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A review by samd
To Charm a Bluestocking by Renée Dahlia
2.0
ARC, NetGalley, honest review, etc. I was all set to declare this "a bit of a turd, realy" and pan the hell out of it, but then I read the author's website and found out it was her very first novel, and based off her doctor ancestress, a pioneer in the field of medicine, to boot, which has me downgrading this to "could have used some extremely stern editing."
That isn't to say this isn't a hot mess. Things I like in romance novels: bluestocking heroines, unconventional settings (Amsterdam!), fake betrothals/marriages of convenience, rakes being reformed. Things that were in this novel: all of those things. Things this romance novel carried off well: none of those things. OUR HEROINE calls her cool spy dad for a fake fiance to get a creepy professor off her back; OUR HERO turns up, we are told that he is a great spy, and they fall in instalust, straight from central casting, with inconvenient boners galore.
But the spying is mostly an informed ability; the creepy professor says "lol nah, you guys aren't betrothed, there's no way" and OUR HERO'S internal response is "shit, I had not planned for this extremely likely situation, what do I do? Ha ha!" Also, the pacing of the romance was off to the point that I kept shouting at my Kindle "they've only known each other for two days!!! that's not long enough!!! they don't have that kind of chemistry!!! she has exams to study for!!!!"
Another point to pick at was the... this is Well-Researched, in the sense that, as my roommate would say, the author read twenty Wikipedia pages to write this one paragraph, and by god, you're gonna read them too. (The sort-of works cited at the end of the book is actually pretty interesting, I definitely want to read some of her sources.) But the effect is not organic at all--very clunky, very "As you know, Bob,,,"
The writing is pretty clunky in points, too. There's a spy stuff plot, which I do not find particularly compelling even when done by established, excellent authors. The one bit of emotional goodness that emerged from said plot, however, was the burn reveal scene. Read it, you'll see.
As for the spicy bits, they were all right, but the one thing that caused me to have to suspend my disbelief to the extreme was--look. There's a bit where the designated villain kidnaps our heroine, cholorforms her, and forces her marriage, and then, because she is now his wife and therefore his property, he beats the hell out of her, to the point where her face is covered in bruises and her nose is broken. She sets her broken nose herself. Our hero rescues her, and they bone down... while she's still injured? Immediately afterward? I don't know about y'all, but I would not be feeling particularly randy if I'd just had to put my own nose back in place after an extremely traumatic experience.
Weak chemistry, poor pacing, Still, the whole series is a very interesting premise, and maybe our author will improve a few books down the line? Here's hoping.
That isn't to say this isn't a hot mess. Things I like in romance novels: bluestocking heroines, unconventional settings (Amsterdam!), fake betrothals/marriages of convenience, rakes being reformed. Things that were in this novel: all of those things. Things this romance novel carried off well: none of those things. OUR HEROINE calls her cool spy dad for a fake fiance to get a creepy professor off her back; OUR HERO turns up, we are told that he is a great spy, and they fall in instalust, straight from central casting, with inconvenient boners galore.
The role of the dissolute young rake was one that he had played to perfection during those political assignments earlier in his career. Nights spent at balls with the wives and mistresses of grand players in this game of international politics. Nights spent listening carefully to the threads of conversation to pick up little pieces of intrigue. Many of the ladies were sadly neglected by their power-hungry husbands and all too willing to give up their husband's secrets for a few hours in the arms of a handsome young man.
Was he ready to give that up for one woman?
But the spying is mostly an informed ability; the creepy professor says "lol nah, you guys aren't betrothed, there's no way" and OUR HERO'S internal response is "shit, I had not planned for this extremely likely situation, what do I do? Ha ha!" Also, the pacing of the romance was off to the point that I kept shouting at my Kindle "they've only known each other for two days!!! that's not long enough!!! they don't have that kind of chemistry!!! she has exams to study for!!!!"
Another point to pick at was the... this is Well-Researched, in the sense that, as my roommate would say, the author read twenty Wikipedia pages to write this one paragraph, and by god, you're gonna read them too. (The sort-of works cited at the end of the book is actually pretty interesting, I definitely want to read some of her sources.) But the effect is not organic at all--very clunky, very "As you know, Bob,,,"
The writing is pretty clunky in points, too. There's a spy stuff plot, which I do not find particularly compelling even when done by established, excellent authors. The one bit of emotional goodness that emerged from said plot, however, was the burn reveal scene. Read it, you'll see.
As for the spicy bits, they were all right, but the one thing that caused me to have to suspend my disbelief to the extreme was
Weak chemistry, poor pacing, Still, the whole series is a very interesting premise, and maybe our author will improve a few books down the line? Here's hoping.