Scan barcode
aprillen's review
3.0
Not at all as good as the first two books in this series, but still pretty OK. Sinclair writes well with good pacing and usually great characters (particularly competent and intelligent women with lots of agency), but the main characters in this particular story didn't really captivate me.
sandywilliams03's review
5.0
I have to preface this review by stating how incredibly disappointed I am that this book didn't include a sneak peak for whatever book Sinclair is publishing next. It makes me feel like there's not a "next", which is a frightening thought.
Anyway, I loved Hope's Folly. And, yes, once again Sinclair's made me swoon over her hero. I really started to like Philip Guthrie in Shades of Dark. I'm glad he got his own book and lived up to my expectations. Rya, on the other hand, is probably my second to the least favorite female character. I can't quite put my finger on why. At first, I thought it was because she's so forward, but Lady Sass was pretty darn forward too, and I loved her. Maybe it's because she's taken on the role of Guthrie's personal bodyguard? I think I have this mental blockage against heroines taking care of heros, and Rya had to do that a lot. Understandably, since Guthrie was injured throughout the book, but I think it must have bothered me on some level. *shrug*
I very much enjoyed the plot of this book. Guthrie's working on building a new government to confront the old, evil one, and it's not exactly an easy thing to do. It's a pretty straightforward plot, no big surprises or twists and turns, but a very enjoyable read. I did miss Chaz and Sully, though.
Anyway, I loved Hope's Folly. And, yes, once again Sinclair's made me swoon over her hero. I really started to like Philip Guthrie in Shades of Dark. I'm glad he got his own book and lived up to my expectations. Rya, on the other hand, is probably my second to the least favorite female character. I can't quite put my finger on why. At first, I thought it was because she's so forward, but Lady Sass was pretty darn forward too, and I loved her. Maybe it's because she's taken on the role of Guthrie's personal bodyguard? I think I have this mental blockage against heroines taking care of heros, and Rya had to do that a lot. Understandably, since Guthrie was injured throughout the book, but I think it must have bothered me on some level. *shrug*
I very much enjoyed the plot of this book. Guthrie's working on building a new government to confront the old, evil one, and it's not exactly an easy thing to do. It's a pretty straightforward plot, no big surprises or twists and turns, but a very enjoyable read. I did miss Chaz and Sully, though.
jkh107's review
3.0
Somewhere there is a publisher who knew that I like romance and military SF and thought they'd better publish something for someone who likes both. They call this futuristic romance, of course, not romantic military sf, and in fact, most futuristic romances are probably not milsf. There are other futuristic romances that I have read--one or 2 by the woman who publishes as Krentz/Castle/Quick, and they were kind of not very appealing to me. So I dropped the genre. Sinclair makes it worth picking up again.
This book almost lost me in the first chapter with a lot of characters and concepts dumped on me without explanation, but I persevered and it quickly got better. This is about a rebel Admiral (rebelling against his former Empire) and the security chief/bodyguard--and their love story as well as how they manage to survive enemy moles & sabotage on their old hoopty of a military spacecraft. Which KIND OF sounds like Miles Vorkosigan and Elli Quinn, but ends much differently. Sinclair is no Bujold, but this was still a lot of fun to read--and the heroine did have a past working for (heh!) ImpSec.
This book almost lost me in the first chapter with a lot of characters and concepts dumped on me without explanation, but I persevered and it quickly got better. This is about a rebel Admiral (rebelling against his former Empire) and the security chief/bodyguard--and their love story as well as how they manage to survive enemy moles & sabotage on their old hoopty of a military spacecraft. Which KIND OF sounds like Miles Vorkosigan and Elli Quinn, but ends much differently. Sinclair is no Bujold, but this was still a lot of fun to read--and the heroine did have a past working for (heh!) ImpSec.
chessakat's review
2.0
Ok. So, this book has a sense of humor, which is maybe the only thing it has going for it. I do like a good sense of humor.
