Tag Archives: romance

Book Review of In the Absence of Light, by Adrienne Wilder

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In the Absence of LIghtI borrowed Adrienne Wilder‘s In the Absence of Light through Amazon Prime.

Description from Goodreads:
For years Grant Kessler has smuggled goods from one end of the world to the next. When business turns in a direction Grant isn’t willing to follow he decides to retire and by all appearances he settles down in a nowhere town called Durstrand. But his real plan is to wait a few years and let the FBI lose interest, then move on to the distant coastal life he’s always dreamed of. 

Severely autistic, Morgan cannot look people in the eye, tell left from right, and has uncontrolled tics. Yet he’s beaten every obstacle life has thrown his way. And when Grant Kessler moves into town Morgan isn’t a bit shy in letting the man know how much he wants him. 

While the attraction is mutual, Grant pushes Morgan away. Like the rest of the world he can’t see past Morgan’s odd behaviors. 

Then Morgan shows Grant how light lets you see but it also leaves you blind. And once Grant opens his eyes, he loses his heart to the beautiful enigma of a man who changes the course of his life.

Review:
A short review for this one. I loved it. It wasn’t perfect. It seemed a little long. The editing could use a bit more work. The prose occasionally got a little too purple. It strained credulity at times and the town of Durstrand was like Mayberry on crack. But I adored every minute of reading this book. It made me laugh and it gave me feelz. I appreciated that Grant was a little older, at 36, than the average romance hero and, though I don’t know enough about autism to know if it’s a realistic portrayal or not, I adored Morgan. I REALLY hope there is a sequel about Jeff in Miami. There really wasn’t any reason to tag some of the last chapter on if there isn’t one at least planned.

Book Review of The Soldier’s Scoundrel, by Cat Sebastian

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The Soldier's scoundrelI purchased a copy of Cat Sebastian‘s The Soldier’s Scoundrel. It was the buddy read in one of my favorite online groups.

Description from Goodreads:
A scoundrel who lives in the shadows
 
Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London’s slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be.  
 
A soldier untarnished by vice 
 
After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman’s life-one that doesn’t include sparring with a ne’er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is only matched by Jack’s pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they’re together.  
 
Two men only meant for each other

Review:
Really lovely, I thought. I enjoyed the way Oliver and Jack rubbed each-other the wrong way (when they weren’t rubbing each-other the right way). I enjoyed the way Oliver was almost boyish in his straight forward, goal-oriented pursuit of Jack and the way Jack enjoyed it despite himself. I liked that Jack was a bit older than the average romance hero and I liked the close friendships between the sister and her ‘companion.’

I did think the book a little too long, or at least longer than what seems to be the average for such books. The mystery especially seemed to take forever to come to a head. And, after all Jack’s protests about social position, I thought the ending didn’t adequately address how they were going to make their HEA work. But the writing was lovely. There was humor and feelz. I’m looking forward to reading more of Sebastian’s work.

On a side note: I understand the cover is a mimicry of the het historical romances Avon has published in the past (bodice rippers especially, I think), but I hate it. Do with that what you will.

The Strange Tale of Samantha Ravenwood

Book Review of The Strange Tale of Samantha Ravenwood, by Connie C. Scharon

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I won a signed copy of The Strange Tale of Samantha Ravenwood, by Connie C. Scharon, through Goodreads.

Description:
Samantha Stewart explores the ruins of Carraig Castle and falls through an ancient time portal. Stunned and disoriented, she finds herself captured and fighting for her life in medieval Scotland. With a swipe of his sword, John Ravenwood saves her life. Samantha falls in love with her rescuer. Trapped in the thirteenth century, she marries him. But a frightening prophecy threatens their happiness. Samantha must choose between John and the life of her unborn child, a choice that will seal her destiny.

Review:
This book was a big fat raspberry for me. I mean, the whole thing is one giant anachronism. American girl from 1986 finds herself in 1291 Scotland and easily gets on with life. What? She learns to say, ‘aye’ instead of ‘OK’ and no one notices she’s not local? Um…in 1291, Scotland spoke Gaelic or Pictish and even those who spoke English, it would be OLD English. She would not be able to communicate with these people. Someone is said to have died of a massive stroke….um….did the medical establishment of 1291 (or the healer) know what a stroke was? And the whole thing hinges on someone being raped (and I’ll get to my problem with that in a moment), but as unpleasant as it may seem, the rape of a non-aristocrat by an aristocrat would not have been considered all that grievous at the time. Quite simply, the whole book is based on 21st century mores, placed on 13th century characters. It doesn’t work.

Now, I’ll admit up front that rape in books is a hot button for me. I don’t have any problem with it in general, but I think it is FAR FAR too frequently and easily used, so I’m critical of it when it pops up in a story. And as is so often the case, I thought this book used it to sensationalize how bad, bad, bad the baddies must be. They’re bad….they rape women, they MUST be bad. See? And while one woman, who had to endure years of incestuous rape, does show some trauma from it, the main character is almost raped twice, the second time violently and ten minutes later is turned on and fantasizing about being taken hard by a second man (the hero). Um….no!

There is insta-love/lust. There are endless declarations of romantic love. The sex is redundant. The writing is often painfully purple, especially around the too frequent sex scenes. Problems popped up and were resolved with no build-up or tension. The 20th century 20-year-old speaks, even in her internal narrative, like a 40-year-old medieval scholar. And I do not consider the little bit of a rushed ending the epilogue gives us to be happy.

So, all in all, while the writing is ok, if stiff, this book did not work for me.

What I’m drinking: A mix of Starwest Botanicals Roasted Chicory Root and dandelion root. Annoyingly, I burned myself making it too. 🙁