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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read Blame it on the Brontes. What I loved: the quotes and references throughout the book. I love the Bronte sisters, especially Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Which is why i needed to read this one. I really enjoyed the story line and most of the cast of characters. The banter between Athena and Thorne was pretty good.
What I didn't love: too much detail. The extra detail made sections of the book too slow for me. It took longer to get through & at times. I think without the details bogging it down this would have been a 4 star at least.
What I didn't love: too much detail. The extra detail made sections of the book too slow for me. It took longer to get through & at times. I think without the details bogging it down this would have been a 4 star at least.
I really only finished this book to find out who CL Garland was (the allusive author of a best selling series that mashes up classics with erotica) and I was left disappointed at almost every turn.
Thena ventures back to her hometown to unearth the identity of a reclusive author and ends up working in her ex’s cafe. She waitresses while snooping very poorly around and attempting to write a book to save her academic career.
The back story on this was just a mess. I’m all for revealing past plot throughout a story, but this felt like a sprinkling of after thoughts and made the story less cohesive overall. For me, the chaos of the plot was due to lack of focus - one minute the story is going one way, we have a suspect, then another, then another, and like 10 other suspects, and suddenly you made about 5 giant circles and ended up right where you started…bored and not sure why you’re still reading.
Thena ventures back to her hometown to unearth the identity of a reclusive author and ends up working in her ex’s cafe. She waitresses while snooping very poorly around and attempting to write a book to save her academic career.
The back story on this was just a mess. I’m all for revealing past plot throughout a story, but this felt like a sprinkling of after thoughts and made the story less cohesive overall. For me, the chaos of the plot was due to lack of focus - one minute the story is going one way, we have a suspect, then another, then another, and like 10 other suspects, and suddenly you made about 5 giant circles and ended up right where you started…bored and not sure why you’re still reading.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Premise great. Writing meh.
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Blame It On The Brontes is a fun, sweet book about second (well third) chances and a lot of family dynamic. I really enjoyed the book, but there were ALOT of quotes from Bronte books. I mean, it makes sense based on the title. I enjoyed Athena, Finn, Thorne, and many of the background characters, but I also think the book could have been summed up sooner.
All in all, I’d rate this a low 4 of 5 stars.
Zero in the spice level (alludes to sex but doesn’t describe anything)
Recommended ages 19+
Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC.
This was a well written novel. I liked the premise but I guessed who Garland was very early in the book. I really liked Athena when she wasn't being childish. Thorne, I liked enough and I could feel his passion for Athena but something was missing - maybe the fact that the author cut to black on the sex scenes
This was a well written novel. I liked the premise but I guessed who Garland was very early in the book. I really liked Athena when she wasn't being childish. Thorne, I liked enough and I could feel his passion for Athena but something was missing - maybe the fact that the author cut to black on the sex scenes
Blame It on the Brontёs tries to accomplish a lot, and, in attempting so much, it fails to do very much at all. The elements at play here, distilled to their most simple tagline, are not wildly offensive, and, indeed, what attracted me to pick it up in the first place. However, in execution, and combined with each other, I found the novel a tepid read with shockingly low stakes and shockingly low investment on my behalf.
We can begin with the title–I am a Brontё enthusiast, and any sort of contemporary romance novel vaguely nodding to classic literature is one I am likely to pick up. However, the Brontёs have virtually no significance in the novel in any capacity beyond frequent, incongruent references. Next: our main character is an English professor with a PhD and all the appropriate qualifications–this is a character type I am inclined toward, indeed. However, the primary tension in the novel, an ever-looming deadline for a career saving book, is so wildly unacademic and silly I struggle to believe the author understands what it is English professors do. There’s also a mysterious author our protagonist is looking to suss out the identity of–a mystery author of undetermined identity writes Brontё inspired eroticism (!!!). However, this objectively interesting subplot is rendered dull and tedious when the reader is immediately able to guess the “mysterious” author (despite characters outwardly lying, which is one of the mystery genre’s greatest faux pas, in my eyes). We are also completely robbed of any Brontё eroticism, which is a great crime indeed.
Center is a romance (see also: the novel’s genre) and here I stumble upon my greeted grievance. Again, we see Sereno attempt too much, and achieve little. It’s a sort of unclear second chance story, and, while the characters have declared upon sexual tension from the first interaction, the loopdeloop nature of the book’s plot means any opportunity to build on that tension is squashed. Again–Sereno tries to cram too many tropes into the one story arc, so that by the time the auction-bought-date trope comes along, it doesn’t make much sense in terms of where the characters are in their courtship. There’s matching costumes, and the good old bidding on dates situation, and the he’s-dating-someone-else fakeout. There’s quite a lot going on–and yet not Brontё erotica.
Ultimately, I restate: the idea was not bad. It is perhaps those kernels of goodness that make the sum of parts so disappointing–I wanted more and I closed the book unsatisfied. For readers inclined towards picking this one up, I would instead point them to Northanger Abbey, or mayhap a nice Agatha Christie, for the actual mystery factor. While I will remain drawn to literary inspired romance, they do perhaps set my expectations a little high.
Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the ARC, gifted in exchange for my honest review.
This read of a second chance romance had lots of classic literature references, some mystery and laughs. I very much enjoyed that an anonymous author was retelling classics with an erotic twist and of course, also Sergei, who was a hilarious addition. Plus, I liked that a lot of the side characters had a bit of their own storylines going on to add to the main story.
The narrator for this story was a good choice. Her voice matched how I would imagine Athena's would be.
The story was what I expected it to be and predictable. Classic literature lovers will enjoy the references to Bronte's work.
The story was what I expected it to be and predictable. Classic literature lovers will enjoy the references to Bronte's work.