dumb fun; a mish-mash; a cacophony of incomplete ideas; an adult novel written as if it were a Young Adult novel; a bonafide page-turner.
I was irritabdumb fun; a mish-mash; a cacophony of incomplete ideas; an adult novel written as if it were a Young Adult novel; a bonafide page-turner.
I was irritably wondering why there was so much time spent describing how horny our heroine is for our template-broody hero, who is barely described outside of having dark hair and cut muscles, until I suddenly remembered that this is a shining example of the genre called ❤️ROMANTASY❤️. the fault is all mine! constant simmering horniness is a hallmark of the romance genre, so why shouldn't it be for the ❤️...more
I had the day off today and thought, Why not read a romance novel? Why not read two of them? Why not read two romance novels that I figured would neveI had the day off today and thought, Why not read a romance novel? Why not read two of them? Why not read two romance novels that I figured would never be published today? And so I read this one and I also read this one.
This is a romance novel about the relationship between a young lady on an ill-fated trip to Tierra Nuevo and the former war photographer who has been tasked to make sure she stays safe. The hero is a womanizing alpha asshole who constantly berates his charge. The heroine is a virginal, nature-loving retard little fool. Our hero actually calls her that and other nicknames, in-between teaching her the importance of washing his clothes. She frets, makes constant mistakes, and coos over the jungle's beauty, while he brags about himself and bitches about how she's a pain in the ass. They find a magically well-stocked hacienda. The sex is only slightly explicit, which was a relief.
The writing is ludicrous, especially the dialogue; no surprise there. This is on the edge of Bodice Ripper but is nowhere near as extreme, so no slapping let alone raping, which may come as a disappointment for some. The book is basically two people on the run in the jungle, with equal measures of hero sniping at heroine and heroine getting hard nipples at the sight of hero's bare chest. He is a jade-eyed jaguar, she has everchanging red-gold hair, and of course they live happily ever after plus pregnancy. Overall, the book was an embarrassing experience but I still kinda enjoyed it?
Wild that this book was a Harlequin Romance, I didn't realize that even mainstream romance novels had incredibly demeaning heroes and developmentally disabled heroines. Not sure how I feel about that. The early 90s were definitely a different era!
The cover of my copy is surprisingly sedate and classy:
I had the day off today and thought, Why not read a romance novel? Why not read two of them? Why not read two romance novels that I figured would neveI had the day off today and thought, Why not read a romance novel? Why not read two of them? Why not read two romance novels that I figured would never be published today? And so I read this one and I also read this one.
This is a romance novel about the relationship between a 19-year-old college student and a 13-year-old kid enrolled at a nearby boarding school. The younger kid is a sporty, self-assured little fellow who is very much into his clothes. The older fellow is an iconoclastic, aimless groomer lover of younger fellows. I mean, he actually self-identifies as a pederast. The two even have a frank conversation about pederasty, although they spend most of their time together taking tea, eating snacks, going on day trips, and taking artistic photos. There is quite a lot about college life and about boarding school life, the monotony and sometimes the fun of it. There is no explicit sex, which was a relief.
The prose is excellent and the dialogue is so convincing, so real. Angus Stewart has a superior ability in conveying longing and making everyday activities feel both banal and mysterious. The book is suffused with melancholy and yet feels light, even casual. After an accident that pulls them apart then brings them back together, the novel ends abruptly, shortly after the day of their planned departure to Europe (financed by the younger lad's understanding guardian!). But it does not end in despair. The relationship runs its course; their lives go on. Overall, I enjoyed this odd, uncomfortable novel. Actually saw myself in the younger kid.
Wild that this book was apparently a bestselling, critically acclaimed novel that was reviewed by serious mainstream journals and whose protagonist was not rejected offhand by those reviewers. Not sure how I feel about that. The late 60s were definitely a different era!
The cover of the e-book is unsurprisingly less erotic:
Clemence Housman is perhaps best known for being an activist in the English suffragette movement of the late 19th century and as a co-founder of SuffrClemence Housman is perhaps best known for being an activist in the English suffragette movement of the late 19th century and as a co-founder of Suffrage Atelier, an artist's collective. As a member of the Women's Tax Resistance League, she spent a brief time in prison, released shortly after her imprisonment due to protests by supporters. (Thank you Wikipedia for that useful information!) Clearly she was a remarkable person, influential in an important movement and a source of great support for women.
She is also the author of my favorite classic horror short story "The Were-Wolf." The story is enchanting, evocative and layered and beautifully written, in my estimation a perfect work. It was written in 1896 and can be found in many places, including Masters of Horror.
I wrote all of that to avoid getting to this point: I completely loathed her novel The Unknown Sea. What a crashing disappointment. Just dreadful to read and weirdly offensive to me on a spiritual level. "Offensive on a spiritual level" - what does that even mean? Again per Wikipedia, each of her works is a 'Christian fantasy' that dramatises religious themes. (An aside: I will have to reread "The Were-Wolf" another time, with that knowledge as a lens.) As someone interested in spirituality and as a person who loves God - I doubt I qualify as a 'Christian' per se, but Christianity is the faith with which I feel the most connection - her interest in spiritual matters is something that would usually increase my own interest in her writings. Her faith is not the cause of my irritation with this confounded book; the irritation comes from her interpretation of that faith.
The story is about a young coral-fisher, a foundling from a place where folks have lighter hair and complexions (Scandinavia?) taken in by swarthier folks further south (the Mediterranean?) - in a seaside village. I mention the physical appearances because they are described almost obsessively by the author as well, so I imagine they were of some importance to her. The child is the sole survivor of a shipwreck and is named 'Christian' due to the inscription on the necklace found upon him. Although his parents are kindly (despite his mother's religious fanaticism), the villagers surrounding them are a brutal, violent, suspicious, and superstition lot who never accept the boy and give him the moniker 'The Alien'.
