Nico's Reading Notes

What can I say? It was a fun and lovely read. I loved their little arrangement, and how it worked out differently in the end. It certainly was the sort of situation I could imagine myself in in the time period, and played out nicely. I especially liked how the misunderstanding wasn't turned into an enormous comedy of errors like they often are. 

As a person with disabilities, I'm always pleased to read books featuring characters with disabilities. 

I enjoyed how the author brought up the feelings of the hero about the behavior of others. I'm not blind, but it is indeed obnoxious when people, even those I love dearly, become over solicitous and act as though I can do nothing without help. Having that dynamic change for him was a wonderful thing to read about. I do kind of think that his mother would have been slightly more resistant in giving up her caregiver role but perhaps that resistance wearing down happened out of "sight" of the hero and heroine in part. 

I also liked that the heroine's solutions reflect some of the thoughts we have today- that one's environment can and where possible should be constructed in a way that is conducive to the individual rather than forcing the individual to adapt or to become dependent. It was wonderful to see. I also liked that the book ended affirming that the hero's disabilities effect just what they do- a blind man, after all, can still hear the music and feel the rhythm, even if learning the dance can be a bit more difficult.  

There was a bit of awkwardness in the set up, but it was only minor and in spots. If I had to critique anything of the romance, it's that the heroine's self-esteem issues were dealt with in a way that implied that love alone can amend them. There were a couple of spots where the hero was a little... well, he reflected some of the attitudes of his time which, while good for the period, was jarring once or twice. This wasn't enough to throw me off though. I do have some doubts about the accuracy of certain things disability wise in time period, but that might just be because I've spent a lot of time on the topic- and it's not that the things wouldn't happen, but that they seem would be unusual in the time and class.

Rec'd to romance readers, those fond of historical romance, and people who are looking for a fluffy read featuring a character with a disability. 

Spice: it had a nice scene or two, but nothing terribly explicit. Very conventional activities, not super detailed but pleasantly warm. don't go in looking for racy!

Romance novel rating: 4.5/5 stars. It was exactly what I needed today. 

There's a lot of (prettily written) speculation in the book in the non-autobiographical essays. For example, the author uses a maths textbook of the period to speculate on a Young Shakespeare's reaction to the introduction of zero, and how that influences his plays. It's quite clever. However, I wish it were clearer to the reader what is speculation and what is fact sometimes...

[Cover for "The Law of Attraction" by N. M. Silber. Two individuals embrace and kiss, laying head to head so that their heads are on the other's shoulders. Both are dressed in white.]

My friend Nadine is having her cover reveal party today on facebook. Check it out! I think it's a pretty clean cover- in the image sense, not the prudish one. And I think the steaminess backs the cover up on that count... 

Take a look at The Law of Attraction on Goodreads. 

Today I'm reading: Thinking In Numbers by Daniel Tammet (Advanced Reader Copy

Up next:

A Blind Goddess by James R Benn (Galley copy)

The Transformation of Adamn Higgins by Marvin Amazon

Why Kimba Saved the World by Meg Welch Dendler

Death Ain't But a Word by Marks Zander

Tarizon: Conquest Earth by William Manchee

Contaminated by Em Garner

Books I'm reading for fun/wasn't sent:

Storm of Swords (If I can find where my copy went- it's either at my mom's or ended up in my sister's house when she cleaned her car.)

The Madness of Lord Ian Mckenzie (I've been personally rec'd this, as supposedly the title character is Autistic. Also, I could use some romance novels right now.)

Actually 3.5 stars. Let me be clear- while the characters start out as teens, the big parts of the book take place when they are in their mid 20s. This is not a YA book- Neither is it an Urban Fantasy novel. It is a Horror novel. I might rec this to someone who has a tendency to be morosely nostalgic about their alt teen years, and to those who might fist pump at gruesome rather than sweet/possessive vampires often depicted in Urban fantasy. Lilly and Maggie meet in High School, each of their horrifying pasts [spoilers removed] creating a bond that brings them close. [spoilers removed] ...

Then when the big transformation happens, they become the two possible results, opposite each other, of such transformations. The woo in this reminds me a little of Old school Anne Rice- brutal but nuanced. I kind of wish that more of the feel of the second half of the novel was injected into the first half. even just in little bursts that made you go "oh, that's what that was about" later. Sadly the first half is drawn out and a bit dull in places. Alternately vague and heavy handed about things to make the characters work. 

But OMG constant name dropping of 90s dark cultural figures/music in the first 10 pages was constant. Which... well, the book was published THIS YEAR so a lot of the name dropping feels like someone my age wishing they had been a teen then trying to prove their cred. But I think the author really is old enough to have been a teen in the 90s? Or even slightly older? IDK. If the name dropping and nostalgia had felt a little more natural/spread out, I wouldn't be tweaking on it so much. I mean, I love 90s alt scene nostalgia. But writing in a way that invokes it is not easy. 

 (Also, when characters go from first meeting to confiding childhood sexual abuse histories in the first 15 pages/3 days of the friendship? There's something off.)