Review: The Lion's Daughter (Scoundrels 01) by Loretta Chase

May is going to be a very romantic month on this blog - as we promised you in the previous post there is going to be plenty of reviews covering all kinds of romantic fiction. Let me start with a classic: Loretta Chase and the first part of her 'Scoundrels' series, The Lion's Daughter.

Synopsis:

Varian St George, baron Edenmont, is an English peer who knows Davies and Byron. He is also a handsome, penniless whore, shamelessly sponging money off naïve women whenever he can. A jackal and an opportunist – that’s him. While he was traveling through Italy, seducing different rich and bored wives in order to earn his upkeep, the fate made him accompany a young boy, Percival, for a fee of course, to Albania.

There he meets the love of his life – a scrawny girl with green eyes and a mop of red curls, known as ‘a little warrior’ or ‘the Red Lion’s daughter’. Some people also call her ‘a spitfire’. Her name is Esme and her father, Jason Brentmor, has been just assassinated while in service of the Vizier of Janina, Ali Pasha or so they say. Esme needs a white knight rather badly – another suitor, far less civilized than Varian, is waiting impatiently to wed her and she doesn’t fancy him, not even a bit.

Varian, although hardly as noble as a real knight should be, falls in love, seduces the girl and marries her properly which is like a huge leap of faith for him – Esme is poor as well. Still she has a rich, eccentric grandmother who might or might not provide for the young couple. Unfortunately the old lady is hardly willing to throw good money after bad – and who can blame her? Varian is facing a big challenge : he must try to rescue whatever can be rescued from a shambles called his life and persuade everybody, his young wife and his own family included, that this time he means it. You must admit it is a scarier task than slaying a dragon.

What I liked:

The main heroine, Esme, was a great character. She was intrepid, funny, intelligent and far more independent than your average female romantic interest - a fearless rebel with a tender heart but a temper that runs hotter than fire and her flaming red hair. It always bodes well for a book, romance or not, if I like the main lead so don’t be surprised by the rest of my review : yes, I did like this one, I liked it very much. How not to like a book after reading such a scene?

“Esme’s lips were twitching as she gave the letter back to her grandmother.

“It ain't funny,” the old lady growled.

“Not only amusing but imaginative,” Esme said. “They say I have tattoos on my hands, wear a ring in my nose, and in this garb—and nothing else—I dance lewd dances in your rose garden. By the light of the full moon. Mrs. Stockwell-Hume does not mention my howling at the moon as well, but perhaps her London friends will think of that in time.”

Her beloved Varian wasn’t bad either; as his name, St Georges, indicates, he was simply predestined to save virgins from dragons even if he was the dragon itself. :) Still he will feature in the ‘dislikes’ section as well -  I suppose carping about romantic heroes is my second nature. One thing is sure: I really appreciated the lack of misunderstandings between Esme and Varian. Practically from the very beginning they had a degree of trust, or at least a degree of strength of character that allowed them to put themselves in the other person's shoes and not jump to conclusions about nefarious motivations if anything went wrong.

What I didn’t like:

Here you go. 

Varian was too pretty, too honourable and reformed too fast for an inveterate womanizer, a rake and a coxcomb. If only he was given more time...By the way imagine what Jane Austen would say: a baron, possibly married but with two younger, eligible brothers, is never visited by any of his curious neighbours while reparing the crumbling ancestral  mansion. No curious maiden ever set her foot in the proximity, no hen-pecked husband, forced by his wife to make the acquaintance for the sake of his daughters, called with a visit, no intrepid servant appeared near the Mount Eden estate...was it a desert or an English countryside? It seemed as if the poor man worked in a complete void.

Apart from that the political intrigue in the book  was overdone to the point of being incredibly complex and confusing. I enjoyed Albanians customs but the rest hardly made sense. Fortunately it was also very skippable.

Final verdict:

If you want to read something "mindless" after all the "heavy" stuff you've done recently this is a perfect position. Don't think too much about the plot concerning the politics of the region, focus on relationship and you'll be fine. The humorous parts are quite enjoyable and the book is definitely different, good enough to read at least once.

BTW the other parts of the series were reviewed by me as well: here you can find Lord of Scoundrels and here Captives of the Night  - enjoy!

Romance Novel Plot 101

The beautiful month of May will be the romance month on this blog. We decided to introduce you into the topic in the gentlest way possible.

Have you ever wondered how these romantic books are written? Here you have four fool-proof, failure-proof, completely viable and quite ingenious plot outlines for anything romantic, with  pictures. Yes, the outlines are deliberately biased, ironic and very schematic - let us hope they are also fun! 

ROMANCE NOVEL PLOT 101

OR
everything you would like to know about romance but you are afraid to ask.

ENJOY!

Text by Rameau (mostly), pictures by Anachronist via Google search. Mostly. All rights reserved.

1.Historical:

She's a good girl, he's a duke.
He is a good boy she's a whore.
She has money, he needs a wife. Or the other way round.
Oh, no, did he compromise you?
Poor girl, you must marry him. Poor guy here is the bride.



...and lie together as he has his wicked way with you.

Noble cock cures her reluctance,
just in time for the mistress to saunter in.
Poor girl, you love him, don't you?
Run to your family, your aunt, his mother, a distant childhood confidant.

Nothing will hide your humiliation and shame.
Not when he comes running after you,
for he loves you too.
And that noble cock gave you a viscount on the way. YAY!







2. Contemporary:

She's over men, he's never been into them...
well, other than technically. (See part 4.)

No, he is not ready, his problem is commitment.
She has a cat, a puppy, triplets or all five.
She doesn't have the time, to mend an unbroken... thing.

But they need each other. Fling it is.
Hot and passionate but temporary.


Magic cock, distant relative to Noble cock,
it too cures all ills.
Instantly she wants more.

In the present day, her pesky job,
friends or family,
they'll talk her into marriageable mood.

For a modern woman wants to be a wife,
For a modern man,
always wants what he's denied,
be it commitment, love, or a new babe.
Or a new car. Red preferably.


Er.... babe as in baby not an 18 year old nanny on the side.
Unless, that's how the story started!
Who can say 'no' to a young, plump nanny?






3.Paranormal:

Independent woman needs no man.
Alpha male needs no woman. And yet...and yet...

They somehow land in the same bed and he turns the woman into a female, and sprinkles her with insta lust.

Yes. They're a match made,
in a magicians hat.

Sense it makes not,

but let's kill a few rivaling packs...

Er... maim, to maim is better than to kill.

The damage is more pleasing to the eye.

Let's maim a few villains,
for they will find their fated mates
in their own books of the same series,

soon to be bought in your nearest library.

P.S. Do not forget, that supernatural cock works its magic too!

 4. M/M

A boy meets boy.
He's gay, he's not gay.

He's in the closet, he's gay for you.
They kiss, they clasp hands... and more.
They talk, they have sex.
They walk, they have sex.
They're happy, because double cock wins them all! Have I mentioned sex already? Yeah...

And they lived happily ever after :)

Review: A Short History of Nuclear Folly by Rudolph Herzog

Synopsis:
In the spirit of Dr. Strangelove and The Atomic Café, a blackly sardonic people’s history of atomic blunders and near-misses revealing the hushed-up and forgotten episodes in which the great powers gambled with catastrophe. Rudolph Herzog, the acclaimed author of Dead Funny, presents a devastating account of history’s most irresponsible uses of nuclear technology. From the rarely discussed nightmare of “Broken Arrows” (40 nuclear weapons lost during the Cold War) to “Operation Plowshare” (a proposal to use nuclear bombs for large engineering projects, such as a the construction of a second Panama Canal using 300 H-Bombs) . . . Herzog focuses in on long-forgotten nuclear projects that nearly led to disaster.

Translated by Jefferson Chase.

"The problem, both in the West and behind the Iron Curtain, was a lack of imagination. No one was able to picture the worst-case scenario."

That was fun. Slightly preachy, but it comes with the territory of stating the obvious about dire things that threaten life on earth. Also, the author—or translator—likes to use the word ironically quite a lot which makes things a lot less ironic. This could have been an intentional choice considering the subject matter.

Herzog starts with a short personal history and an explanation. This book isn’t about the most well known nuclear events in our history—Hiroshima and Nagasaki are mentioned in passing only—but about the lesser known chain(s) of events that led humanity to where we are now.

He talks about German scientists who were high currency in the nuclear game between superpowers before and after World War II. He talks about centrifuges, disasters and cleanups, the myth of tactical nuclear weapons, one man’s obsession, and nuclear tests in Australia as well as in Alaska. He talks about inhumane tests done in the name of medical science. The evolution of nuclear power and lost nuclear warheads are mentioned as well.

But what I found most fascinating weren’t the obvious problems with nuclear power—there’s waste, lots of it, and its half-life is 80 million years—or the ethical questions that come with it, nor was I particularly enthusiastic to read about the doomsday machines. No, it was the pacemakers.

Nuclear powered pacemakers. No need for battery changes!

Tiny problem is what happens after you’re dead. How do the authorities keep track of those plutonium batteries and do they end up in cemeteries or perhaps burning the back of an unfortunate orderly carrying a bin bag to trash. Oh, wait, that was the other interesting story. What happens when a company, a hospital acts responsibly but the government authorities do not? Four people die and hundreds suffer from radiation poisoning. And the death toll is relatively low thanks to an enterprising physicist.

I am somewhat familiar with the subject but people who hated sciences in school shouldn’t be afraid to read this book. There are a very few technical details and those that remain in the book are only there to further illustrate the historical context of each nuclear folly.

Because this book is more about the history and human stupidity when it comes to taking responsibility for scientific breakthroughs and how they're applied. This book is about the dangers of letting military prioritise between human lives, nature, and fleeting glory in battle. Or worse than that, not even a victory in an actual battle, just a show of strength.

To learn from your mistakes or the mistakes of others, you must first study history.

How to pass the Bechdel test and why it is IMPORTANT at all

The Bechdel test or Bechdel/Wallace test was developed by Liz Wallace and became widely known after Alison Bechdel featured it in her comic Dykes to Watch Out For.

The Bechdel test is a test of female characterisation in movies. Passing the Bechdel test requires that the movie (or media):

• has at least two women characters;
• who talk to each other at some point;
• about something other than a man or men

Of course passing or failing the test is not an ironclad guarantee of well-rounded, feminist, characterisation or a great, interesting movie; however it is indicative of the problems of token women characters that are plaguing the film industry. A vast amount of geeky media fails the test although you have to admit the criteria cannot be called exorbitant. Just a minute or two of small talk between two chicks, no guys mentioned - is it such a big deal? Is it?

Now, I am really not a proponent of limiting yourself to shows/movies that pass the test; if you did so you'd be cutting out a lot of otherwise-worthy entertainment. Indeed I admit a fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for including no women (e.g. The Name of the Rose, a not exactly great movie but based on a brilliant book by Umberto Eco which was set in a medieval monastery), or with no conversations at all, or having only one or two characters.

A movie can easily pass the Bechdel Test and still be incredibly misogynistic. Conversely, it's also possible for a story to fail the test and still be strongly feminist in other ways, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. What's a problem is that it becomes a pattern — when so many movies fail the test, while very few show male characters whose lives seem to revolve around women, that says uncomfortable things about the way Hollywood handles gender. There are also lesser-known variations of the rule, such as the Race Bechdel Test, in which two characters of colour talk about anything other than the white leads and the Reverse Bechdel Test, with the roles of men and women swapped.

Now you might be surprised if you consult the list of famous films that failed the original test miserably.

1. Run Lola Run
2-4. The Entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5-7. The Original Star Wars Trilogy

8. Avatar
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

10. The Social Network
11. Matrix

12. Inception
13. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
14.Shrek
15. Princess Bride
16. Sex and the City
17. The Avengers
18. The Hunt for Red October

Quite a list, isn't it? If you want to know more or if you want to check whether your fav movie would pass the test without actually rewatching it, please visit http://bechdeltest.com/ where movies are listed and assessed properly. You can comment there as well. :)

Some people MIGHT get twitchy at the idea that more female protagonists would be a positive step in cinema. Shouldn't cinema be just about art and good films telling interesting stories? No, it shouldn't -  here’s a few reasons why I think the Bechdel test is important, and what it can tell you:

1. You don’t notice it until you have it pointed out…

…and then you can’t stop. It’s amazing how the relative absence of women in film is so normal, so acceptable and so widely spread it can barely be noticed.

Think about it this way – how weird would a reverse Bechdel world be? Most movies only have one male character and if he gets any dialogue at all with a rare second male character, it will inevitably be about women. Challenge of the day: have you ever seen that film? Think, and think hard, and if you come up with a title please comment. If you can name one, what kind of film is it? Is it making a point, or aimed at a particular demographic – or is the lack of testosterone entirely by accident, because no one is paying attention.

2. “Women aren’t interesting enough to deserve more time in a movie...”

…is a very short-sighted fallacy. While cinema can’t – shouldn’t – rebuild the world as an equal-opportunities utopia, a great many test-failing stories seem to arise through laziness and ignorance. This can’t be simply pigeonholed as a “feminist issue”. If you’re only telling stories about men, you’re ignoring 50% of the ideas, thoughts, and experiences in the world. That’s a whole lot of movies not being made. Not a big deal, really?

3. It demonstrates the lack of good, strong female protagonists so the lack of good, strong female models

And, connected to that...

4. Film shapes popular culture and popular perception of male and female gender far more efficiently than school, any piece of legislation or government policy.

If you think the way women are treated nowadays matters and should be improved/changed you simply cannot neglect such a powerful tool as pop culture entertainment. As much as film is a product of a culture where women are dull accessories with nothing to say or do, it reproduces this culture. If you learn most of your information about a world outside your so-called comfortable, contemporary  existence through cinema how are you to know how realistic say City of God or Das Boot is? But when you happen to discuss street kids or submarine operators, those vivid images come to your mind. If you want to change the way men perceive and treat women start with the entertainment. 

5. It says a lot about the industry and the world we live in.

Why is it so difficult for a movie to pass such a simple test? Is it because most scriptwriters, directors and producers are male? And therefore inclined to write from their personal experience?  Even assuming they’ve managed to name two women, perhaps their understanding of what women are interested in is limited? I am inclined to think this must be the case. Maybe women are traditionally a rarer cinema-going demographic precisely because of a lack of realistic women on screen? Why would Hollywood willingly shut off a source of income otherwise?

If you are a writer or a scriptwriter: do you have two well-developed female characters in your books/scripts ? Are they important enough to the plot that they need to meet and talk? Do they have enough to say beyond just discussing the men in their lives? It’s cheating to stick in a token scene just to pass – their contribution must be as real and measurable as the men in your scenario. Is it worth the effort though? I think 'yes' every time I hear or watch news about home violence, worse treatment of women at work, physical, sexual and psychological abuse of women and related issues. If something can be done, let's do it damnit.

Sources:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest?from=Main.TheBechdelTest

http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Bechdel_test

http://jezebel.com/5813664/is-simply-passing-the-bechdel-test-enough

http://squarise.com/2011/09/bechdel-test-is-matters/

http://www.mediaite.com/online/the-bechdel-test-for-movies-and-media/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
http://oudaily.com/news/2012/jun/28/bechdel-rule-col/

Review: Rome 03: The Eagle of the Twelfth by M.C. Scott

Book info:

Form: hardback

Genre: historical fiction (ancient Roman Empire)

Target audience: adults

Synopsis:

Demalion of Macedon accompanies Sebastos Panthera, a Roman spy, to Parthia but their mission is soon concluded. Then he is made to join the Twelfth Legion, notorious for its ill fortune, always facing the harshest of postings, the toughest of campaigns, the most vicious of opponents. Additionally, the Legion is also given a very bad, inexperienced commander - a politician not a soldier.

However, amid all of the violence and savagery of his life as a legionary, Demalion realizes he has discovered a vocation - as a soldier and a leader of men. He is made a centurion and has come to love the Twelfth and all the bloody-minded, dark-hearted soldiers he calls his brothers. One of them, a young, beautiful Greek called Heraclides with a nickname of Tears, becomes even somebody closer than that.

When Demalion thinks he has found a place in the world, all that he cares about is ripped from him. First his Legion is defeated by the Parthians due to the supreme ignorance and ineptitude of his commander - they have to retreat in shame, just happy to be alive. Then they are ordered to quench the brutal Judaean uprising and  the Hebrew army inflicts humiliating defeat upon the legion - not only decimating their ranks, but taking away their soul, the eagle, the symbol of their pride and identity.

There is one final chance to save the legion's honour - to steal back the eagle. To do that, Demalion and his fellow legionary scout called Horgias must go undercover into Jerusalem, into the very heart of their enemy - where discovery will mean the worst of deaths. Will they survive a mission which resembles very closely a suicide?

What I liked:

I haven't read a good historical fiction set in the times of Roman Empire for a long time so when awesome Mel from Mel's Random Reviews sent me this one I was overjoyed. It is  the thrid and final installment of a series but you can read it as a standalone without any problems. I found it original and interesting mainly because it depicts Roman wars with Parthia, a relatively less known campaing which took place in the first century A.D. during the reign of Nero. Well, I suppose most of people have heard of Nero, his poems and antics which led to the burning of Rome and persecution of first Christians, but few heard about his wars.

