous Liaisons; it's a story that lends itself particularly well to almost any time period and there's been adaptations set in 18th century Korea, late 1990s Manhattan prep schools, 1920s Brazil. Sophfronia Scott sets Unforgivable Love in 1940s Harlem to great effect.

As in Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Unforgivable Love mainly focuses on the machinations of two of society's most privileged, most beautiful and most cunning - the Vicomte de Valmont, here named Val Jackson, and the Marquise de Merteuil, called here Mae Malveaux.

I adored Mae Malveaux immediately. I've always had a penchant for prickly, complex female characters and Mae is certainly that. I know that Les Liaisons Dangereuse is often cited as an exploration of human malice, a morality tale about the corruption of the rich. Like the other adaptations, Unforgivable Love is also about the affluent, the upper echelons of society that has its own rules, but I've always found that what attracted me to the story, to so many adaptations, is that underneath it all, it's about gender. Merteuil's character is always frustrated by the freedom, sexual and otherwise, that maleness grants Valmont, yet she will use the very chains that bind her to destroy other women.

Unforgivable Love alternates viewpoints between Mae and Val as well as the intelligent yet inexperienced Elizabeth Townsend (Madame de Tourvel) and the young and naive Cecily Vaughan (Cécile de Volanges). I enjoyed Val's chapters, particularly the way Scott describes how meticulous he is, in business as well as in his sexual conquests, though I prefered the women's chapters. I enjoyed that each woman's perspective felt unique, their voices elegantly crafted by Scott.

What I liked about the perspectives of Elizabeth, Cecily and Mae was that they were all such disparate women. Mae is beyond complicated, intensely beautiful, clever, cunning, and worst of all, viciously empty, whereas Elizabeth is open, compassionate, devout, and ultimately changeable. Cécile de Volanges can often be played as a joke, the ingenue who lacks the depth and cleverness of the older women, but what I loved about Cecily's chapters is that Scott didn't do that at all. Cecily is young, naive, perhaps wholly without a calculating mind, but she's solid. She watches and learns, she finds peace in the simple labour that makes her body feel strong and roots her to the earth.

I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that there's enough of a deviation that even ardent fans won't find it a complete retread. All in all, I really enjoyed Unforgivable Love and I'm looking forward to more of Sophfronia Scott's novels. ( )

This retelling of Dangerous Liaisons is one of the more original retellings I've encountered. While the story is familiar, the setting (1940s Harlem) and characters make the story fresh and alive. I appreciated the historical aspects of making this book set in a very real period, with allusions to Jackie Robinson breaking into major league baseball and the growing civil rights movement. I enjoyed the story more than I expected and I loved how the author made a very old tale new again. ( )

Cecily is innocent and a pawn in Val’s lust and Mae manipulation in her twisted plan of deceit and revenge. Val is also interested in another woman and does not mind if he ruins Cecily in the process. It takes a while, but in the end most get what they want or at least what they deserve.

I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )