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What are You Reading Wednesday...
Apr. 2nd, 2015 08:59 pmWhat Are You Reading...er.. Thursday? (okay so I didn't make Wednesday)
What Have I read?
I read the sneak peek "Winds of Winter" chapter that GRRM posted yesterday or today (I forget which). It's a Sansa chapter that was linked on Twitter. Then I read a bit of fandom's reaction which... I always find the ASOIF and GOT fandom a bit of a culture shock. Most of the fandoms I participate in are heavily female and that seems to have an influence with how fandom approaches things... which is a polite way of saying that I'm sometimes gobsmacked by the sexism.
Anyway thoughts/reaction to the Sansa chapter that, while very, very, very mildly spoilery for the books is quite likely wholly unrelated in any way to the show ( behind the cut )
And why in the hell is this considered "exciting"? As far as I can tell this entire subplot is so unimportant that it's been wholly eliminated from the show. Frankly, I thought the entire scene was pointless filler. And if I want to read a romance-novel scene, I actually prefer it in a romance. You have a decent shot in a romance of it being less sexist.
Speaking of romances ('cause y'all know I have the plebian taste for romance novels), several months (a year?) ago I mentioned wanting to read a mainstream romance with a gay secondary romance just because it appearing in a 'mainstream' book would mean... I don't know, progress? They are their own sub-genre of course, but being combined into mainstream would mean it's more than just it's own sub-genre. Well, I did run across one in a Courtney Milan book several months ago (though it was under developed) but I also ran across one in the novel ("Spinster's Gambit") that I read the other night (it ends with a blurb for another novel that is the book for the secondary M/M relationship that's involved in this one's plot, but I don't see that one listed on Amazon yet.) I don't know that this romance was any more developed than the one in Milan's book, but it was there.
The book set-up was that the heroine feels hemmed in by women's roles in the late 18th/early 19th century, and her older brother dares her/encourages her to dress up and discover life as a man for a few days. He even takes her to his club and arranges for her to learn to fence, where she meets the hero (the hero is a sweet guy who doesn't get out much and who doesn't interact with women much because he was caught in France during the Revolution where he was caught, beaten, and set on fire by a mob. Though he survived, he's disfigured, and it's the reason why he rarely interacts with women. The heroine (as a man) becomes his friend (though the hero thinks...well... she's a very effeminate man) and without the hero's self-consciousness about his looks, they interact more naturally, and she falls in love.
The M/M romance comes in that a political rival of her brother's uses his rather effeminate companion (who is the heroine/his sister) as evidence that the brother is a homosexual, and actually works to bring this to trial (because homosexuality was illegal). The heroine is exposed to the hero (who feels humiliated for having been deceived) and she feels terribly guilty for the mess that her brother is in because of her cross-dressing. Her brother then confessing to her that while the evidence is about her, the accusation isn't wrong... he actually is gay, and has been hiding the love of his life from her for over a decade. She's gobsmacked (and apparently there was some falling out between him and his love over... I'm not sure what (I figure that'll be clarified in the advertised story about him). Anyway, brother goes on trial for "buggery" and the heroine appeals 1) to her brother's very rich estranged male lover, who uses his wealth to help the situation and reunites with her brother in the process. 2) Appeals to the hero, who is her brother's friend and who is also politically powerful due to his title, thus forcing the hero to interact with her and her brother after he felt so humiliated for having been deceived by his two best friends (it was the heroine's brother who had rescued the hero when he was beaten and burned by the Revolutionary mob).
The love story of the brother and his lover isn't developed more than the one in the Milan book (though, the author provides an excerpt from the brother + his lover's book) but it is integral to the plot. It does appear in a mainstream romance, though. And the brother and his estranged true love re-unite and get (as happy as possible for the time period) ending. The M/M lovers reunite and are both accepted by their families (those being the lover's young daughter -- who the heroine's brother helped to raise and thinks of as his own daughter too -- the heroine, and the hero.)
The writing of the book isn't particularly strong (overly repeated phrases, some poor word choices) so I'm not really singing a rec for it. However, it falls into my reading kinks for the right level of "sweet" + emotional, which is usually enough to carry me along for a so-so book. And it's enough that I'll probably read the brother's romance when it comes out as I liked both the brother and his lover.
As far as this one goes, I'm a total sucker for an endearing, socially conscious virginal hero (as the scarred hero is in this one. He's was very badly burned while still quite young, which made him self conscious with women. Though he had tried to 'rectify' the virginity situation once by going to a brothel. However, the madam thought he had the pox and told him that "a couple of her girls would take the risk for the right price"... which freaked him the hell out on a number of levels, and --his character's words-- that inspired him to immediately leave the place and make several very large donations to a number of charities for the poor and downtrodden).
