Moriah Jovan

Complex and complicated with incredibly well-fleshed characters. Top marks all around. I loved that Victoria was both feminist and faithful, but I really appreciated not being beat over the head by either. I can't say that I've read anything with Mormon characters that weren't vilifying pieces, but I'm curious (secularly curious, anyway) to do some research. I will admit that if I had known this featured Mormon characters, I would probably have stayed far, far away, but I'm glad that I read this and I'm really looking forward to the other books in this series/sub-series.… (meer)

More like 3.5-3.75 stars, but I'm rating down due to unnecessary length.

I didn't find this as engaging as I found Paso Doble but liked the characters just fine. I just couldn't believe everyone's casual attitude towards Fen's multiple murder attempts. And I think a good deal of the impact was lost because 3 couples was one too many. For me, it would've worked better over 2 books, with Justice and Knox's story split. I'll read the next in the series, though. Just not right away.… (meer)

This book was received as part of the GoodReads First Reads Program. Thanks for the book!!

There is only one word that can best describe this book: epic! From intense sea battles in the Atlantic and Caribbean to the political intrigue of Georgian London salons to dramatic thunderstorm rescues, every scene drives the action and character development forward at a rapid pace. There is not one scene where the reader is left wondering where things are going or gets bored. The scope of the book is massive and so much story is packed in that 700 pages almost doesn't seem large enough to contain it all.

The character development in this book is one of its best features. Every single individual breathes with life, both good and bad, victories and foibles. The characters adapt to the changing scenes and situations, sometimes changing loyalties as new information is added or revealing characters flaws or triumphs as the story progresses. By the end of the story, every person is a well rounded human that feels incredibly real. I felt like I knew every character down to the soul level almost.

Another feature I loved was the love story of Celia and Elliott. Even though most love/lust at first site scenarios aren't favorites of mine, Moriah makes it work here. The reader can literally feel the electricity in this pair; a static can be felt in the air each time they come together. And yet for all that intensity and passion, there's a gentle and caring side as well. The love seems to literally come off the pages. Even when they're separated by thousands of miles of ocean in some scenes, their first thought on waking and last thought before sleep is each other. Their ultimate goals are to make their dreams come true together on the American frontier and give the other what they want to the best of their ability.

I liked how the author wasn't afraid to go certain places, a multitude of subjects were explored where other authors would be afraid to tread. Rape, physical and emotional scarring, and intimate details of high risk pregnancies all make an appearance. Yet, everything is explored in a way that promotes thought and reflection. The times were a harsh period. For a historical novel to feel real to me, I like to know all the aspects, good and bad. I'm glad the author felt comfortable enough in her talent to include these features; she sure did her research and has a firm knowledge with which to write.

To lighten that harshness, there is some wonderful humor in these pages as well. The scenes in London were especially side splitting. I guffawed aloud at times at the scenes where this person knew the identity of that person, but that person was completely clueless to the identity of this person, and this person was pissed about that! The banter between the characters made them seem more human and made the times seem not so doom and gloom at times. Life was harsh, but there was light and laughter as well.

The only complaint I might have had, and it's a minor one, was that some of the sequences seemed a bit rushed over to get our two lovers back together faster. The Algiers sequence is a prime example of this. There just seemed like there could have been more story there. But that complaint is extremely minor. The objectives were met and the sequences that needed to be told were.

This book stands as a prime example of how historical fiction should be done. A grand story, characters that feel real, times that are reflected as both harsh and light, and a love for the ages. Everything is there that needs to be there. This is a book I will enjoy again and again. Destination: re-read shelf!… (meer)

Intrigue and eroticism have often been paired in the Romance genre. In Magdalene, Moriah Jovan converts the couple to a ménage à trois by adding an unexpected bedfellow: “Mormonism.” ( 1 point)

The novel was not written specifically for Latter-day Saints (the detailed doctrinal and procedural explanations would be unnecessary for practicing Mormons), but in the vast cast of characters LDS readers will likely recognize at least one member of their own congregations (such as Prissy, the perspicacious, plus-sized Relief Society instructor). ( 1 point)

The relationship between the former hooker and the bishop gets little development, from the first moment of their immediate and mutually acknowledged attraction: only garden-variety misunderstandings and circular arguments constitute the conflict between the protagonist and her hero. The love scenes and sex consume much of the page count, but they take a back seat to the corporate, religious and family intrigue, making the novel more like General or Women’s Fiction than a Romance. (-1 point)

Portrayal of contemporary realism is heavy-handed: an excess of expletives that lose their emphasis value, and a surfeit of sexual encounters that lose their sensual potential, by the sheer weight of repetition. (Note to self and all contemporary writers, of whatever genre: It doesn’t take long before the four-letter words begin to blur like overlapping graffiti on a ghetto wall, and there’s a point beyond which graphic groping and explicit eroticism morph into a mundane catalogue of body parts. Use them judiciously.) (-1 point)

The story is front-loaded with back-story data-dumping disguised as dialogue, and the denouement is weak. There are a couple of minor inconsistencies in repetitions of a character’s physical description. But the integration of back-story evens out as the plot progresses, and the psychology of most of the characters presents as reasonably plausible most of the time. ( 1 point)

I probably over-analyzed things by finding an extra layer of meaning in the choice of Cassandra for the heroine’s name, and in perceiving the overtones of a “passion-play” in the betrayal of Mitch, the beleaguered bishop, but that’s the fun part of reading: looking for creative use of conventions, and tropes with twists. ( 1 point)

Whatever its warts, the important value of Magdalene lies in seeing Mormons in literature move away from the grossly inaccurate and outdated “evil polygamist” role, as well as out of the cozy-inspirational niche that dominates traditional LDS publishing, into mainstream world culture. Latter-day Saints have been around for almost two hundred years, now, so it’s about time they took their place among the multitude of flawed but ultimately faithful Anglicans and Amish, priests and Puritans, nuns and Nonconformists, monks and Muslims, Buddhists and Biblical protagonists that have populated every genre of fiction. ( 2 points)

(The copy of this book that I read came from a public library.)


… (meer)