3 STARS I liked the characters and I liked the writing, but I had a problem with the plot. The relationship between Mary and Duncan was realistic and they were both likable. Conversations seemed authentic and I liked how they worked through their problems. There were some great quotes. This one describing a nightmare Duncan experienced was visceral: "In a moment of lucidity, he recognized the effects of laudanum wearing off. A nightmare was coming, Horrors he could not face. Oh, sweet Angel of Mercy, I cannot face it. He begged, he thrashed, he cajoled until a liquid the sound of red and color of a creaking door met his lips, and he was back in the meadow with Caesar beneath him, Mary riding at his side, his men singing in chorus." And I loved this amusing comment regarding Mary's breeding: "Politeness was ingrained. She could make a rat feel welcomed and comfortable in a drawing room." As I said, the writing was really good, but the plot had one significant issue. ****Spoilers may follow**** A person who is paralyzed from the waist down, specifically having no feeling below the waist, will by definition be incontinent. There is no way of getting around this. If Duncan were, in fact, paralyzed from the waist down, his ability to walk or get an erection would be the least of his concerns. His incontinence would be his greatest embarrassment and discouragement. If he was embarrassed his valet had to help bathe and dress him, the humiliation of having someone change his diaper would have been unbearable. Getting past this very real side effect of paraplegia was impossible for me. I could not ignore the implications of his paralysis and that made it difficult for me to see walking (and eventually, sex) as concerns. I can still believe Mary would love him, but things would be very different. This one blunder brought what could have been a five star story down to just three. April 20, 2020
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4 STARS I had some trouble adjusting to the story as I began reading. I didn't realize that the headings were the names of the characters to indicate change in POV. Once I realized that, it became easier for me. There are some wonderful descriptions in here — the rod of the torturer, the locks on the doors. It's a fantastical place, and not in a good way. The villain is "the collector" and his motivation is to keep things from changing. He believes he is doing the world a favor by trying to preserve things just the way they are. But the theme of this book is that change is good and necessary. There's a saying: If you're not growing, you're dying. Nothing can thrive in stasis and resistance to change is based in fear. Furthermore, the author is clear on the point that if you are unhappy with yourself, you must have the freedom to change who you are. Those who love us will try to keep us the same, but we must resist. True love overcomes any obstacle. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't love it. It started a bit slowly and I had trouble maintaining interest. However, after a while, I didn't want to put it down. April 16, 2020 5 STARS Although I edited this book, I still think it’s fair for me to rate it, provided I am honest about my involvement. I don’t love characters like Gabriel and I have trouble relating to characters like Lily who find themselves helplessly attracted to bad boys like him. Nevertheless, I think Laxmi does a good job of conveying the conflicting emotions felt by both of these characters and I could see why they belonged together. One of the things I liked best about this story was Laxmi’s descriptions of the darkness inside of the characters, most clearly described in Lily during her transformation. The trip she takes into her own psyche is frightening, and I loved that the two of them found salvation from the darkness only when with the other. I thought this was a great description of Lily’s struggle: “I am a speck in the wind. Rising. Rising. The earth is moving around me. Swooping up to meet me. Darkness pulls me under.” Lily doesn’t have a lot of changing to do. She gives up part of herself, as we all do when we love someone, but she maintains the most important parts and her self-identity is one of those things. Gabriel goes through some significant changes. Ultimately, this is what made me like him. Because of his love for Lily, he becomes a better man, thus demonstrating the transformative power of love. It’s an engaging story with characters whom I ultimately came to like. April 2, 2020 5 STARS I love Piper Lawson’s writing, despite the fact that she often leaves me in tears. With the teenage angst of high school social cliques thrown into this story, I could feel myself growing tense just anticipating what was going to happen. This is all told from the POV of Annie, so I’m dying to know what Tyler is thinking, but I guess I’m going to have to wait to find out. Meanwhile, life is not looking good for Annie and it seems like their clear affection for one another is going to follow the kind of tortuous route to which Piper Lawson likes to subject her characters and her readers. This particular story is a prequel and ends rather abruptly. I was relieved that Piper did not deliver the killing blow that she has been known to do with other books in the Wicked series. Still, I fully expect she will be doing that in the next one. And even though I hate cliffhangers, I will read every damn word because she’s that good! April 5, 2020 4 STARS Ann Hymes is a classmate of mine and I’ve enjoyed the writing she has shared. I was excited to read this book and quickly snapped it up when it became available on Netgalley. From the start, I was impressed by Ann’s turns of phrase, life observations, and bits of wisdom. It is told from the first-person POV of Theresa, who was mostly likable, but at times had me very frustrated. Several stood out to me: Whimsey Towers is not only a very real place for Theresa, but also a metaphor for the independence and free-thinking that she so values. It is a place that holds secrets along with memories of love, some of it illicit. She compares herself to Theodesia, her grandmother, a woman who refused to conform to expectations. At one point, she remarks that “relationships with men are harder for women without broken wings,” almost as if making an excuse for her own difficulties. She loves Whimsey Towers almost as much as any person in her life, at times giving the place too much importance. She seems to see it as the source of her being, a place without which she would be incomplete. She gives it too much power. “Like the rushing flow of streams that meet and blend, our stories share power that roils and carves its way through the landscape with dogged determination.” On aging, Theresa muses: “Do I yearn for my youth by wishing my children had not left theirs?” And Razor tells her: “Hopefully, you are only older than what is outgrown.” Theresa laments her aging mind, wondering whether she has dementia. She comments on the struggles of Mattie’s mother, observing, “the memories had wandered and lay in her head like exhausted nomads.” She fears a similar fate. She feels herself growing dependent on her sons and it bothers her: “I am torn between wanting to be close and needing space. Communication takes work. I am absent and present in one body, living in duality. Sometimes I cannot finish a sentence because getting to the end requires remembering how it began. I am holding on to strands of normalcy that occasionally slip away. Lapses are infrequent, but I fear what may tumble from my lips.” Another snippet: “Memory is a gift not to be taken for granted. It holds all my yesterdays. I think it's easier to stay in the past, because I know my way there.” One of the female characters, explaining her need/desire for numerous male partners, explains it this way: “My father is a farmer. He is careful to rotate his crops, nourishing the soil to get the best harvest each year. The soil can become stagnate (sic - should be stagnant) and barren if not furnished with fresh nutrients. I am like that soil that needs replenishing.” It may surprise you to find that although I loved many things about this book, there were several things that bothered me. My first complaint was with the pacing. Sometimes the book got too bogged down in description and philosophical conjecture. Additionally, conversations between characters were stilted and unnatural. And I never got a really good sense of why the men in Theresa’s life loved her. Presumably, there was something special about her, something magnetic that drew men to her, but as the reader, I never felt privy to what that special thing was. The only thing I felt privy to was her conflicted sense of guilt over the lies she had told in her life as well as her fears of growing older, both mentally and physically. She was tortured by regret and haunted by what-ifs. Given the opportunity to unburden herself, her initial response was to hold her secrets even closer and even pretend she didn’t have any, but this was after numerous personal reflections on her desire to confess to someone. I was surprised by her resistance to confiding in someone and I found it difficult to relate to her pain because she’d been provided with an opportunity to share her load with someone who loved her. In the final analysis, I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the writing. I didn’t relate to Theresa or find her particularly sympathetic as a character and I felt conversations, in general, were unnatural and contrived. As far as philosophical observations go, this book had some great ones. April 11, 2020 5 STARS The trick with a book like this is to take a familiar trope with a predetermined ending and infuse it with memorable characters and intense emotions to make it stand out above the rest. On top of that, make the characters vaguely aware that they're living the trope while determined not to submit to the fantasy of it. I think Melanie Moreland succeeded with this book. Without a doubt, Richard lives up to his nickname Dick. Katy/Katharine is a bit of an enigma, orphaned at a young age, then taken in by an older woman who treated her as her own daughter. Not surprisingly, Katy feels a deep responsibility to care for Penny now in her old age. She cares so much that she's willing to pretend to be engaged to the Dick. Richard is a complex, damaged human being, for reasons that become clear later. His journey from @$$h01e to lover is emotional and poignant. His slow awakening to his feelings is powerful. His story is told with compassion and understanding and some of his epiphanies are memorable, like this one, which was clearly a veiled, though unrecognized reference to his own upbringing: "A voice spoke in my head, whispering maybe what she needed all along was someone to hold her up, rather than tear her down." Would I recommend this book? No question. I loved it. Ms. Moreland has a gift for conveying emotions to the reader and I'll be looking for more from her. April 5, 2020 4 STARS You may wonder how I can give a book only 4 stars when I was the editor, but allow me to explain. It’s well written, and hopefully free from errors, the plot is compelling, the characters are complex, and it has all of the necessary elements, but I didn’t like what happened. I still don’t particularly like Kayden (maybe I will in the next one cause I think he’s improving), and I don’t quite understand Chloe, although I do like her. I’m allowing my emotions to dictate the number of stars I give this review, but aren’t all reviews really subjective anyway? There’s nothing Laxmi could have done differently to make me like it more, other than changing Kayden into a more likable character, and that would make it a completely different story. I’m not suggesting she should do that. I believe other people will love this story. It’s a bit dark and Kayden is often mean to Chloe and I find it difficult to get past that. Others will find his darkness intriguing and his redemption (which I’m sure will occur eventually) that much sweeter. Personally, I’m too old (and impatient) to be attracted to men who are so psychologically damaged, so although I feel sorry for Kayden, I really want him to overcome his inner demons so he can be a better mate to Chloe because I like her. When Kayden allows himself to acknowledge that he doesn’t deserve her, he’s right. I’d tell her to walk away...and stay away. Since that’s not likely, I’m rooting for his redemption. February 11, 2020 5 STARS I received an ARC of this book and once I started, I could not put it down. I was hooked from the first chapter with a talking cat, throwing up. Ava Mason has a great sense of humor that comes through clearly in her writing. Here, she has created another compelling, sassy female character pursued by a number of sexy men who are irresistible. I didn't love the males' characters' proclivities toward dominance but this was offset by their clear adoration for Blayde. (They were certainly better than the men in Carrie's relationship.) The plot was original and unpredictable and I found myself on the edge of my seat. Whether it was a physical battle or a psychological one, the tension was palpable. The villains were, frankly, villainous and I am rooting for their demise. As expected this book ended in a cliffhanger, but for once, this author did not make it a torturous one. For that I thank her. I am looking forward, anxiously, to the next book. April 3, 2020 5 STARS I wish I had read this book when I was younger, or rather, I wish there had been something like this when I was younger. Instead, I’ve made it to my 50s to be learning about some of this stuff for the first time. I am a firm believer that money management should be taught as part of every high school curriculum, if not earlier, and I think this book would make a great addition to any teaching. Concepts are clearly explained in a conversational tone that is easy to understand and engaging. I took many notes because looking at my notes will be easier than going back through the book and taking notes helps me to remember the important points. I’m glad to have received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. It’s well worth reading. March 31, 2020 |
Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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