Review: The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The complete canon detailing the fictional exploits of "London's only consulting detective" and his "friend and colleague, Dr Watson".

Well, it took me nearly a month, but I finished it! All 1122 pages of ridiculously small print. Now, to reflect, and try to come up with something coherent to say after all that...

First, I must say that I obviously loved this book, since I dedicated a month to it, and there were times I couldn't stop reading. I read these separately as a youth, and also enjoyed it when my mother read me some of the individual stories as a child, so it was enjoyable to revisit them now with better understanding. They have an addictive quality to them, even.

This book feels like an old friend. Naturally, these stories, and certainly the immortal Holmes and Watson, are quite familiar to most of us, so even if you haven't read the stories directly, many of the plots, characters, and details will be familiar to you. So, reading this book was, in some ways, a comforting, timeless R&R period very well spent.

However, I cannot encourage people strongly enough to read the originals. Aside from some of the more famous stories, many of these gems were surprising to me. Holmes is much more interesting in print than he is in hearsay and folklore, or in most of the film/TV representations.

Nonetheless, there were moments where some stories felt cliche, even though they were new and original when written. But, I can't blame Doyle because so many people have recycled his ideas since he wrote them!

One thing that strikes me now, upon finishing this complete omnibus edition, is how unlikely I am to ever read all of these works in one go again. To be honest, I'd rather enjoy them piecemeal in the future, since the stories taken in one giant chunk kind of blend into a swirl in my brain. They were written to be read in a serial fashion, so I think they are likely best enjoyed that way. Now, even with the volume just freshly completed, I can't always match the exact plot/outcome with each title, because some of the less memorable ones have turned into a jumble in my "memory attic" (to borrow an image from Holmes). However, this would be a wonderful book to keep in a bedroom case, to be taken down for short bursts when the mood strikes, and I think that's how it will remain in my house now.

In addition, as a piece of Victoriana, this collection is amazing. Alternatively creepy and genteel, they are very evocative or the era, so I highly recommend them to anyone interested in this period.

No writer can knock every story out of the park, and there were a few less-than-stellar stories, some forgettable ones, and even a few dogs. However, there were a number of truly superior stories, and the overall collection is, of course, brilliant. My favourite stories included The Blue Carbuncle, The Sussex Vampire, The Five Orange Pips, The Illustrious Client, and The Red Headed League, as well as several others. For some reason, though, The Copper Beeches was the one that grabbed me the most, and was legitimately terrifying as a psychological drama. Most of the stories are not to be missed, and the whole canon is a classic well worth reading.

Finally, a word about the physical edition might be in order. I read the B&N hardcover edition, printed in 1992. According to the receipt I found in the back (!), I bought this in 2000, for $14.99 CDN. It's wonderful that such rich omnibus editions are available for affordable prices! It's incredibly durable and handsome, and survived many a park trip this past month, as well as three moves since I originally purchased it. However, this collection might be a bit too large for one hardcover, and I found it unwieldy for reading in bed (often my preferred reading spot). The print was also painfully small, which became a problem when I tried to read in low light or for too long at a time. I didn't penalize the book's rating for these details, but I did want to mention them. While Holmes claimed he was a mind, not a body, it is awfully hard to know the mind of a book if the body of it is awkward! Thus, it might behoove readers to find this in separate volumes, or on ereader, rather than a giant omnibus.

All in all, a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I can now say with certainty I have read the whole Sherlock Holmes canon! I have to note that I am both very pleased and kind of sad that I'm finished this book. I will miss Holmes, Watson, and Mrs Hudson. Of course, now I can search out the old Jeremy Brett series, and indulge a bit, without the small print!

Recommended to almost everyone!