The novel starts out fine, although the prose is strangely stilted in comparison to "The Were-Wolf" - the writing made this far from easy or pleasurable to read. Hardy young sailor Christian survives a storm by landing on the Isle of Dread, which is always avoided by locals. On its shore, he spies a beautiful and naked young witch. He falls instantly in love, imagining his foot upon the footprint she left on the island's sand. (I did enjoy that strange, oddly sweet image.) But when he meets her in person, she teases and taunts him, and secretly chooses to send him back to the safety of his village, where she will somehow slowly and utterly destroy his life - the other options she rejects being to either kill him instantly or to keep him on her isle.
And so Christian is returned to his village, and in short order the villagers rise up against him, torturing him and leaving him for dead. He survives and loses his mind, becoming a man-child. A girl who has also been taken in by his parents is set up to be his wife, but the marriage never occurs - both Christian and the girl understand that his infatuation with the witch is an insurmountable barrier, despite her own love for him. A rival attempts to murder him; he regains his mind and nearly kills that rival, staying his hand only because of his promise to his mother to never return evil with evil. Throughout the novel we see Christian continually turn the other cheek, despite his great strength and the injustices heaped upon him. He struggles and struggles and struggles; he meets the witch again and again; his mother guilt-trips him again and again. In the end, he returns to the Isle of Dread one last time, where the witch not only continues to spurn him, but makes sure he understands that she is the architect of the ruination of his life. He dies alone and rejected, a martyr, his body lost at sea. But his self-sacrifice shall apparently redeem the witch - she realizes the error of her evil ways, rushes to a nearby convent, dies. His father has also died, his mother continues on, his stepsister remembers him sadly, as does his rival. And then they move on. The author makes sure that the reader knows that there is no happily ever after on this mortal coil, for anyone, in a nihilistic final chapter that details how all of this will be forgotten, time will march on, no lessons were learned, and the only happiness to be found is that of the afterlife.
Turn the other cheek, be rejected and harmed, turn the other cheek, be preyed upon, turn the other cheek, die alone and broken-hearted. Your reward shall be in Heaven. What the fuck kind of allegory is that supposed to be? Christian is clearly a Jesus figure, but come on. Is this how the author viewed the trials and tribulations of Christians? Lord in Heaven, her perspective on Christianity was revolting. The Unknown Sea is misery porn at its most hysterical and self-indulgent. I'm so glad Housman had other interests....more
Robert W. Chambers is now known mainly for his King in Yellow stories, but this prolific author wrote so much more, and not often in the supernatural Robert W. Chambers is now known mainly for his King in Yellow stories, but this prolific author wrote so much more, and not often in the supernatural vein. he is the least respected of the weird fiction authors, perhaps because of his strong interest in poetic romanticism, a perspective that comes across as rather airily aristocratic, and a ton of completely forgotten "popular novels" on his resume.
I imagine him like so: back from his summer abroad in France spent taking in the artists' quarters of Paris and the French countryside, falling in and out of love, he invites his weird writer friends over, much to the chagrin of his prim relatives. and so they join him: metaphysical naturalist Algernon Blackwood, malevolently acerbic journalist Ambrose Bierce, weird and morbid shut-in H.P. Lovecraft, the broodingly handsome William Hope Hodgson - as obsessed with the sea as ever, long-winded mystic Arthur Machen, and my personal favorite, the extremely mannered, eccentric, and always stylish Clark Ashton Smith. together they discuss the Arcane, and Other Dimensions, and the Horrors of the Modern World. it is a heady afternoon, the air thick with pipe smoke, the flights of imagination long and digressive. the servants come and go, agog. Robert steps out of the smoking room; a young lady's servant has dropped off her card and he must reply to her immediately. she's his most recent obsession and so he takes his time writing a flowery reply, begging the pleasure of her company and extolling her virtues. while he's busy with his affairs, his peers chuckle rather condescendingly at him. ah, Robert: a sensitive fellow and talented author, but perhaps not quite at their level - not a deep one, despite his efforts. takes himself a bit too seriously while his writing is not serious enough. perhaps a bit too eager to publish, one could say. but certainly very well-meaning! and charming as well.
all the sweet spots were hit, including one I didn't know I even had: sardonic and (relatively) independent heroine yearning to explore the world; welall the sweet spots were hit, including one I didn't know I even had: sardonic and (relatively) independent heroine yearning to explore the world; well-developed setting; lavish detail porn featuring décor, couture, and food; arch dialogue; vivid swordfights; and especially, surprisingly, a Gary Stu Vampire versus decadent, sadistic Satanists. I'd add in an admirably frank attitude towards describing sex, but the sex described in this one was basically satanic gang rape, so I'll leave that out as far as sweet spots go.
speaking of sex, one of the most interesting/amusing things about Gary Stu-Germain the heartbreaker protagonist is that the book makes it clear that vampires can't have sex (at least of the penetrative variety). when you combine that with his disinterest in killing people, his sweet supportiveness and gentle demeanor, his style, his frequent and generous compliments, his kindness to servants... he's the safest and most pleasant vampire one could ever have the pleasure of meeting. I'd probably let him chaperone my daughter (as long as he promised not to turn her).
Yarbro's prose is polished and sophisticated but never pretentious. despite the amount of historical detail on display, the narrative never felt heavy. this was such a pleasure to read, so droll and amusing. and sometimes very moving.
something that really stood out to me - besides the utter goodness of the vampire hero - was how Yarbro rather subtly illustrated her feminism via the letters written by certain characters to each other. instead of creating an artificial situation or unrealistic characters, Yarbro instead shows her disdain for repressive value systems by having such values extolled by a couple embarrassingly foolish supporting characters. namely, a father and an abbot, both of whom spend a lot of time talking about how beautiful and Christian it is for a woman to completely submit to their husband/master's will.
