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dea080020's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
zaza_bdp's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 ⭐
Comment concilier histoire de la cause féministe et romance ? Eh bien avec cette série de Evie Dunmore ! Avec ses "rebelles d'Oxford', l'autrice offre une proposition rafraîchissante et moderne qui vient dépoussiérer l'univers souvent très convenu de la romance historique. Toutefois, l'héroïne de ce tome est à mon sens moins "éveillée" à la cause que ses amies ; en effet, ce n'est que lorsqu'elle est véritablement confrontée aux limites de sa liberté, une fois mariée, qu'elle se sent réellement concernée et s'implique pour de bon dans ce combat.
J'ai aimé que l'on s'intéresse ici à un autre aspect de la cause féministe, à savoir la liberté des femmes en tant qu'individu, et l'inégalité salariale entre hommes et femmes, du moins pour celles qui occupent un emploi, des questions qui restent toujours d'actualité à notre époque ! Cela donne lieu à des conversations très intéressantes entre Hattie et Lucian, ce n'est pas le genre de dialogues qu'on peut s'attendre à trouver dans une romance, encore moins avec de telles références politiques, artistiques et philosophiques ! Le thème féministe n'est pas juste un vague prétexte pour planter le décor et attirer le lecteur, au contraire, on sent que Evie Dunmore s'est vraiment documentée et nous transmet tout cela à travers le récit, ce qui pour moi est le point fort de cette série.
J'ai particulièrement apprécié la partie écossaise du roman, qui permet à Hattie d'être plus libre, loin des convenances de la bonne société londonienne, et cela permet aussi à Lucian de se montrer sous un autre jour. Leur couple se construit vraiment à partir de ce moment-là, et j'ai aimé la façon dont l'autrice a développé cette romance et la construction d'un échange et d'une intimité au sein du couple, même si je regrette qu'Hattie se comporte parfois comme une enfant gâtée et capricieuse.
Toutefois, elle est tellement pétrie de certitudes et de règles en tout genre dues à son éducation privilégiée et protégée, qu'on peut comprendre pourquoi elle agit ainsi. En revanche, Lucian m'a plu du début à la fin, c'est l'archétype du héros tourmenté et taciturne (un cliché certes, mais j'en raffole !), qui suit ici une très belle évolution.
Malgré une première partie bien trop longue à mon goût, c'est un bon roman au contexte historique et politique très riche, que j'aurai pris plaisir à lire !
Comment concilier histoire de la cause féministe et romance ? Eh bien avec cette série de Evie Dunmore ! Avec ses "rebelles d'Oxford', l'autrice offre une proposition rafraîchissante et moderne qui vient dépoussiérer l'univers souvent très convenu de la romance historique. Toutefois, l'héroïne de ce tome est à mon sens moins "éveillée" à la cause que ses amies ; en effet, ce n'est que lorsqu'elle est véritablement confrontée aux limites de sa liberté, une fois mariée, qu'elle se sent réellement concernée et s'implique pour de bon dans ce combat.
J'ai aimé que l'on s'intéresse ici à un autre aspect de la cause féministe, à savoir la liberté des femmes en tant qu'individu, et l'inégalité salariale entre hommes et femmes, du moins pour celles qui occupent un emploi, des questions qui restent toujours d'actualité à notre époque ! Cela donne lieu à des conversations très intéressantes entre Hattie et Lucian, ce n'est pas le genre de dialogues qu'on peut s'attendre à trouver dans une romance, encore moins avec de telles références politiques, artistiques et philosophiques ! Le thème féministe n'est pas juste un vague prétexte pour planter le décor et attirer le lecteur, au contraire, on sent que Evie Dunmore s'est vraiment documentée et nous transmet tout cela à travers le récit, ce qui pour moi est le point fort de cette série.
J'ai particulièrement apprécié la partie écossaise du roman, qui permet à Hattie d'être plus libre, loin des convenances de la bonne société londonienne, et cela permet aussi à Lucian de se montrer sous un autre jour. Leur couple se construit vraiment à partir de ce moment-là, et j'ai aimé la façon dont l'autrice a développé cette romance et la construction d'un échange et d'une intimité au sein du couple, même si je regrette qu'Hattie se comporte parfois comme une enfant gâtée et capricieuse.
Toutefois, elle est tellement pétrie de certitudes et de règles en tout genre dues à son éducation privilégiée et protégée, qu'on peut comprendre pourquoi elle agit ainsi. En revanche, Lucian m'a plu du début à la fin, c'est l'archétype du héros tourmenté et taciturne (un cliché certes, mais j'en raffole !), qui suit ici une très belle évolution.
Malgré une première partie bien trop longue à mon goût, c'est un bon roman au contexte historique et politique très riche, que j'aurai pris plaisir à lire !
rice83's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kelseyydawnn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
meggie82461's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars...
“Much that I despise,” he said hoarsely, “and all that I desire, meets in you. And it frustrates me beyond reason.”
So, I have very mixed feelings here. I was really looking forward to this one. I didn’t have the problems with #2 that some others did. And honestly, I didn’t have the problems with this one as some others did… but it was just so frickin’ LONG. I liked the story. I liked the ending, to a point. But it could have gotten there so much faster than it did.
