Fully Involved is the first book I've read by Erin Dutton, and overall it was a decent story. Reid Webb is a firefighter who loses Jimmy, her best friend and partner, in a terrible accident and blames herself. Jimmy's sister Isabel Grant, who now has custody of his orphaned son, also blames Reid for encouraging Jimmy to become a firefighter in the first place. To complicate matters further, Reid has had a crush on Isabel since they were both children, and is desperately afraid of betraying her feelings to a woman who apparently a) is straight, b) hates her, and c) has custody of a child that Reid has half-raised, and may choose to move away with him. Isabel struggles with becoming the parent of a depressed, angry child and the restrictions that places on her work time even as she realizes that she feels friendship, and possibly more, for Reid. However, feeling that her brother threw his life away as a firefighter, how could she ever become romantically involved with Reid?
Grade: B-
Random Thoughts:
Fully Involved deals heavily with the nobility of firefighters and the firefighting profession, which isn't really my cup of tea. Why did I pick it up, you ask? Good question. It might have been the flames on the cover. I did appreciate the depth of the story, but occasionally it felt as if it might be a bit too complicated, between all the tragedies and the job changes and the child-raising and the exploration of firefighting as a dangerous but necessary career.
Book Review Index
Dead Mother: Yes
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Book Review: Beyond the Highland Mist [1999]
Once in a while I just chuck my TBR list and pick up something random at work that catches my eye. In this case it was the audio version of Karen Marie Moning's Beyond the Highland Mist, the first of the Highlander series. I'm a sucker for a good Scottish accent, so I was curious as to how a narrator would handle reading an novel set largely in 16th century Scotland. Phil Gigante (who apparently calls the genre "kilt lifters" instead of "bodice rippers") did a very good job, which means that I have spent the last week slipping into brogue at every opportunity. More than usual, I mean. The plot, however, wasn't really my cup of tea.
The fairy king and his fool are furious that a mere mortal, one Sidheach James Lyon Douglas, Earl of Dalkeith (known as "The Hawk"), has managed give their queen immeasurable carnal pleasure. The Hawk is a legendary lover of women, and the fairies are determined to punish him by marrying him to a completely unwilling partner. Adrienne de Simone escaped a harrowing relationship with a beautiful, treacherous man in New Orleans, only to be transported to 16th century Scotland and forcibly married to the Hawk. He is smitten with her on sight, but she has vowed never to fall for a beautiful man again . . .
Grade: B-
As a general rule, I am not fond of romance novels that contain extended falconry-based metaphors in which the woman is compared to a free-spirited bird who needs to be tamed by a master's hand. I nearly gave up listening when Sidheach actually hooded and bound Adrienne, but I put my eyes back in my head and muddled through somehow. I would describe the book as Outlander Lite, in which the setting of Dalkeith is vibrant and interesting, the romance complicated and the characters fairy well-developed. However, the historical depth--the sense of characters being placed in a larger world that might have a significant impact on their personal and political well-being--is largely absent. There are a few well-drawn supporting characters, but very little sense of community.
Random Thoughts:
The Hawk is rather unbelievable as a character--"this man who liberally dripped honor, valor, compassion, and chivalry"--in addition to being the hottest man in Scotland ("corded muscle," hung like a horse, bronzed skin, etc.), hand-carving all the items for his future children in the nursery that he designed, loving his mother, being good to his tenants, and so on. Luckily his perfection is redeemed (for me, at least) by his determination to view Adrienne as a woman to be claimed and branded as his.
It was sometimes a bit awkward to be listening to the sexy bits of a romance novel being read out loud. And by awkward I mean unintentionally hilarious. If I could run a search on the number of times the word "shaft" was used, it would definitely be in double figures, which would be only slightly more than the number of comparisons between that body part and the same part on a stallion. On the plus side, having someone read names like Sidheach and Aoibheal for me meant that I didn't have to figure it out myself and keep getting drawn out of the narrative trying to pronounce things in my head.
It's not clear if the fairy queen ever actually did sleep with the Hawk, or whether she is just using him to get revenge on her lovers. Another shoe that never really dropped was King James, who used the Hawk cruelly during the years of his service (even assigning him to sleep with a court lady), and who would definitely not approve of the Earl of Dalkeith finding real love with Adrienne. Maybe this is addressed in later books in the series?
ETA: An amusing new review of Outlander. Jamie is rather too perfect as well, now that I think about it.
Book Review Index
Dead Mother: No
The fairy king and his fool are furious that a mere mortal, one Sidheach James Lyon Douglas, Earl of Dalkeith (known as "The Hawk"), has managed give their queen immeasurable carnal pleasure. The Hawk is a legendary lover of women, and the fairies are determined to punish him by marrying him to a completely unwilling partner. Adrienne de Simone escaped a harrowing relationship with a beautiful, treacherous man in New Orleans, only to be transported to 16th century Scotland and forcibly married to the Hawk. He is smitten with her on sight, but she has vowed never to fall for a beautiful man again . . .
