His at Night by Sherry Thomas
Jun. 26th, 2022 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lightreadsHis at Night
4/5. Historical romance. She is desperate to escape the control of her abusive uncle. He is a noble and secret agent of the crown who pretends to be mildly mentally disabled to hide his work (like you do?). She entraps him into marriage, and stuff happens.
Somehow, I’ve read many Sherry Thomas books, but only now am learning that English is not her native language. That is particularly impressive considering not just the skill of her writing, but the control of language. She is precise and careful with it, and you can tell that she says what she damn well meant to.
Anyway. This is the first book of hers classified as pure romance that I’ve read (the others were mysteries in the most part). This book is thorny and sexy and uncomfortable and, in the last, lovely. The two of them are alike in many ways – both living lies to protect themselves – and they aren’t very nice to each other in part because sometimes we are worst to those who reflect what we hate in ourselves.
There is a lot going on in this book that I think is commenting specifically on the historical romance genre, which I have dabbled in but certainly have not read enough of to fully appreciate. The bad first time sex, the problematically sizzling subsequent sex scenes that co-opt the reader into that space the characters are in of you’re enjoying this aren’t you? Well. Maybe you shouldn’t The flourishes of the plot that have a distinct bent towards the gothic. The careful attention paid to the web of relationships around the main couple, and how their actions have consequences for many, not just themselves.
It's a very particular book, and a good one, and a hard one in places, all while pretending to light airiness.
Content notes: The sort of complicated consent issues that arise around period-accurate notions of how marriage between a man and a woman ought to work and also when you throw alcohol into the mix; drug use, forced and not; violence.
4/5. Historical romance. She is desperate to escape the control of her abusive uncle. He is a noble and secret agent of the crown who pretends to be mildly mentally disabled to hide his work (like you do?). She entraps him into marriage, and stuff happens.
Somehow, I’ve read many Sherry Thomas books, but only now am learning that English is not her native language. That is particularly impressive considering not just the skill of her writing, but the control of language. She is precise and careful with it, and you can tell that she says what she damn well meant to.
Anyway. This is the first book of hers classified as pure romance that I’ve read (the others were mysteries in the most part). This book is thorny and sexy and uncomfortable and, in the last, lovely. The two of them are alike in many ways – both living lies to protect themselves – and they aren’t very nice to each other in part because sometimes we are worst to those who reflect what we hate in ourselves.
There is a lot going on in this book that I think is commenting specifically on the historical romance genre, which I have dabbled in but certainly have not read enough of to fully appreciate. The bad first time sex, the problematically sizzling subsequent sex scenes that co-opt the reader into that space the characters are in of you’re enjoying this aren’t you? Well. Maybe you shouldn’t The flourishes of the plot that have a distinct bent towards the gothic. The careful attention paid to the web of relationships around the main couple, and how their actions have consequences for many, not just themselves.
It's a very particular book, and a good one, and a hard one in places, all while pretending to light airiness.
Content notes: The sort of complicated consent issues that arise around period-accurate notions of how marriage between a man and a woman ought to work and also when you throw alcohol into the mix; drug use, forced and not; violence.
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Date: 2022-07-16 09:38 pm (UTC)