The fourth in a series, and I read at least one of the first three during the fugue state years when my dad¡¯s health was failing, so I have only the hThe fourth in a series, and I read at least one of the first three during the fugue state years when my dad¡¯s health was failing, so I have only the haziest memory of it. That might mean I¡¯m missing something, as it never felt explained in the text why the other women hadn¡¯t come to Jane¡¯s aid before now, nor why Jane¡¯s feelings for Adrian would evolve beyond a schoolgirl crush.
The plot is sketched out, not fleshed out¡ªthe side characters are props, the culprit is telegraphed from his first appearance on page, both the mystery and the romance are a series of scenes that happen without much tension or suspense, and the climax is sloppy to a fault.*
One thing that bothers me in romance is when it¡¯s taken for granted that the couple belongs together: i.e. they¡¯re young, attractive, and available, so poof, they¡¯re in love. As opposed to being drawn toward someone against expectation or reason, and all the complexity and growth that entails. It manifests a lot more often in straight romance than queer romance, for obvious reasons, which is why these m/f historicals keep failing me, even when I¡¯m just in the mood for fluffy distraction.
*(view spoiler)[The bad guy¡¯s alternately holding a rifle or a pistol. Which is it?! Both? Are both his hands full then? Is it just sloppy typos? A pistol is very different from a rifle in a small, enclosed attic. That changes the plan of attack! Or it should, if the scene was blocked correctly... or blocked at all. Instead Adrian gets a pistol of his own (off the butler! without even checking if it¡¯s loaded!), passes it to Jane, who has NO experience with firearms, and has her shoot the bad guy! It¡¯s supposed to be this badass moment but it doesn¡¯t track at all and makes him look selfish at best, intentionally endangering her at worst. I was already struggling with the romance, but that sent everything into full WTF territory. I had to re-read some KJ Charles just to calm myself down. (hide spoiler)]...more
A thief and a private investigator team up to solve a theft, and the vibes are basically a case-of-the-week tv episode (think Charlie¡¯s Angels, RemingA thief and a private investigator team up to solve a theft, and the vibes are basically a case-of-the-week tv episode (think Charlie¡¯s Angels, Remington Steele, White Collar, etc) playing historical dress-up. The plot is as straightforward as it gets¡ªthey search for a macguffin, they get a clue, they get another clue, they solve the case. No twisty characters or KJ Charles-level plotting here. I was all set to breeze through it and enjoy myself regardless, and then a bad case of instalove reared its head, along with ye olde hardcore gender essentialism, the kind that bums me out and turns me off.
(For example, a memorable scene where Harry has to dress like a dandy for an undercover recon, and the author takes great pains to assure us that, ¡°On any other man, the ensemble would have looked ridiculous, almost feminine, but on him the flamboyant clothes only served to accentuate his intense masculinity.¡±)
Sigh. That¡¯s on me for reading outside my lane, but my hope for a quick, fun read with heists and spies didn¡¯t pan out.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
**spoiler alert** I have a few auto-buy (auto-preorder) authors, but KJ Charles is the only one where I drop everything to start reading the day a new**spoiler alert** I have a few auto-buy (auto-preorder) authors, but KJ Charles is the only one where I drop everything to start reading the day a new book comes out. Here, that impatience is rewarded with a tender, slow-blooming romance-on-the-run between Daizell, a disgraced non-scoundrel scoundrel (he¡¯s paying for the sins of his father), and Cassian, aka The Duke, aka Vernon Fortescue Cassian George de Vere Crosse, the fourth Duke of Severn, the Earl of Harmsford, Baron Crosse of Wotton, and Baron Vere, who¡¯s incognito for a month to hunt down a thief and win a wager (he¡¯s burdened with the premature inheritance of his father¡¯s title).
If you¡¯re sensing a theme, then yes. KJC is as genius at plots as she is with names, and there¡¯s a brilliant echo and contrast with both men, who they¡¯re believed to be vs. who they are vs. who they wish to become, and the shadow their respective fathers cast across it all. She¡¯s also the type of writer who can shamelessly open chapter six with the line, ¡°There was only one bed,¡± but then wring the most profound emotional truths out of that tropey confection.
I loved every character (Martin! Eliza!), I loved the kink (somnophilia! the gorgeous consent and negotiation thereof!), I loved the cameos at the end (Hart! Robin! Lady Wintour!). And now I have to live with the fact that a novel with a duke is going to crack my top 5 KJC rankings. How dare she. What¡¯s more, I read the ebook, as the paperback doesn¡¯t publish in the U.S. until October. Which I¡¯ve already preordered, so I can repeat the lovely experience of it arriving again....more
I had to wait until I was in a good headspace to handle this. Ruth, an autistic devout Christian on the cusp of adulthood, begins to realize everythinI had to wait until I was in a good headspace to handle this. Ruth, an autistic devout Christian on the cusp of adulthood, begins to realize everything in her life is not as it seems, not even herself. Cue the horror of religious trauma and conversion therapy camps, right at home with the traditional trappings of the horror genre. It gets genuinely creepy as hell as all hell is unleashed, quite literally in the case of demons run amok. (I could see where some readers would take issue that Chuck chose to make the demons real, and hell real, but that worked for me in the context of this book. Especially with the revelation of who the real monsters are, and that the demons are unwilling accomplices, ready to turn on their masters for what they¡¯ve been forced to do.)
I wish I didn¡¯t have such a long list of conversion therapy survival books, but this is a worthy addition. It¡¯s the flavor of extreme and homophobic evangelicalism that I grew up in, with all the trauma that accompanies it. And of course it¡¯s Chuck Tingle, so we get the happy ending. LOVE IS REAL....more
Too YA for me for right now, even with the intriguing worldbuilding. The middle-aged Amina was much more to my tastes. May try again later.Too YA for me for right now, even with the intriguing worldbuilding. The middle-aged Amina was much more to my tastes. May try again later....more
Right after Nghi Vo writes all the queer Jazz Age fanfic for me, she can write all the wuxia for me too. Right after Nghi Vo writes all the queer Jazz Age fanfic for me, she can write all the wuxia for me too. ...more
Nghi Vo can write queer Jazz Age fanfic for me all day any day. (Also excellent: the Venn diagram of her Chinese and Vietnamese characters, the overlaNghi Vo can write queer Jazz Age fanfic for me all day any day. (Also excellent: the Venn diagram of her Chinese and Vietnamese characters, the overlapping similarities and the differences.)...more
Whoa. Masterful use of dialect and structure to deconstruct the traditional bounds of genre and narrative. The way the characters code-switch their waWhoa. Masterful use of dialect and structure to deconstruct the traditional bounds of genre and narrative. The way the characters code-switch their way through multiple registers and languages¡ªwell-known and invented¡ªis reflected in the way the novella flips through genres like a catalog, exposing the expectations and limitations of each.
My own expectations were high due to on linguistics, dialect and race, but the reality impressed me even more.
Linguistically and mythologically it¡¯s a marvel. ...more
I kept my expectations low, and the writing shows promise on the sentence level¡ªbut on the plot/structure/worldbuilding/thematic level, it falls apartI kept my expectations low, and the writing shows promise on the sentence level¡ªbut on the plot/structure/worldbuilding/thematic level, it falls apart. There are plot twists that change the entire point of the story, but Huang doesn¡¯t write like he knows that. (If there¡¯s a second book, perhaps he plans to explore that further, but it doesn¡¯t come together in this book.) Bummer, because a queer AF update of two queer AF ancient Chinese stories¡ªone of which gives us the origin of the term cut-sleeve¡ªis such a great concept, and one I really want to read....more
I don¡¯t even know how the hell to describe this, except amazing. Apparently my unintentional theme lately is biblically accurate angels¡ªsee Pet, see FI don¡¯t even know how the hell to describe this, except amazing. Apparently my unintentional theme lately is biblically accurate angels¡ªsee Pet, see Freyd¨ªs Moon. Here, Cooney makes the mythology its own thing and the worldbuilding is fiendishly clever. A refugee crisis in the midst of a celestial city with bloodthirsty angels who must be overthrown by two secret saints, a newly-sprouted godhead, and a family of filmmakers and waste collectors¡ªthat¡¯s the best stab I can take at the plot. What makes it sing is the sheer originality, the dialogue (the dialect!), the relationships and alliances, the comfort, the justice.
It¡¯s dedicated to Gene and Rosemary Wolfe, and rightly so. Although at the risk of blasphemy, the way Cooney writes her spiritual elements are way more appealing to me. (Less heavy on the Catholic overtones, and way more deeply humane.)
BRB, off to read everything else that she writes....more
There are mosaic novels¡ªthese are mosaic novellas. I can see being disappointed with one if you picked it up standalone, but as a collective, each booThere are mosaic novels¡ªthese are mosaic novellas. I can see being disappointed with one if you picked it up standalone, but as a collective, each book a different facet of the whole, it¡¯s some brilliant, satisfying storytelling.
The villain of the first three books? Yeah, this is her story, told by her lover. What a way to end the series. ...more
So we¡¯re completely changing protagonists AND writing style AND partially the genre too? Hell yes! Basically it¡¯s the official report on the fallout oSo we¡¯re completely changing protagonists AND writing style AND partially the genre too? Hell yes! Basically it¡¯s the official report on the fallout of the second book, done epistolary style (with redactions!), introducing mega revelations of its own.
Loved it. Definitely doesn¡¯t stand on its own¡ªdon¡¯t start here. And the covers are still BOSS....more
I should have read the reviews and not gone in unawares. It actively annoyed me SO MUCH. The narrator was good enough that I kept listening longer thaI should have read the reviews and not gone in unawares. It actively annoyed me SO MUCH. The narrator was good enough that I kept listening longer than I should have, until I was hating his dumb voice just by proxy. ...more
Here is my theory from book 2: the Blyths suit me best in small doses. Robin and Maud, respectively, were the most difficult parts of their own books Here is my theory from book 2: the Blyths suit me best in small doses. Robin and Maud, respectively, were the most difficult parts of their own books for me. They¡¯re just so young, energetic, athletic, upstanding, so shiny, so beautiful, so aggressively¡ ¡°normal,¡± for lack of a better word, when I prefer crankiness and weariness and a bit of tarnish on the bronze these days.
Here, their presence in the ensemble was a much better balance. Enough without too much.
And that clears the decks for Jack, deeply scarred, and Alan, deeply insolent, to take center stage. In book 2, they¡¯re stalking around each other and scrapping like alley cats in the background, and that dynamic ratchets up a few notches here, to my endless pleasure.
It¡¯s the best of the trilogy, by a long shot. And/or it just hit every one of my preferences in a perfect way. The kinky power dynamics vs. real world politics. The class differences. The exquisite emotional development. (view spoiler)[The betrayal that is immediately understood and admired. (hide spoiler)] Crackling tension and careful tenderness.
Complexity galore, KJ Charles style. At least for the romance¡ªthe fantasy still lagged a step behind the best KJC plotting. There were some WTF turns, but ultimately I really liked where it went, and Marske wrote to her strengths. For the second book I¡¯ve read recently, it upends the idea of a magic system dependent on bloodlines. I thought the metaphors and parallels of imperialism came together a lot better here than in the first two books¡ªor maybe my expectations, by now, were just more in line with what Marske delivers.
Either way, it was excellent, I would read it straightaway again. Just given my tastes, I had the highest hopes for this book out of the three, but was still surprised and pleased at how well it delivered.
A few stray notes:
- The whole Roman storyline was utter catnip for me: concept, commentary, and execution. Best inclusion of an erotica-novel plot since Jonathan: And The Struggles of Virtue.