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Review: Fugitive Hearts by Ingrid Weaver

Fugitive Hearts by Ingrid Weaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. An edgy, redeemed antihero (who managed to totally charm me), a sympathetic writer heroine (!), and very compelling writing that really pops from beginning to end. There's very real tension and ambiguity, which is quite rare in category romance. And there's even a cat who's a legitimate character, and not just a prop. The love scenes are hot, but not gratuitous, and the plot has an interesting enough mystery element. Certainly, the resolution is very pat and there were a few less-than-realistic moments, but sometimes romantic fiction is about getting better luck than one finds in real life. Plus, it's great to see a good Canadian story; I appreciate seeing place names and settings I recognize for a change.

I really enjoyed this one, and will be adding it to my keeper pile, and the author to my future watch list.

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Review: Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by WB Yeats

Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by William Butler Yeats
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this as part of my research for a short story I was writing, and it ended up taking up taking longer to read than the story did to write! That doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on the book, though, as I found it quite interesting. Engrossing in parts, even.

Here, Yeats gathers and edits stories and myths from Ireland, largely from the translations and collections of other folklorists. It focuses mainly on the faeries, though it also includes water creatures (i.e. the merrow), witches, ghosts, and various mythical creatures. If you're wanting a lot on the mythic heroes, there's some but not a great deal. (You'd want to supplement in this area, I should think.) It does, however, include a good mixture of "traditional Irish" tales and "Irish Catholic" lore, which I found fascinating, such as discussions of the souls of faeries, folk tales about saints and the devil, and so forth. Too many studies are apt to separate "pagan" and "Catholic" beliefs artificially, in my opinion, and this synthesis feels more authentic to Irish culture.

If you're studying Irish folklore for scholarly or academic reasons, I think you can find better sources, though this might be useful as a historical look. The stories are largely anecdotal, and I didn't always know what was regional and what was widespread. Academic sources generally have more specificity to them, which would be necessary to avoid generalizing local legend. However, for a writer or an interested reader, this collection is very nice. I found it highly readable, with a nice feel of the local dialects, and the price was outstanding, if I recall correctly. My one major criticism of this book, in terms of usefulness, is that I'd love to have an edition with an index. Without one, the book is really only useful for a read, and not as a reference.

Finally, it's exciting to read such a record from the pen of such a famous writer, and as a piece of national literature or history of ethnography, it has become something of a classic.

I found it very interesting, and it was useful for my purpose. I'd recommend it, considering its price and classic status, to anyone wanting casual reading or light research on the topic of Irish folklore, with the caveat that it is comparatively light in the hero legends, as well as a bit lacking in the rich cryptozoology of Ireland (aside from the pooka and a few other common ones).

I enjoyed it, though it was a bit of a long haul. It made excellent before-bed reading, one or two stories at a time.

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Review: Spartacus, by TL Mancour

Spartacus by T.L. Mancour
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was a huge ST:TNG fan as a kid and teen, and I still love the series. I haven't read one of the novels in years, but I found this one for 50 cents at a thrift store and thought to give it a whirl. I can't recall if I read this one in high school or not, but I didn't remember it, if I did.

In this one, Picard and the crew, having just come through a long, rough storm, comes across a ship in need of repairs. The ship and its crew declares itself as a refugee ship, so all aide is rendered. The situation is made more complex when the strange crew's secrets are revealed, and a force comes in pursuit of the refugees. The destruction they were fleeing is revealed to be not as simple as they presented it.

If you are familiar with the series, you'll guess that this book has a lot of the same themes from the show, including the meaning of compassion and humanity, and the practical applications of the Prime Directive, and various humanistic ethics and positions. These things are pretty standard in any TNG piece. This one also has some interesting exploration of the meaning of freedom, and allusions to earth myth and history (which is also common to TNG). It also has relevance for discussions we hold today over the pros and cons of excessive leisure, entertainment and electronic conveniences, which was not something I had expected. I found this last theme to be quite fruitful.

The story itself is interesting enough, though the races encountered were not as interesting as some of the species in other Star Trek books and shows. We really don't learn a great deal about the Vemlans, but I frankly wasn't all that curious about them, anyway. They seemed quite stock in nature, to be honest.