Anyway, those were the thoughts on what I've been reading recently (a day late, but at least I'm posting, right?)
What Have I read?
I read the sneak peek "Winds of Winter" chapter that GRRM posted yesterday or today (I forget which). It's a Sansa chapter that was linked on Twitter. Then I read a bit of fandom's reaction which... I always find the ASOIF and GOT fandom a bit of a culture shock. Most of the fandoms I participate in are heavily female and that seems to have an influence with how fandom approaches things... which is a polite way of saying that I'm sometimes gobsmacked by the sexism.
Anyway thoughts/reaction to the Sansa chapter that, while very, very, very mildly spoilery for the books is quite likely wholly unrelated in any way to the show ( behind the cut )
And why in the hell is this considered "exciting"? As far as I can tell this entire subplot is so unimportant that it's been wholly eliminated from the show. Frankly, I thought the entire scene was pointless filler. And if I want to read a romance-novel scene, I actually prefer it in a romance. You have a decent shot in a romance of it being less sexist.
Speaking of romances ('cause y'all know I have the plebian taste for romance novels), several months (a year?) ago I mentioned wanting to read a mainstream romance with a gay secondary romance just because it appearing in a 'mainstream' book would mean... I don't know, progress? They are their own sub-genre of course, but being combined into mainstream would mean it's more than just it's own sub-genre. Well, I did run across one in a Courtney Milan book several months ago (though it was under developed) but I also ran across one in the novel ("Spinster's Gambit") that I read the other night (it ends with a blurb for another novel that is the book for the secondary M/M relationship that's involved in this one's plot, but I don't see that one listed on Amazon yet.) I don't know that this romance was any more developed than the one in Milan's book, but it was there.
The book set-up was that the heroine feels hemmed in by women's roles in the late 18th/early 19th century, and her older brother dares her/encourages her to dress up and discover life as a man for a few days. He even takes her to his club and arranges for her to learn to fence, where she meets the hero (the hero is a sweet guy who doesn't get out much and who doesn't interact with women much because he was caught in France during the Revolution where he was caught, beaten, and set on fire by a mob. Though he survived, he's disfigured, and it's the reason why he rarely interacts with women. The heroine (as a man) becomes his friend (though the hero thinks...well... she's a very effeminate man) and without the hero's self-consciousness about his looks, they interact more naturally, and she falls in love.
The M/M romance comes in that a political rival of her brother's uses his rather effeminate companion (who is the heroine/his sister) as evidence that the brother is a homosexual, and actually works to bring this to trial (because homosexuality was illegal). The heroine is exposed to the hero (who feels humiliated for having been deceived) and she feels terribly guilty for the mess that her brother is in because of her cross-dressing. Her brother then confessing to her that while the evidence is about her, the accusation isn't wrong... he actually is gay, and has been hiding the love of his life from her for over a decade. She's gobsmacked (and apparently there was some falling out between him and his love over... I'm not sure what (I figure that'll be clarified in the advertised story about him). Anyway, brother goes on trial for "buggery" and the heroine appeals 1) to her brother's very rich estranged male lover, who uses his wealth to help the situation and reunites with her brother in the process. 2) Appeals to the hero, who is her brother's friend and who is also politically powerful due to his title, thus forcing the hero to interact with her and her brother after he felt so humiliated for having been deceived by his two best friends (it was the heroine's brother who had rescued the hero when he was beaten and burned by the Revolutionary mob).
The love story of the brother and his lover isn't developed more than the one in the Milan book (though, the author provides an excerpt from the brother + his lover's book) but it is integral to the plot. It does appear in a mainstream romance, though. And the brother and his estranged true love re-unite and get (as happy as possible for the time period) ending. The M/M lovers reunite and are both accepted by their families (those being the lover's young daughter -- who the heroine's brother helped to raise and thinks of as his own daughter too -- the heroine, and the hero.)
The writing of the book isn't particularly strong (overly repeated phrases, some poor word choices) so I'm not really singing a rec for it. However, it falls into my reading kinks for the right level of "sweet" + emotional, which is usually enough to carry me along for a so-so book. And it's enough that I'll probably read the brother's romance when it comes out as I liked both the brother and his lover.
As far as this one goes, I'm a total sucker for an endearing, socially conscious virginal hero (as the scarred hero is in this one. He's was very badly burned while still quite young, which made him self conscious with women. Though he had tried to 'rectify' the virginity situation once by going to a brothel. However, the madam thought he had the pox and told him that "a couple of her girls would take the risk for the right price"... which freaked him the hell out on a number of levels, and --his character's words-- that inspired him to immediately leave the place and make several very large donations to a number of charities for the poor and downtrodden).
Anyway, those were the thoughts on what I've been reading recently (a day late, but at least I'm posting, right?)