I'm excited to check in with saintly Saint-Germain in future novels to see how different iterations of him throughout history think and act, especially in comparison with the warmth and compassion displayed here.
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much gratitude to Saffron Moon for sending me this awesome book! really enjoyed it.
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also, I love that this was the review's first like:
ah the pretensions of youth! ah the pretensions of this book. who includes entire sections of dialogue in French, assuming the reader will be able to ah the pretensions of youth! ah the pretensions of this book. who includes entire sections of dialogue in French, assuming the reader will be able to translate it? this book does. who sets up a gormless youth as the epitome of Finding Your Bliss, strenuously trying to pretend he's admirable while also sneakily saying that he's a born loser? this book does. who creates a physically passionate romance that is supposed to be the central relationship of the story and then has it abruptly end without even bothering to give any kind of reason for that ending, other than the implied Lost Cause Loser Can't Find His Bliss Even When It's Right In Front Of Him? this book does. well, it is nicely written; Dyer is talented. and it is very evocative of a certain time in one's life that could best be described as a liminal space. extra star awarded for the fine prose and the ability to portray the aimless 20s of people who are trying to find themselves. otherwise the book was rather a pretentious waste of time.
REVIEW POST-SCRIPT 10/9/22
I'm reading Albert Murray right now and a point he makes about certain writers is apt:
"Indeed, what most American fiction seems to represent these days is not so much the writer's actual sense of life as some theory of life to which he is giving functional allegiance, not so much his complex individual sensitivity to the actual texture of human experience as his intellectual reaction to ideas about experience."
Dyer is British and Murray was writing about American writers, but his comment is still a perfect fit for this book....more
The Godfather Georgette Heyer has all her little ducks in a row. She's got the period detail, check. She's got the Old World styles, check.
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The Godfather Georgette Heyer has all her little ducks in a row. She's got the period detail, check. She's got the Old World styles, check. She's got all the characters who don't know what's about to happen to them and who'll get what's coming to them, check. She's got the manipulations and the double blinds and the cards all stacked up, check. She's got the romance under wraps but about to come up on deck, check. And she's got the gun and someone who knows how to use it, check. The Big G knows what time it is and the reader's about to know too.
Kingpin Sophy brooks no disagreement. Oh she'll let you rant and rave all you want. Let the little pawns moan and groan, but in the end they'll fall right in line. Sophy knows what's best for you, just follow her lead, minion. You'll see.
Dapper Don Sophy has all the skills and she pays all the bills. She's got the street smarts she learned on the Continent. She's got all the connects to the old school players. She's got the fashion sense to turn all heads. She's got the gun that will silence your attempt at some funny business. Minor league players don't stand a chance. Best stay in line.
Boss Bitch Sophy has her eye on that mouthy guy. She likes his sass. She'll show him how she handles a horse, 'cause that's her way of flirting. And she'll show him how she handles a gun, that's how she lets off some steam. She plays a little rough but she knows he'll learn to deal with it. She don't pick no weak bitches to be her number two. He'll learn it's best sometimes to just shut up and look pretty. Sophy always gets her way, there's no stopping this juggernaut, step aside or get rolled over. Don't mess with this one....more
surprisingly not horrible pirate romance. definitely readable, like addictively readable. fast-paced, dialogue wasn't too terrible, and Robards can pasurprisingly not horrible pirate romance. definitely readable, like addictively readable. fast-paced, dialogue wasn't too terrible, and Robards can paint an evocative picture, felt like I was there. she also likes painting a picture of the pirate's bod. cover ignores the many hairy as an ape descriptions but does get heroine's hair color right. so I guess we'll call it even when it comes to the cover's hair imagery.
pretty rough at times, at the beginning and the end. rough as in rape. including a very mean spanking, which was a first for me. also some ongoing bathing of each other by our hero and heroine, another first. these two get really into each other. pleasant island times in the middle, my favorite part, I guess I'm a softie. heroine starts off awful and becomes not awful. was definitely rooting for her in the last third. hero is a psycho but sometimes very pleasant when not radiating cold silent treatment energy or raping the love of his life. neither character has too many dimensions that's for sure.
not enough historical stuff and not enough actual pirating. these are things I want!
2.5 stars, rounded up. which makes me feel kinda guilty. should I be giving rape romances 3 stars? I mean I just gave an Andre Gide book 1 star. mark, your tastes are questionable to say the least. man the lack of morality on display.
had to laugh at some of these angry reaction reviews. like the reviewers didn't know exactly what they were getting into. haha don't front, not buying it. this is a pirate romance and y'all knew that meant rape by pirate.
Pirate Rapemance Ranking: #1: Bound by the Heart (good history, great battle scenes) #2: Island Flame (best heroine of the 3 books I've read but that's not exactly saying a lot) #3: A Pirate's Love (felt like it was written by a romantic concentration camp guard)
I think I understand Pirate Rape Romance formula now, it's basically: (1) pirate grabs girl and within a few pages it's hammer time - girl hates it but body betrays her etc.; (2) girl falls in love with pirate and pirate falls in love too but both never want to say I Love You because reasons; (3) sexy idyllic times in middle of novel; (4) bizarre nonsense happens usually based on misunderstanding, pirate gets punished; (5) misunderstanding leads to pirate being mean again and author gets to write one last rape scene; (6) they finally say I Love You and happily ever after happens very quickly, like the author is spent and just had to turn over and pass out.
now that I get the formula, not sure I need to read another pirate lolromancelol. but I will still be reading plenty of bodice rippers! they are way too addictive for me to stop....more
"...the purest and gentlest words would still have seemed too brutal..."
