Wicked and the Wallflower
One of the things I'm discovering as I dip my toe into the Romance waters is that this is a very personal genre. It's formulaic, sure. Two people meet, are attracted, face a variety of obstacles, and ultimately admit that they love each other. There's a kiss or a proposal or a marriage or something to cement that happily ever after. But for the broad strokes, you know what's going to happen.
And so, moreso than in other genres, the appreciation of romance comes down to the details. Are these characters you enjoy rooting for? Is this someone you would be attracted to? Do you find the obstacles believable? And then it gets to be more explicitly about preferences. Historical vs contemporary. Steamy sex scenes vs chaste kissing. Friends to lovers or enemies to lovers or love at first sight.
The point I'm trying to make here is that, in evaluating whether or not you liked a particular romance, you end up revealing a lot about yourself. I think that may be part of why people tend not to talk about romance, even as they read it voraciously. Things get a bit personal when you start talking about what you find attractive and what you fantasize about.
Then again, it's not like I've been coy about my love of characters like Lestat. So it's really no surprise that I loved Devon "Devil" Culm, the romantic lead of this book. He runs a smuggling empire, more at home in the underground than among the aristocracy. He's a criminal who literally fought his way to his current position, and now he's used to getting his way. But he's got that heart of gold, too, evident in the way he treats his employees and the members of his community.
And then there's his lady-love, Felicity Faircloth. She's just as single-minded and determined as he is. Just as unwilling to show weakness, even when it puts her in compromising positions. They're a perfect match, if only Devil could get over himself and see it. But of course he does. This is a romance, after all.
Once again, this book made me happy. It was fun and diverting and even the sad and stressful bits end up that much sweeter knowing that it's only temporary.
I was also unexpectedly delighted to discover that apparently all of MacLean's books take place in the same world, so to speak. Felicity mentions her friends Sesily Talbot, sister of the heroine in The Rogue Not Taken and a part of her past sounds suspiciously like the plot of Day of the Duchess (which I have not read yet, but now need to). It's making me want to go for broke and read MacLean's entire backlist (while I wait for Whit's book, which is being released next year and promises to be just as darkly seductive as this one). But I also want to see what else is out there.
It's hard, discovering an entirely new genre and wanting to dive in head first. Especially when your to-read list is already as long as mine currently is. I just don't know how I'm going to make time for all of these books. On the bright side, at least the romances go by fast, so I can fit them in easier. What's more, this genre still embraces the mass market paperback, making it easier to afford all of these books that will soon be weighing down my bookshelf.
And so, moreso than in other genres, the appreciation of romance comes down to the details. Are these characters you enjoy rooting for? Is this someone you would be attracted to? Do you find the obstacles believable? And then it gets to be more explicitly about preferences. Historical vs contemporary. Steamy sex scenes vs chaste kissing. Friends to lovers or enemies to lovers or love at first sight.
The point I'm trying to make here is that, in evaluating whether or not you liked a particular romance, you end up revealing a lot about yourself. I think that may be part of why people tend not to talk about romance, even as they read it voraciously. Things get a bit personal when you start talking about what you find attractive and what you fantasize about.
Then again, it's not like I've been coy about my love of characters like Lestat. So it's really no surprise that I loved Devon "Devil" Culm, the romantic lead of this book. He runs a smuggling empire, more at home in the underground than among the aristocracy. He's a criminal who literally fought his way to his current position, and now he's used to getting his way. But he's got that heart of gold, too, evident in the way he treats his employees and the members of his community.
And then there's his lady-love, Felicity Faircloth. She's just as single-minded and determined as he is. Just as unwilling to show weakness, even when it puts her in compromising positions. They're a perfect match, if only Devil could get over himself and see it. But of course he does. This is a romance, after all.
Once again, this book made me happy. It was fun and diverting and even the sad and stressful bits end up that much sweeter knowing that it's only temporary.
I was also unexpectedly delighted to discover that apparently all of MacLean's books take place in the same world, so to speak. Felicity mentions her friends Sesily Talbot, sister of the heroine in The Rogue Not Taken and a part of her past sounds suspiciously like the plot of Day of the Duchess (which I have not read yet, but now need to). It's making me want to go for broke and read MacLean's entire backlist (while I wait for Whit's book, which is being released next year and promises to be just as darkly seductive as this one). But I also want to see what else is out there.
It's hard, discovering an entirely new genre and wanting to dive in head first. Especially when your to-read list is already as long as mine currently is. I just don't know how I'm going to make time for all of these books. On the bright side, at least the romances go by fast, so I can fit them in easier. What's more, this genre still embraces the mass market paperback, making it easier to afford all of these books that will soon be weighing down my bookshelf.
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