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snukes 's review for:
The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks
by Mackenzi Lee
I had to put this book down twice because reading about Adrian's anxiety episodes was giving me anxiety. Lee certainly can capture the essence of anxiety in words. I read those words and both understood them perfectly and - at the exact same time - felt critical of Adrian's inability to control them. Which is horrible of me but also is part of being anxious?!
My anxiety does not control me as harshly as it controls Adrian, but every word of what he went through rang true. I am an expert catastrophizer, mainly, and the notion that if you don't give your fears all of your attention they will win is a truth I have never seen put so plainly, and seeing it that plainly might somehow make it easier to talk myself out of doing it once in awhile?
Once I struggled through the first couple chapters - the political pamphlets, the fear of speaking to people, the tough relationship with the father - and Adrian reconnects with Monty, the story took over and I was able to thoroughly enjoy it. Lee's plotting and character relationships remain delightful. I was pleased to see the return of pirates, sea monsters, and Monty's tattooed ass. Good fun, good life lessons.
My anxiety does not control me as harshly as it controls Adrian, but every word of what he went through rang true. I am an expert catastrophizer, mainly, and the notion that if you don't give your fears all of your attention they will win is a truth I have never seen put so plainly, and seeing it that plainly might somehow make it easier to talk myself out of doing it once in awhile?
Once I struggled through the first couple chapters - the political pamphlets, the fear of speaking to people, the tough relationship with the father - and Adrian reconnects with Monty, the story took over and I was able to thoroughly enjoy it. Lee's plotting and character relationships remain delightful. I was pleased to see the return of pirates, sea monsters, and Monty's tattooed ass. Good fun, good life lessons.