However, all the favourite characters from the show are here, with very little Troi (a big plus for me), though the Guinan bits were few and felt tacked on. Some reviewers have called this book a "Data story," but he doesn't overwhelm the book, and it's more of a Picard/Data story, which suits me very well.

The worst thing I can say about the story is that it held very few surprises, but I'm not sure that's a major problem. Naturally, most of the Enterprise's stories end up happily, or at least skillfully resolved by the crack Starfleet crew, and this novel holds little surprise for anyone who's familiar with the series. (Many of the themes, issues, and events are quite similar to materials from the show, actually.)

The writing was less enjoyable. I recall an old Elmore Leonard quote, "When it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." Well, brother, did this book sound like writing! A lot of purple going on, with an excess of big words where simpler ones would do, and so forth. It made it slightly tough going, and almost put it down to 2 stars for me. (But the editing seemed fair, and the style doesn't stop me from recommending the book to those who enjoy TNG novels, so I'm going with 3. I did like it, and I found it entertaining.)

One odd thing that did keep me from putting it above 3 stars is a strange misogynistic twinge in the book; especially near the end, where a man working under a woman was likened to slavery, and the comparison went completely unchecked. Granted the actual woman in question was insufferable, but it still bugged me. Perhaps the editors did not expect women to read Star Trek novels?

Spartacus took me a long time to read; it was my "bus book," so it stayed in my backpack for about a month, and I only took it out while on public transit. It didn't grab my attention all that well from the get-go. However, once I got into it, it kept me entertained, and I plowed through the final 3/4 or half in a weekend. I might not have stuck with it early on if I wasn't already a ST fan, though, and I think Masks (#7) remains my favourite of the ST:TNG novels.

If you're a fan of Picard and Data, and the ethical ruminations this series was best at, you might enjoy this book, warts and all.

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Review: Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

Black Like Me: Updated by John Howard Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In all honesty, I must admit I have no idea how to rate this book. Given GR's star system, it's confusing to me. It really is sort of "amazing" in terms of its undertaking, compelling material and its impact. Yet, I'm not sure I can give it a full 5, despite its status as a classic. I loved this book in high school, and back then I would have rated it 5 stars without question. Now, as an adult, I hesitate. I will try to explain.

Black Like Me has a couple different aspects, each with different levels of usefulness.

As an early "non-fiction novel" it does ride up there with In Cold Blood. As a story, I found it hard to put down, and I found it quite gripping. Griffin's prose is charismatic and well constructed, and the "story" has a nice progression and flow due to the travel element, from New Orleans to the "heart of segregation," and it's hard not to hold your breath through his travels Southward. I also found his personal reflections fascinating, as his introspection developed.

As "ethnography," I do feel this book has great importance. Griffin records a lot of voices he would not have been able to capture had be not blackened his face, and his vignettes tell the reader a lot about the nature of segregation. While I feel he pulls some editorial punches (for example, I feel he shys away from recording dialects and other details that might have been valuable left intact), and I know he has shaped the material with a particular theme in mind, I also think it's a valuable read for anyone studying this period, or race relations in general. Griffin, from all accounts, seems to have led a remarkable life, and this period is one of its major highlights.

As social justice philosophy, it's of course admirable in its goals. It does demonstrate that skin colour overrode (overrides?) all, since he changed neither his name nor his credentials as he traveled. He was, as he says, the same man, but for colour, and he succeeds in describing the many, many adjustments he was forced to make because of his darker skin.

However, in this area it has dated a bit, in my opinion. Looking at it from 2012, it's hard to embrace the "black face" of it (though Griffin is clear that he never lied to people about being a black man; he just darkened himself and let people decide what they would), but it isn't just the performance of dark skin that makes me uneasy. It's actually the number of times that Griffin uses the term (or concept) of "we" to describe his experience within the black community, and how often he refers to himself as "black" that makes me uneasy. In a way it fits, because he was living under the restrictions, but I wonder at the "right" of this.

But, he spent eight weeks. Eight weeks, out of (at that point) 40-odd years. While the place of pigment can't be discounted, it's difficult to agree that he had become a black man over eight weeks of sharing these restrictions. Always, he knew he could take it off, and return to his "real life". I can't help but think that pretending simply can't reproduce the feeling of permanence. Darkening one's skin can't really compare with living in that skin, and likely feeling (in the 50s) the sense of no escape, ever, from segregation. So, to me, these assertions rather over-stepped into appropriation. I believe Griffin's heart was in the right place, but I do think this is over reaching the limits of his experiment.

As Malcolm X noted about this book, "Can you imagine how much more horrifying it would be to live like this your whole life?"

For this, I pull back a bit from five stars, because over-stressing this book has its dangers, in my opinion, and buying Griffin as an "insider" just doesn't fly. He certainly had a better understanding than people who hadn't walked a mile in those shoes, but he wasn't really an "insider," either, because he knew it was an experiment.

He works much better as a "participant observer," perhaps, although his own emotional "insiderness" was compelling in its own right when it was appropriate. (Of particular relevance were the moments of revelation he had looking at himself in a mirror, and facing his own racism and feelings of complete alienation from the black face that looked back at him.) His space on the margins of the white community in the face of his beliefs and his findings were especially interesting to me.

Griffin's description of the book's reception by the write community is dreadful (literally, filled with dread). The last section of the book feels a bit disjointed and tacked on, which is a pity, but I think it's part of the book's power. (There were a few moments where it went into martyr-mode, but overall he kept it pretty concise and journalistic, and held back from too much self-congratulation.)

Black Like Me, as some critics have said, is a great book on racism - for white people. It is in the book's portrayal of the whites along the way, and the reactions it spurred, that ring the best for me.

The edition I read had an afterword from after 1967, which made an interesting epilogue. By this point, Griffin was noticing that his position as "spokesman" was wearing thin, and it seems he wanted to (and had been asked to, perhaps) step back. He found he was being asked to consult on the "race problem" with white committees who didn't even think to invite black leaders! He was becoming, for white leaders, a safe or more palatable substitute, and that simply didn't work. As he expressed in an interview elsewhere, it had become ridiculous for him to serve as a voice for the black community, when it had many, better voices of its own. For me, this realization went a long way to addressing my concerns in the book itself.

So, final reckoning...? Certainly worth the read, as history and as a work of prose. I would recommend anyone interested in this period or these issues read this, particularly the updated edition. If you want to know more about Jim Crow laws and practices in everyday life, this book could be valuable to you. But, like with most serious issues, I caution that this shouldn't be the only book you read about it. This is not the final word, and I don't believe Griffin meant it to be. But it might make an excellent starting point, and is a good narrative illustration among the numerous academic books on the subject.

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Review: Forgiveness by Jean Brashear

Forgiveness by Jean Brashear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was in the mood for something different, and Forgiveness by Jean Brashear delivered quite well. I waver between 3.5 and 4, but I'm naturally inclined to round-up (being a teacher and all).

Forgiveness (2005) is an installment in a rather unusual series published by HQ's SuperRomance category. I am a fan HQ SuperRomance, as they are longer, meatier and more "real life" than some of HQ's other categories. SuperRomance is also one of the best romance category for finding solid secondary characters, a particular enjoyment for me. Most of all, it's a reliable source of solid mature contemporary, non-paranormal, romance. However, the novels can also be a bit typical, following a lot of standards that can sometimes feel comforting, but can also be a bit blah if you're not in the mood for romance. Last night, I was not in the mood for a typical romance, but I couldn't find a mystery in my house that really sparked my interest, and I was in "too-lazy-for-non-fiction" mode at the moment. So, I chose Forgiveness, which did not seem too much like every other small town romance.

And it certainly is not.

So, picture the scene: It's nearing 6 am, and I'm reading. I know that I have a few scant hours before my child wakes and eats me alive if I am running on no sleep. Yet, I am reading, still. I am also red, puffy, tear-stained, and completely clogged up (sexy, I know!). At that point, I had only a few chapters left, and I had been crying for about five hours. Yet, I had to finish! Not a pretty tale to tell, but I think it certainly says something very good about this book.

Forgiveness tells the tale of Ria, a young woman who's been living in her car for months with her four year old son. Eventually, as winter approaches, she returns to the family she left six years ago. She left, feeling rejected, because she was responsible for the death of her younger brother. Always the "bad seed," she fled, knowing she could never replace the "favourite." But now, malnourished, weak, and helpless with a young son to feed, she's forced to try to mend fences. And she becomes increasingly fearful that her mother has figured out a way Ria can repay her debt - by giving up her own son to the family!

Harrowing. To the say the damned least.

(Side note: Some of the basic plot might make you recall the Anne Hathaway film Rachel Getting Married (2008), which features the return of an alcoholic sister/daughter who was responsible for the death of her parents' child while drunk/stoned. The stories are quite similar, but the reactions and characters are quite different. If you find the subject matter of the film compelling, you might like Forgiveness, but even if you disliked the film you still stand a good chance of liking the book.)

In Forgiveness, Ria is a woman who is filled with self-loathing in every single inch of her. Self-destructive, unhealthy, paranoid, filthy, depressive, beaten down, objectified, you name it. Ria is an absolute mess. The one thing she feels she's done right in her entire life is have Benjy, her son, and now she begins to feel she must sacrifice him to punish herself for the life she took. But Benjy is the only reason she is a live, the only thing keeping her from letting go, and the only thing keeping her going, so she struggles with this revelation. On the one hand, she feels like she doesn't deserve to have her son when she deprived her parents of theirs (a loss that subsequently destroyed the family in her absence), but on the other hand, she and Benjy are a bonded pair. The boy does love his mother - how can she bear the guilt of disappointing him, too?

(I believe Ria also has morbid undertones, which gave me shivers at various points throughout the book. It's never very overt, but rather hangs about the margins. She seems to build a paranoia for herself that if she doesn't relinquish her child to the parents she destroyed, fate will punish her by having him die anyway. This is a subtle thread, but very present and adds a great deal of urgency to the book, in my opinion. It also stood as a bleak reminder of the stresses on parents struggling to feed their families - death, disaster, doom become constant preoccupations when suffering is prolonged enough.)

But Ria also sees that poverty and depression has put demands on Benjy that four year olds probably shouldn't really face. Basically, she is struggling with the all-too-common belief that children are better off not being with their parents if the parents are struggling, no matter how much the kids love them. All around her, people are telling her what an idyllic life Benjy could have with her family - but do they say this to convince her to stay with Benjy, or to convince her to give him up and leave?

Did I *like* Ria...? This is a difficult question. Not really, I have to admit. She was a brash, childish, mopey, masochistic, ignorant, and often completely irrational punk. And so damn defeatist! If she were a real life person, I could see she'd be very difficult to be around for long. BUT, as a character? I couldn't help but sympathize, since the book gives such vivid descriptions of her pain. She didn't become a defeatist out of nothing, so seeing her life made the character work for me.

My major complaint about her was how obnoxious it is for adults to still focus so much energy on imagined childhood slights ("Daddy let Betsy help build the tree house! Nothing's ever mine any more! I liked it better when I was an only child!"), and Ria did this constantly.

However, when viewing the complete tapestry of her life, including the lifelong decline of her self-esteem and the horrible loss of her brother due to her drinking, it's hard to blame her for being broken. And, not to go into too much personal detail, but there were things in the book that resonated with me quite deeply, so I admit that this coloured my view of the book.

So, yes, the main storyline touched me. Ria's desire to live combined with her desire to self-annihilate moved me. I did commune with this character, and the author places Ria, warts and all, very directly and effectively. I felt like I knew her, and by the end of the book, I was sort of her critical (yet sympathetic) friend. I kind of wanted to brain her, but I was also rooting for her. I think this is a sign of a strong book, personally.

Ria, though often weak, scared, and abused by men in her quest for anything that remotely feels like love, is not your typical romance heroine. Sure, she's not admirable, but she's very human, and she does draw compassion from me. Brashear was courageous in creating such a flawed character. There's not a Mary Sue in sight!

Now, as to why I'm more inclined towards 3.5 than a full 4, despite the book's compelling readability - I warn you, if you want to read a romance, this book might not be for you.

Sandor, the hero, is a Hungarian-born handyman who is half in love with Ria's mother, and certainly devoted and grateful to her. He starts off perceiving Ria as a threat to his patroness, having heard all the "bad seed" stories and blaming her for the destruction of her mother's life. Through the course of the book, however, he finds his inherent goodness, integrity and compassion draws him to see Ria not as a monster but as a very sad person, and he wishes to be her friend. By the end of the book, he sees her as even more, and Ria begins to flourish and heal under his outsider's view of her.

This romantic relationship is really just a subplot, which might annoy some romance readers. The romance feels like an after-thought. Sandor hardly ever directly interacts with anyone, including Ria, and the majority of the time we see through his eyes, he's merely contemplating Ria and her family. He has his own backstory, true, but he's not very well integrated into the book itself. He's on the outside looking in, quite literally, and there were moments I even forgot about him. He was likable enough, but not very important.

There's also a minor subplot involving the relationship between Ria's mother and father, which I understand is continued in another book in the series. I have to say, this is the only area I found the book predictable and trite. Certain obstacles in that relationship are swept aside in a few scant, convenient paragraphs, and this subplot marred the book for me rather than added to it.

Therefore, though I kind of loved this book, I can't really recommend it to romance readers, without a caveat. Basically, despite its romance subplot, Forgiveness is more like "women's fiction" than a "romance novel".

It's not really about romance - Forgiveness is a story about motherhood, family, and, well, forgiveness. Self-forgiveness, most of all. It's also about mothers and daughters, and the way we feel compelled to both mirror and reject our mothers, and balancing the need to belong with the need to become individuals. It's also about flawed mothers, and how the mistakes we make reverberate for a lifetime, especially in our own guilt.

While this may not be a romance, it is a love story, alright. But not a love story in the way most will expect from a SuperRomance. I found myself surprised this was a HQ book, actually, and it makes me wonder what Brashear could do (or has done or will do) outside of category romance. I will keep an eye out for her, because I think this is a writer who could write off-genre very well.

With the above notes in mind, I do recommend this book if you enjoy emotional, messy, human stories. Be warned, however, this book is remarkably heavy on despair, and might be more angsty than you want if you're looking for a light romance.

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Review: The Hidden Heir by Debra Webb

The Hidden Heir by Debra Webb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this! I chose it because of the "metro" hero, and was immediately happy I picked it up. It might be a bit closer to 4.5/5 stars, actually. I've read others in the Colby Series, and this was by far my favourite one, and it exceeded all expectations.

The story centers around a young woman, Ashley, hiding from an abusive ex-boyfriend, and the somewhat geeky research-pro-turned-PI who is sent to find her and the child she's been sheltering. The PI has been told the ex has only months to live, and is desperate to see his son, who's being ruthlessly withheld from him by a gold digger. Through the course of the story, he realizes all Ashley needs is someone to believe her side of the story and help her free herself from her fugitive state.

The story has some extremely hot moments, and the need and chemistry leaps off the page at you. The hero was quite distinct from your typical romance PI, though we learn oddly little about him beyond his character under pressure (and, on the score, he's pretty wonderful). The writing is quickly paced and modern, and the editing strong. The secondary characters are fine, and the world feels lived-in. Ashley's struggle as a mother is heartbreaking and touching, while still realistic and pragmatic, with very little excess emotional manipulation. There is also one hell of a horrific twist that ties in some minor details throughout the book and makes for a rather exciting climax. All in all, both the romance and the suspense elements are quite vivid for such a short, quick story.

