Leslie Carroll

Many others have, understandably, given this silly book a very low rating; however, there's a difference between a silly book and a stupid book, so I'm being a little more gracious with my rating. The story is so ridiculous that the reader often wonders if the author is having a joke with us all; but it's very WELL written, using a rich and intelligent vocabulary, and is very well researched, the author having a good understanding of Regency era Bath.

My initial reaction was that the author was using far too many Jane facts all at once. I wrote, "not everything has to be explained. A fan already knows these things and a non-fan won't care. Too much clever gets to be annoying." After awhile, I realized this was going to be the style of the entire book so I gave up my frustration and rolled with it. It did get better after awhile when I realized the author was pretty knowledgeable and offered many interesting lessons on Georgian/Regency life.

The story was so unbelievable that it would be silly to even attempt a comment. Many reviewers have expressed frustration that it all seemed so coincidental and ridiculous. I'd invite those readers to stop for a moment and remember they're reading a time travel story. Time travel is impossible. Therefore, EVERYTHING in this story is silly and ridiculous...it's built upon a ridiculous premise. So, rather than trying to pick apart the story itself, perhaps it makes more sense to comment on the predictable elements within it.

My only issue with her actual grammatical style was the fact she put quotes around far too many words and phrases, hoping to emphasize their importance. The whole "aunt" and "niece" thing was frustrating, as I found myself emphasizing them in my head as I read them, page after page. I suppose it was supposed to build up to the fact that she didn't use them at the end---emphasizing the true connection between these two characters---but that was annoyingly anticlimactic.

I was not impressed with the character of CJ. Firstly, she had way more knowledge than made sense---no matter how much she'd researched for her character. Sure, she may have perfected a 21st century idea of what Regency life was like, making her actions less conspicuous once she got there, but it's very unlikely she'd be able to speak their way so easily, quickly, and without detection. No matter how much I study a foreign language, I will never speak it flawlessly to other native speakers my first time out. While American English and British English may be mostly the same language, any American who has read something written by a 21st century Briton can tell the difference almost immediately---how much more the difference between a 21 century actress and the 18th century culture into which she stepped?

A second unlikely thing was CJ's reaction to meeting Jane Austen. She doesn't seem to care a bit and the beloved author is treated like any other character. It's not until after several meetings with her that CJ expresses any sort of awe that they are friends. (Side note: robotic Jane-quoting Jane is also really annoying.)

I suppose I could comment here, at length, on the predictability of the story; but as I said above, it's made to be unrealistic to begin with so expectations should be appropriate.

Lastly, my biggest beef with the story was the explicit sex scenes. Always unnecessary---but very unexpected in this story and unneeded, too. Austen introduced us to many romantic relationships without any hint of impropriety. Surely this author could have challenged herself to do the same.

Overall, I liked reading about Bath---mainly because I'll be going there again twice this year, for my fourth and fifth visits, and will enjoy some of the same walks and views as these characters did. However, the rest of the story's elements left me rolling my eyes. Not a bad book---but not a super great one. Without the explicit scenes, I might recommend it for its silly fun look at Regency life, but I can't suggest it to anyone with those scenes included.… (meer)

This is basically a trashy tabloid with a historical bent, and as someone with a historical bent who loves trashy tabloids, I was in heaven reading this book. The king who took his wife's ex-husband's 16 year-old daughter as a ward, engaged her to his son, and then promptly started having a hot and steamy affair! The queen who fell in love with her (heterosexual) lady-in-waiting and maneuvered her into a decades-long sexual affair! Oooh, scandals galore. The book was everything I had hoped for, and more.… (meer)

2.5-rounded down.

I was pumped up for this novel, a chance to see the Trojan War from Helen’s point of view. What did she believe really happened? Was she abducted or did she go willingly? Was she happy being the most beautiful woman in the world or was that a curse for her? Did she love any of these men, and if so which one and why? What does one do when the gods themselves conspire against you? What I got was some implausible answers and a bit of a disappointment.

One of the difficulties of this book, for me, was that Elyot couldn’t seem to make up her own mind about how Helen felt or what was happening. She wavered between describing the gods as something created in the image of a man and something all-powerful that directed the lives of men. Imaginary or real? You have to decide they are one or the other and you definitely have to make your main character believe or disbelieve. Helen seems to believe when it is convenient (OK, I know some modern day Christians I could say that about), but it matters if you are billing this character as the illegitimate daughter of Zeus.

There is the same ambivalence about Helen’s feelings for her husband, Menelaus. He is given almost a split personality, which veers to too evil in his evil moments and inexplicable in his softer ones. It is no easy task to take a well-known personage, such as Helen of Troy, and make them seem new while at the same time being consistent with the history. I have seen it done, but Elyot misses the mark for me.

Finally, Helen is seen to adore her children but also to desert them almost thoughtlessly. You really cannot have both. Her reasons for her actions were almost always explained with sex, but sex only explains some of the urges in life and those are generally fleeting. I like to think that a mother’s love might trump her desires. If her desires are her driving force, then she must be painted as a negligible mother. You can’t have everything both ways.

In short, this book that should have everything: love, hate, war, jealousy, immortality and history, has nothing. I will stick with Homer and Virgil.
… (meer)

This book by Juliet Grey is the second in the series of three. This book indicates that the third book would be titled The Last Ocober Sky. But the auther renamed it The last one was titled Confessions of Marie Antoinette. I enjoyed the first one immensely, possibly due to the fact that her mother had much more involvement in the governing of Austria. Marie Antoinette was not allowed by her husband or country to participate in governing.

The details of the first book seemed more engrossing but I did learn much about Marie Antoinette. She seems better prepared than her husband to govern. Because she was shut out of governing and expected only to produce heirs, remain in the shadow of her husband, her independent nature caused her to invest herself and much money in fashion, including the very high (literally) hair do that she became famous for and redecorated of the rooms where she lived.

Gossip raged as to why the couple had not produced any baby for years, later Louie's physican examined him and found why Louis was avoiding intercourse and advised on what would have to done. It seems possible that with out her insistance that he consult with the physican that they never would have had children.

The author shows the generosity of Marie Antoinette and times of thoughtless selfishness. I do feel that having read this book, I feel much more understanding and empathy for her. The author researched the facts of Marie Antoinette's life and portrayed her more honestly than what I have read in history books. The author cleaned up misapprobations and gave an in depth portrait of the Marie Antoinette.… (meer)