2-Stars

FLASH REVIEWS: Recent Audio Reads in Historical Fiction

I’m back with more quick reviews of my recent audio reads! I just finished two Bloody Jack Adventures  plus a couple of adult historicals. So here goes…

The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Audience: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

When the powers that be try to keep her from practicing her craft as a physician, Renaissance woman Gabriella Mondini decides now is the time to go searching for her long-lost father. What follows is a journey across Europe and beyond that calls to mind the Canterbury Tales. Through her entries in her diary and additions made in an anthology of diseases begun by her father (also a physician), readers are privy to Gabriella’s adventures and obsessions. A woman physician in sixteenth-century Venice, Gabriella
Mondini had the potential to become a fascinating character. The plot in and of itself is certainly intriguing, but the pacing is uneven and the supernatural elements are clumsily integrated and all too predictable. O’Melveney is a poet, and the prose is lyrical and striking at times; however, it also frequently veers into pretension and excessive description. Probably the only reason I finished this audiobook is Katherine Kellgren, whose magnificent voice performance kept me engaged.

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert  Goolrick
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Audience: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Psychological Suspense/Southern Gothic

When Charlie Beale arrived in the small Southern town of Brownsburg with a suitcase full of money, it was the summer of 1948. Decades later, a man who knew Charlie and was witness to Charlie’s torrid, fateful affair with the young bride of the town’s wealthiest man recounts the story. I was downright mesmerized by Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife, but Heading Out to Wonderful lacked the tension and immediacy I expected in his follow-up novel. The setting and storyline had the haunting, nostalgic quality of a folk ballad, but the finale seemed forced and arbitrary. Also, I was troubled by the occasional awkwardness of the narrative voice and some unacknowledged loose ends. For example, it is never explained (MILD SPOILER AHEAD…HIGHLIGHT TO READ) how Charlie came by that suitcase of money. Although this was the most interesting part of the story to me, I would have understood if that particular plot point remained a mystery. But the fact that none of the book’s characters seem to wonder or question it makes no sense. Still, even with all that being said, I think Heading Out to Wonderful would make a fantastic book club read. The recurring themes of lost innocence, sin and forgiveness, identities abandoned and recreated, and memory itself leave much to discuss.

Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Audience: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Historical Adventure/Humor
Series: Bloody Jack Adventures #5

I am still a little furious at Jamie. But at the same time, I also like him a bit better now. In the past, Jamie has been almost too perfect for the wonderfully flawed adventuress that is Jacky Faber. Now, I see him as a more developed, if flawed character and I like him better for it. In this latest adventure, Jacky and Jamie are once again separated as Jacky makes her way down the Mississippi in a rollicking adventure reminiscent of the best tall tales. Legendary boatman Mike Fink even plays a significant role in the story. New love interests also emerge—most notably the irascibly charming Sir Richard Allen—to throw a wrench in Jacky and Jamie’s relationship. Not to mention the intervention of the British Navy and Intelligence Agency, marauding Indians, and a homicidal Mike Fink. Also, did I already mention that I love Katherine Kellgren? Because I do. Her fabulous performances make the Bloody jack series a joy to listen to, bringing Jacky and the gang to vivid life.

Mt Bonny Light Horseman by L.A. Meyer
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Audience: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Historical Adventure/Humor/War Story
Series: Bloody Jack Adventures #6

This time around, Jacky is tasked by British Intelligence to act as a spy against the French. Those who love the battle scenes of earlier Bloody Jack novels won’t be disappointed. And Jacky being Jacky, there are also new flirtations for the more romantically minded (though the new love interest fails to live up to the standard set by Jamie’s previous rivals for Jacky’s affections, IMHO).

DUAL REVIEW: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Lucinda’s Rating: 2/5 Stars (DNF)
Tracy’s Rating: 2/5 Stars
Genre: Erotic Romance
Audience: Adult (Mature)

Summary: College student Anastasia Steele is just filling in for her friend and roommate when she meets and interviews powerful businessman Christian Grey, and it turns out to be a highly awkward and embarrassing experience. But when Christian seeks her out on her home turf then warns her away, Ana can’t help but be intrigued by the undeniable attraction they share. Soon, Ana learns that any relationship with Christian will be far different from her expectations, as he has a taste for bondage, dominance, and punishment—and Ana must decide if she can be the submissive he needs.

First Line: “I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror.”

Lucinda’s Views: 
I tried my best to read this, having been urged on to finish it by several of the library staff, but I couldn’t. I don’t know if it was the wooden characters or the stalkerish behavior of the main characters that turned me off of this book, but try as I might I could not bring myself to finish the book. It did start off with an interesting, if done before plot and I was at first intrigued by this groundbreaking offering of erotica by a major publishing house. Things seemed to go downhill in subsequent chapters, however. The characters never seemed to develop any depth and I just couldn’t deal with Ana’s whining. All I can say is that I just lost interest. I was trying to read the Hunger Games Trilogy simultaneously and this offering just didn’t compete.


Tracy’s Thoughts: 
Like Lucinda, I had several enthusiastic co-workers urging me to read this book. About a third of the way in I was ready to throw in the towel, but I stuck with it. And while I can’t say I loved it, I didn’t hate it either. At least, I didn’t dislike it any more than I did the Twilight series (but more on that later).

