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sandyd's review
4.0
Victorian romance about private investigators and former thieves. Heroine basically a modern woman, but still a fun read.
bracketedromance's review
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A Gift for Guile combines familiar romance tropes with refreshing character traits that made the story more enjoyable.
The strong/large hero paired with the take-no-nonsense heroine is nothing new, but Johnson was able to give Samuel strength and the desire to protect Esther without having him work to overrule her or deny her agency. At every turn they negotiated in their discussions of safety taking into account training, physical strength, risk, and at a critical moment, Samuel refused to prioritize his desire for Esther's safety over her freedom and decision making. In a genre where male protectiveness is often used as a proxy for depth of feeling, this was a refreshing change (that I hope becomes the norm). Samuel was able to be strong rather than controlling, and although relatively stoic, he was clearly thoughtful and capable of silliness without insecurity (the badminton game!).
Miscommunication is another romance staple, but what set Gift for Guile apart was the characters' willingness to admit their weaknesses in effective communication, vocalize them, and then give each other the benefit of the doubt in resolving problems. It sounds boring and minor, but so often in romance once the hero/heroine realize they like each other and aren't being kept apart by external circumstances, their relations are essentially flawless. It was so nice to see two people like each other and work for good communication. They recognized that their individual flaws would not counterbalance, but actually compound problems and they developed ways to express their needs and intentions because they liked each other and wanted to make it work even if it wasn't easy or perfect. I loved that the strong, silent hero trope was actually used as a flaw since he was out of practice with expressing himself and often fumbled. There was also still plenty of room for witty banter which is always appreciated.
For all these reasons I gave this book 5 stars, that doesn't mean it was without flaws. The largest issue is the heroine's uneven criminal characterization. Esther is both deadly with her knives, but never actually killed or seriously injured anyone despite a whole matching set of baggage about her role. She participated in her father's criminal schemes, but manages to be naive and sheltered about navigating slums. It just didn't make much sense, especially since she was supposed to be a, and I quote, "henchman" as a 14 year old girl. The picture just isn't that intimidating and her lack of street smarts don't match her history. She was also not trained in anything but throwing daggers, and was useless in a fight. It seemed like she had such a minor role, it didn't match her confidence in her ability to protect herself. I wish Johnson had stuck with the guilt angle of being the never-enough daughter. It provided much more interesting emotional and character development and would have fit better with her minor role as lookout in the main scheme discussed.
The other major issue I had with the book was the virgin trope. Esther is supposed to be an incorrigible manipulative flirt craving acceptance and yet at 28 has never been kissed or received gifts from a man?????? That was illogical to the point of insulting. Johnson did such a good job refreshing romance tropes I was genuinely disappointed to see this one. It would have made more sense for Esther to have been experienced sexually and I wish her inexperience as it was written was not greeted with gratitude by the heroine. Modern romance does a very good job of not slut shaming or pleasure shaming, but the lauding of virginity sends exactly the same message in a less obvious package. There are plenty of romance novels with non-virgin heroines, I wish this book had been one of them. It would have been in greater harmony with the character profile and more appreciated by this reader.
Overall though, this book was so fun and I just enjoyed reading two characters who liked each other and were so willing to see the world from each other's perspective and work to get along I had to give it a five star rating.
The strong/large hero paired with the take-no-nonsense heroine is nothing new, but Johnson was able to give Samuel strength and the desire to protect Esther without having him work to overrule her or deny her agency. At every turn they negotiated in their discussions of safety taking into account training, physical strength, risk, and at a critical moment, Samuel refused to prioritize his desire for Esther's safety over her freedom and decision making. In a genre where male protectiveness is often used as a proxy for depth of feeling, this was a refreshing change (that I hope becomes the norm). Samuel was able to be strong rather than controlling, and although relatively stoic, he was clearly thoughtful and capable of silliness without insecurity (the badminton game!).
Miscommunication is another romance staple, but what set Gift for Guile apart was the characters' willingness to admit their weaknesses in effective communication, vocalize them, and then give each other the benefit of the doubt in resolving problems. It sounds boring and minor, but so often in romance once the hero/heroine realize they like each other and aren't being kept apart by external circumstances, their relations are essentially flawless. It was so nice to see two people like each other and work for good communication. They recognized that their individual flaws would not counterbalance, but actually compound problems and they developed ways to express their needs and intentions because they liked each other and wanted to make it work even if it wasn't easy or perfect. I loved that the strong, silent hero trope was actually used as a flaw since he was out of practice with expressing himself and often fumbled. There was also still plenty of room for witty banter which is always appreciated.
For all these reasons I gave this book 5 stars, that doesn't mean it was without flaws. The largest issue is the heroine's uneven criminal characterization. Esther is both deadly with her knives, but never actually killed or seriously injured anyone despite a whole matching set of baggage about her role. She participated in her father's criminal schemes, but manages to be naive and sheltered about navigating slums. It just didn't make much sense, especially since she was supposed to be a, and I quote, "henchman" as a 14 year old girl. The picture just isn't that intimidating and her lack of street smarts don't match her history. She was also not trained in anything but throwing daggers, and was useless in a fight. It seemed like she had such a minor role, it didn't match her confidence in her ability to protect herself. I wish Johnson had stuck with the guilt angle of being the never-enough daughter. It provided much more interesting emotional and character development and would have fit better with her minor role as lookout in the main scheme discussed.
The other major issue I had with the book was the virgin trope. Esther is supposed to be an incorrigible manipulative flirt craving acceptance and yet at 28 has never been kissed or received gifts from a man?????? That was illogical to the point of insulting. Johnson did such a good job refreshing romance tropes I was genuinely disappointed to see this one. It would have made more sense for Esther to have been experienced sexually and I wish her inexperience as it was written was not greeted with gratitude by the heroine. Modern romance does a very good job of not slut shaming or pleasure shaming, but the lauding of virginity sends exactly the same message in a less obvious package. There are plenty of romance novels with non-virgin heroines, I wish this book had been one of them. It would have been in greater harmony with the character profile and more appreciated by this reader.
Overall though, this book was so fun and I just enjoyed reading two characters who liked each other and were so willing to see the world from each other's perspective and work to get along I had to give it a five star rating.
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