Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Romance Report
Well, I've completed the Romance Challenge. I finished reading Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou this afternoon. (photographic "evidence")
Here's what I think:
Story: B+
Quite a good plot: romance, spooks & extreme house makeover on the bayou. Stories of reincarnated lovers aren't new, and the gender-bending twist has been done before, most notably in Dead Again. Still, there were some new(ish) things (the male lead psychically experiences giving birth, for instance), and the haunted manor house storyline played out nicely. Points off, though, for skating over the reunion of the reincarnated rapist and his (well, now, her) victim.
Characters: B-
Too perfect. Even with the introduction of Lena's mother (the Billy Clyde Tuggle (yay!) of the piece), the cast is still almost completely perfect. The male lead has absolutely no flaws. The female lead's only flaw is she's too wary to give her heart away -- oh, cry me a blue bayou, would you please? A likeable lot, but there was never any reason to think our lovers wouldn't get together in the end (I expected by default they would, 'cause you know -- Romance; but I never second-guessed the ending).
Technique: C
Some things I liked, like the dual timeline and snappy patter. Some things I didn't like, like the aberrant POV and far too many coincidences. Call it a wash.
Overall: B
I enjoyed the book. Not as much as Misery (which I recommended to Romance Challenge challenger, Brenda Coulter), but more than I expected (so it gets bonus points for pleasantly surprising me). It wasn't all breathless, angsty, or loveydovey like Ifeared thought it would be. I would've liked a little more complexity and real conflict between the major and secondary characters, maybe some arson to complicate things, or actual struggle for the characters to achieve their dreams. But, hey, there are worse ways to spend a handful of afternoons down by the lake.
Here's what I think:
Story: B+
Quite a good plot: romance, spooks & extreme house makeover on the bayou. Stories of reincarnated lovers aren't new, and the gender-bending twist has been done before, most notably in Dead Again. Still, there were some new(ish) things (the male lead psychically experiences giving birth, for instance), and the haunted manor house storyline played out nicely. Points off, though, for skating over the reunion of the reincarnated rapist and his (well, now, her) victim.
Characters: B-
Too perfect. Even with the introduction of Lena's mother (the Billy Clyde Tuggle (yay!) of the piece), the cast is still almost completely perfect. The male lead has absolutely no flaws. The female lead's only flaw is she's too wary to give her heart away -- oh, cry me a blue bayou, would you please? A likeable lot, but there was never any reason to think our lovers wouldn't get together in the end (I expected by default they would, 'cause you know -- Romance; but I never second-guessed the ending).
Technique: C
Some things I liked, like the dual timeline and snappy patter. Some things I didn't like, like the aberrant POV and far too many coincidences. Call it a wash.
Overall: B
I enjoyed the book. Not as much as Misery (which I recommended to Romance Challenge challenger, Brenda Coulter), but more than I expected (so it gets bonus points for pleasantly surprising me). It wasn't all breathless, angsty, or loveydovey like I
Mikesell
2 Snarky Remarks:
Brenda Coulter, at 6:51 AM
that pick says a mouthful. :)
;-)