EL James is the first to admit that she isn’t a great writer, but her prose is… competent, if sometimes a bit robotic. She clearly has a fondness for certain words—many of them starting with the letter “P”—and I actually made a game out of spotting her frequent variations of the words purse, pout, and petulant. (These recurring word choices probably didn’t help Lucinda’s impression of Ana as an annoying whiner either.) What really captured me and kept me reading was the e-mail exchanges between Ana and Christian that begin midway through the book. This is the only time that the characters seem to come alive. In their e-mail conversations, they are playful, challenging, even funny. I especially loved the humor Christian showed in changing his e-mail signature to reflect their ongoing conversation. They have a personality in their e-mails—Christian particularly—that just doesn’t come out in their face-to-face exchanges or in Ana’s inner monologues.

Speaking of inner monologues… I got really tired of Ana’s conversations with her “inner goddess” and her subconscious. It began to sound like Ana has a split personality, especially in a few really strange moments when she describes her subconscious/inner goddess/whatever as “hiding behind the couch.” Not to mention how just plain WRONG it is for Ana to be observing and communicating with her subconscious, which is supposed to be, um, subconscious. As in, something she is unaware of. But whatever. As I said, EL James has no pretensions about being an accomplished writer.

As Lucinda points out, there is actually  potential for a really good story here. Christian and Ana love each other (for whatever reason), but they have a
real conflict in their lifestyles and expectations. I would have loved
to see more about how they deal with that conflict, or how sometimes people can love each other but be basically incompatible. Unfortunately, James goes more for the Twilight plot treatment, much of it focused on Bella Ana’s inner angst and confusion. (Which isn’t so surprising, considering the novel originated as a piece of Twilight  fan fiction). Here are just a few of the Twilight/Fifty Shades of Grey parallels that struck me as I was reading:

  • Enigmatic, adopted hero with unpredictable mood swings? Check. (Well, unpredictable for the heroine anyway).
  • Self-esteem challenged heroine who mysteriously attracts every male within a mile radius? Check. 
  • Heroine parental issues, including a supposedly “scattered” mother and conversationally challenged father figure? Check.
  • Lots of immediate, internal obsessing on the part of the heroine over the hero? Check.
  • “Overprotective” hero that tracks down the heroine in unexpected places (i.e., behaves like a stalker) and is “concerned” over the heroine’s means of transportation? Check.

And there are more similarities where that came from. Of course, Christian’s deep, dark secret isn’t vampirism. It is his BSDM lifestyle (along with whatever traumatic childhood event “caused” it). But believe it or not, this book wasn’t nearly as explicit as I was led to expect. For the most part, it was more unsettling (at least in the scenes where Ana herself was most uncomfortable) than sexy. Of course, the subject matter is for mature readers only, but the language used to describe Christian and Ana’s encounters is almost restrained, even clinical at times. At least it wasn’t as shocking to me as a some of the scenes from True Blood!

So, for me this book was a mixed bag, with untapped potential. But the e-mails and questions about Christian’s history still have me slightly intrigued. I have books two and three of the trilogy at home and am determined to give them a fair shot. (One co-worker told me not to judge by the first book, promising that the plot deepens as the saga progresses.)

A few questions for you:
For those of you who’ve read this book (and we KNOW some of you have!), what did you think? Are we being too harsh?

Just for fun, have you seen the police sketch of Christian Grey on The Composites on tumblr? What do you think? Does the sketch capture Christian as you imagined him?

GUEST REVIEW: The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

We have our first Guest Reviewer! Allison, our Teen and Adult Programmer here at the library, wanted to share her reaction to one of the many new additions to the fairy tale genre. (Seriously, fairy tales are HOT right now—on TV, in movies, and in books. But more on this is a later post…)

Instead of a traditional written summary, we found this great book trailer:

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Rating: 2/5 Stars
Audience: Young Adult/Teen (Middle and High School)
Genre: Historical Romance/Fairy Tale

Allison’s Guest Review: This book completely fell flat with me. Dickerson begins with the retelling of a Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty tale, and for the first six or so chapters, she hits the nail on the head. The main character, Rose, as well as her mentor, Frau Geruscha and the well-mannered (and betrothed) Lord Hamlin are wonderfully developed. After the basic plot set-up, however, the story winds through a mist of characters which hold little importance to the main theme. Finally, the evil conjurer Moncore makes his appearance, with little fanfare or back story. The reader has found herself enthralled in the fairy tale beginning, waiting for the eventual “happily ever after” ending, only to have multiple characters and plots confuse her. The entire plot is summed up in the last two chapters, without much prior understanding as to what conspired to make these events come together.

Are you interested in being a Guest Reviewer?
Simply send your review to [email protected], and tell everyone about the book you loved (or hated!).

REVIEW: The Girl in the Steel Corset

Rating: 2/5 Stars
Audience: Young Adult/Teen
Genre: Steampunk

Summary:  After fighting off the advances of a wicked employer, Finley Jayne seeks to unite her dual supernatural nature with the help of a handsome, young duke, Griffin King,  who also shows signs of supernatural powers.  While attempting to reconcile her two halves, Finley attempts to thwart a plot to harm Victoria, the aging monarch and finds herself making some extraordinary new friends in the group that surrounds the Duke.

Lucinda’s thoughts:  I picked up this book because I was intrigued by the title and the cover art. However, the book did not live up to the promise of its title or cover.  While an entertaining enough read, it fell flat with me.  I could not seem to get attached to any of the characters as their development was very superficial. In addition, there are too many of them to allow for any real attachments.  Of course, the fast paced fight scenes and kung-fu fisticuffs are entertaining and there is an evil plot to replace Queen Victoria with an automaton thrown into the mix.  On the whole, though, I was severely unimpressed by this book.  I would give it a pass and just admire the pretty cover art.