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A review by felinity
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal
4.0
4.5 stars
Their honeymoon now over, Jane and Vincent are working together discovering minor issues as do all couples, and trying to work around them, but it's hard when the needs of family conflict - or when unwanted people keep making an appearance. Jane is trying to balance the needs of Vincent (both maritally and professionally) and Melody, without neglecting herself too much, and yet her concern for the coldmongers is growing as the unseasonably cool weather provokes increasingly dissident behavior.
This book returns to the more traditional Regency concerns, of matchmaking and politics, but without the formal language of Austen that some find inaccessible. (I was aware of this while reading but unsure whether it had been completely discarded or just that I was now accustomed to the lighter hand with which it was wielded, and was unwilling to stop reading for pleasure to analyze the words.)
I feel the need to point out that I read the first book only 2 days ago and was almost compelled to keep reading! The characters - introduced in the first book in more formulaic language - leapt to life once allowed to break free, becoming far more than the initial drawing suggested, making these books a refreshing alternative.
Their honeymoon now over, Jane and Vincent are working together discovering minor issues as do all couples, and trying to work around them, but it's hard when the needs of family conflict - or when unwanted people keep making an appearance. Jane is trying to balance the needs of Vincent (both maritally and professionally) and Melody, without neglecting herself too much, and yet her concern for the coldmongers is growing as the unseasonably cool weather provokes increasingly dissident behavior.
This book returns to the more traditional Regency concerns, of matchmaking and politics, but without the formal language of Austen that some find inaccessible. (I was aware of this while reading but unsure whether it had been completely discarded or just that I was now accustomed to the lighter hand with which it was wielded, and was unwilling to stop reading for pleasure to analyze the words.)
I feel the need to point out that I read the first book only 2 days ago and was almost compelled to keep reading! The characters - introduced in the first book in more formulaic language - leapt to life once allowed to break free, becoming far more than the initial drawing suggested, making these books a refreshing alternative.