Miranda in Milan, by Katharine Duckett
Apr. 19th, 2019 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fffridayAfter the events of The Tempest, Miranda finds herself trapped within Prospero's holdings in Milan, instead of leaving for Naples with Ferdinand. She's viewed with suspicion by the Milanese locals, who distrust the domineering Prospero and refuse to tell Miranda anything about her mysterious mother. While trying to break free and unravel the secrets of her past, Miranda befriends and falls for a young witch named Dorothea.
Sounds like an awesome concept, right? My verdict? It was okay.
Mostly, I found the writing and plotting very...utilitarian. Duckett handled the main plot reasonably well and at a good pace, but the base concept left me wanting specific things from this book, and I was left unfulfilled.
For instance: I was hoping for lush setting details. That's part of the fun in a fantasy historical. Instead, Miranda can't go anywhere, the people are taciturn, and the setting remains gothically-generic. Even a masked ball didn't alleviate this, as Miranda immediately got pulled away from it.
Similarly, Dorothea's family is originally from Marrakech, and she feels like life in Italy is stripping her of her identity. I kept hoping we'd get some details of this identity. The taste of a sweet she misses, the kind of clothing she used to wear or poetry she used to read, but aside from her real name, we don't get any of that.
At one point, Miranda and Dorothea go into the dreams of a Milanese housekeeper, to learn what had happened to Miranda's mother. I got all excited, anticipating a cool journey to the center of the mind, with dreamlike visuals. Instead, we got a linear narrative from the housekeeper's point of view.
Toward the end of the book, Ferdinand actually makes an appearance, whereupon Miranda realizes that while he's a good guy, she's in love with Dorothea, not him. So she runs away, and wastes a great emotional beat. "You're a genuinely good person, but I don't love you and you barely know me," is juicy, or would have been juicy if it was actually dealt with in person with Ferdinand.
Throughout the book, people worry that Prospero's putting Miranda to sleep when she overhears inconvenient conversations will harm her mind, and possibly even kill her. It's hinted that this spell contributed to the death of Miranda's mother. Spoilers: Miranda remains unaffected by the end of the book. It's an excuse for Prospero to be an antagonist, and Duckett doesn't bother with consequences.
At the very end, the protagonists set sail back to the island, resolving to approach Caliban as a person and try to mend bridges with him. Again, a juicy concept: the story ends before they get there.
You all starting to see what I mean? Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, but the concept does invite wanting more.
On the positive end of things, Miranda is a good, fully-realized character. I wanted her to learn more and gain autonomy, and she did.
Dorothea, as a character, is... okay. She's not precisely a cypher, but I can tell when Duckett uses her as a mouthpiece at least once, and it shoots immersion all to hell. The romance is... okay. Moves too fast. I believe in them as friends, less as lovers.
Which leads me to another point. I really, really don't want to be that person, but Dorothea's fast seduction of Miranda left me a little squicked, seeing as how Miranda literally didn't know what sex was beforehand. Don't get me wrong, everything's consensual, and Miranda's super happy about it afterward, but I still wrinkled my nose a little. This could have been fixed so easily: Dorothea gossips about sex and women sleeping together; Miranda is intrigued instead of disturbed. There. Problem solved, while also giving them more bonding and banter time.
...Huh. Typing this out made me realize I was more frustrated with this book than I thought. There are some cool twists, though, and the cover is lovely! I realize that a lot of the problems I had boil down to it being a novella, but I think it's possible to pick a very few details and make a story come to life, while keeping it short. I also think this story wanted to be a longer novella, if not a novel.
Sounds like an awesome concept, right? My verdict? It was okay.
Mostly, I found the writing and plotting very...utilitarian. Duckett handled the main plot reasonably well and at a good pace, but the base concept left me wanting specific things from this book, and I was left unfulfilled.
For instance: I was hoping for lush setting details. That's part of the fun in a fantasy historical. Instead, Miranda can't go anywhere, the people are taciturn, and the setting remains gothically-generic. Even a masked ball didn't alleviate this, as Miranda immediately got pulled away from it.
Similarly, Dorothea's family is originally from Marrakech, and she feels like life in Italy is stripping her of her identity. I kept hoping we'd get some details of this identity. The taste of a sweet she misses, the kind of clothing she used to wear or poetry she used to read, but aside from her real name, we don't get any of that.
At one point, Miranda and Dorothea go into the dreams of a Milanese housekeeper, to learn what had happened to Miranda's mother. I got all excited, anticipating a cool journey to the center of the mind, with dreamlike visuals. Instead, we got a linear narrative from the housekeeper's point of view.
Toward the end of the book, Ferdinand actually makes an appearance, whereupon Miranda realizes that while he's a good guy, she's in love with Dorothea, not him. So she runs away, and wastes a great emotional beat. "You're a genuinely good person, but I don't love you and you barely know me," is juicy, or would have been juicy if it was actually dealt with in person with Ferdinand.
Throughout the book, people worry that Prospero's putting Miranda to sleep when she overhears inconvenient conversations will harm her mind, and possibly even kill her. It's hinted that this spell contributed to the death of Miranda's mother. Spoilers: Miranda remains unaffected by the end of the book. It's an excuse for Prospero to be an antagonist, and Duckett doesn't bother with consequences.
At the very end, the protagonists set sail back to the island, resolving to approach Caliban as a person and try to mend bridges with him. Again, a juicy concept: the story ends before they get there.
You all starting to see what I mean? Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, but the concept does invite wanting more.
On the positive end of things, Miranda is a good, fully-realized character. I wanted her to learn more and gain autonomy, and she did.
Dorothea, as a character, is... okay. She's not precisely a cypher, but I can tell when Duckett uses her as a mouthpiece at least once, and it shoots immersion all to hell. The romance is... okay. Moves too fast. I believe in them as friends, less as lovers.
Which leads me to another point. I really, really don't want to be that person, but Dorothea's fast seduction of Miranda left me a little squicked, seeing as how Miranda literally didn't know what sex was beforehand. Don't get me wrong, everything's consensual, and Miranda's super happy about it afterward, but I still wrinkled my nose a little. This could have been fixed so easily: Dorothea gossips about sex and women sleeping together; Miranda is intrigued instead of disturbed. There. Problem solved, while also giving them more bonding and banter time.
...Huh. Typing this out made me realize I was more frustrated with this book than I thought. There are some cool twists, though, and the cover is lovely! I realize that a lot of the problems I had boil down to it being a novella, but I think it's possible to pick a very few details and make a story come to life, while keeping it short. I also think this story wanted to be a longer novella, if not a novel.
