#41 Sovay by Celia Rees
After hearing that her finace has been unfaithful to her, Sovay masquerades as a highwayman to see if he will willingly give up the ring that
symbolizes their love for each other. When she discovers her father is under suspicion for seditious activities, her midnight rides take a more serious turn. When she comes across a wallet which is filled with paperwork about possible traitors to the crown, Sovay gains access to a much bigger problem, involving secret societies and wicked men.
Sovay is the fourth book I've read by Celia Rees (the other three being Witch Child, Sorceress, and Pirates!), and it's the only one that I haven't enjoyed. Admittedly, some of the reasons I did not enjoy this book is not necessarily Rees's fault. First off, I really didn't do my homework well before picking Sovay up. After skimming the summaries online, I thought I was going to read a Robin-Hood like book about a female highwayman. The tagline on the cover “She Fought for Life, She Robbed for Love” seemed to confirm that. Ultimately, Sovay is not a story of a female highwayman, and that aspect is just a small part of the book. Instead it's a story of life in England during the French Revolution, with an emphasis on secret societies, neither which interest me that much. If I had read some of the reviews online, I would have been a little more prepared for this.
At the same time, there are more problems in Sovay than just my bad research. It's not poorly written. One thing that Rees has not abandoned is her ability to transport the reader back in time. She has a knack for providing little details, whether they be of dress, architecture, or the natural world, that really enhance the feeling of authenticity, a must in any work of historical fiction. The dialogue is for the most part, okay, although a few of the lines are eye roll worthy. The main problem (which, I would have known if I had bothered to read any of the reviews online beforehand) is that there's just too much going on. At first, it's a retelling of Alfred Noyes's "The Highwayman." Then it's a story of political intrigue in London. Then it's a Gothic horror story at Thursley. Then, they travel to France, and it's a story of the horrors of French Revolution. There's enough material here for three or four books, which results in the four hundred page tome feeling quite overstuffed. Ultimately, certain parts of the book read better than others. I liked the horror section, but I wasn't really fond of the revolution section at all.
One result of overstuffed plot is that little time is spent developing characters, resulting in them feeling shallow. I had a hard time figuring out why characters did certain things. Like why did Sovay continue her masquerade after finding out her fiance was unfaithful. We're given some explanation about fighting for her family's name, but I don't see how disguising herself as stealing from people that pass her lands is doing much for anyone's name. It's certainly convenient to the plot though. This shallow characterization doesn't help the fact that the beautiful, spirited, self-sacrificing Sovay with her three love interests is a difficult narrator to relate to from the start. It doesn'r help that people are always talking about how amazing she is, which gets old after a while. To be honest, I was much more interested in some of the secondary characters, such as the American spy Virgil, or the charming rogue Captain Greenwood, and would have liked to hear their stories even more.
There are things to enjoy about Sovay. The author does the great job of describing England and France in the late 18th century, and some of the side characters caught my attention. Unfortunately, the book is over-ambitious. The many different genres result in a book that feels simultaneously overstuffed and underdeveloped, and the protagonist, Sovay, was difficult to relate to. This doesn't mean that I will never read another book by Celia Rees again, but I may be a little more discerning when it comes to selecting one.
Rating: two and a half stars
Length: 404 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Challenge: This book is 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge and Read the World
Similar Books: Er.... can't think of anything right now. So sorry
Other books I've read by this author: Witch Child, Sorceress, Pirates!
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads
symbolizes their love for each other. When she discovers her father is under suspicion for seditious activities, her midnight rides take a more serious turn. When she comes across a wallet which is filled with paperwork about possible traitors to the crown, Sovay gains access to a much bigger problem, involving secret societies and wicked men.
Sovay is the fourth book I've read by Celia Rees (the other three being Witch Child, Sorceress, and Pirates!), and it's the only one that I haven't enjoyed. Admittedly, some of the reasons I did not enjoy this book is not necessarily Rees's fault. First off, I really didn't do my homework well before picking Sovay up. After skimming the summaries online, I thought I was going to read a Robin-Hood like book about a female highwayman. The tagline on the cover “She Fought for Life, She Robbed for Love” seemed to confirm that. Ultimately, Sovay is not a story of a female highwayman, and that aspect is just a small part of the book. Instead it's a story of life in England during the French Revolution, with an emphasis on secret societies, neither which interest me that much. If I had read some of the reviews online, I would have been a little more prepared for this.
At the same time, there are more problems in Sovay than just my bad research. It's not poorly written. One thing that Rees has not abandoned is her ability to transport the reader back in time. She has a knack for providing little details, whether they be of dress, architecture, or the natural world, that really enhance the feeling of authenticity, a must in any work of historical fiction. The dialogue is for the most part, okay, although a few of the lines are eye roll worthy. The main problem (which, I would have known if I had bothered to read any of the reviews online beforehand) is that there's just too much going on. At first, it's a retelling of Alfred Noyes's "The Highwayman." Then it's a story of political intrigue in London. Then it's a Gothic horror story at Thursley. Then, they travel to France, and it's a story of the horrors of French Revolution. There's enough material here for three or four books, which results in the four hundred page tome feeling quite overstuffed. Ultimately, certain parts of the book read better than others. I liked the horror section, but I wasn't really fond of the revolution section at all.
One result of overstuffed plot is that little time is spent developing characters, resulting in them feeling shallow. I had a hard time figuring out why characters did certain things. Like why did Sovay continue her masquerade after finding out her fiance was unfaithful. We're given some explanation about fighting for her family's name, but I don't see how disguising herself as stealing from people that pass her lands is doing much for anyone's name. It's certainly convenient to the plot though. This shallow characterization doesn't help the fact that the beautiful, spirited, self-sacrificing Sovay with her three love interests is a difficult narrator to relate to from the start. It doesn'r help that people are always talking about how amazing she is, which gets old after a while. To be honest, I was much more interested in some of the secondary characters, such as the American spy Virgil, or the charming rogue Captain Greenwood, and would have liked to hear their stories even more.
There are things to enjoy about Sovay. The author does the great job of describing England and France in the late 18th century, and some of the side characters caught my attention. Unfortunately, the book is over-ambitious. The many different genres result in a book that feels simultaneously overstuffed and underdeveloped, and the protagonist, Sovay, was difficult to relate to. This doesn't mean that I will never read another book by Celia Rees again, but I may be a little more discerning when it comes to selecting one.
Rating: two and a half stars
Length: 404 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Challenge: This book is 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge and Read the World
Similar Books: Er.... can't think of anything right now. So sorry
Other books I've read by this author: Witch Child, Sorceress, Pirates!
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads