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rachelagain's reviews
216 reviews
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
War and an Irish Town by Eamonn McCann
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This 1974 account of the then-ongoing Northern Ireland conflict provides an accessible Marxist analysis of events from 1968-1973, and the centuries of history that formed the “Orange machine” that ran the Northern Ireland state. The book begins with McCann’s upbringing in Derry, then charts the civil rights movement and beginning of outright conflict in the late 1960s before moving back to the 19th century to begin his analysis of all Ireland capitalism. This might sound like an overly laboured analysis but the fact that nearly all of McCann’s political analysis (especially on the Republic of Ireland) holds up after 48 years shows otherwise. He particularly nails how alienating Protestant working class people from their own interests and Catholic counterparts has always been essential to the existence of the Northern Ireland state. Further, he establishes that true anti-sectarianism and anti-partitionism in Ireland north and south has always been resisted by the ruling classes to preserve the economic interests of capital (namely landowners, industrial barons, the ascendancy class, and contemporary private enterprise). Some reviewers have criticised the book for jumping around in time but I found it fine. The text mirrors McCann’s manner of speaking in real life: with sharp wit, a dark, wry humour and a sense of the long arc of history. I would recommend this to any Marxists looking for an accessible “origins of the Troubles” read, and to anyone already familiar with Troubles 101 who is ready to read a deep dive on class in the six counties context. Anyone who enjoyed or wanted to read The Price of My Soul by Bernadette Devlin (highly recommend) will also love this book. Thankfully copies of this book are still available online in multiple editions: I recommend looking on eBay or World of Books.
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Violence
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager who provided a free e-ERC in exchange for an honest review.
As the second installment in the Hell's Belles series, this book had a tough act to follow and managed it beautifully. Thief and Hell's Belle gang member Adelaide meets Henry, Duke of Clayborn when she steals a prized possession from her estranged crime boss father's warehouse. They have an instant pull towards each other that deepens as they get pulled into a cross-country chase, dodging multiple foes and saving each other.
Sarah MacLean's use of romance tropes (only one bed, mutual pining, sickbed romance, rivals to lovers) is charming and nuanced, always advancing the development of the central relationship. Not to mention the tropes she subverts (virginal heroine, bad boy duke). The author is gifted at worldbuilding around her central couple throughout her works: in this book, she manages to do so while also creating a blissful relationship bubble where the protagonists can truly get to know each other and fall believably and deeply in love.
A MacLean hero always knows exactly what to say and do in the bedroom to meet the needs of his heroine. Henry, Duke of Clayborn, brought out a few moves that had this reader blushing on the train home from work. Coming from a seasoned high-heat romance reader, that reaction tells you a lot about the joyful steamy tenderness of this book. The eroticism in the text truly advanced the character development, as we see Adelaide and Henry gain self-worth and hope respectively via their shared intimacy. It was also very pleasing to see MacLean incorporate some, ahem, dynamics that have not appeared in other books and signalled more daring on the part of the author. Certain scenes will live rent free in this reader's mind for a long time.
The book includes a set piece format that will be familiar to MacLean readers: these scenes were not entirely satisfying as certain characters got happier endings than this reader feels they deserved. However the central love story was concluded very well and the stage has been set for the third book, focusing on Imogen Lovelace. I didn't want this story to end so I will eagerly await the next Hell's Belles installment!
As the second installment in the Hell's Belles series, this book had a tough act to follow and managed it beautifully. Thief and Hell's Belle gang member Adelaide meets Henry, Duke of Clayborn when she steals a prized possession from her estranged crime boss father's warehouse. They have an instant pull towards each other that deepens as they get pulled into a cross-country chase, dodging multiple foes and saving each other.
Sarah MacLean's use of romance tropes (only one bed, mutual pining, sickbed romance, rivals to lovers) is charming and nuanced, always advancing the development of the central relationship. Not to mention the tropes she subverts (virginal heroine, bad boy duke). The author is gifted at worldbuilding around her central couple throughout her works: in this book, she manages to do so while also creating a blissful relationship bubble where the protagonists can truly get to know each other and fall believably and deeply in love.
A MacLean hero always knows exactly what to say and do in the bedroom to meet the needs of his heroine. Henry, Duke of Clayborn, brought out a few moves that had this reader blushing on the train home from work. Coming from a seasoned high-heat romance reader, that reaction tells you a lot about the joyful steamy tenderness of this book. The eroticism in the text truly advanced the character development, as we see Adelaide and Henry gain self-worth and hope respectively via their shared intimacy. It was also very pleasing to see MacLean incorporate some, ahem, dynamics that have not appeared in other books and signalled more daring on the part of the author. Certain scenes will live rent free in this reader's mind for a long time.
The book includes a set piece format that will be familiar to MacLean readers: these scenes were not entirely satisfying as certain characters got happier endings than this reader feels they deserved. However the central love story was concluded very well and the stage has been set for the third book, focusing on Imogen Lovelace. I didn't want this story to end so I will eagerly await the next Hell's Belles installment!
When the Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Lorraine Heath is masterful at creating a great premise and amping up tension in the first and second acts, but her third acts tend to disappoint me. This was no exception.
I loved the backstory for Lovingdon and Grace: he is a grieving widower Duke and family friend and she is a debutante who has loved him since childhood. The agreement they reach for him to vet her suitors to see who truly loves her is a new spin on the relationship coach trope and set the stage for delicious mutual pining.
Lovingdon’s grief was a believable obstacle to their marriage and sensitively paced throughout the story. I hate when first wives are treated as inconveniences in romance and this book neatly avoided that by giving sufficient detail about Juliette to establish that Lovingdon had truly adored her. The epilogue tied up the theme of love and loss in a satisfying way. My favourite aspect of the book its portrayal of love as unconditional, unwavering and intimate rather than something showy performed for the ton.
Much less satisfying was Heath’s reliance on a third act kidnapping by Lord Vexley, Grace’s dubious suitor. I’ve seen a variation of this trope before in another Heath book and both times it threw the pacing off because the kidnapping/murder attempt came from nowhere. It’s a much less enjoyable way of making the leads recognise they love eachother than say, a roadtrip or an almost engagement.
I did enjoy the Lady Chatterley’s Lover moment where Lovingdon deflowered Grace (and discovered her history of breast cancer) in her drawing cottage. Interestingly the closer they got to marriage, the lower the temperature of their sex scenes. Again, I think that was a pacing issue.
I enjoyed this book but the third act prevented it from being great.
I loved the backstory for Lovingdon and Grace: he is a grieving widower Duke and family friend and she is a debutante who has loved him since childhood. The agreement they reach for him to vet her suitors to see who truly loves her is a new spin on the relationship coach trope and set the stage for delicious mutual pining.
Much less satisfying was Heath’s reliance on a third act kidnapping by Lord Vexley, Grace’s dubious suitor. I’ve seen a variation of this trope before in another Heath book and both times it threw the pacing off because the kidnapping/murder attempt came from nowhere. It’s a much less enjoyable way of making the leads recognise they love eachother than say, a roadtrip or an almost engagement.
I did enjoy the Lady Chatterley’s Lover moment where Lovingdon deflowered Grace (and discovered her history of breast cancer) in her drawing cottage. Interestingly the closer they got to marriage, the lower the temperature of their sex scenes. Again, I think that was a pacing issue.
I enjoyed this book but the third act prevented it from being great.
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I really enjoyed this book up to the 29% mark, when Chani and Gabe were still in the first interview stage. At that point it was fun and flirty, and quite meta about celebrity profile articles. It felt like it would be a meta and sexy celebrity romance.
After that, the story jumps 10 years to the present when Gabe is a recovering alcoholic and Chani has just divorced a guy she knew she didn’t like 10 years ago…and the whole thing dragged from then on.
This is marketed as a romance novel but it’s actually more so a novel about being a (bad) writer. Chani is an unsympathetic narrator who only takes responsibility for her own decisions at the very end of the book. Even the gossip article and film review excerpts from other writers throughout the book don’t solve the single POV problem, they just aid exposition.
At one point, Chani acknowledges that she and Gabe have only ever spent 6 days together and yet have seemingly been obsessed with each other for 10 years. To make that believable I would have needed a lot more pining, palpable longing and missed connections over those 10 years.
The sex scene, 10 years in the making, arrived after the 90% mark and was ultimately prudish and trying too hard. It felt like it was crammed in there so the book could technically qualify as contemporary romance. It was a really poor payoff for the sexual tension the author kept mentioning throughout the book.
Finally: I do not like the book cover design. I’m broadly neutral on the illustrated romance covers trend but I find it really off putting when an adult book has a cover that could easily appear on a YA book. The cartoon faces of Gabe and Chani make them look like Duolingo characters rather than two really good looking people (which the book tells us they are!). This just adds to the feeling that this book has been shoehorned into the adult romance category, where it doesn’t naturally belong.
This is marketed as a romance novel but it’s actually more so a novel about being a (bad) writer. Chani is an unsympathetic narrator who only takes responsibility for her own decisions at the very end of the book. Even the gossip article and film review excerpts from other writers throughout the book don’t solve the single POV problem, they just aid exposition.
At one point, Chani acknowledges that she and Gabe have only ever spent 6 days together and yet have seemingly been obsessed with each other for 10 years. To make that believable I would have needed a lot more pining, palpable longing and missed connections over those 10 years.
The sex scene, 10 years in the making, arrived after the 90% mark and was ultimately prudish and trying too hard. It felt like it was crammed in there so the book could technically qualify as contemporary romance. It was a really poor payoff for the sexual tension the author kept mentioning throughout the book.
Finally: I do not like the book cover design. I’m broadly neutral on the illustrated romance covers trend but I find it really off putting when an adult book has a cover that could easily appear on a YA book. The cartoon faces of Gabe and Chani make them look like Duolingo characters rather than two really good looking people (which the book tells us they are!). This just adds to the feeling that this book has been shoehorned into the adult romance category, where it doesn’t naturally belong.