Read this for a book club. Trying to organize my thoughts.
I swayed back and forth HARD. But the ending was highly satisfying for me.
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I knew when I picked this up that this would not be my cup of tea. The story sets itself up as a very familiar trope of historical fantasy romance with the willful woman wanting more freedom for herself in a restrictive society. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if the trope was subverted, but the beginning very much set it up as this trope.
It was difficult to get a feel for the stakes involving Beatrice’s family. Beatrice did not observe her father’s monetary issues first on, but rather heard of them secondhand. To be fair, though, I think this would be hard to express in a regency era novel because Beatrice would not realistically have a hand in her father’s finances, nor be able to see his business go under firsthand, especially during her bargaining season. So I think Thai maaay be out of scope for what the novel can realistically do.
In the same vein, Beatrice did not see a spirit-born child herself, or anybody burned for birthing a spirit-born child, (she just heard about it from Ianthe) so it was also difficult to get a sense of danger. This could be rectified by having her see one in town, but I also think it may be a bit too harsh for this sweet romance genre. So again, maybe my preferences are out of scope for the novel.
The middle of the book felt like a lot of rehashing of the same issue. Beatrice wants to help her family by marrying, but she also wants to be free, and also loves Ianthe. Which essentially is the core issue of the book, so it feels a bit hypocritical I’m complaining that the book focuses on the main problem too much! But I felt there was a lack of direction in the middle, partially because there doesn’t feel like there’s any progression with Beatrice’s main goal until the very end.
Ending, yes, good. It ties everything together!
•Characters
-Harriet’s character in the beginning frustrated me because her character was also a trope. I found her characterization heavy-handed, and disliked that she was set up to be obsessed with the bargaining season.
-Ianthe also felt a little shallow, since it was set up upon insta-attraction. As a narrative device, I enjoyed the internal conflict of Ianthe loving Beatrice but also upholding the patriarchy, but personally, it hit a little too close to home. I’m glad Ianthe was able to reject societal standards to give Beatrice her freedom on the end, but unfortunately that is a battle I still have to deal with. Loving men is hard.
-Side characters
Beatrice’s mother was the best out of all the side characters and shined the most. She was conflicted and messy.
The other side characters seemed flat. When the male characters would say sexist things, (like Beatrice’s father demanded she obey him) it felt cartoonish. I’m sure that this happened back in the regency era, but coming from a modern lens it is difficult to accept.
-Danton? Why did he try to kill Beatrice in the first place? I was hoping he would have a character arc as a villain, but he was just mean and spiteful all the way through. There I was no reason why. I would be willing to hear an explanation.
-Ysbeta, my love. I wanted you to get with Beatrice in the end. She had such rich conflict with Beatrice, and I could see this becoming a sapphic enemies to lovers story. Her arc was so satisfying and she is a fearsome character.
-Nadi, love!