Historical Fiction/Fantasy
The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo
I somehow did not realize that there was a major supernatural element to this book, so, for those of you also confused, there is a major supernatural element to this book.
Okay.
Li Lan is the well-born daughter of a very poor family, and she doesn't much expect to be married. However, a wealthy man, one of her father's old business partners, approaches her to marry his son-- his dead son. Li Lan is understandably not thrilled by this, but as it turns out, she may not have much of a choice. She is haunted literally by the dead son and metaphorically by her desire to marry the dead son's cousin, Tian Bai, and literally again by a bunch of demons and a gentleman named Er Lang who is way more than he seems.
I did enjoy this book, but... I dunno, it felt like the author tried to cram in a few too many subplots. There's the espionage subplot, a sort of courtroom drama going on, Li Lan's search for her (dead) mother, the possession subplot, something I never quite understood that was going on with the dead son's mother, the question of whether the dead son was murdered, and a whole bunch more. Like... I felt like I would have enjoyed the book more if there was maybe one or two subplots instead of twelve.
Still, I enjoyed reading about Li Lan, and the plot, though convoluted, was actually pretty clear for its complexity. Plus, author and characters of color! Recommended, but, you know, watch those subplots.
Fuck Fascists Factor: 5--fascists will froth at the mouth. There's like, one white guy. And he's a ghost and there for about two seconds.
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
Ah! My childhood! This book was a delight then and it's a delight now.
For the, like, five of you who haven't read this, Ella Enchanted is a fractured fairy tale retelling of Cinderella. The title character, Ella of Frell, is cursed at birth with obedience; whatever orders anyone gives her, she must obey. For most of her life, this is avoidable, as her mother and her cook/friend Mandy are the only ones who know about it, and protect her. But then her mother dies, and Ella must contend with her horrible new stepmother and stepsisters, her greedy father, ogres, fairies, giants, and her own curse to find her happy ending
Anyway, I really love this book. It's sweet and cute, with a wonderful, strong-minded, and rebellious heroine at the head, and a truly charming prince charming for her to eventually marry. The other characters are just as well-drawn as Ella, some loathsome entirely and some delightfully wonderful. Though I am presently a little worried by the characters' ages, it's a good story written well with good characters, and I think I will always love it.
Fuck Fascists Factor: 2--fascists have slight problems. How dare a woman not want to immediately obey.
Somewhere in France, Jennifer Robson
I found this in the plain literature section, but I sort of think it would be better off in romances, since that's essentially what it is.
At the outbreak of World War I, Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford wants to help in any way she can, but her overbearing mother won't let her. Her overbearing mother also won't let her correspond with Robert Fraser, a Scottish surgeon who is her brother Edward's best friend. The majority of the book is about Lily and Robert's romance, with a side story that follows Lily's coming of age as she breaks away from her parents and seeks to become her own person.
Anyway, it's a historical romance, and the majority of it is just, you know, fine. I'd have rated it just okay, but the author did one stellar thing, and that was to evoke the time and emotions of World War I in England. The giddy joy at the outbreak of war, the slowly breaking morale as the war goes on and on and on, the determined, gritty patriotism of the people caught up in it, it's all captured, as is the sheer bloody horror and destruction of the war itself. So if you're into war stories, this is actually a good book to read, but if you're here for the romance, meh, there's better.
Fuck Fascists Factor: 2--fascists have slight problems. It's about rich white people, but it's also really anti-war.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/425952.html. Please comment over there if possible.