chloe_hazel's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
megzee2798's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
allyofshalott's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Who doesn’t love a 18th century soap opera with a supernaturally handsome hero?
emtobiasz's review
3.0
read for college British Literature survey course and 18th century British Literature
bexpendragon's review
2.0
So I just finished reading this book today.
This was reading material for a class on 18th century lit. I was interested to discover that this book was wildly popular in its day and curious as to why it faded into obscurity after the author's death. Upon reading it, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't as timeless as other books that have stayed popular. Perhaps it was the characters, most of whom I found unrelatable to the modern reader and either uninteresting, worrisome or just plain silly. Count D'elmont is a particularly troubling character and a shameless lothario. The behaviour of many of the women in this book just seems so over the top and ridiculous that I had to take a step back and say... seriously? Surely people didn't actually carry on like this. On the other hand, the author does depict female sexuality in a way that most other authors would have been afraid to by showing that women can also be taken over by an excess of "love" (in this case, lust) in the same way that men are. There is still a double standard in our society that shies away from representing women in this manner. So despite the book's flaws, there's still some interesting stuff going on here that's worthy of study. But I wouldn't pick this one up if I was looking for a light-read (don't let the book's relative shortness throw you off.)
This was reading material for a class on 18th century lit. I was interested to discover that this book was wildly popular in its day and curious as to why it faded into obscurity after the author's death. Upon reading it, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't as timeless as other books that have stayed popular. Perhaps it was the characters, most of whom I found unrelatable to the modern reader and either uninteresting, worrisome or just plain silly. Count D'elmont is a particularly troubling character and a shameless lothario. The behaviour of many of the women in this book just seems so over the top and ridiculous that I had to take a step back and say... seriously? Surely people didn't actually carry on like this. On the other hand, the author does depict female sexuality in a way that most other authors would have been afraid to by showing that women can also be taken over by an excess of "love" (in this case, lust) in the same way that men are. There is still a double standard in our society that shies away from representing women in this manner. So despite the book's flaws, there's still some interesting stuff going on here that's worthy of study. But I wouldn't pick this one up if I was looking for a light-read (don't let the book's relative shortness throw you off.)
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