You know, what video games I am playing and what movies he would like that I have watched. He listens to my prattering on about the latest Glee and what happened on Desperate Housewives in real life, so why would he want to read about it?
But, as this is more of a cataloging of my own experiences and opinions so that I can one day look back and say "oh! I DID read that, and apparently that is what I thought about it", it would be an injustice to leave out everything tainted with romanticism and femininity.
That makes sense right? Yeah, I thought so.
So, the Forever Trilogy.
If you know me, you know that I adore Jude Deveraux.
Of course many people can say that--I mean, almost all her books have been New York Times Bestsellers, and she has a disarmingly sweet style and likable, realistic characters.
But she is my favorite, amongst such others as Louisa May Alcott ("Little Women"), Jodi Picoult ("Keeping Faith"), and Laura Wattenberg ("The Baby Name Wizard"--don't laugh, it is sincerely a very well thought out and well organized book, a true revelation in baby naming...but I digress). Jude never ceases to enrapture me, and her ability to make you feel for--even root for--any character no matter how heinous (like a rapist enemy in her famous Angel saga) is remarkable.
Many people look at romance novels as easy-reads, fluffy novels for fluffy women while they eat their chocolates and develop unrealistic expectations about the men in their lives. We are told we should feel ashamed of reading such literature and strive for the greats and classics. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, those people are pompous morons.
Okay! So enough introduction--on to the novels!
I bought this trilogy at the used bookstore, even though it didn't sound like my normal cup of tea, because it would aid in completing my Jude Deveraux collection. I am a mere 5 books away from a complete collection.
The premise is that a man looking for answers about his missing parents and mysterious past recruits the aid of a woman possessing unique powers, and they fall in love as they uncover the truth about what happened.
The first book introduced the characters and had them in a small town investigating the supernatural witch coven. I really enjoyed it. While it was certainly a deviation from what Ms. Deveraux typically writes, her main character Darci Monroe is so charming that you can't help but like her. These are not two perfect people that see each other and fall in love at first sight. They are imperfect people that find perfect love--I think that's why all her stories are so great, because it feels much more attainable than the outrageous beauty and the dashing hunk that tumble head over heels and spend the next 300 pages humping.
Vulgar, I know. I apologize. But Adam tries to hard to impress her and his goofy jokes fall completely flat, and it is so endearing. He is a bit of a snob which is understandable because he grew up surrounded by wealth, and having him completely humble and unaware would feel unrealistic. Darci has trouble taking things seriously, is incredibly strong-willed and stubborn, and is a total skinflint. In other words, things many of us can relate to, either personally or through someone you know.
In the second novel, "Forever and Always", Adam goes missing mysteriously and Darci is left trying to use her powers to track him down while aiding a sexy actor who's son has been kidnapped.
Lincoln Aimes, also known as Linc, is precious and I am quite fond. That being said, this was my least favorite of the three books, and the only JD that I had to force myself to finish. Don't get me wrong--it was far from bad. I don't think Jude ever wrote an actually bad novel. It was just that it was hard to get on board with the main love interest is missing and you have the uncomfortable notion the entire time that Darci is going to cheat. The fact that it would make her even more human and would be understandable does not cushion the blow. At the very least, Linc could have fallen in love along the way with someone else, but he let his horniness override the common sense and knowledge that she was married so he made continual passes at her. I didn't like it.
Last in the series was "Always", and it was my favorite of the three. It had her losing her powers, traveling back in time, and discovering the truth of her husband's disappearance.
My only issue is that many things felt unresolved. It didn't feel like a complete conclusion to me, and it left me a little unsatisfied which has never happened before. Jack worries that Darci will leave his friendship and the camaraderie they had developed like she did with Linc; there was no indication to the contrary in the end. Where Adam and Boadecia (his sister) had been the entire time, and what ever happened with the genie's lamp? It implied that Devlin had something to do with that, but not definitively. Little things like that that still plague me, but perhaps I was not reading closely enough.
All in all, probably not going to make my top 10 list but I could see going through them again in the future. I am happy I read them at any rate. Now I am waist-deep into "First Impressions" which I had obviously read the first couple of chapters to and...what, I don't know. Got bored doesn't seem likely, but misplaced the book or having to return it to it's original owner feel more likely. Maybe I just got the preview on Kindle.
Till next time--Andie!
No comments:
Post a Comment