FF Friday

For the second week in succession I find myself surprised by the way that a book published in the early years of the twenty-first century feels rather dated. In the case of Alma Mater, this was at least partly because the book was in fact set in the early eighties. But it was also because the narrative's attitude to cheating is one that you really don't see much these days, and I spent much of it wondering if I was becoming one of Those Prudish Tumblr Kids, because usually it doesn't bother me as much as this.

Vic is a senior student at a university in the Southern USA. She's dating Charly, the star football player. As the book opens, Chris transfers in from Vermont. This sets up a love triangle which goes on for... the rest of the book.

Actually, I think I'd have been less irritated by the cheating if the characters had been written more strongly. Charly was something of a cardboard cutout, and Chris didn't seem to have much of a personality at all. Vic made Hamlet look decisive, and spent most of the book stringing both Chris and Charly along until compelled by developments to make a decision. Between Chris's reluctance to confront Vic and Charly's obliviousness, Chekhov's gun stayed put on the mantelpiece and went off with a damp *phut* in the last chapter.

Also, a large proportion of the action took place at Vic's home, which allowed for a few lovely bits of description on the one hand, and some deeply unfunny supporting characters on the other.

I gulped the Harwood Spellbook series down last week. This is a light fantasy set in an alternate universe nineteenth century Britain, one in which Boudicca successfully repelled the Roman invaders. Getting on for two millennia later, society is modelled after her marriage: women are the leaders, and men, magicians, play a supporting role. There's also an uneasy relationship with Elfland. I found the whole series delightful, just the thing for a chilly January.

I'm only talking about Moontangled here, but I'd recommend reading the other books in the series alongside it. The f/f relationship which is central to this book also appears in all but one of the others.

( Very mildly spoilery ) As with other books in the series, I'd have liked to see more of the world: this was a glimpse of a magical version of What Katy Did At School, and I'd happily have read an entire novel's worth.



I've been watching a lot of winter sports lately (biathlon and Alpine skiing, mostly) and went off to buy Edge of Glory (Rachel Spangler) very soon after learning about its existence and its premise. Which is: Alpine skier returning from a serious injury is convinced to lighten up by a snowboarder approaching the end of her career. Both have their eyes on the upcoming Winter Olympics...

I appreciated the focus that both Elise (skier) and Corey (snowboarder) had on their respective sports. Both take them extremely seriously, and both were convincing as (existing or potential) champions. At the same time, the focus on athletic excellence provided a natural source of tension around their developing relationship without any need for manufactured conflict.

One thing that didn't ring quite true for me was Elise's lack of interest in her rivals, given her determination to make the Olympic team. The portrait of a withdrawn, defensive, athlete was convincing, but it seemed implausible that she wouldn't at least have been keeping an eye on the competition, if only to know what sort of time she had to beat.

My other nitpick was the final misunderstanding and resolution. While this was set up very plausibly, and the dialogue was OK, I didn't quite buy it on an emotional level.

But overall I very much enjoyed this book. Elise and Corey are both engaging characters in their very different ways, and the supporting cast is great too. I really enjoyed the camaraderie around the snowboard team, and the way that Corey took a younger snowboarder under her wing rather than resenting a rising star was a very pleasant surprise, setting the tone for the rest of the book.

Well, having been put off this one by the rather arch title, and attracted to it by positive reviews from various places, I eventually picked it up when I visited Gay's The Word in August.

This is a romance between a young astronomer and a countess ten years her senior. Lucy Muchelney has been trained by her father, who at the opening of the book is recently deceased. Catherine St. Day is widowed, a patron of science both depended upon and condescended to by the scientific society to which her husband belonged. Lucy presents herself as a candidate to translate an influential work by a French astronomer, and matters go on from there.

The romance is gentle and tender. Both partners have been hurt before but both are prepared to move past that. There's room for assumptions and misunderstandings, and room to correct them. The sex is frank, uncomplicated, and enjoyed (no mention of 'sin' or 'sinful', a particular pet peeve of mine when it comes to romance).

There is, as might be expected, a very strong feminist message, which worked by positioning Lucy as one of many women scientists facing systemic prejudice and exclusion, not 'the first one ever'. I assume that all the names mentioned were fictional; I did enjoy a shout-out to 'a young woman down the coast' who found a 'lizard skeleton'.

If I'm being picky, there were a few places where the period detail was off (for example, the scene where Lucy visits one of the gentlemen of the Society unchaperoned), and rather too much use of 'the countess', 'the astronomer', 'the younger woman', etc - but overall this is an enjoyable, readable romance.

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy - Alyssa Cole

This is a novella in Cole's Reluctant Royals series, centred on Likotsi, assistant to the crown prince of Thesolo. The action, however, takes place in New York, where Likotsi has run into the woman with whom she had a brief relationship some months previously. We follow both the previous relationship and the current one. After flipping between the two timelines for a few chapters, it settles into the later one, moving from 'what happened' to 'what happens next'.

This was a gentle story about rebuilding broken trust, with some lovely details of food, New York, and, most particularly, clothes.


The other two both feature Episcopalian priests as one half of the central couple.

This Is My Body - Elena Graf

The priest in this one is also a former opera singer, so overall this might have been designed specifically to appeal to me. The other main character is a professor of philosophy. There were traumatic backstories on both sides ( spoilers ) which sometimes seemed a little heavy for the narrative to bear.

While I thought this had some pacing issues (it seemed ready to wrap up at the half way point, when an unsignalled twist was unceremoniously dropped in), and I wasn't entirely comfortable with the resolution, this was an enjoyable romance. Nice to see slightly older characters in the limelight, too.


Bobbi and Soul - J. B. Marsden

I was interested to read that the author is a former priest herself - so I assume that the church details are accurate! The other main character is a doctor. I enjoyed the rural Colorado setting. This was, I think, less ambitious than This Is My Body, but possibly more successful as a result. Only one traumatic backstory here (( spoiler ) in this case).


Both of these were the second book in a series, but worked perfectly well as standalones.

Meant To Be Me, Wendy Hudson

This is Hudson's third novel, and in my opinion her most successful so far. While it's in the same (romantic suspense) genre as her first two, Meant To Be Me introduces a stalker, which results in an effective claustrophobic feel, far more than either Four Steps or Mine to Keep. It relies a little too much on coincidence, but I found it an engrossing read, and didn't put it down until I got to the end.


Marriage of Unconvenience, Chelsea M. Cameron

I have an enduring fondness for the marriage of convenience trope, and this was a classic example of the genre. Loren and her best friend Cara agree to marry in order to claim an inheritance from her grandmother, but of course it isn't as simple as that...

That's really all there is to it. I found the characterisation, particularly that of supporting characters, rather thin, and there was never any real doubt as to how things were going to end up, but this was a pleasant way to pass an hour or so.


Fire on the Ice, Tamsen Parker

An erotic romance, part of a series set at the 'Snow and Ice Games', a thinly disguised Winter Olympics. The main characters are a speed skater (Blaze) and a figure skater (Maisy) who rekindle a romance from the previous Games.

The pacing in this was a bit off, and I did find myself wondering whether there'd ever be any ice skating in among all this sex. (There was, eventually, but I would have enjoyed more!) Actually, I'd have liked more plot generally: Maisy's parents, who were the main antagonists, remained shadowy off-screen figures, and the narrative raised interesting questions of media influence which it then didn't answer.