Grade: B-
As a general rule, I am not fond of romance novels that contain extended falconry-based metaphors in which the woman is compared to a free-spirited bird who needs to be tamed by a master's hand. I nearly gave up listening when Sidheach actually hooded and bound Adrienne, but I put my eyes back in my head and muddled through somehow. I would describe the book as Outlander Lite, in which the setting of Dalkeith is vibrant and interesting, the romance complicated and the characters fairy well-developed. However, the historical depth--the sense of characters being placed in a larger world that might have a significant impact on their personal and political well-being--is largely absent. There are a few well-drawn supporting characters, but very little sense of community.
Random Thoughts:
The Hawk is rather unbelievable as a character--"this man who liberally dripped honor, valor, compassion, and chivalry"--in addition to being the hottest man in Scotland ("corded muscle," hung like a horse, bronzed skin, etc.), hand-carving all the items for his future children in the nursery that he designed, loving his mother, being good to his tenants, and so on. Luckily his perfection is redeemed (for me, at least) by his determination to view Adrienne as a woman to be claimed and branded as his.
It was sometimes a bit awkward to be listening to the sexy bits of a romance novel being read out loud. And by awkward I mean unintentionally hilarious. If I could run a search on the number of times the word "shaft" was used, it would definitely be in double figures, which would be only slightly more than the number of comparisons between that body part and the same part on a stallion. On the plus side, having someone read names like Sidheach and Aoibheal for me meant that I didn't have to figure it out myself and keep getting drawn out of the narrative trying to pronounce things in my head.
It's not clear if the fairy queen ever actually did sleep with the Hawk, or whether she is just using him to get revenge on her lovers. Another shoe that never really dropped was King James, who used the Hawk cruelly during the years of his service (even assigning him to sleep with a court lady), and who would definitely not approve of the Earl of Dalkeith finding real love with Adrienne. Maybe this is addressed in later books in the series?
ETA: An amusing new review of Outlander. Jamie is rather too perfect as well, now that I think about it.
Book Review Index
Dead Mother: No
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Book Review: Blameless [2010]
The problem with reading something like Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series is that when you finish a book like Blameless and the next one isn't immediately available, you feel bereft. You ask the air around you "where is the next book?" and sniff in a pitiful way. But there is, sadly, nothing to be done about it until next July. WARNING: There are spoilers for the first two books in this review.
Blameless picks up where Changeless left off, with Alexia inexplicably pregnant and estranged from her stubborn, outraged husband, the werewolf Alpha Lord Maccon. Someone also seems to be trying to kill her, and the morally upstanding Queen Victoria has kicked her off the Shadow Council. To make matters worse, Lord Akeldama has disappeared from London altogether, along with his efficient network of beautiful young men. Lady Maccon, with the support of Madame Lefoux and her father's capable ex-butler Floote, proceeds to Italy. There she hopes to find some method of proving herself innocent of adultery with the assistance of the supernatural-loathing Templars. While Professor Lyall attempts to restore Lord Maccon to sense and determine why Britain's vampires are so set on killing Alexia, the lady herself discovers intriguing new information about her preternatural state and the potential capabilities of her unborn child.
Grade: A-
Blameless was a very enjoyable, quick read. I suggest reading it while sipping a delicious cup of tea. As I expected, it was filled with clever turns of phrase and fascinating revelations, such as the fact that pesto is actually an infamous Italian antisupernatural weapon. By this, the third book, the major characters are well-established, and Carriger introduced a few new faces as Alexia traveled through France and Italy. More tidbits about her father's mysterious and colorful past were revealed. However, yet again, there was an almost criminal lack of Lord Akeldama throughout the bulk of the novel, although his scene with Biffy (I don't want to spoil it) near the end of the book was incredibly moving. I eagerly await the next installment!
My reviews of Soulless and Changeless.
Book Review Index
Dead Mother: No
Blameless picks up where Changeless left off, with Alexia inexplicably pregnant and estranged from her stubborn, outraged husband, the werewolf Alpha Lord Maccon. Someone also seems to be trying to kill her, and the morally upstanding Queen Victoria has kicked her off the Shadow Council. To make matters worse, Lord Akeldama has disappeared from London altogether, along with his efficient network of beautiful young men. Lady Maccon, with the support of Madame Lefoux and her father's capable ex-butler Floote, proceeds to Italy. There she hopes to find some method of proving herself innocent of adultery with the assistance of the supernatural-loathing Templars. While Professor Lyall attempts to restore Lord Maccon to sense and determine why Britain's vampires are so set on killing Alexia, the lady herself discovers intriguing new information about her preternatural state and the potential capabilities of her unborn child.
Grade: A-
Blameless was a very enjoyable, quick read. I suggest reading it while sipping a delicious cup of tea. As I expected, it was filled with clever turns of phrase and fascinating revelations, such as the fact that pesto is actually an infamous Italian antisupernatural weapon. By this, the third book, the major characters are well-established, and Carriger introduced a few new faces as Alexia traveled through France and Italy. More tidbits about her father's mysterious and colorful past were revealed. However, yet again, there was an almost criminal lack of Lord Akeldama throughout the bulk of the novel, although his scene with Biffy (I don't want to spoil it) near the end of the book was incredibly moving. I eagerly await the next installment!
My reviews of Soulless and Changeless.
Book Review Index
Dead Mother: No
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