he is a delicate flower, anxious and yearning, planted carefully in his rarifi"...the purest and gentlest words would still have seemed too brutal..."
he is a delicate flower, anxious and yearning, planted carefully in his rarified little garden box. the little flower loves his little world, the neat orderly rows and the carefully chosen colors and the long talks about poetry and scripture and love. the little flower dreams of an abiding love. the gardener has planted another flower alongside him, a girl flower. except this flower is not a real flower, it is but a thing, a lovingly crafted and dainty little creation, subtle and submissive, well-versed in poetry and scripture and so able to converse with ease with the boy flower. and yet she is not a real flower. she is not a real girl. her lack of reality confounds and irritates; even more confounding is the gardener's insistence that this creation of his is a creature that lives. this unliving object is but a toy for the gardener, one that he can make enact his own version of femininity, a puppet that moves from simpering, saintly tease to self-loathing religious mania. he can use this toy to torment the poor little boy flower. he can give it bizarre motives and turn it toxic, harmful to both boy and itself. he can make his toy die, and does, all the better to give the boy flower a broken heart. the poor little boy flower moons over his absent toy, that un-girl, as if he and she ever had a real relationship, as if she were ever even real, and not simply a project of the gardener. the poor little reader can only sigh and roll his eyes at such a sad display....more
oh the sea, that rough and unkind mirror, the unknowable depths, the shallows that still can drown. it gives and it takes away. you shall project youroh the sea, that rough and unkind mirror, the unknowable depths, the shallows that still can drown. it gives and it takes away. you shall project your own fears and desires upon it. will it care? be angry, be sad, be lonely, be defiant; little chance the sea will respond to your petty mortal concerns, they are as stones thrown at a mountain. but what if it does respond? in its own strange and watery way. its shore can be a gateway, one used as entrance or exit, from either direction. you cast your angry hexes upon the sea. and to its shores, to you, comes a boy. first one boy and then another. two boys for the price of one fit of rage and grief. which is the boy you will love? the boy from the sea but born of the earth or the boy born of the sea brought to live on earth? which changeling shall love you in return? of course your own choice is clear: you yearn for the boy with the stars of the sea in his eyes, the earthbound boy born of water, the boy who yearns to return to his home. you love best what is most out of reach. and so your love shall be in vain, for a boy who is like the sea cannot love you back. you are but a creature of the earth, after all....more
Oh the misty moors of the Highland, they conceal many things. Troops of men, both English and Highland Scots, preying upon each other, spilling blood Oh the misty moors of the Highland, they conceal many things. Troops of men, both English and Highland Scots, preying upon each other, spilling blood and stealing horses. Stealing the hearts of Lowland women as well, visitors to this place far from Edinburgh and its dour world of stifling Presbyterians. And so it is with our heroine, a Lowland orphan now trapped in servitude, suddenly finding herself coming alive, enraptured by this new land and surprised by her own vitality, surprised even more by the infamous Lord Monleigh. This rogue lord, hero to some and horror to others, believes in the freedom of all humans, man and woman alike. He insists upon it, much to the heroine's delight, and then much to her sorrow, she who would prefer to be taken. But insist upon freedom he will: she must make a demand of him, in the end, if she wishes to be taken. He is the beau of this Highland ball, apple of every Highland woman's eye; he is not one who needs to take or to ravish. But she is not the demanding kind, despite her secret pride. She must learn to leave the servitude of the mind and body behind her, if she is to join her life to his, to a revolutionary who prizes freedom above all things.
Jan Cox Speas wrote a slow and dreamy story suffused with melancholy and loss, full of memories of lives ended brutally and far too soon, of dark histories rewritten as tales of triumph, of dark secrets hidden behind stoic faces, of memories buried that yet still live on in the hearts of heroes and villains alike. An atmospheric tale, steeped in the splendor and wildness of nature, of castles nearly emptied of people but full of tragedies past, of bandit raids at midnight, of love made in the cabin of a ship secretly docked. The book is a slow-moving swoon, the heroine falling fast yet as if sinking slowly in water, a mere month in time that feels like forever. The love at its center is a slow-burning candle, offering the slightest glimmer of hope. But that hope is still a flame, it is still a fire - despite how small it may appear!...more
look at that hilariously uninterested, put-upon expression on the heroine's face. the cover illustration really gets her.
the Regency Buck in question look at that hilariously uninterested, put-upon expression on the heroine's face. the cover illustration really gets her.
the Regency Buck in question is Peregrine Taverner, heir to a fortune, feckless and prone to gambling and sport and falling quickly in love, and prey to a number of circumstances that look suspiciously like murder attempts. but this young buck is far from being the protagonist, or even a particularly interesting character. that interesting protagonist would be his older sister, the pugnacious and strapping Judith: an ambitious lass, but frequently irritated when having to deal with pretentious decor or people. perhaps this book should have been titled Regency Eyeroll.
forgive the laziness, but the following is just a copy & paste of my comment in the fantastic group Georgette Heyer Fans. also, watch out - this is full of spoilers, so probably best not to read unless you have already read the book.
Really enjoyed this one! despite still being a relative newbie to Heyer (only a dozen books in, and none reread yet), I think a big part of my enjoyment was due to having read other books before this one and so instantly recognizing that Worth was worth putting up with. He's Heyer's kind of guy: super snobby and cutting while having a secret heart of gold. I think knowing that made me amused rather than annoyed at all of his very high-handed comments towards the siblings. He's definitely a dick, but since I understand & really appreciate Heyer's templates, I never doubted that he would come through, even though we're never provided access to his thought process. His character was pure pleasure to me.
