I have a friend who doesn't like angsty books. Whenever she comes across a book with angst, she sends it over to me, saying "I know you like angst, so I'm sure you'll like this". If only it were that simple! It's tricky to write an angsty book that conveys real emotion, rather than just cardboard melodrama (and it's a skill that fewer authors seem to have these days...)
Untouched by Anna Campbell
(2007, Regency Historical) 2/22/08
Grade: 3
Recently widowed Grace is abducted and brought to an isolated estate, to become the mistress of the mad Lord Sheene. Matthew has been kept in isolation since he was 14 and suffered from brain fever, his uncle calling him insane to keep control of his fortune. He is determined not to give in to his uncle’s plans, but Grace is so very tempting...
I had high hopes for this book. A hero who has been isolated most of his life, treated as insane? Nirvana for an angst bunny like me. But something about this book just rang false. I never really believed in Matthew or in Grace. It’s hard to explain exactly why - the overblown style and somewhat purplish prose is part of it, but I’ve read other books with that style and found them compelling. But somehow, this one felt over-the-top and melodramatic, rather than heartfelt. The author seemed to tell us who Matthew and Grace were, rather than showing us. There were good aspects to the book - I appreciated that Matthew wasn’t instantly a stud in bed and had to learn, even though he caught on pretty quickly - but still, I wanted more, and I just ended up disappointed.
I was hoping for something along the lines of Flowers From The Storm, but alas, it didn't come close.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
A Scandalous Proposal by Julia Justiss
Another older book plucked out of my TBR pile.
A Scandalous Proposal by Julia Justiss
(2000, Regency) 2/7/08
Grade: 3.5
Emily has been struggling since her family disowned her and her soldier husband died in Spain, but she’s finally been able to open up a hat shop and support her son. But when Evan, the Earl of Cheverley, helps her, she decides a liasion with him is her best option. Evan finds her very attractive, but neither one expected to fall in love...
At first I expected to dislike the premise of this book (she’s just a mistress!) but that turned out to be less of an issue than I originally thought. I liked the characters, and even though it’s hard to understand at first why Evan is so “in love” with Emily, his love (and not just lust) becomes clearer as time goes on. However, this book felt like a series of strung-together episodes. It seemed like every time Evan and Emily got close to happiness, the author threw another out-of-the-blue obstacle in their way. It’s his position - no, it’s his friend who died in battle - no, it’s the crippled fiancee - no, it’s her title - no, it’s her engagement to his friend. It began to get tedious. Although the book started with promise and had appealing characters, I found the book harder and harder to get through as I got further into it - I just got tired.
Although the sex quotient is a bit higher here than in a typical Regency, I'd still label this Harlequin Historical as "Regency" rather than "Regency Historical".
A Scandalous Proposal by Julia Justiss
(2000, Regency) 2/7/08
Grade: 3.5
Emily has been struggling since her family disowned her and her soldier husband died in Spain, but she’s finally been able to open up a hat shop and support her son. But when Evan, the Earl of Cheverley, helps her, she decides a liasion with him is her best option. Evan finds her very attractive, but neither one expected to fall in love...
At first I expected to dislike the premise of this book (she’s just a mistress!) but that turned out to be less of an issue than I originally thought. I liked the characters, and even though it’s hard to understand at first why Evan is so “in love” with Emily, his love (and not just lust) becomes clearer as time goes on. However, this book felt like a series of strung-together episodes. It seemed like every time Evan and Emily got close to happiness, the author threw another out-of-the-blue obstacle in their way. It’s his position - no, it’s his friend who died in battle - no, it’s the crippled fiancee - no, it’s her title - no, it’s her engagement to his friend. It began to get tedious. Although the book started with promise and had appealing characters, I found the book harder and harder to get through as I got further into it - I just got tired.
Although the sex quotient is a bit higher here than in a typical Regency, I'd still label this Harlequin Historical as "Regency" rather than "Regency Historical".
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
When I was a teenager, I loved "young adult" books. My local library had a small section devoted to YA fiction, and I literally read my way through the entire collection, A to Z. I wallowed in the angst of teen pregnancies, paralyzing accidents, dread diseases, dying siblings. (This was the 80's, and angst was in.) YA has a lot in common with romance - most YA books have hopeful endings, even if they aren't perfect tied-with-a-bow HEA's, and there's a strong message of redemption. (No wonder I felt like I'd come home when I discovered Balogh and Kinsale.)
Despite my great love of angsty stories, I haven't had much luck reading YA in recent years. I've been told that there are major gems in the YA genre these days, and I've gotten lots of recommendations. But these days, I find the teenage characters a bit hard to take. I must be old - I just can't relate to them any more. But happily, there are exceptions, and I'm really glad I read about this one on the Dear Author web site. (Thanks!)
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
(2007, Contemporary Young Adult) 2/5/08
Grade: 4
In this YA book, Kip McFarland struggles with the aftermath of his terrible crime. When he was nine, he set a seven year old neighbor on fire and killed him. After four years in a psychiatric hospital, he has to rebuild his life, while keeping his identity strictly secret. That may be too much for Kip to bear.
