Book 26 Emily Goes to Exeter

Emily Goes to Exeter by Marion Chesney (aka MC Beaton) fulfills the category “Book Published in the Twentieth Century” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. I cheated a bit here. I read the eBook which was published in 2018 by Rosetta Books. The original publication date (all paper) was September 1991 by St. Martin’s Press. I binge-bought many of Ms. Chesney/Beaton’s old romances when she passed away last February. I hope you all will indulge me on this one.

Emily Goes to Exeter is a regency romance about a traveling matchmaker. I was very confused when I started the book because the main character’s name is Hannah Pym. She is the head housekeeper in a gentleman’s home and she loves to watch the Exeter coach thunder past. The gentleman dies at the start of the story, leaving Hannah out of a job and unsure where to go next. A substantial legacy from her former employer makes travel now possible. She jumps at the chance to see more of the world, starting with that crazy, quick coach to Exeter.

Most romance books (and this is kinda one) start with the couple. Yes, the novel was written in the 90s, but we should still expect a book titled Emily Goes to Exeter to star Emily, not Hannah. I finally understood that Hannah was the matchmaker when I took a closer look at the novel on Amazon and Goodreads. I thought perhaps I’d gotten a weird copy because there was no Emily in the first quarter of the tale.

Hannah Pym is an impressive character. She’s middle-aged, super-efficient, and good at getting couples to hook up. I totally empathized with her. Because she’s a strong woman (and a former servant pretending to be a lady), she acts boldly and makes things happen. She’s practical, smart, and understands her world completely. When the coach becomes stranded in a huge snowstorm, she takes charge, and no one questions her. I love it.

The love matches didn’t quite do it for me. The story rotated point of view without breaking (Head Hopping for you writers out there). I didn’t feel deep connections to the couples who ended up together. In fact, I didn’t see much love to create a happy ending for one set. (Yes, there was a happy ending but not our Hannah.) I don’t know if that makes a good romance.

The story was engaging, the characters fun and funny, but not my favorite romance. Ms. Chesney wrote some amazing cozy mysteries as MC Beaton—fun, whimsical, and at times downright silly. This novel had some of those elements and kept me reading. Honestly, if they’d name the book just The Traveling Matchmaker—A trip to Exeter, I would have bought the entire thing easier. Regardless, I’ll read the rest of the series seeing it’s Ms. Chesney and cute, short romances.

     I give Emily Goes to Exeter by Marion Chesney Four Flying Coaches.

Book 25 Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost fulfilled the “Book Recommended by a Blogger” category for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. Blogger Shelly Lazar of Sexy Book Reviews by Shelly and April recommended the story to me. You can visit them here on Facebook for more great recommendations.

Thank you so much, Shelly, for putting this novel in front of me. I’d heard of Jeaniene Frost before (our names are rather similar) but never grabbed one of her stories. I plan to binge read the series now.

And since we are halfway through the blog, it places nicely as Book 25.

Halfway to the Grave is a paranormal romance, with more emphasis on the paranormal. I’d throw this novel in with Laurell K. Hamilton’s early Anita Blake novels, and Kim Harrison’s Hollow series. (Probably JR Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon also, but I haven’t read as many of those.) Same dark vibe, same smart sexy women, same yummy heroes. Our heroine, Catherine Crawfield, is half-vampire, a great twist on the vamp trope. She’s smart, dangerous, and willing to learn. Her unique status makes her stronger and faster than humans and able to stay in the daylight. She taps her inner Buffy and slays vampires to save others from her fate (and make money too).

Enter our hero, Bones. A sexy, funny vampire ready to use Cat’s ambition to get himself ahead too. Here’s where I had a problem with the book, and it had nothing to do with the writing. I love audiobooks. You all know that. I, of course, listened to it. The reader chose a particular accent for our hero vamp. He sounded exactly like Mark Sheppard.

Who’s Mark Sheppard, you ask? He’s that British actor that’s in everything. He was on The X Files, Doctor Who, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, Warehouse 13, and my favorite, Supernatural. In fact, I’ve met the man in person at a few Supernatural conventions. (Yep, I’m that kinda fan.) And he is lovely, like amazingly lovely. He’ll chat with fans, tell stories, and play the drums for the Con-Band. I love him so. But hearing his voice (not him, but the reader doing a perfect impression of him) unsettled me. He’s not my go-to sexy hero, and I kept picturing him with Cat. Everything was fine until the sex scenes. Then…I was out. LOL

The story was fast-paced and fun. Ms. Frost maintained the right balance of action scenes versus steamy flirting and real life. Honestly, it was tough to put this eleven-year-old novel. I personally don’t think romance books age well, and paranormal romance does not always float my boat. You may have noted above where I said I hadn’t read many JR Ward or Sherrilyn Kenyon. Their books don’t pull me through, but Halfway to the Grave totally did. The hero wasn’t completely broken or an Alpha or a broken Alpha. He had style and grace (maybe because I was picturing Mr. Sheppard and not Spike from Buffy as many other readers did. But then again, James Marsters is my Harry Dresden. But I digress…)

The story gave me the fun, balance, and steaminess I need from a paranormal romance. The banter is great, the action scenes realistic, and the real-life problems spoke more to me than any billionaire book.

      I give Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost Five Vamps in the Car Trunk.

Book 24 Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero fulfills the category “A Book with a Pink Cover” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. It is a graphic novel adaptation of Little Women. I want to confess now that I have not read the original nor seen any version on-screen of Little Women. I know…But sometimes, classics get missed.

The graphic novel seemed a unique way to get younger people interested in the story of four girls, living with their mother while their father is away. This version modernizes the novel. The family lives in a New York City apartment. Their mother is a nurse and their father, an active army soldier, is on deployment. The five must live together with the restraints of a single parent, little money, and all the teenage angst.

Race is another enormous change in the book. Being in modern times, the author did not restrict herself to a white family living in town. Instead, she created a mixed-race family—one daughter is black, one white, and the last two are a product of a mixed marriage. I think the race element added greatly to the story. Not only did it make the tale more modern, but it gave extra depth to the book. Amy deals with some race issues in her part of the tale.

Not to spoil, but the novel also allows for modern medicine, conveniences, ideas about sexuality, not just race. The March family explores many current issues facing teens today. Given the climate of June 2020, it’s a good read for everyone.

I enjoyed the book and while aware it was an adaptation targeted to teen, I thought it was too short. It made me cry. Always a plus. But these girls go through so much, I wanted more. Perhaps the graphic version was a ploy to get all of us to read the original. (I will, someday.) The novel contained huge issues—health and sickness, death, sexuality, life choices, racism. But such tiny bits of each that it wasn’t satisfying enough for me. I wanted more. I tried to get my youngest (13) to read it, but she didn’t get around to by the time of this post. I was hoping she would give me a teen’s perspective on the story.

Don’t get me wrong. The book was outstanding—the illustrations fabulous, the modern twist done well, all the elements in their place. It felt abridged. I find this sometimes with a graphic version of books I’ve read. Something is missing. I’m a wordy girl—I like to read and listen. My youngest love graphic novels. She has aphantasia and cannot see images in her head. Comics and graphic novels are her lifeblood—she loves a good story. Perhaps once I get her to finally read this one, I can add her opinion to mine here.

     I give Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero Five Comic Books.

Book 23 The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini fulfilled the “Book that is a bildungsroman” category for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age book. It focuses on the spiritual, moral, and/or psychological growth of a person. The Kite Runner is an excellent example of this genre.

The novel takes place in Afghanistan in the late 1970s. Many cultural and sociological factors play into the book, creating greater conflict. Amir, our protagonist, is a young man of a wealthy family. He and his father live in a nice house with two servants. Hassan, the younger servant, is about the same age as Amir, and they are inseparable. As they get older, their social status drives them apart.

The inciting event of the novel happens when Amir witnesses a horrific act against his servant and best friend. Amir cannot process the horror. He fails to put himself in his friend’s place. He uses all the excuses of a young child trying to grasp something he does not understand. To his discredit, he shames his friend and then tries to drive the boy and his father away. Here is the low point where Amir starts his journey of redemption.

I had a hard time with this book. The topic was difficult but relevant. Bullying, racism (of a type), and classism are all topics applicable today and especially in June 2020. The author did an excellent job explaining the culture of Afghanistan, the political situation, and the socio-economic dynamics. He brilliantly wove together these elements to give us the entire picture. Even those of us culturally ignorant of most things Afghani (me) understood. I’m glad I listened to the audio, read by the author. It gave an even deeper understanding to hear him tell the tale.

But the bullying, the violent acts against the repressed classes, and the political upheaval were not the things that stayed with me the most. They marked me, educated me, and gave me a new perspective about the universe. But it was Amir’s failure to act and his subsequent horrific behavior that will make me remember this story for a long time.

I understood how it was hard for Amir to help Hassan when he was attacked. But Amir’s actions afterward made me hate him. Really hate him. I considered not finishing the book. His friend had been assaulted and not only did Amir turn his back, not comfort his friend, he outright rejected the boy after years of friendship. Amir could not do enough to redeem himself after that, in my opinion.

The rest of the book shows Amir working to survive, life, and recover from all he’d been through. He tried to make up for what he had done as a child. (Yes, I know he was a kid, but dammit, he should have known better.) I don’t feel he redeemed himself as a character. I still don’t like him, don’t sympathize with him, and don’t care what happened to him.

Redemption is a tough storyline. Did Amir grow and change over the book to be a better person? Kinda. Others may believe he completed the great journey. I don’t. Sometimes the sins are too deep. For all the beauty of the descriptions in the novel, for all I learned about Afghanistan and their culture, I never forgave Amir.

     With that, I give The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini only Three Fighting Kites.