I read it practically in one sitting, even though I knew I had a cart load of work to do! It was that good.

In many ways, this book is a rather timely read. I've been watching the 50 Shades of Grey trend, and have noted the horror some critics have expressed over the abusive and controlling nature of the "hero" - misogynistic domination veiled as romance. In this book, we see a more realistic image of a billionaire sadist, and the lengths the heroine must go through to free herself from his abuse once she discovers his nature. Cheers for her!

While there are aspects of this book that might read like "poor girl must wait in purgatory until saved by a big strong man," this is not the totality of the book. True, the entrance of the PI, Keith, is what brings about the resolution to her troubles, but it's less about sexist stereotypes than it is about how difficult it is for an impoverished person to stand alone against the wealth and cruelty of her hunter. It's about what having extra help willing to listen to her story and trust her can mean to someone in a jam. Aside from this, Ashley is one seriously resourceful heroine who is depicted as far from helpless, and Keith becomes more of her partner than her rescuer. This is a refreshing change from many HQ Intrigue "damsel in distress" storylines, and one that should appeal to many women.

My quibbles are quite minor, including a wish that we'd learned more about the hero, and a stronger hook at the beginning. The first pages were rather weak, mostly dedicated to establishing a link with the rest of the Colby series. Since I am not a fan of series in general, I skimmed a lot of it, along with the final pages, which returns to the Colby theme. If you're into the series, you might not feel the same way, but if you're not a series fan the first chapter might leave you cold. Nevertheless, it's a book well worth staying with past this slow opening.

Recommended, enthusiastically, for fans of shorter, m/f contemporary romantic suspense with sensual heat.

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Review: An Engagement in Seattle by Debbie Macomber

I've decided to experiment with the "Blog this Review" feature from GoodReads, so pardon me while I toy with it. If I like it, I might start doing this with my longer, positive (3 or 4 stars and up) romance-related reviews... 
 
An Engagement in Seattle by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has two novellas in it, both published in the 1990s (with updating). "Groom Wanted" features an ambitious business woman managing the family's corporation, who enters into a "green card marriage" with the plant's star researcher so he won't be deported. "Bride Wanted" features an Alaskan good guy who comes to Washington to seek a wife, and finds a jilted teacher eager for a new start. I'm a big fan of Debbie Macomber, and these stories did not disappoint.

I loved them both as light, quick reads, but Bride Wanted worked a little better for me.

Groom Wanted was surprisingly touching (I confess it made me cry at a point or two); yes, it had a bit of cheese, but in a nice way. With another author some of the hero's "this will be a real marriage, so you will sleep with me" pressure could have gone very, very wrong (i.e. forced seduction or marital rape), but Macomber definitely didn't go there - thankfully! The premise is not really unique (immigration marriage), but not a sickeningly-common one in romance novels. Also, it's rather refreshing to see a (1) Russian hero and (2) a scientist who does actual work. The secondary characters were fairly well done, as well, considering this is a short.

Bride Wanted, my favourite of the two, was lighter and a bit more fun. I enjoyed the secondary characters, and the Alaskan angle. Also, the "small town knight in shining armour seeking companion", while not new, is adorable to me. I'm a sucker for small town heroes. The heroine was very likeable. I would have done the ending slightly differently, but overall it was a very fun read.

In terms of negatives, I have very little. The books, in my opinion, did what they were supposed to, and delivered some nice, romantic entertainment. However, I am finding myself increasingly frustrated by fade-to-black love scenes. I don't know - they worked well for me for decades, but now that more and more romance novels "go all the way," the FTB ones seem somehow anti-climactic (sorta-pun not really intended). The stories were so engaging, the characters so attractive, and the chemistry so vivid, I did find myself put out when the text went to "..." and suddenly it was the next day. Sigh. However, if you normally have no trouble with FTB (or you prefer them), this won't be a problem for you.