I wonder if contemporary readers of the novel were fooled and even thought that he had some slight chance of being the villain in the book. Or did they also already get Heyer? I think understanding the author's perspective on her characters could mean the difference between seeing the book as a mystery or as a slow-burning romance. For me, there was no mystery because Worth is like other Heyer heroes, and so of course the cousin is the actual villain. It was very enjoyable for me to see how Worth played his various secretly-altruistic schemes without letting the siblings in on who was actually behind all the murder attempts.
I also really enjoyed Judith. Maybe I'll see more of her type the more I read this wonderful author, but this is the first time I've seen a Heyer heroine who was this particular combination of canny & reactionary. I loved both her understanding of how to make her mark in society by having certain eccentricities and her complete lack of understanding of Worth's true nature. Also really appreciated her loathing of small talk bullshit and her disinterest in ever kowtowing to society or society's current heroes. My kind of person!
Brummell was a delight, what a great person to actually read about as a character, rather than read about as a historical personage. Scattergood had a fantastic name and a few good moments (although I wish there were more). Peregrine was a lot of fun!
Unlike a number of reviewers, I thought this was a very humorous book. The dialogue was so effortlessly witty, I was smiling constantly. "Sparkling dialogue" is the phrase that came to mind a lot - I was reminded of particular movies from the 30s & 40s directed by Howard Hawks and/or starring Carole Lombard.
Carol said in her review that this would be a good starting point for someone new to Heyer, and despite what I said about my enjoyment of Worth coming from having read other Heyer books, I really agree. I enjoyed all of the in-depth details of the milieu, it felt like an introduction to Regency London. And it was genuinely edifying - it led me to many Wikipedia searches, what with all of the name dropping and rich descriptions of both settings and couture. That said, I loved that she streamlined those sorts of details in subsequent books because overall that's my preference when it comes to info drops. Also, can't say I loved the cockfighting scene because I'm a soft-hearted animal lover and the idea of cockfighting is sickening to me.
This is probably heresy to say, but I did slightly prefer this to These Old Shades & especially to Devil's Cub (really enjoyed both books though, and the heroines in both are fantastic). This one was just more of a pleasant experience - Shades & Cub alienated me at times with their gender dynamics. I think I read somewhere that it will be clear in the 4th book how this one connects to the prior books....more
A violently intense Victorian romance, if you can even call it a romance. This book is up there with As Meat Loves Salt & Endless Love & The Silver DeA violently intense Victorian romance, if you can even call it a romance. This book is up there with As Meat Loves Salt & Endless Love & The Silver Devil when it comes to its horrifying, over the top antihero, the over the top emotions on display, and its lack of interest in making its readers comfortable. While still being a rich, nuanced story set in a believable milieu and featuring prose that is sometimes elegant, sometimes eccentrically mannered, always literary. Wow bob wow.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book contains rape.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book has a very explicit and lengthy rape scene that comes out of nowhere and is not made remotely sexy because it depicts an actual physical and emotional assault, not a fantasy of a bodice being ripped and a girl saying no when she really means yes. this is a beating and a sexual assault, not a ravishment. the girl in question vomits at the end of this scene. because who wouldn't.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book lives in a world full of understandable, frequently relatable, often amusing characters in a Victorian setting where manners are as important as class status, marriage prospects, and money. it's all so delicate and subtle, so very Jane Austen. and yet TRIGGER WARNING! this book is full of deeply broken hearts and minds, brutal rape and dreams of revenge, of murder. and yet these characters tease and banter with each other, do comic and adorable things, play with children and animals, support each other through hard times, just like regular human beings do, and despite the fact that one of them was raped and another is the rapist. because no person is just one thing, even victims, even monsters.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book has a spilled glass of lemonade that leads to much else. is the lemonade to blame, or the humans spilling those glasses of lemonade, or the society that created humans who treat each other as far less than human, less than a glass of lemonade?
TRIGGER WARNING! this book has a woman who is a rape victim but who is not a victim of life. she does not 'get over' this rape but it also does not define her. this woman fights with all the tools she has at her disposal, she holds grudges, she doesn't excuse her rapist, she is bitter about the injustice of her experience. that bitterness does not magically turn into understanding in order to satisfy any reader who just wants her to move on and see the man inside the beast so that they can have a happy sexy romance; nor does that bitterness turn into the sole motivation for her existence so that the reader can have a satisfying revenge drama.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book has a man who is a monstrous rapist but who is not a monster in life. he recognizes that what he did was not just out of character, it was evil: an act for which he needs to atone. and yet he continues to act cruelly, as cruel as he was before the rape, because recognizing that an act is evil does not automatically change a person. he wants to atone but he has other things that consume him: he is living in a revenge drama of his own, he wants to rush past atonement because he has not recognized that devoting his life to destroying a villain is in fact destroying his own life by becoming a villain.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book does not paint its lead characters as victim or monster. each person is capable of kindness, of cruelty. each human is the sum of many parts.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book is not really about a woman falling in love or a man carrying out revenge or vice versa, although all four things are roughly the plot of this book. it is not really about the terrible abuses that happened in the childhood of a man and in the adulthood of a woman. it has other things on its mind. sometimes you don't get over the things that happened to you but you can make sure that those things don't define you. you can grow and transform who you are, even if that transformation is internal. and you may be able to change yourself but it will be harder to change another person, let alone change the world, because TRIGGER WARNING! this book is also about how sometimes we don't get what we want, not right away, maybe never, maybe not in the way that we wanted. but sometimes a person can forgive, if there is actual atonement. sometimes a rapist can become worthy of love. and sometimes a villain doesn't get their due. life isn't a revenge novel and the bad guys often don't get punished and injustices sometimes remain injustices. TRIGGER WARNING! this book is about how a life can't be lived solely by living inside of your head, by continually revisiting your sorrows and anger and trauma. you have to live for other things; that is how a person who has been abused learns to cope with life. understanding that lesson is how our abused heroine and our abused hero eventually find grace, with each other and most importantly, within themselves. that is what this physically and emotional brutal book is all about.