- Actually, come to think of it, a lot of what earned the five stars for Nobleman¡¯s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel was the same kind of thing that earned high marks from me here. What can I say, I¡¯m predictable.
- If Marske developed the idea for Alan¡¯s powers just so she could drop the line ¡°Master Perturbator¡±¡ NOTHING BUT RESPECT ...more
This is just what I was in the mood for, a 300+ chapter, 4000 page sapphic slow burn court intrigue. The prose (and/or translation?) is more functionaThis is just what I was in the mood for, a 300+ chapter, 4000 page sapphic slow burn court intrigue. The prose (and/or translation?) is more functional than beautiful on a sentence level, but on a plot level, with the overall character arcs, QJMX has some mad skill. Especially when she was writing as she went, chapter by chapter, serial style. (Says me, who can¡¯t plot my way out of a paper bag.)
Every time I thought we¡¯d reached a point where it was going to drag, nope, there¡¯s a twist, a plot development, a time skip. Never a dull moment, which is more than I can say for most 100-page books, much less any clocking in at this massive length.
Of course it helps that I go nuts for complex court politics played out at this scale. And morally gray (to put it kindly) heroines.
A few more thoughts in list form:
- If you¡¯re gonna do a romance where one (nearly both) of the protagonists is underage at the beginning, then a 20-year timespan to get to the happy ending, with a complete flip of power balance, is the right choice to make.
- Hurrah! It does the thing I love where obtaining the throne is not the happy ending¡ªit¡¯s detrimental to the happy ending, a problem to be solved.
- The way the stress ruins Qi Yan¡¯s health is so much more relatable and weirdly gratifying than the superhero protagonists who sail through plots unscathed.
- There¡¯s an absolutely bonkers side plot where QY (view spoiler)[offs a lecherous prince by kidnapping the young man he¡¯s been aggressively harassing, drugging the young man, covering him in a poison that interacts with the liquor in the prince¡¯s system (he¡¯s an alcoholic) and makes the prince drop dead at first kiss (hide spoiler)]. It¡¯s non-con as hell, but the groundwork was laid for it, it¡¯s a two-birds-one-stone solution to a problem, and I was so far into the suspended reality of the book that I was equally impressed and appalled by the creativity. ...more
After burning out on southern gothic, it thrills me when there are authors that make it fresh and amazing again, doing something new in the genre.
HerAfter burning out on southern gothic, it thrills me when there are authors that make it fresh and amazing again, doing something new in the genre.
Here¡¯s how you write horror in Kentucky. All of the elements, from the book-within-a-book to the lingering satanic panic to the generational trauma to the historical footnotes to the ecological elegy to the snarky wit, worked perfectly for me. The love story is surprisingly affecting¡ªnormally young love has me side-eyeing any attempt at an HEA, but Arthur and Violet are scarred beyond their years and so tender with each other that I root for them completely.
(view spoiler)[(Although the real swoon-worthy honors go to Charlotte and Bev! I spotted it super early and was delighted to pieces as their story unfolded.) (hide spoiler)]
The true monsters are the merciless extractors of fortunes, and where better to typify that than coal country. The house calls the homeless and hungry, claiming its wardens regardless of bloodline and genealogy, and it¡¯s such a refreshing antidote to all the books that dwell so hard on genetic inheritance. The beautiful illustrations throughout the hardcover are just a cherry on top. ...more
This should have been book 1! Or I should have done my typical thing of reading out of order and started here! The one time I try to be responsible anThis should have been book 1! Or I should have done my typical thing of reading out of order and started here! The one time I try to be responsible and read a series in order, this is what happens.
Technically, these are ¡°twin novellas,¡± but IMO, Mokoya is the emotional core of the story, followed by Rider, and Akeha in Black Tides is an interesting prequel. Everything about this one is an emotional knockout, especially the way it deals with grief and love. It had me in tears by the end. In a good way.
Also, thankfully I have the paperbacks because I want to display these covers like the masterpieces they are....more
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