Very nice pair of stories from what I like to think of as "old school contemporary romance," the kind of which seem to be rather rare these days, sadly. Recommended!

View all my reviews

(Please note: I very rarely accept review requests. I buy and read the books I want, or I borrow them. I don't have the time to commit to reviewing, though heaven bless those bloggers who do!)

Join Me at GoodReads?

I've been getting into GoodReads more and more these days. While I don't do reviews very often on this blog, I do read a lot, so it's been helpful to me to keep track of what I'm reading - and what I liked/didn't like about them. Plus, all my books are listed there, so that's pretty cool!

GoodReads, if you haven't come across it, is a massive, super-cool, community of readers, where people are encouraged to review (or at least rank) what they have read, reveal what they are reading, and keep track of what they want to read in the future. Users and librarians file and groom book entries, so basically everything imaginable is listed there. And, if your book isn't, you can add it! You can shelf your books in various categories - old, new, paper and ebook. You can note your favourite authors, books, and quotes, and join discussion groups with readers who share your likes and dislikes. There are also hundreds of authors that have memberships there, showing you what they've read.

If you'd like to "friend" me on GR, you can find me here.

Child Characters in Romantic Fiction

I was reading a HQ SuperRomance a couple of days ago that dredged up one of my pet peeves.

I can't stand it when children are more like props than actual characters. Yes, occasionally they talk, but when they are just "Generic Girl Child Aged 3" it looks like no effort is put into making them real people. They weave in and out of the story only when needed - usually only as a source of conflict for either party as they anguish over having a "readymade family" to deal with. The main characters are very seldom home, with the child in any convenient care (daycare, with the neighbours, etc) - some books don't even bother to explain who is watching the child while Main Character 1 and Main Character 2 are off having their passionate picnic. (What parent goes on a daytime picnic in a pretty park without at least wondering if they should bring their child?) The absolute worst: When they are merely written into the book so they can sustain some major medical trauma for the purpose of bringing the parties back together again, having never attained more than prop status throughout the book. That last one kind of disgusts me.

Now, I have also seen some great romance novels where the child acts/seems like a real kid, and the parent-character actually thinks/speaks of the child once and a while when s/he is not directly involved in the scene. I have seen some great books that allow the child to interact with one or the other main character directly; where they have a scene alone together instead of the child just wandering in the room during important "grown up plot talk." Some books give the child character some development, which is hard to do with any secondary character and really rewarding for the reader. I have even seen some who allow the child a POV scene or two!

I am a mom who is parenting a 3 year-old on my own at the moment - I just can't handle novels that relegate the child to the status of a desk chair. I know my son has a very distinct personality - he acts and talks in an idiosyncratic way, the same as adults do. I also know that most mothers and fathers think/talk about their child a lot.

Now, I know none of us wants to read pages and pages of parents bragging/fretting over their kid, but I really do appreciate it when writers make me believe the child, and the family unit, is real.

Please stop using child characters as mere props. A child is not a potted plant. That child character some writers ignore would likely be the center of the main character's world - that is not an issue you can ignore and still maintain realism. Okay, I admit this view is largely based on a very personal understanding of parenting, but it's one reader's opinion, and I am willing to bet I'm not the only one.

Got Reviews?

I'm looking to start posting book reviews regularly on this blog, so please send them to me! Or, if you are an author and would like me to review your book, please send that to me, and I will do it as quick as I can -- e-books are preferred (in PDF).

Works reviewed on this blog will be clearly indicated as purchased by the reviewer or sent in free of charge by the author/publisher. No money will change hands for the review process.

Reviews should be short, with a clear title/author and brief synopsis, as well as a category description, along with a personal reaction to the story and a "rating" of some variety.

As per usual, I will give you full credit and linkage for anything submitted to this site.

You can contact me via email at anneholly2010@gmail.com.