TRIGGER WARNING! this book has a happy ending....more
Don't let them live in your head! Don’t view yourself through their eyes! Don’t copy their mannerisms, habits, styles, or ways of communicating! Don’t befriend them! Don’t make it all about them! Young woman, you are an individual! Think for yourself!
Lesson #2: Don't Be Afraid To Be You
Don’t mope around waiting to be noticed! Don't be a shrinking violet, a wallflower, or any other kind of garden variety girl! Don’t let society define you and don’t obsess over anyone else’s opinions! Don’t rely on boys to tell you who you are! Unleash yourself!
Well, unless you are killing some asshole who’s like over a hundred years old and who totally led you on and who wants to rule the world with dark magic – he deserves it!
What a woman! So say the residents of the village Carlingford, women and men alike, as they stand by thoroughly impressed by the marvelous LucillaWhat a woman! So say the residents of the village Carlingford, women and men alike, as they stand by thoroughly impressed by the marvelous Lucilla Marjoribanks, big of frame and hearty of appetite, and all of 19 years of age, as she goes about her business, arranging their social calendars and establishing who's boss, blithely laughing at the idea of marriage - she has more important things to do, such as caring for her widowed father, making sure their living room fabrics bring out the best in her complexion while making just as certain that there is a minimum of drama, malice, and hurt feelings to bother any of her fellow villagers. What a woman! So says her cousin Tom in wonder, helplessly smitten, and so says her protégé Barbara Lake, more venomously, foolishly thinking herself a rival. What a woman! Lucilla herself may say, when considering herself privately, blithely aware that she was born to do good, a bold woman but a subtle one, armed with the knowledge that she certainly knows what's best for her, and for all.
What - a woman? say the residents of the village Carlingford, when considering who should crave the forging of their own destinies. Surely no woman could crave such a thing, not a Barbara Lake with her dark, sultry eyes and her longing for a more comfortable life, nor a Lucilla Marjoribanks, who despite being efficiency personified, would certainly not hope to live a life guided by her own standards, and not those of society. What - a woman? say the citizens of 19th century England, and elsewhere, when considering who should be allowed to vote. Surely no woman would be interested in such manly matters as political representation and the running of government - heaven forfend!
What a woman, says Mrs. Oliphant of Lucilla Marjoribanks, proud of her flawed but always delightful creation, a character that is an exemplar of sympathy towards others, a model of efficiency, a general in a gentle war against any who would control her or otherwise foolishly attempt to get in her way. What a woman, says this reviewer of Mrs. Oliphant, in awe at the author's calm and unfussy style, her dry humor, her deep empathy for her heroine, her charming and sardonic portrait of a village that is just one stop on the journey that is Lucilla's life.
What a woman: all hail Mrs. Oliphant! The bearing of a dowager empress, the rather weary kindness of a saint, the mischievousness of a clever child, and the thoroughly unsentimental heart of a realist that still recognizes the human in us all...
this is a pleasant, satisfying, perfectly accomplished tale. I smiled, my heart was warmed, I enjoyed the elegant prose and wry dialogue and brisk narthis is a pleasant, satisfying, perfectly accomplished tale. I smiled, my heart was warmed, I enjoyed the elegant prose and wry dialogue and brisk narrative, the comic bits landed, the characters were amusing and endearing. all the good things. the father who is such a kind, well-meaning fellow that he inspires instantaneous guilt & self-loathing in his children at even the idea that he may be disappointed with them - well, that is a great superpower and he was a treat to read about. and best of all: Ulysses! Heyer often shows a soft spot for animals, but this was my first experience with one being so completely central to the story. what a great dog!
another thing I enjoyed that is often a part of her stories but which is centralized here: the importance of charity and altruism. sweet, slightly daffy Arabella is characterized almost entirely by her insistence on doing the right thing for any child, animal, or down on their luck adult who crosses her path. for a while I didn't have a precise grasp on who she really was, other than a pleasant and forthright person who sometimes doesn't deal too well with condescension. Arabella's specific personality was rather fuzzy to me. but that eventually changed: in time, the novel shows that this is her most important attribute, it's key to who she is. the author is playful with this trait but she doesn't portray it as remotely negative. the characters that surround Arabella find it amusing as well (or rather irritating), while also recognizing that this virtue is exactly why she is so different from everyone else. all of that really charmed me. I love that scene where Beaumaris just stares at Arabella, fascinated and impressed, as she goes off on a monologue regarding how far she'll go to make sure a child is well taken care of.
I thought Beaumaris' personality was a bit fuzzy too, at first. mainly he reminded me of a low-key version of other detached but essentially kind-hearted style gods that inhabit what sounds like a high number of Heyer novels. still, I really enjoyed him. and perhaps because his characterization is softly rather than very sharply etched - lightly sardonic but never vindictive, always properly outfitted but not fashion-obsessed, etc. - it was actually easier for me to relate to him. and I certainly related to his cheerful but fortunately not mean-spirited sadism! many of my victims family & friends & colleagues don't seem to get that this is a positive attribute in a person.
it's interesting for me to read Heyer novels that are all about the romance while reflecting on my own gender, as a reader... i.e. reading a book that is designed so that its female readers relate to and identify with its protagonist while seeing its male lead as an object of desire. the book is quite literally not written for people like me. as a queer man (bi, to be specific), it's not exactly heavy lifting for me to find a male character appealing or not. I also have no problem with seeing myself in female characters in books that aren't Heyer romances. I can usually empathize with most anyone. and yet, despite always sympathizing with Heyer's female characters, it is the male characters that I tend to identify with. maybe I am just being an old-fashioned gender essentialist (I hope not!) but it is her female characters that enchant me and it is her male characters that I actually try to relate to on a personal level. I'm rambling here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was great to eventually see myself in Beaumaris and it was even better seeing him fully appreciate how wonderful Arabella is as a person.