But it wasn't enough to save the overblown language of romance. I cannot abide overblown romantic. I just can't. I do not swoon. I cackle and then hide my face or smack myself in the head with the book to make the ridiculousness fade.
This book also suffers from one of my least favorite book characteristics: it's like an *episode* of a TV show, not a season. I swear to god the plot of this book (when you take out the frustrating romance) was: take a ship somewhere, fight, take another ship somewhere, stuff breaks, they fix it, fight. THE END. Nothing happened except people moved a ship through space to another point in space. SO WHAT?! I get that this is book 3 in a longer arc, but SERIOUSLY. Nothing. Happened. At. All.
And I'll never know what happens in the longer arc because, yeah, nope. Life's too short.
But it wasn't enough to save the overblown language of romance. I cannot abide overblown romantic. I just can't. I do not swoon. I cackle and then hide my face or smack myself in the head with the book to make the ridiculousness fade.
This book also suffers from one of my least favorite book characteristics: it's like an *episode* of a TV show, not a season. I swear to god the plot of this book (when you take out the frustrating romance) was: take a ship somewhere, fight, take another ship somewhere, stuff breaks, they fix it, fight. THE END. Nothing happened except people moved a ship through space to another point in space. SO WHAT?! I get that this is book 3 in a longer arc, but SERIOUSLY. Nothing. Happened. At. All.
And I'll never know what happens in the longer arc because, yeah, nope. Life's too short.
elizabaum's review
4.0
I've never read much sci-fi. Mostly, it's because I don't care about the technical know-how of space travel and things like that, and I get annoyed by all the details of it. I liked and was good at science, but I don't like feeling like I need an advanced degree in it to enjoy a book. However, a not-so-slight (and rather unexpected) obsession with the Mass Effect video game series has made me rethink that position. It's not that I dislike sci-fi--it's that I need a certain type of sci-fi. Thus, a search began.
I can't say this book filled the Mass Effect-sized hole in my heart, but it certainly wasn't a disappointment. I really only have two complaints:
1) I could tell I was reading the third book of the series. Yep, my own fault, but hey, it was the only book in the series available from my library's ebook catalog! I didn't want to spend the money if I wasn't going to enjoy it, so I sucked it up and pushed through all the previous book references. [Note: No stars were deducted for this. Just wanted to point it out.]
2) The romance happened WAY fast. The characters were pulling long hours on the ship, so they were probably in each other's company double what that number of days would have meant under normal circumstances, but still. I think the whole thing took place in something like a week. Maybe less. The romance was otherwise good, which is why I hated being reminded of the timeline so often. (Sure, the whole story was a series of ticking time bombs, so that was important, but it detracted from the romance for me.)
There were enough things that I liked to keep me engaged in the story, though, so most of the time I could ignore it.
1) I loved that the main male character was older (40s), had [prematurely] gray hair, and was injured for the entire book. (Due to something that happened in book 2, I'm pretty sure. Kinda wish I'd gotten to enjoy that carryover, but oh well. I'll wait a few months before reading the others, and I'm sure I'll have mostly forgotten this one anyway. I suck at remembering plots. It's kind of a blessing. :D ) He was definitely an alpha male--I mean, he's a freakin' Admiral--but not in the beat-your-chest and dominate kind of way. He took advantage of the strengths of those around him, and the only time he really put his foot down and was a bit big-headed was whenRya is trying to convince him to let her take his place or go along on his self-sacrificing plan near the end. But he loves her, and I think his refusal was fairly reasonable in that case.
2) Rya was capable and pretty badass, but she makes mistakes and miscalculations. In some ways, she lives up to the perception that people have of her (that she's scary), but you can also see the side of her that's torn up over losing her father, terrified of not measuring up, and desperate to keep up with the big dogs she's been thrown alongside. She was a heroine I truly liked and wouldn't mind spending more time with.
3) The plot was just fun. Again, I can tell it's just a small part of a larger story. (Is there another book after this? Mental note. Must check.) That said, it was still one disaster and tough decision and death-defying event after another, and that made it a fun and super easy read. Too many names and ships and titles and political things, but I'm chalking that up to sci-fi and book 3. I didn't try too hard to memorize it all, and that didn't affect my enjoyment.
4) Captain Folly.
I can't say this book filled the Mass Effect-sized hole in my heart, but it certainly wasn't a disappointment. I really only have two complaints:
1) I could tell I was reading the third book of the series. Yep, my own fault, but hey, it was the only book in the series available from my library's ebook catalog! I didn't want to spend the money if I wasn't going to enjoy it, so I sucked it up and pushed through all the previous book references. [Note: No stars were deducted for this. Just wanted to point it out.]
2) The romance happened WAY fast. The characters were pulling long hours on the ship, so they were probably in each other's company double what that number of days would have meant under normal circumstances, but still. I think the whole thing took place in something like a week. Maybe less. The romance was otherwise good, which is why I hated being reminded of the timeline so often. (Sure, the whole story was a series of ticking time bombs, so that was important, but it detracted from the romance for me.)
There were enough things that I liked to keep me engaged in the story, though, so most of the time I could ignore it.
1) I loved that the main male character was older (40s), had [prematurely] gray hair, and was injured for the entire book. (Due to something that happened in book 2, I'm pretty sure. Kinda wish I'd gotten to enjoy that carryover, but oh well. I'll wait a few months before reading the others, and I'm sure I'll have mostly forgotten this one anyway. I suck at remembering plots. It's kind of a blessing. :D ) He was definitely an alpha male--I mean, he's a freakin' Admiral--but not in the beat-your-chest and dominate kind of way. He took advantage of the strengths of those around him, and the only time he really put his foot down and was a bit big-headed was when
2) Rya was capable and pretty badass, but she makes mistakes and miscalculations. In some ways, she lives up to the perception that people have of her (that she's scary), but you can also see the side of her that's torn up over losing her father, terrified of not measuring up, and desperate to keep up with the big dogs she's been thrown alongside. She was a heroine I truly liked and wouldn't mind spending more time with.
3) The plot was just fun. Again, I can tell it's just a small part of a larger story. (Is there another book after this? Mental note. Must check.) That said, it was still one disaster and tough decision and death-defying event after another, and that made it a fun and super easy read. Too many names and ships and titles and political things, but I'm chalking that up to sci-fi and book 3. I didn't try too hard to memorize it all, and that didn't affect my enjoyment.
4) Captain Folly.
prationality's review
4.0
This is tied in with Gabriel's Ghost and Shades of Dark (collectively known as the 'Dock 5' novels), so spoilers abound for many events and character relationships, but a brief recounting of the major plot points occurs to keep potentially new readers out of confusion. The book is also populated with characters that readers will know from the two previous novels (not just Sully and Chaz) so old faces are a friendly sight occasionally.
It was different to read a Linnea book where the romantic leads pretty much are on equal footing in most aspects (power, race, motivation), but I have to say I enjoyed it a great deal. It was nice to see both Rya (I love this name now) and Philip struggle with their attraction and respective feelings towards it. Rya was, with good reason it would seem, in serious hero worship of Philip for about two decades and was having trouble reconciling her Heroic Vision of the Man vs. the mundane reality. Philip meanwhile was struggling with not only his guilt over her father's death, but their age differences and I think the awkwardness of Rya's hero worship.
Some people just don't like pedestals.
Time of course is the great equalizer and by the time their romance really begins their main problem was how little time they had left to express those feelings. Imminent death from all sides does that. I will say, for a little while near the end, their relationship hit a common historical romance trope that is sometimes annoying as sin, but by the end of the book Linnea manages to finagle it into a workable solution to their romantic woes.