The book is divided into three sections, and the book’s strengths and weaknesses are also divided between the sections. The first section, mostly devoted to Kip’s years in the psychiatric hospital, is the shortest, but also the most vivid and realistic. The author does an amazing job at showing Kip’s thought processes, emotional problems, and gradual healing, in just 50 pages. This could easily have filled an entire book on its own. The second section is also vivid, but it jumps a bit too quickly from year to year. But the secondary characters are well drawn, and there are some moments of painful truth that really worked. The third section was the real weakness of the book. It’s the longest section, but it feels padded. As much as I love a good romance, Sam felt like an intrusion here. Her problems were far too convenient, and the resolution too pat. As much as I appreciate a happy ending, it didn’t feel real the way the earlier parts of the book did - a hopeful but less glossy resolution might have worked better. Still, this is a book that really makes you think, and I’m very glad I read it.
This book could easily have been a lecture (and a lot of the reviews make it sound that way). But it's not. The author shows you a person, and lets you decide for yourself. I wish it had been a little tighter at the end, less "movie of the week", but that's a small weakness compared to the rest.
Despite my great love of angsty stories, I haven't had much luck reading YA in recent years. I've been told that there are major gems in the YA genre these days, and I've gotten lots of recommendations. But these days, I find the teenage characters a bit hard to take. I must be old - I just can't relate to them any more. But happily, there are exceptions, and I'm really glad I read about this one on the Dear Author web site. (Thanks!)
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
(2007, Contemporary Young Adult) 2/5/08
Grade: 4
In this YA book, Kip McFarland struggles with the aftermath of his terrible crime. When he was nine, he set a seven year old neighbor on fire and killed him. After four years in a psychiatric hospital, he has to rebuild his life, while keeping his identity strictly secret. That may be too much for Kip to bear.
The book is divided into three sections, and the book’s strengths and weaknesses are also divided between the sections. The first section, mostly devoted to Kip’s years in the psychiatric hospital, is the shortest, but also the most vivid and realistic. The author does an amazing job at showing Kip’s thought processes, emotional problems, and gradual healing, in just 50 pages. This could easily have filled an entire book on its own. The second section is also vivid, but it jumps a bit too quickly from year to year. But the secondary characters are well drawn, and there are some moments of painful truth that really worked. The third section was the real weakness of the book. It’s the longest section, but it feels padded. As much as I love a good romance, Sam felt like an intrusion here. Her problems were far too convenient, and the resolution too pat. As much as I appreciate a happy ending, it didn’t feel real the way the earlier parts of the book did - a hopeful but less glossy resolution might have worked better. Still, this is a book that really makes you think, and I’m very glad I read it.
This book could easily have been a lecture (and a lot of the reviews make it sound that way). But it's not. The author shows you a person, and lets you decide for yourself. I wish it had been a little tighter at the end, less "movie of the week", but that's a small weakness compared to the rest.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart
Just when I'm ready to give up on suspense, Anne Stuart (who else?) changes my mind just a bit.
Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart
(2006, Suspense) 2/1/08
Grade: 4
Genevieve is hoping to deliver some papers to billionaire Harry Van Dorn and be on her way - but she finds herself in the way of Peter Jensen, an assassin from the Committee. At first Peter just finds Genevieve an annoyance, even though he’s reluctant to kill an innocent, but soon he finds himself intrigued despite his icy professionalism.
Surprisingly good. Although I don’t usually like suspense, the character of Peter Jensen made this book unique and worth reading. Although the “cold assassin” is a well known character, Stuart managed to humanize him without compromising who he was - he wasn’t a “warm and fuzzy guy who was misunderstood”. He did what he had to do, and I would have loved to know more about him. Genevieve was a good foil for him, although she was a more typical romance heroine - “fiesty”, sometimes in a foolhearty way, but she never came across as stupid. I got a little tired of the suspense plot in the last part of the book - it was well done, I just didn’t particularly care - but the characters kept me turning the pages.
I'm still not ready to run out and buy more suspense books - I'm not even that interested in other books in this series. But a great character can make me like a book that otherwise wouldn't appeal to me, and that's definitely the case here. Stuart gave me a wonderful, intriguing character in Peter, and unlike most suspense authors, she was willing to devote a huge amount of the book to character development rather than "running around". Unfortunately, that's rare.
Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart
(2006, Suspense) 2/1/08
Grade: 4
Genevieve is hoping to deliver some papers to billionaire Harry Van Dorn and be on her way - but she finds herself in the way of Peter Jensen, an assassin from the Committee. At first Peter just finds Genevieve an annoyance, even though he’s reluctant to kill an innocent, but soon he finds himself intrigued despite his icy professionalism.
Surprisingly good. Although I don’t usually like suspense, the character of Peter Jensen made this book unique and worth reading. Although the “cold assassin” is a well known character, Stuart managed to humanize him without compromising who he was - he wasn’t a “warm and fuzzy guy who was misunderstood”. He did what he had to do, and I would have loved to know more about him. Genevieve was a good foil for him, although she was a more typical romance heroine - “fiesty”, sometimes in a foolhearty way, but she never came across as stupid. I got a little tired of the suspense plot in the last part of the book - it was well done, I just didn’t particularly care - but the characters kept me turning the pages.
I'm still not ready to run out and buy more suspense books - I'm not even that interested in other books in this series. But a great character can make me like a book that otherwise wouldn't appeal to me, and that's definitely the case here. Stuart gave me a wonderful, intriguing character in Peter, and unlike most suspense authors, she was willing to devote a huge amount of the book to character development rather than "running around". Unfortunately, that's rare.
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