this was a perfect read for a Christmas season spent on my own this year, which was a first for me. the novel was a real spirit-lifter. Thank you Carol for recommending it!...more
An apt title! Dominic, the Marquis of Vidal, is the devil's "cub" indeed - a devilish beast who may one day grow up into a human. This bestial young nAn apt title! Dominic, the Marquis of Vidal, is the devil's "cub" indeed - a devilish beast who may one day grow up into a human. This bestial young nobleman immediately resorts to violence or threats of violence when angered, is quietly and eerily dangerous when drunk, nonchalantly guns down any who may annoy him - whether that be an intrusive highwayman or a fellow gambler who calls him a liar (personally I can't blame him for either), and less understandably, has no notion of chivalry when it comes to ladies who aren't of the gentlewoman persuasion: sneering, threatening, kidnapping, and throttling without an iota of remorse, basically treating them like trash. This book often functions as a fascinating portrait of a child who combines the less attractive traits of his compelling parents (as featured in the excellent These Old Shades): the animalistic temper of his mother Leonie and the cold ruthlessness of his father the Duke of Avon, as well as their mutual disregard for human life. Fortunately, Dominic has also inherited some of their more positive traits. Even more fortunately, the redoubtable Mary Challoner - a wonderfully admirable and relatable creation - has entered his so-called life. Not only will she not brook his argumentative selfishness, she'll bring a gun to the debate. My money is on Mary to transform the selfish beast into a caring human being.
In case I'm giving the impression that I thought this was a dark psychological portrait, I should be clear that the book - despite its disturbing moments - is mainly delightful, full of sweetness and empathy, wittily written, briskly paced. A light and charming affair, for the most part. It has all of the strengths of the best of Heyer. The disturbing elements actually deepened the novel in an interesting way; although I preferred its predecessor, this sequel was great. My only genuine complaint is dealing with Dominic as a romantic lead. As a character, he was entirely absorbing. An often chilling creation and a study on how little distance this apple fell from the parental tree. But as a romantic lead? For the most part, I did not enjoy him as such, often completely loathing him and actively rooting for him to experience physical harm. I'd expect this sort of reaction to a lead character when reading about some typically rape-inclined antihero within an operatic bodice ripper, but not so much when enjoying a delicate, nuanced Heyer confection. And thus a lower rating than what I'm used to giving her novels.
Complaints aside, Devil's Cub features a lengthy scene near the end of the book that is one of the most hilariously written in the Heyer books I've read so far. The scene is basically Mary recounting her misadventures to - unbeknownst to her - the Duke of Avon. This scene should have bored and annoyed me, as it is explaining in detail a story that I've literally just read. Instead it is a wonderful example of comedic storytelling. Reading the icy Duke's subtle reactions to everything he's hearing (including Mary's perspective on both his son and himself) was pure pleasure. I love how much Georgette Heyer can make me smile.
You are Skye O'Malley, practically perfect in every way. You are bold and beautiful. You are brave and independent. You are headstrong and tempestuousYou are Skye O'Malley, practically perfect in every way. You are bold and beautiful. You are brave and independent. You are headstrong and tempestuous. Your sapphire eyes flash, your lustrous hair cascades, your heaving bosom heaves. You are a good daughter and a loving mother; you are a kind mistress to your servants. You are as brilliant as you are beautiful, with a facility for numbers and accounting, and a tongue skilled in many languages. You don't ride horses side-saddle and you can captain a ship as good as any man. You are filthy rich. You are a Mary Sue of the highest caliber! You are, as they say, the whole package. Even your most dangerous enemy is of the highest rank: Queen Elizabeth! You will have many adventures and you will love many men. You will travel from romantic Ireland to romantic Algiers to romantic England to a romantic smuggler's isle to a romantic ending in your lover's arms. You will love and you will fight and you will forget and you will remember. You can be conquered in only one way - if but briefly. You aren't ashamed to say that you love sex, you passionate woman you. Your "honey-oven" is apparently made for it.
You are Bertrice Small. You decided to write an historical adventure - but for the ladies! Your heroine will be everything a heroine can be. You will provide her lots and lots of sex, most of it good, some of it bad, all of it very graphically detailed. You will provide her lots and lots of love, all of it good, and due to a tragic but convenient memory loss, and then a tragic but convenient murder, and then a tragic but convenient illness, those many examples of true love will all be relatively guilt-free. You will also provide her some kids, but no need to get into that, they're barely there. You will, most of all, provide your reader with deliciously detailed descriptions of delightful destinations - every locale you send your heroine to will be described in the most luscious way possible. You love glamour. You are definitely no slouch with the adjectives! You could beat George R.R. Martin when it comes to all of the very specifically illustrated settings, outfits, food, and clothes. You definitely have him beat when describing hair color, eye color, amount of male body hair, creative ways to describe a penis, and especially on how to very specifically please a lady. You could also beat Song of Ice & Fire when it comes to the sadism! You have a similar disinterest in moralizing and that means many scenes are incredibly uncomfortable as they nonchalantly recount the horrific subjugation and degradation of women throughout this time period. You shrug at any reader outrage. Your writing style may be a bit embarrassing and your plotlines insane, but you could care less. You know what this is about: giving a woman the best and worst life possible! You realize that life is often too boring to deal with boring adventures. You hate being bored! You make sure your readers never experience it.
WATCH OUT, EVEN MORE SPOILERS FOLLOW
You are Niall Burke and you have exercised droit de siegneur upon Skye. You love her ardently and she loves you in return. Your eyes gleam blue-green and your chest is full of black curling hair. Your "pulsing root" will conquer. You are Skye's first love, her destiny. You also love cunnilingus.
