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A review by emiwan_kenobi
A Transcontinental Affair by Jodi Daynard
1.0
The tl;dr version: - boring plot, flat characters, problematic depictions of native Americans, lazy writing, very little in the way of any actual “romance”.
The one star is strictly for the attempt at making an LGBT+ book, even if it turned out badly.
The longer version:
I’m curious about what genre this is even supposed to be. It can’t be a romance, given that the “romance” didn’t even begin until over 50% of the way in and was so poorly done, abruptly introduced, and lacking in any actual romantic features. It’s not an adventure because, for all the (rather problematic) talk of “Indians”, explosions, and gruesomely described deaths (like, shot in the head, face burned off, etc described in unnecessary detail), nothing happens for 60% of the book and when it does happen it’s so abrupt and so poorly described to the point where it’s not interesting to read.
It’s just a bad book, honestly. Poorly written with no plot to speak of, and full of racist, rude, pathetic, or otherwise unlikable characters. Hattie, our main character, is rude, petty, jealous, spiteful, heartless, a bully, and honestly doesn’t ever do a single nice thing in the book that isn’t in some way selfish. Louisa is a strange perfect waif of a girl who’s resigned to everything. Julia is a polite piece of furniture. The men are all mostly idiots or villains who stare or scowl constantly.
Overall the writing is sloppy, with numerous inconsistencies, unnecessarily gruesome descriptions of death, and full of borderline-if-not-absolutely racist depictions of native Americans and appropriations of their culture (the fact that a “squaw” dubs a white female a “two-spirit” which a white man then has to define is just one example). The plot is repetitious, dull, and full of abrupt happenings, with low/no stakes anywhere, not to mentione absolutely unbelievable in so many ways. The characters range from flat as paper to utterly unlikable.
1 star, 2/10, won’t recommend or read again.
The one star is strictly for the attempt at making an LGBT+ book, even if it turned out badly.
The longer version:
I’m curious about what genre this is even supposed to be. It can’t be a romance, given that the “romance” didn’t even begin until over 50% of the way in and was so poorly done, abruptly introduced, and lacking in any actual romantic features. It’s not an adventure because, for all the (rather problematic) talk of “Indians”, explosions, and gruesomely described deaths (like, shot in the head, face burned off, etc described in unnecessary detail), nothing happens for 60% of the book and when it does happen it’s so abrupt and so poorly described to the point where it’s not interesting to read.
It’s just a bad book, honestly. Poorly written with no plot to speak of, and full of racist, rude, pathetic, or otherwise unlikable characters. Hattie, our main character, is rude, petty, jealous, spiteful, heartless, a bully, and honestly doesn’t ever do a single nice thing in the book that isn’t in some way selfish. Louisa is a strange perfect waif of a girl who’s resigned to everything. Julia is a polite piece of furniture. The men are all mostly idiots or villains who stare or scowl constantly.
Overall the writing is sloppy, with numerous inconsistencies, unnecessarily gruesome descriptions of death, and full of borderline-if-not-absolutely racist depictions of native Americans and appropriations of their culture (the fact that a “squaw” dubs a white female a “two-spirit” which a white man then has to define is just one example). The plot is repetitious, dull, and full of abrupt happenings, with low/no stakes anywhere, not to mentione absolutely unbelievable in so many ways. The characters range from flat as paper to utterly unlikable.
1 star, 2/10, won’t recommend or read again.