Parthia roughly corresponds to the western half of Khorasan region in northeastern Iran. It bordered Media on the west, Hyrcania on the north west, Margiana on the north east, and Aria on the south east. I really enjoyed the fact that it was a completely new setting, as far from Rome and Nero's corrupt court as it could only be.

A centurion of Roman army

Most of the action is described directly from Demalions’s perspective and there is a real sense that he is right in the midst of these frenetic, bloody encounters. I was really surprised when I found out that the author is actually a woman - Scott perfectly captures the chaos of each engagement as well as the emotions that a soldier must have experienced. Demalion's attitudes toward constant training and bloodshed evolve and he becomes far more comfortable on the battlefield. The initial fear of being in a life threatening situation never disappears but he also learns the raw elation of surviving. After a while he feels most alive when surrounded by chaos of the battle and death.The relationships between soldiers are tight and any losses are horrible.

I also liked very much the character of Sebastos Abdes Pantera, also called the Leopard. He was a spy extraordinaire who never revealed more than he should about himself and his missions, often surprising poor Demalion and not always in a good way but also arousing grudging respect. I really regretted we weren't shown the whole world from his POV at least once. In fact I would be perfectly happy if Pantera was given a series on his own. For him I might read the first two parts which, as far as I know, tell his previous adventures as a spy and pupil of Seneca.

What I didn't like:

The whole novel is set among the Roman soldiers; I certainly understand that there weren't many places for women in such a company but really in this book there is only ONE female character, Hypatia, introduced very late, in the second part of the book, and never properly presented, acting as a prop. I am really disappointed. 

Apart from that I wish I could find out more about the final fate of Pantera.

Final verdict:

If you like really good historical fiction books I recommend you this one. It captures not just the epic scale of Rome’s legions, but its core, its heart, its very essence;  it strives to show what made the men behind the armour tick. It is also a page-turning military history but notably without women.

Rameau's Review Archive: Unclaimed (Turner #2) Courtney Milan

Rameau's ramblings: This will be listed under second opinions, but technically this is the first opinion and the review that got Anachronist reading historical romance. Go me!

Originally posted on Goodreads September 20th 2011.

Synopsis: 
Her only hope for survival...

Handsome, wealthy and respected, Sir Mark Turner is the most sought-after bachelor in all of London and he's known far and wide for his irreproachable character. But behind his virtuous reputation lies a passionate nature he keeps carefully in check...until he meets the beautiful Jessica Farleigh, the woman he's waited for all his life.

Is to ruin the man she loves...

But Jessica is a courtesan, not the genteel lady Sir Mark believes. Desperate to be free of a life she despises, she seizes her chance when Mark's enemies make her an offer she can't refuse--seduce Mark and tarnish his good name, and a princely sum will be hers. Yet as she comes to know the man she's sworn to destroy, Jessica will be forced to choose between the future she needs and the love she knows is impossible.

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Why should you read this?

Because it's a historical romance of two people coming together and surpassing social and personal obstacles. You need more convincing do you?

Let's see. There's a virgin, there's a seduction, and there's a defamation that'll separate the two lovers. Not sold yet?

Well, he's the one with an untarnished reputation and virtue to protect, and she's the experienced lover who'll teach him to know better.

That did it, oh, good. Just in case...

Sir Mark has written a book about chastity and to his disbelief it's taken a life of its own. He's become the darling of the public and an unwilling role model for men in search of new challenges. He's also become the target of envy and resentment. Someone wants to see Sir Mark's good name in the gutter and they're willing to pay for it.

Enters Jessica, the experienced courtesan who longs for freedom. She doesn't want to sell her body to survive anymore. All she needs is enough money to break free and make a quiet life of her own far away from the city. She grabs the opportunity with both hands and prepares for one last tryst.

Sir Mark is immediately attracted to the mysterious widow Jessica pretends to be, but he's not ready to succumb to her charms quite so easily. After all he's battled his yearnings for nearly thirty years and there have been other temptations. Nothing quite like this though.

What follows is a delicious tale of two people circling and trying to outsmart each other. It's a seduction in the best sense of the word. It's a seduction of the mind as well as the body and the erotica is far from gratuitous. It's actually earned.

