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A review by myhandmadehell
Behind the Veil by Kathryn Nolan
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Earlier this year, Bohemian by the same author became one of my favorite reads of the year. So I was thrilled to read another Nolan book, this one with adventure, undercover agents, and crime! I was sure, based on my experience with her quieter, slower burn romance-in-a-bookstore, that I would be experiencing incredible chemistry, sexual tension, and a tentative but strong blossoming of love between the main characters.
I am disappointed.
I’m actually not entirely sure what happened here. But I’ll start with what I did like:
I really appreciated that the MMC was Black. Nothing about his blackness was fetishized, politicized, or handled insensitively.
The actual adventure plot was pretty dope. It was highly improbable of course, but I went into this ready for a romantic National Treasure-esque romp, and that’s what I got. And Nolan did good research to write a novel about the hidden underground of art and antiquities theft, which made it feel heightened.
What I didn’t like so much:
There is a really interesting plot thread about the FMC’s past that is gently and lightly advanced during the course of this novel. However there is no end result, even in the epilogue. I would have loved to find out how that all turned out!
The main characters felt very wooden and one-dimensional to me. Henry is an antiquities librarian with a vast knowledge of antique manuscripts and books, a deep appreciation and knowledge of fine art, multiple advanced degrees, and mastery of four languages. These things are said over and over - but unfortunately they are said in a “tell don’t show” kind of way. We rarely get to see Henry truly flex his knowledge and his passion - when we do, it’s usually from Delilah’s POV, or it’s done in a very frilly and overly sentimental way. There’s very little substance there. Delilah is a hard-boiled detective/former cop who likes to punch things and wants to put people in jail. We are meant to believe that, despite her years as a really good police detective-turned-private investigator, she still struggles to recognize the gray morality of criminality. She just wants to put bad guys behind bars, and apparently does not learn that “good” and “evil” are not the only two options until the events of this book.
The chemistry was seriously lacking as a result of this and other storytelling misses, I thought. Most of the times Henry and Delilah interact, they are in their undercover personas, unable to truly connect and get to know each other. Stretches of time between these events (time that would be so valuable for building the depth of that relationship) are hand-waved with phrases like “days later”.
Their chemistry honestly only seems to be purely sexual. Which would be fine! Absolutely fine! I love a good “this is just about the sex” story! But almost all of their positive feelings about each other come from that sexual attraction. There’s some reasonably good bonding over stories from their past, but even that felt more like becoming friends than developing a romance that will last the rest of their lives. While Delilah has a friend (just one? I think?), that friend is not involved in conversations about the burgeoning relationship. Henry has…no friends? I guess? Both have strong and loving relationships with their families, but we never meet them or explore those relationships beyond flowery sentiments about how perfect they are. Without these external forces, I found I was left even more befuddled about what these two people see in each other and how they arrived where they did at the end of the book.
Overall I’m fairly disappointed in this one. They can’t all be winners.
Rating: 2.75 stars, losing 0.25 because I almost DNF’d when he slathered her pancakes with “homemade maple syrup”.
I am disappointed.
I’m actually not entirely sure what happened here. But I’ll start with what I did like:
I really appreciated that the MMC was Black. Nothing about his blackness was fetishized, politicized, or handled insensitively.
The actual adventure plot was pretty dope. It was highly improbable of course, but I went into this ready for a romantic National Treasure-esque romp, and that’s what I got. And Nolan did good research to write a novel about the hidden underground of art and antiquities theft, which made it feel heightened.
What I didn’t like so much:
There is a really interesting plot thread about the FMC’s past that is gently and lightly advanced during the course of this novel. However there is no end result, even in the epilogue. I would have loved to find out how that all turned out!
The main characters felt very wooden and one-dimensional to me. Henry is an antiquities librarian with a vast knowledge of antique manuscripts and books, a deep appreciation and knowledge of fine art, multiple advanced degrees, and mastery of four languages. These things are said over and over - but unfortunately they are said in a “tell don’t show” kind of way. We rarely get to see Henry truly flex his knowledge and his passion - when we do, it’s usually from Delilah’s POV, or it’s done in a very frilly and overly sentimental way. There’s very little substance there. Delilah is a hard-boiled detective/former cop who likes to punch things and wants to put people in jail. We are meant to believe that, despite her years as a really good police detective-turned-private investigator, she still struggles to recognize the gray morality of criminality. She just wants to put bad guys behind bars, and apparently does not learn that “good” and “evil” are not the only two options until the events of this book.
The chemistry was seriously lacking as a result of this and other storytelling misses, I thought. Most of the times Henry and Delilah interact, they are in their undercover personas, unable to truly connect and get to know each other. Stretches of time between these events (time that would be so valuable for building the depth of that relationship) are hand-waved with phrases like “days later”.
Their chemistry honestly only seems to be purely sexual. Which would be fine! Absolutely fine! I love a good “this is just about the sex” story! But almost all of their positive feelings about each other come from that sexual attraction. There’s some reasonably good bonding over stories from their past, but even that felt more like becoming friends than developing a romance that will last the rest of their lives. While Delilah has a friend (just one? I think?), that friend is not involved in conversations about the burgeoning relationship. Henry has…no friends? I guess? Both have strong and loving relationships with their families, but we never meet them or explore those relationships beyond flowery sentiments about how perfect they are. Without these external forces, I found I was left even more befuddled about what these two people see in each other and how they arrived where they did at the end of the book.
Overall I’m fairly disappointed in this one. They can’t all be winners.
Rating: 2.75 stars, losing 0.25 because I almost DNF’d when he slathered her pancakes with “homemade maple syrup”.