Rya's fascination with weaponry was amusing and entertaining (I wonder at the fact that Philip didn't think to question if her feelings were for him or his guns), especially the first few scenes that Philip and Rya re-connect (albeit unknowingly). Rya's ex-lover (can't really be considered a boyfriend) was an aggrevation, but not really anything to be concerned over.
Since the major arc of the Dock 5 books hasn't been concluded I sincerely hope for more exploration into the aftermath of the Alliance's reformation in any future books that come out!
It was different to read a Linnea book where the romantic leads pretty much are on equal footing in most aspects (power, race, motivation), but I have to say I enjoyed it a great deal. It was nice to see both Rya (I love this name now) and Philip struggle with their attraction and respective feelings towards it. Rya was, with good reason it would seem, in serious hero worship of Philip for about two decades and was having trouble reconciling her Heroic Vision of the Man vs. the mundane reality. Philip meanwhile was struggling with not only his guilt over her father's death, but their age differences and I think the awkwardness of Rya's hero worship.
Some people just don't like pedestals.
Time of course is the great equalizer and by the time their romance really begins their main problem was how little time they had left to express those feelings. Imminent death from all sides does that. I will say, for a little while near the end, their relationship hit a common historical romance trope that is sometimes annoying as sin, but by the end of the book Linnea manages to finagle it into a workable solution to their romantic woes.
Rya's fascination with weaponry was amusing and entertaining (I wonder at the fact that Philip didn't think to question if her feelings were for him or his guns), especially the first few scenes that Philip and Rya re-connect (albeit unknowingly). Rya's ex-lover (can't really be considered a boyfriend) was an aggrevation, but not really anything to be concerned over.
Since the major arc of the Dock 5 books hasn't been concluded I sincerely hope for more exploration into the aftermath of the Alliance's reformation in any future books that come out!
the_wanlorn's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rednikki's review
4.0
The coolest thing about this book (and there are a number of cool things to choose from) is that our hero, Philip Guthrie, is the ex-husband of Chaz, the romantic heroine of two other novels in this series. I've read so many novels (romantic and otherwise) that demonize the romantic heroine's ex. It was nice to not only read books where the exes genuinely liked each other but weren't meant for each other. And then to get to see BOTH characters in new and fitting romances? That was icing.
The most uncomfortable thing about this book (for me) is that our hero, Philip Guthrie, was friends with the father of our herione, Rya Bennton. True, he was a little younger than her father, but not a lot. In many of her other novels, Sinclair is big on the older man/younger-looking woman trope, but usually the women just look younger. Here, she really went for it whole hog. It's a testament to how well-executed this book is that I still give it four stars.
There aren't a lot of science-fiction romances that successfully balance the space opera and the romance. Hope's Folly does so admirably. In fact, the romance and the adventure are intrinsically linked. The characters probably wouldn't fall in love were it not for the adventure, and the romantic feelings the characters have for each other helps them get through some life-threatening issues that they otherwise would not have solved. The plot kept me guessing, both about who the bad guy was and about how our characters would get their HEA. All in all, very enjoyable - probably my favorite Sinclair to date.
The most uncomfortable thing about this book (for me) is that our hero, Philip Guthrie, was friends with the father of our herione, Rya Bennton. True, he was a little younger than her father, but not a lot. In many of her other novels, Sinclair is big on the older man/younger-looking woman trope, but usually the women just look younger. Here, she really went for it whole hog. It's a testament to how well-executed this book is that I still give it four stars.
There aren't a lot of science-fiction romances that successfully balance the space opera and the romance. Hope's Folly does so admirably. In fact, the romance and the adventure are intrinsically linked. The characters probably wouldn't fall in love were it not for the adventure, and the romantic feelings the characters have for each other helps them get through some life-threatening issues that they otherwise would not have solved. The plot kept me guessing, both about who the bad guy was and about how our characters would get their HEA. All in all, very enjoyable - probably my favorite Sinclair to date.
More...