I was unusually hooked in by this book, counting the minutes until I could get back to it. I don't consider myself a fan of angsty romances in generalI was unusually hooked in by this book, counting the minutes until I could get back to it. I don't consider myself a fan of angsty romances in general but this one earned its right to the drama by pairing up a shocking, traumatic beginning (in which the hero tried and failed to prevent the heroine from being raped) with a slow meditation on the stages of recovery from trauma and the stages of building trust. This created an almost marriage-of-convenience feel, in which two people are thrust into a fraught, symbiotic relationship they did not ask for and aren't really ready for. In this book, the slow burn is the way their feelings for each other grow as they wait for her to process her trauma enough to trust him.
The hero of this book was fantastic - there are a few action scenes showing his strength, but mostly we see his gentleness, and patience, and generosity. And it's a book where he is all in from the start, and has to wait for her to figure it out and join him, if you're into that, which I am. Lots of pining, if you're into that, which I am.
Some romances feel like they're written off the cuff, in a fit of inspiration. This one read like the author first thought long and hard about what it would take to trust a sexual partner after a rape and wrote the book after she had the idea clear in her head. If this sounds unromantic, it's not - it made the book feel coherent and appropriately serious. This is a romance about trauma, not a romance with trauma as a plot device. But it's also not a drag, it feels very hopeful, without pulling punches about how shitty this is for both of them, or making it seem like he fixed her with magic sex. It ends up being extremely romantic, and also real about relationships, and the way that the hardest thing about them is letting someone get close enough to see your flaws and fears. And how good it feels when you can be loved in spite of it.
This rating might be a little unfair because (1) I did not read the other books in the series, and it did seem like there was a lot of build-up that IThis rating might be a little unfair because (1) I did not read the other books in the series, and it did seem like there was a lot of build-up that I missed and (2) I could see the craft in the book, but the angst to pages ratio was just too high, and I felt I was only seeing these people in their most angsty moments - I lacked a sense of them as rounded people. But it seems like that's exactly what this line was intended to be, so what am I on about?...more
I loved this series in high school, but that was such a long time ago. I decided to try a nostalgic re-read. I like the balance between romance and adI loved this series in high school, but that was such a long time ago. I decided to try a nostalgic re-read. I like the balance between romance and adventure in these stories. While I am not an expert in the period detail, I think the strength of this series of books is the attention paid to building the world of the past. I enjoy this kind of escapism and appreciated the rich descriptions of the clothes, customs, and houses. Veryan also makes the effort to write the dialogue using slang and expressions of the time. Unfortunately, this does not work as well for me. I'm not sure if it's accurate or not, but it does read to me as contrived, as if the author is showing off her research skills.
On the negative side, the book also reads as escapist in ways that I value less. While many of the characters make bad first impressions, it seems like they all have hearts of gold, and they don't seem quite real enough or different from one another enough. The plotting tends to be byzantine and reliant on coincidence. I also prefer books that portray falling in love as finding a person whose strengths and weaknesses and idiosyncrasies fit well with yours, and this isn't that - it's more about finding a person who lives up to your high standards.