It isn't until near the end when the reader has all but abandoned hope for Sir Mark and Jessica that they do come together and admit the extent of their feelings for each other. After all, there's more than love involved; there's respect and dignity to consider.

Milan's writing is solid as she slowly guides the couple together. She takes her time introducing the characters and explaining just what makes them so unique especially considering the setting. Milan doesn't skirt around sex scenes, because she's afraid to write them, she simply ensures they fit in with the plot - questionable word choices and all.

Yes, an actual plot in a romance novel, can you imagine? So, what are you waiting for? Go, read, and enjoy the slow burn.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Review: Sins and Needles (The Artists Trilogy 01) by Karina Halle

Synopsis

Some children get Lego blocks and Barbie dolls to play with, some get locks and skeleton keys. And scars. Ellie Watt has never known another life – just that of con scams and stealing. Her parents, a set of almost model white trash grifters, taught her how to break and enter and cheat before she was taught to read and write and then they left her to fend for herself. Small wonder she cannot trust anybody, always ready to pull a fast one. Small wonder she lives and breathes illegal tending to dangerous. Small wonder she never stays long in one place. Small wonder she takes drugs to calm her nerves. Will it ever end?

After another not quite successful scam, involving an aggressive Ukrainian looking for a virgin bride on the Internet, Ellie flees to her home town, Palm Valley. She is broke, desperate, tired and she hopes for a fresh start; she finds poverty, an uncle with financial troubles, unwilling to take her in, and an old high school friend she once betrayed – Camden McQueen. Camden, previously a goth freak now a surprisingly hunky man with a sternum ring and great musculature, is a local tattoo artist and a musician – successful and apparently rather well-heeled. Ellie finds out that he is also still quite taken with her and she can recognize a meal ticket opportunity when it presents itself. They catch up on the latest news, date, and have sex; then Ellie decides to rob him – if somebody is keeping a safe full of money at home and showing it to people with such a reputation as hers he is begging for it, right?

The robbery proves to be one of her bigger mistakes. Camden has always understood Ellie better than anybody and seen through her clearly. Now, as he catches her red-handed, the burgling attempt properly recorded, he holds her life and future in his hands. What will he make her do?

What I liked:

I admit it – I have a thing for flawed heroines and Ellie is the right mixture of bad-ass cool and disarming vulnerability - a great character with a distinct voice and a good story to tell. Despite her many, many flaws and problems you want to give her your support and a second chance after a while because let’s face it, she is not a completely heartless b***h, not really. The fact that the narration jumps in time forward and backward, showing the glimpses of Ellie’s childhood, elicits further  sympathy for the main lead and once you feel for her, everything jumps into place and is swinging.

The pace of narration was vigorous and dynamic enough to keep me interested, the narrative voice of Ellie – quite believable. Overall it was a very pleasant, light read but for the ending…

What I didn't like:

Let me start with a quote:

„Fuck, Ellie. I’ve never hated being so right in all my life. You’re a con artist. A liar. A thief. An unredeemable soul. You can’t be reformed. You can’t be saved. You’ll die trying to make the world pay for what it did to you. And you’ll die alone.” 

Those are the words of an angry, bitter Camden, tricked by lovely Ellie one time too often. Completely understandable from his POV. Still, before the book ends he forgives her completely. He says:

"I hate you, Ellie Watt," he whispered, lips coming closer to mine, "because I still love you after all these years.”

I found that change of heart a bit too swift but the series has just begun so I might change my mind as well. Or not. It is always a problem with dysfunctional relationship - you must be very careful not to cross certain lines. For example your flawed characters cannot be redeemed too quickly or they lose the 'reality' gloss. Which is very bad for any fictional character which wants to stay believable and interesting.

Connected to that train of thought (and being rather vague in order not to spoil anything): once upon a time Ellie's parents made a crucial mistake and she had to pay for it very dearly. Then Ellie makes the same crucial mistake and...she will have to pay for it very dearly. Is she really supposed to be an intelligent con artist, as presented at the beginning? Yes, I know, the series is in progress and all that jazz...I'll have to wait and see.

...and then I died at 28, ha ha.

Finally you should be warned that the book ends with one big cliffhanger. If you don’t like such tricks then wait a bit – the second part is bound to be released this year and you’ll be able to sate your curiosity.

Final verdict:

A nice beginning of a new series which might or might not continue in an interesting way. I just hope the second part won’t end with a cliffhanger and will explain some stupid decisions taken by Ellie in her past.