You are Dom O'Flaherty and you are Skye's first husband. You are an infamous cocksman at 18 years of age, known as The Bull. Your eyes flash sky-blue and your hair and beard are a curling gold. Your unnaturally large "monster sex" will conquer. You love your perverted sister and also three-ways.
You are the Spaniard known as Khalid el Bey, Whoremaster of Algiers. You rescued Skye and freed her from slavery. Your eyes glint amber-gold and your chest is a dark furred mat. Your "pulsing shaft" will conquer. You are Skye's second husband and you love her. You also love cunnilingus.
You are Geoffrey Southwood, her third husband. You are an infamous cocksman, referred to as the Angel Earl. Your green eyes shine bright as your blonde hair. Your "great, blue-veined beast" will conquer. Your player days are over: your lust for Skye bec0mes love. You also love cunnilingus.
You are Lord Dudley, favorite of the Virgin Queen. You are a devious dandy. Your velvet brown eyes are set too close together; your moustache is red. You like spanking and being called "Papa". You blackmail Skye into surrendering her hidden valley. You also love bestiality with village girls, yuck.
You are Adam de Marisco, master of the island Lundy. You are a giant among Irishmen: 6 ft 6 inches! Your eyes spark a sensuous smoky-blue and your body is the hairiest Skye has ever seen. You love this vengeful woman but sadly you are only her "special friend". You also love cunnilingus.
You are Niall Burke and you have at last been reunited with your forever-love. You married a nymphomaniac, but at least that's over with - and good for you, you didn't shame her for her mental health condition despite her shenanigans. Your warm eyes for some reason now glow silver and then a smoky blue, but your chest hair remains dark and your nipples remain flat. Your "manroot" will conquer. You have also been conquered - by Love! You still love cunnilingus.
END SPOILERS
You are mark monday. You really enjoyed this trashy book. You should feel guilty but honestly you don't. You love adventure and trash! You also love (view spoiler)[spoilers (hide spoiler)]....more
beautifully written and surprisingly life-affirming, while also being as strange, sly, and sexed-up as Carter usually tends to be. this story about anbeautifully written and surprisingly life-affirming, while also being as strange, sly, and sexed-up as Carter usually tends to be. this story about an infamous woman with wings and the journalist who falls in love with her is delivered in 3 parts: the first, set in England, recounts her upbringing and the many misadventures of her young life; the second, in St. Petersburg, is mainly focused on the journalist's transformation as he joins a circus starring the object of his fascination, and also explores the lives of several of that circus' performers; the third, in Siberia, has the circus falling apart and somewhat coming together after the troupe is waylaid by a band of outcasts.
this is a slim book but per usual for the author, a dense one. as always, Carter's writing sings. it is a peculiar song, not for everyone. prose of the highest caliber, fantastical in subject matter and ornate in style with numerous scenes playing out as if directed by Fellini or de Sade, always playful even if the joke is a killing one, her stories delivered with a sardonic knowingness that can make the reader wonder if this is all some sort of put-on, and highly aware of how the intersections of gender and class impact all of humanity - especially women of the working class. above all things as an author, Angela Carter is a feminist.
I wonder what that phrase even means anymore to people, this label "feminist author" - is it an automatic turn-off? I know it is for some, as if being considered a feminist author equals a certain stridency, a demeaning of men, a dry and tunnel-visioned perspective devoid of warmth and unable to understand the multiplicity of realities that women and men live in. but the label is still one that does not have to mean any of those things, at least not automatically. a feminist author is a person who understands the challenges that women face in this world, who understands the roles that women are often forced into, who advocates for those women by revealing their challenges and by highlighting the strength of women who live in those roles - and outside of them. especially outside of them. Carter always celebrates the outsider, the malcontent, the women who push back on boundaries. she understands the separatist and she empathizes with the murderess.
there is such a modern sensibility to Carter's feminism. her heroine Sophie Fevvers is bold, brash, and brave, emphatically lower class in outlook and delivery, craving and dropping that money, and always looking out for, supporting, and advocating for other women. she is no great beauty and not one for pretenses, but she carries herself as if she were queen of the world. Carter's story ignores any traditional male-centered narrative device that may be expected: it is the hero who adjusts himself to the heroine's world; it is the heroine and her faithful mother-surrogate who must come to their own rescue, time and again. Carter's brand of feminism embraces both the maudlin and the morbid, sexuality in all of its forms, women in all of their forms, and she highlights all of the struggles and victories, no matter how large or how small. from the grandmother forever bent over a stove to the waif beaten by her lover to the woman who had enough and chopped up her husband to bits. these are all complicated heroines to her, worthy of their own stories. nor is she a misandrist: her men can often be monsters but they can also be caring, kindly, capable of change. Carter's feminism is one that sees the world of women and men from all directions, often through a highly critical lens. and yet, in this novel, she seeks to uplift and not to upbraid. Carter is a feminist who embraces potential.
I was so happy to see that uplift and that potential! she's one of my favorite authors, but her stories are often chilly and sometimes sadistic. they've wowed me with their brilliant prose, hallucinatory imagery, the challenging and norm-breaking ideas on display; they've also disturbed me with their often surreal visions of how brutalized, objectified, and commodified women can be. I was hesitant to dive into a book with an annhilating world view. fortunately, the book was a tonic. in his review, George mentions her story "Puss-in-Boots" from The Bloody Chamber and how excited it made him to read her novels. I was surprised by that story: it had such a light, sunny spirit that it felt like an outlier in her works. I'm so glad I was wrong about that... over time, Angela Carter clearly mellowed, understanding not just the evil in the world, but the kindness as well, the potential for change and for connection. this turned out to be just the book to read to raise the spirits....more
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