The background of these novels is all pretty simple. All the female protagonists in the series are suffragists (to varying degrees). Hattie is probably the least political-leaning so far, but that is because she doesn't have to be. She comes from money and status. The fact that she cares at all is notable. In England, during this time, The Married Woman's Property Act makes women property of their husbands. Since you had to have property to vote, and women WERE property (and thus couldn't own property), they couldn't vote. But repealing the Act was about more than just the vote: what could a woman do if she found herself in an abusive marriage? At it's core, that is what Hattie's story leans into: what becomes of a woman during this time period that was ostensibly just passed from one man (her father) to another (her husband)? There are a lot of ways things could go, even for a privileged lady like Hattie. In some ways, she was even more at risk because of how woefully unprepared she was for the real world.
Sounds intriguing, right? And for awhile, it was. I have seen other reviewers say Hattie was spoiled and yes, she absolutely was. However, she was raised to be exactly that way in a time that wanted her to be ONLY exactly as she was meant to be. And, over the course of the novel, she did display a lot of character growth. Truthfully, I liked her. She was sheltered, spoiled, and entitled, but again, there was never really a chance for her to be any different. And yes, it raises a very important question: why are we punishing women for turning out exactly as they were meant to?
There were some details I appreciated. I very much liked the way Hattie's learning disabilities (dyslexia and ADHD, it sounded like) was presented. As someone with ADHD myself, I would be surprised if the author doesn't have personal experience with the disorder. I also appreciated that female supporting characters like Aoife were multidimensional, as they should be in a book about suffragists. I am even interested in workers' rights and found that part of it interesting, if not a bit tedious at times. But for how long the story felt, it is quite amazing how underdeveloped some plot points were. And what about all the people in the mining communities, that weren't supposed to be just nameless faces? What became of them, since we were supposed to care about them? Another example: Hattie verbalized to Lucian how she fantasized being kidnapped and ravished by a pirate, probably because of the lack of control she had in her own life & because nobody could judge her if she didn't have a choice. That was a very interesting declaration and I would have loved follow-up but nope, none. Then we get to the inevitable 80% conflict, and while this is rarely done to my liking, it really bombed here. Bro just really thought "Eh, I don't feel like explaining myself now, maybe I will later. I am sure nothing unfortunate will happen between now and then."
...
What I will do is give the story credit for subverting the whole "misunderstood the train ticket on the dresser" trope. I appreciated the ending, and found it to be the final proof of Hattie's growth. And I will argue with anyone who thinks Hattie had any chance to be anything other than the spoiled young girl she was. But, the story felt way too long, which makes the lack of closure in some areas even more unforgivable. I wanted to love it, but I definitely did not.
“Much that I despise,” he said hoarsely, “and all that I desire, meets in you. And it frustrates me beyond reason.”
So, I have very mixed feelings here. I was really looking forward to this one. I didn’t have the problems with #2 that some others did. And honestly, I didn’t have the problems with this one as some others did… but it was just so frickin’ LONG. I liked the story. I liked the ending, to a point. But it could have gotten there so much faster than it did.
The background of these novels is all pretty simple. All the female protagonists in the series are suffragists (to varying degrees). Hattie is probably the least political-leaning so far, but that is because she doesn't have to be. She comes from money and status. The fact that she cares at all is notable. In England, during this time, The Married Woman's Property Act makes women property of their husbands. Since you had to have property to vote, and women WERE property (and thus couldn't own property), they couldn't vote. But repealing the Act was about more than just the vote: what could a woman do if she found herself in an abusive marriage? At it's core, that is what Hattie's story leans into: what becomes of a woman during this time period that was ostensibly just passed from one man (her father) to another (her husband)? There are a lot of ways things could go, even for a privileged lady like Hattie. In some ways, she was even more at risk because of how woefully unprepared she was for the real world.
Sounds intriguing, right? And for awhile, it was. I have seen other reviewers say Hattie was spoiled and yes, she absolutely was. However, she was raised to be exactly that way in a time that wanted her to be ONLY exactly as she was meant to be. And, over the course of the novel, she did display a lot of character growth. Truthfully, I liked her. She was sheltered, spoiled, and entitled, but again, there was never really a chance for her to be any different. And yes, it raises a very important question: why are we punishing women for turning out exactly as they were meant to?
There were some details I appreciated. I very much liked the way Hattie's learning disabilities (dyslexia and ADHD, it sounded like) was presented. As someone with ADHD myself, I would be surprised if the author doesn't have personal experience with the disorder. I also appreciated that female supporting characters like Aoife were multidimensional, as they should be in a book about suffragists. I am even interested in workers' rights and found that part of it interesting, if not a bit tedious at times. But for how long the story felt, it is quite amazing how underdeveloped some plot points were. And what about all the people in the mining communities, that weren't supposed to be just nameless faces? What became of them, since we were supposed to care about them? Another example: Hattie verbalized to Lucian how she fantasized being kidnapped and ravished by a pirate, probably because of the lack of control she had in her own life & because nobody could judge her if she didn't have a choice. That was a very interesting declaration and I would have loved follow-up but nope, none. Then we get to the inevitable 80% conflict, and while this is rarely done to my liking, it really bombed here. Bro just really thought "Eh, I don't feel like explaining myself now, maybe I will later. I am sure nothing unfortunate will happen between now and then."
...
What I will do is give the story credit for subverting the whole "misunderstood the train ticket on the dresser" trope. I appreciated the ending, and found it to be the final proof of Hattie's growth. And I will argue with anyone who thinks Hattie had any chance to be anything other than the spoiled young girl she was. But, the story felt way too long, which makes the lack of closure in some areas even more unforgivable. I wanted to love it, but I definitely did not.
grannyhanny's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Not my completely unexpected tears at Lucian's declarations at the end of the book!!!!
sunshineraincloud's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
books_4_muggles's review against another edition
5.0
This book is magic!! A must read and the best hands down in the series!!!