Culmination Kind of Flat

You might think that posting so recently after my last update, the latest review would be fresh in my mind. You'd be mostly right but... things go fast on vacation.  I'm already 3 books behind - so onward and upward.  As I mentioned in the last post, next on my list was, of course, the final Pink Carnation, Jane's story.  In contrast to #11 about a pair of minor characters and a plot that doesn't really tie in with the Pink Carnation's work at all, #12 features Jane herself as the heroine, in the thick of her spy war on Napoleon.  So it was going to be different for sure. I quite enjoyed #11, with its relative lack of plot and clean-slate characters, so the burden was on #12 to prove as enjoyable when back in the thick of the action.  On the other side was #10, Miss Gwen's story, which suffered from introducing us the the woman behind the parasol, and rendering the previously redoubtable heroine vulnerable.  And if this was a problem for Miss Gwen... Throughout the Pink Carnation series, Jane has remained ever calm and unruffled while pulling all the strings and knowing all the things.  So who wouldn't want to hear her love story?

Thus far we have the awesome Jane, ready for her hero.  As for the hero himself, I have nothing particularly bad to say of him, though I would say Jane is substantially more awesome (unlike her French counterpart and one-time flame The Gardener, but apparently he's destined for someone else (Lizzy) - two alpha spies can't work? whatever, I'm really fine with that).  But the issue comes down to the same thing as #10 - how to render the heroine sympathetic without damaging that sheen of omniscience? Personally, I don't know why Jane had to be rendered so vulnerable, but what do I know? Lauren Willig not only introduces us to her inner doubts (fine enough I guess) but moves the story along two years, placing her outside her old Paris network and outside the pale of polite society (disowned by her family).  Why, why, why? By making Jane so far from awesome, it deprives us of the treat of the coup de grace of Pink books.

So ok, let's try to judge the book on its own merits rather than as the culmination of the series.  As far as it goes, lots of spy plot, which is not a plus in my book.  Portuguese countryside instead of Regency London.  And the romance? I just feel like Pink romances are all the same - rather than a true angsty, suspensful back-and-forth true progression of a relationship, it's all professional interaction + an undercurrent of a certain type of tension, denying it because of said professional interaction, and culminating in a declaration. It just gets old, you know? Maybe it's really the way most romances go (at least those with more.. err.. physical description).  But these are the ones I read, so that's where I see the repetition. Anyway, yeah, it just felt like same, same, and not necessarily that enjoyable.

Oh well, right? Still, same as #10 - fast, easy read of a romance. Shouldn't be that critical. And looking forward to reading the standalones! Not hampered by any of the same-same (hopefully :)) And it was certainly fun to wrap it all up with the various characters.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Tangent Proves Worthy

And now, the first of my new library books.. it's boring I'm afraid :) Moving on the Pink Carnation series with #11, The Mark of  the Midnight Manzanilla.  If you recall, I did not enjoy #10 (book from my inaugural trip to the library), but wasn't sure how much of it was due to the protaganist (Miss Gwen) as opposed to a general descent in the series or to my own changing tastes. So this was a good opportunity to test which one it was.  #11 is about Sally Fitzhugh, quite a minor character in previous novels, and the Duke of Belliston, non-existent before this book.  Clean slate, as it were.

Sally reminds me a lot of previous heroines - practical, somewhat naive, valient, loyal, friendly - shades of Henrietta, Letty, Arabella etc.  Belliston is a brooding mystery man, in the mold of Lord Vaughn, Andre Joeun, and Colin himself.  So even more than with some of the previous books, there was a feeling of deja vu / been-there-done-that at the start.  But that being said, Sally is beautiful, confident, and unredoubtable.  Lucien, while he is withdrawn and mysterious, does not have the cold hauteur of Lord Vaughan, but an open and friendly personality once you "get to know him".  In other words, likeable, relatable hero and heroine.

The story is the usual - spies, murders, lots going on outside of the romance.  But fast-paced enough, taking place within the confines of London and aristocratic country society, involving a fake engagement, so nothing to complain about.  The romance not bad either... though honestly, these books are not actually the greatest romances - very little angst, and not enough suspense.  But a solid enough love story, definitely.   And, in some definite praise - 1) started reading the car on the way down to Maryland and enjoyed enough to get me quite a way through by the time we got there 2) disappointed by the Kerry Jennings Walsh loss in the semifinals, consoled myself by finishing the book before I went to sleep.  So I can say that I absolutely enjoyed this one.

So.. conclusion? My dissatisfaction with the last book, probably mostly due to Miss Gwen rather than to a general decline in the series.  Change in taste definitely still somewhat there, but not enough so that I didn't enjoy a generic PC with a generic heroine.  Older, prickly leading ladies just not to my taste. What a snob am I.

