Musings on Romance
I have a review up at the ARRA blog today – Dark Witch by Nora Roberts. I think it’s fair to say that I prefer her stand alone romantic suspense stories to her trilogies in a general sense. This was entertaining enough but a lot of it felt like set up for the series and there wasn’t really enough of the romance for me. That said, I expect I’ll read the rest of the series.
Why I read it: I picked this one up for 99c after it was featured in the Dear Author Daily Deals post in November last year.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Some things should stay buried.
Repressed scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has two skills: reading dead languages and hiding in his office at the Ladysmith Museum. After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he’s ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.
So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult which murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn’t believe are real.
As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin’s secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life?
What worked for me (and what didn’t): A friend asked me to buddy read this book with her so, as is often the case, I started without reading the blurb or knowing much about the book other than that it was an historical m/m romance. So, the appearance of dark magic and rituals to bring people back from the dead came as a bit of a shock. In some ways, the book is in the same vein as The Magpie Lord. It isn’t the same book. The Magpie Lord is darkly amusing and Widdershins has a totally different aspect. It’s set in America – around 1890-something. Whyborne is a philologist (language specialist) for the Ladysmith museum in Widdershins, New England. He’s shy and socially awkward. One of the museum trustees, Mr. Rice, has commissioned Griffin Flaherty, a private detective, to look into the murder of his son. A strange book was posted to Mr. Rice by his son shortly before the murder and there seems likely to be a link. Griffin asked Whyborne to translate the book and they gradually become friends (and then lovers) and work together to solve the mystery.
Today is my 4th Blogaversary. I’m not doing an event or a giveaway but I wanted to say thank you to those who have read, visited, commented and assisted in various ways since I started.
I also wanted to celebrate by posting a review for a ripping good book. A Case of Possession is out on 28 January so this is a little early and might therefore lead to some readerly frustration and calendar watching.
You’re welcome.
Thx again and happy reading!
Why I read it: I received a review copy.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Magic in the blood. Danger in the streets.
A Charm of Magpies, Book 2
Lord Crane has never had a lover quite as elusive as Stephen Day. True, Stephen’s job as justiciar requires secrecy, but the magician’s disappearing act bothers Crane more than it should. When a blackmailer threatens to expose their illicit relationship, Crane knows a smart man would hop the first ship bound for China. But something unexpectedly stops him. His heart.
Stephen has problems of his own. As he investigates a plague of giant rats sweeping London, his sudden increase in power, boosted by his blood-and-sex bond with Crane, is rousing suspicion that he’s turned warlock. With all eyes watching him, the threat of exposure grows. Stephen could lose his friends, his job and his liberty over his relationship with Crane. He’s not sure if he can take that risk much longer. And Crane isn’t sure if he can ask him to.
The rats are closing in, and something has to give…
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I often feel I’m oblivious to things – in books and what goes on around me. It wasn’t until I started reading a lot of reviews and writing some myself that I even considered such things as pacing and structure in a novel. I think I acknowledged them as existing on one level, but it certainly wasn’t conscious. There is also something about not seeing the authorial hand which is often praised (including by me). But in this case, like a veil being drawn away from my eyes, I saw the structure of the book. For me it was a thing of beauty and something I was very happy to see. I did not find it at all intrusive. When I was reading I didn’t particularly notice but I was thinking one evening (before I finished the book but after I had finished reading for the night) about why I liked the book, beyond the obvious, surface type things. It struck me then that the book has a clever and beautiful structure. Perhaps this is something which is not at all novel for anyone else, but it was particularly so for me, so I wanted to tease out my thoughts about it here. Continue reading
I don’t know if I read the same way other people do. But I’ve been thinking lately about the way I read and what I see and pay attention to in the text of books. (And what I miss.) And I have realised something about myself. I am still working on the why, but here’s what I’ve got so far.
I think I have a “default hero” and a “default heroine”. I know that typically, blond heroes on covers do not sell as well as dark haired heroes. Maybe that’s why Mr. Default has dark hair – it’s what I’m most used to seeing. Or maybe that is my own preference. But Mr. Default is tall (around 6’1″ ish), with broad shoulders, narrow hips and a six pack. Ms. Default is less defined – in that I find it much easier to change her hair colour (is this the influence of book covers again?) but she, typically is around medium height, edging into tall (maybe 5’7″ish), slim, with a nipped in waist and a nice (but not huge) rack. If I’m reading a book where the characters aren’t particularly well defined, Mr. and Ms. Default step in. It’s also true that if I’m reading a book where the hero is described as very short or very tall or otherwise outside my “default”, I tend to morph the hero in my mind. I “see” him in my head as around that 6′ mark unless the text doesn’t allow me to.
For example, in The Magpie Lord, my inclination was to make Stephen taller. Unfortunately, the text kept reminding me that he was not tall –
He was incredibly unimpressive. Short, for one thing, barely five feet tall, narrow shouldered, significantly underweight, hollow-cheeked. He had reddish-brown hair cut unfashionably close, possibly against a hint of curls. His worn suit of faded black was obviously cheap and didn’t fit terribly well; bizarrely, he wore cheap cotton gloves. He looked like a clerk, the ten-a-penny kind who drudged in every counting house, except that he had tawny-gold eyes that were vividly glowing in his pale rigid face, and they were staring at Crane with something that looked extraordinarily like hate.
I never felt the text hammered it into my head over and over again. It was not annoying. But, I could not see Stephen as anything other than the short man he was.
Mr. Default and Ms. Default (or Mr. and Mr. Default as the case may be) are usually relatively close in age as well. That’s my default. So, unless the text convinces me an age difference is important, I’m going to picture the main characters as being similar in age/maturity too. I read The Changeup by Rhonda Shaw recently. The hero is 22 and the heroine is 34. I didn’t actually start off thinking that was a huge deal in terms of age difference (because, fundamentally, I don’t think 34 is old). But the text convinced me it was a problem. It also convinced me (and I don’t think it was supposed to) that the hero was actually too immature to be in a relationship with the heroine.
I also read The Good Boy by Lisa Henry and JA Rock shortly after. (I reviewed it at Dear Author.) Derek, the elder hero was 37 and Lane, the younger hero was 20. For some reason I didn’t feel that the age difference meant anything material to them. Possibly it was because the authors did a good job of showing that the characters related well to one another and that Lane was a mature 20 year old. (He was certainly vulnerable but maturity is a different thing I think). But, what if I merely inserted my default? Did I round Lane up to 25 and Derek down to 30? I might have. I don’t know.
with a review of Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan, narrated by Sean Crisden. The early books have recently been re-recorded with new narrators. I’m not sure that helped; the book seems dated to me and the narration wasn’t my favourite.
Up until 16 December, I read a total of 251 books for the year. Of those, 145 were books published in 2013. Last year, my 2012/all-reading ratio was a lot lower. Good for the newly released books, not so good for the books languishing on Mr. TBR.
Out of all the books I read, only 27 were rated 5 stars, but 144 were rated 4 stars. I’d have to say that’s a pretty good reading year.
Of the books released in 2013, my favourites were (click on the pics to see my reviews):
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