Still, it's a costume romp, and I can see the appeal for many readers. ...more
I think that this might be a simple, feminist parable about refusing to accept defeat in public forums, refusing to accept other people's stereotypes I think that this might be a simple, feminist parable about refusing to accept defeat in public forums, refusing to accept other people's stereotypes of what you are, and a call to keep trying in nontraditional creative ways. However, reading it in January 2017, it feels entirely like a metaphor for the presidential election, and it's hard to believe that it wasn't written that way (which it wasn't, it was published in the summer). My describing it this way of course oversimplifies what actually happened during the election, which was complicated and multifactorial. However, part of the experience of watching it play out for many professional women was the feeling of there being a double standard. It was cathartic to read it and I would recommend that you do if you have that double standard feeling. This theme totally overshadowed the romance for me, but that was okay, I needed the catharsis more. ...more
Great things about this book: The love of music that rings through it. The attention paid to working through past traumas over time, not instantly. ThGreat things about this book: The love of music that rings through it. The attention paid to working through past traumas over time, not instantly. The stress that the heroine had made the right choice for her when she gave up a baby for adoption, rather than the one 'right choice.' The families, who were stressful but nuanced. However, the chemistry between the couple worked less well for me, and I did have concerns about whether the hero had really changed enough that he wouldn't backslide under stress. ...more
These poems tell the story of the many times a day a black woman has to stop and confront race. Each single episode, in itself, might not mean anythinThese poems tell the story of the many times a day a black woman has to stop and confront race. Each single episode, in itself, might not mean anything, but the aggregate of them means a lot. The brevity of each scene, but the accumulation of them, helps to make this point, and the fact that each one appears without much context conveys the sense of startle, and the inability to prepare oneself. ...more
This should be a whole genre - an autiobiography in poetry. The little scenes that make up a life feel very much like the way autobiographical memory This should be a whole genre - an autiobiography in poetry. The little scenes that make up a life feel very much like the way autobiographical memory works - sometimes tableaus, sometimes sense memories, sometimes dialogue, sometimes events. You can see the author's world view and identity developing without a lot of editorializing, but by what she chooses include, just the way each of us, to some extent, edit what we remember and memorialize, too. I appreciate the child's eye view of the events of civil rights era. ...more
I read this picture book because I was doing a reading challenge that specified a Newbery winner. It beautifully evoked the practiced skill of findingI read this picture book because I was doing a reading challenge that specified a Newbery winner. It beautifully evoked the practiced skill of finding the beautiful even in difficult and dirty and disadvantaged circumstances. However, it also came across as somewhat Pollyanna-ish in not openly acknowledging that the boy in the story is right, his circumstances aren't fair. I know this is implied; I still think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been said. Still, at 45, I'm hardly the book's target audience. Kudos to a children's book that acknowledges diverse circumstances and people. ...more
This book bumped my slump! It was engaging and I loved both the hero and the heroine. I'm not a big fan of the asshole who reforms through love of a gThis book bumped my slump! It was engaging and I loved both the hero and the heroine. I'm not a big fan of the asshole who reforms through love of a good woman (Nice For You?) but Chase quickly made it clear that the hero narrator sees himself as an asshole but is actually anything but. There are big swaths of his life (his friendships, his relationships with his mom and his mentor, his innat kindness to people in crisis) in which he is a good guy, but at the start of the book, he is still struggling with the big ones: love and work. When he did decide to change, it felt like he was uncovering who he really was, rather than spackling over personality flaws in order to 'get' the heroine, as can sometimes be the case. I appreciated that his taking a chance on love also led to his taking a chance to find a job that didn't make him feel guilty about himself. I also love a romance that emphasizes both respect and attraction, and this one delivered. We get a little less of the heroine's point of view, so I'm not sure I fully got to know her as well as the hero, but she is smart and determined while still human in dealing with a difficult situation. The chemistry was strong, the sex was hot (I almost missed my bus stop!) and I thought about this book an unusual amount when I had to be away from it.
In some ways, I think the problems of this book were that the author created a couple that seemed so good together, the devices she used to keep them apart seemed artificial. The social work system became the villain at one point in a way that I did not find convincing (I have some real life experience with this, and the system has a boatload of flaws, but not really the ones portrayed here, in my experience). I wish the author had consulted with a social worker as well as the lawyer she thanks in the acknowledgements. The hero has a few crises of faith in the course of the book. The first one seemed entirely believable, the last one came out of nowhere and seemed unearned. And although it took up only one sentence I am HORRIFIED that the author implied that the hero drove drunk, to the home of a family whose lives had already been tragically affected by a car accident. That's not hero behaviour!
Still, the net effect of these concerns on my enjoyment of the book was negligible because the characters were so lively and fun, and their connection so genuine seeming. I loved it anyway. I highly recommend it. ...more
Maybe I'm projecting, but this short book feels as though it's written by someone so old and wise that the unessential is burned away. There is agonizMaybe I'm projecting, but this short book feels as though it's written by someone so old and wise that the unessential is burned away. There is agonizing pain but there's also hope, and the hope is found through the courage to be honest, and face things. Toni Morrison has a remarkable way of including just enough telling detail to make each character seem real. It's sort of like a tiny opera. ...more
Loading...