Meanwhile, liked this book and certainly looking forward to #12, Jaaaane herself.  Will be somewhat funny to pick up the main thread of the series after this book was a complete tangent, but I have hope that Jane's story will be worth all the spy stuff.

Verdict: 4/5

Yeah, I Just Like Her

Well, it's been a while (surprise, surprise).  I didn't realize how long a while till I just checked the last post - almost two months! What happened? The usual of course, very busy so not reading so much and posting even less, but also, I did take on a slightly more demanding work following all this light fare... but that's not what I'm reviewing now :) (hopefully soon, as I am actually nearing completion).  What happened was... well on one of my many times away from home (yom tov!), hubs couldn't find this book so I told him to pack something else... more light favorites :) So that's what we're reviewing now (yes, well after yom tov when they were finished).  It's two more Georgettes, both from the less-frequently-read pile.

First Talisman Ring - I used to read this one a lot, as it was one of the few the library had in stock, and I always enjoyed it.  I don't know that I ever ranked it as a top-tier, and if I did, I demoted it a while ago :) But that's not to say I don't like it, I do.  It's one of the non-Regencies, taking places in the 1790's, and has that more adventuresome tone GH's non-Regencies do (this is called swashbuckler I have learned on Lauren Willig, IIRC she actually reviewed this very book recently and made the some comment).  Anyway, not quite as joking in tone, and with language a touch more stilted/old-fashioned, whatever.  And characters maybe a little more old-fashioned too.  I don't consider that a good thing, but it's not the worst certainly.  More of a point against TR is its status as mystery-lite, rather than straight romance.  I don't have quite as much time for those.  But you know, as always, Heyer does a great job.  The romance is ok, the plot is interesting (and surprisingly, I didn't even remember every plot turn, though I had pretty good vague ideas of most)... and once again, I find myself impressed with her writing, especially her humorous writing, which keeps me engaged even when I just might get annoyed with these old-fashioned characters and their dramatic mysteries :)

Then there was the Nonesuch.  I think I enjoyed this one very much the first time I read it but not as much in the time(s) following (I'm not sure how many there were) so I was even less familiar with this one.  This is a Regency romance (yay) but the main characters are a governess and philanthropist, not necessarily the *most* engaging set of circumstances (I think that's probably why this one fell out of favor). In addition, I have some vague notion that I didn't find the romance all that potent.  On that latter point, I was I think most happily proven wrong on this re-reading, it's a good, solid romance, with a decent amount of suspense, and all proper feelings (especially where it counts, on Sir Waldo's side :)) As for the governess aspect of the book, I didn't find it too irksome, and the philanthropist aspect doesn't take up too much time.  And on the plus side, this book is a sparkler! Light, bright and fun - maybe precisely because of the governess aspect, we get to look down on all the silly young people while going about in their company :) So what am I saying yet again? GH can write! Seamless prose, easy dialogue, and, oh, the humor! I'd say the Nonesuch went up a notch in my book and GH... well how much further can she go? :)

Verdict: 2 * 5/5

Regency, Done Literarally

Who would have thought I would have a another opportunity so quickly? But, a succession of circumstances... Ok, you really want to know? I know you want to :) (or I want to make my review longer :)) Phone did not have a long time to charge today as I got in late because drove straight from cl and went to pump, and then ate lunch about an hour after I finished pumping, at which point I took my phone out to get lunch (like I always do) and forgot to plug it in.  As I went up to lunch, I noticed my throat hurting and decided to go get a strep test.  I went to the doctor’s office, which took quite a while, and of course my phone was not plugged in this whole time.  Turns out I have strep so I went home early... and my phone was dead.   It is now charging but does not have enough juice to do anything with (and by anything I mean read Slate because it *really* doesn’t have enough juice for tethering.  So I need something to do while I take the local train back home.  And what to do without internet? Writing a blog entry sounds perfect :)  So! Next up... After I finished Grandma’s two presents, I didn’t go back to ebooks... not sure why, but maybe it was because I was almost going back to work? or was already so behind in my reviews that I didn’t want to bog myself down further? Whatever the reason, I wasn’t reading much, and when I did read it was books I had on my shelf already (oh right, probably the reason was I was watching t.v. except on Shabbos so I just needed something to read on Shabbos).  Really don’t know the order, and besides, I want to review some in groups, so next up is the two Pink Carnation (Lauren Willig) books I own.  These aren’t my favorite two, they are just the ones I happened to buy (#4, Crimson Rose because the library was taking forever to get it and #8, The Orchid Affair because I went to the book signing (yes I did :)).  I actually reviewed #8 at the time I read it, but of course I can’t link to it right now because I’m writing offline, but you can go find it yourself :)

Anyway, you hear a lot about Lauren Willig if you read this blog, since she’s always offering up suggestions for authors (though I guess I don’t take her up on too many of them but I do feel like I mention her a lot).  Her books have a strong element of Regency romance, which is why I read them, but they are also very well written and well researched, entertaining historical mysteries.  Not found in the paperback section of the library or anything :) I always liked them, and still do, but I’ve noticed the “seams” showing a bit more in the past few years - by which I mean that her narration sounds like it’s often chuckling to itself.  This is less a product of the books changing than of me getting more discerning (if I do say so myself :) could it be related to this blog?? :)), which I know because I see the same writing style in #4, which came out before I noticed the trend.  So her writing, while good, is a bit too blithely irreverent for me, but not at all awkward and still vivid and entertaining.  The books are solid romances, each with a fresh plot and the spy element is never too distracting.  The modern element of the books has gotten less interesting as the story evolves (no surprise there as how long could the original romance be stretched out) but 1) it doesn’t take up too much time and 2) the new plot twists at least keep us from rehashing the same old conflicts.  Basically, these are good, solid books, rare well-written examples of (my favorite) Regency genre (ok not technically Regency but close enough).

About these two specifically - like I said, they were never my favorite ones.  Crimson Rose is about Mary Alsworthy, and while she is a sympathetic character in this one, she can’t entirely lose the taint of being a conniving and nasty sister in the previous book.  I do heart Lord Vaughn :) but the romance showcases that issue where the cool guy is so cool you don’t want to see him humbled by romance.  As for The Orchid Affair, it’s about a governess and a French bureaucrat... not exactly my ideal milieu.  But the romance are both excellent of course and the stories well told.  So I didn’t find it hard to read these, not at all.  If I had more Lauren Willigs at home, I’d reread them too :) And whenever I start going to the library again the two (!) new Lauren Willigs (one not a Pink Carnation) will be first on the list.

Verdict: 4.5/5

All the Adventure, As Promised

Oy veis mir.  Two behind and it's not even June anymore.  That's what comes of not writing these on the bus... but what's the point of lamentation? Let's get on with it.  Luckily, though I finished this like what 3 weeks ago, it's still relatively fresh in my mind... since this was like the 10th time (or something like that) I read it.  After the success of The Blue Castle, and before any of my new books came in at the library, I was eager to continue with the old favorites trend.  So I picked up a certified goodie, The Scarlet Pimpernel.  I'm obviously not alone in my enjoyment of this one - this book is a classic, and it's not because of any great literary value.  It really is the quintessential adventure.

I first valued TSP as a romance, because that's what I value everything as.  And of course, Sir Percy's hidden passion for Marguerite is very romantic.  But what makes this book stand out as a romance is the same thing that makes it stand out in general - the very awesome Scarlet Pimpernel.  I mean, I guess he's not the man nearest and dearest to everyone's heart, but handsome, brave, smart as a whip, quick, gallant (and of course rich ;))... yes, he's pretty much all that.  So who wouldn't want to read a romance starring him and a woman who is impressive enough in her own right?   And romance is very satisfying, as far as it goes.  But the truth is, it's not given *much* attention during the course of the book.

It's much more about the story, as it should be.  I've read this book a lot, I know the drill, and yet I still find it to be a page turner.  It's well-paced, with things moving along, and no gratuitous action scenes thrown in.  We get closer and closer to the mysterious identity of the SP, and then, when we find it, we are treated to a brilliant display of the abilities that have kept him bringing people to safety by the skin of his teeth time and time again.  I remember one time I felt compelled to actually clap at the conclusion of one his triumphs.  This time I didn't go so far, but trust me, I was impressed.  I don't know that there's much funner reading than Sir Percy's pitting of his wits against his enemies'.

To be sure, the book is guilty in some measure (no little one I might even say) of aggrandizing the situation for dramatic tone.   Every moment is milked for all its worth, every dilemma is agonizing, all the emotions are exquisite.  Not to mention the slightly strange emphasis at times on Marguerite's girlishness and how attractive it seems to make her (sorry not really the same thing, but it all comes down to that old "show, don't tell")  And I was even more aggravate than usual from having made the mistake of reading the forward and hearing how Baroness Orczy apparently felt "the beautiful Lady Blakeney" to be her alternate ego, her better self - don't read forwards, especially not if you plan on writing your own review.  BUT... this is one book that can get away with pretty much whatever it wants.  It really does live up to the promise of all that drama, manufactured or not.  So with all the angst and all the throes of passion, it keeps on zipping along towards its extremely satisfying conclusion.  There's a reason so many people love this book.

Verdict: 5/5