C.A. Gray's Blog, page 56
September 26, 2019
Review of Mistress of Rome
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This wasn’t at all what I expected. It was a lot more graphic, and far more of a sweeping epic than I bargained for, though I definitely got sucked in.
The story jumps around to multiple characters’ perspectives. The protagonist was Thea, though she didn’t get any more “screen time” than the rest of the characters. Born a Jew, Thea is the only one of her people to survive a first century massacre. She gets sold into slavery at fourteen to the flighty, beautiful, and later downright evil Lepida. Lepida develops a crush on the gladiator Arius “The Barbarian,” and writes him letters to try to seduce him. She sends Thea to deliver them, and in the process, Arius and Thea fall in love. Jealous, Lepida sells Thea into prostitution, and Thea and Arius are separated for about twelve years. But by that time, Thea is already pregnant with Arius’s child.
Lepida, meanwhile, marries an old senator, but seduces his son, and attempts to become the Emperor Dominius’s mistress.
Thea gets sold to a kind master who allows her to learn music, and she becomes a famous singer, though she is still technically a slave. One day she sings for the Emperor, who takes a liking to her. He seems benign enough, and she becomes a favorite. But when she becomes a very distinct favorite, he has her master murdered so that he can “own” her, whereupon he becomes physically and emotionally abusive. Thea has to hide her son from him, as he is quite possessive and doesn’t like even the suggestion that she ever once belonged to another man.
So the story goes: Thea’s son is raised more or less away from her. Arius fakes his death with the help of the Emperor’s Christian niece, who tries to help those slated for slaughter to escape. Lepida, who rivals the emperor for most hatable character, continues to scheme and plot to destroy other people’s lives to get ahead herself. Arius and his son meet, and Arius trains the boy to fight, though neither knows of their relationship yet. The emperor eventually learns Thea’s secret, and casts her off while claiming her son as a new “favorite” instead. This lands him in the arena when he is only a boy–though fortunately he has been trained by the Barbarian himself. Lepida eventually achieves her lifelong goal of becoming the emperor’s mistress, but her power is short-lived. Many different characters’ lives intertwine, and while the story ends tragically for some of the peripheral characters, it’s triumphant for the main ones. Seeing Lepida get hers in the end especially was SO satisfying!
This definitely is not the kind of story I’d normally have even continued to read, because the sex and violence is so prevalent, and much of the story is quite dark. It’s not that this didn’t bother me at all, but the way it was done somehow made it tolerable. Perhaps this was because the things that I consider to be reprehensible were depicted as such–they weren’t portrayed as good or normal. While some of the sexual scenes were descriptive, they were not gratuitous in my opinion. They showed what they had to, and moved on. A story like this is necessarily violent, but again, Quinn didn’t revel in it. She stated what happened, and then faded to black. I also really appreciated the fact that the only overtly Christian character in the story was kind, noble, and self-sacrificial–so very rare these days! (Most of the time if a character’s faith is directly mentioned as Christian, they turn out to be hypocritical and/or legalistic and merciless.)
So if you don’t mind the above mentioned caveats, the story itself really is very good–and there IS a happily ever after, too!
My rating: ****
Language: some cussing, but few and far between
Sexual content: high, but tastefully done in my opinion (see above)
Violence: high, but tastefully done in my opinion (see above)
Political content: none (historical)
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September 20, 2019
Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright
Today’s podcast comes from this blog post review, Lies Jane Austen Told Me.
The post Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright appeared first on C.A. Gray.
September 19, 2019
Review of Wuthering Heights
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I read this years ago, and enjoyed it far more then, as I recall, than I did this time around. But having just finished “Jane Eyre,” I very much wanted another story in the same vein.
The plus: mostly the prose. I just love the Bronte sisters’ style.
But that’s pretty much all this story had going for it, honestly. First (and biggest problem): almost everybody in this story is a terrible human being. The story revolves around Heathcliff, who is constantly referred to as a fiend, and his only redeeming quality is how desperately he loves Cathy. But does he actually love her? His kind of love is tantamount to hate. He wishes evil on everyone important to her, and I suspect that if she had chosen to marry him instead of Edgar Linton, they’d have grown to hate each other too. And for her part, Cathy is spoiled, histrionic, and incredibly selfish. Her only redeeming quality is equally her love for Heathcliff–but again, does she love him? She gives a reason why she marries Linton instead, with the intention of benefitting Heathcliff with his money, but I don’t think I believed her. It was more of an excuse to Nelly (who tells the majority of the story) than anything else.
Second problem: it’s so hard to keep everybody straight, for two main reasons. It’s a frame story within a frame story: some inconsequential neighbor comes to Wuthering Heights, sees the dynamic between Hareton, Cathy (the younger), and Heathcliff, and wants to know how such a trio came to be a family. So Nelly Dean, lifelong servant to Cathy the elder and then later to Cathy the younger, tells the neighbor the story. We pass from his first person narration to her first person narration, and sometimes during chapter breaks we revert back again. Even worse than that, the same names get re-used for multiple characters, or sometimes just similar names–and then they all inter-marry, so their surnames complicate everything. The Cathy that Heathcliff loves was born Catherine Earnshaw, but then she marries Edgar Linton and becomes Catherine Linton. Then she has a daughter whom she also names Catherine, so she too becomes Catherine Linton. Just to piss everybody off, Heathcliff marries Edgar’s sister Isabella Linton, and Isabella names their son Linton (first name). So he becomes Linton Heathcliff. Then Linton marries Catherine Linton, making her Catherine Heathcliff. Then there’s Hinley, who was Cathy the elder’s brother, whose son was Hareton, but there’s also a servant named Joseph, and all of them are equally brash and rude so it’s hard to keep straight who’s talking or what his motives are.
And yet, I finished it. There wasn’t exactly redemption at the end, either–nearly everybody dies super young. Like her sister, Emily Bronte likes ghost stories, so there are several implications of ghosts throughout the story. It’s also strongly implied that Cathy the elder’s ghost is what ultimately helps Heathcliff to peace in the end as he dies.
I guess I still liked the story enough to keep reading it mostly because of the Bronte turn of phrase. But I don’t think I’ll ever read it again.
My rating: ** 1/2
Language: none, obviously
Sexual content: none, obviously
Political content: none
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September 16, 2019
Review of The Phantom of the Opera
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Classics, I find, are either super boring or AWESOME, and rarely in between. I don’t know why that is, but this one is definitely in the latter category! Of course, I was predisposed to love it, since I love the musical so much–I’ve seen it on stage at least once, memorized the soundtrack and have played the score on piano. But it had been awhile, so it was fun to revisit the story.
The book followed the plot of the musical version quite closely for the most part, with only a few changes that just made sense: two characters who were important in different parts of the story were combined into one, and the details leading up to the final climax were rendered more consistent and dramatic in the stage version I think–in the book, the Phantom (repeatedly called Eric, though I can’t recall whether his name ever appears in the musical) writes his own opera, called Don Juan Triumphant. It never gets performed; Christine just hears snippets of it toward the end. In the musical version, the opera company actually casts and performs his opera, and it is during this that Christine is abducted in the end (though she is abducted while performing in both versions).
I thought the prologue and the epilogue especially interesting, because Leroux seems to be working very hard to convince the reader that the story is true. I was a little confused by the end about whether that is just part of his frame story, as the auction is at the beginning of the musical, or whether any of the events of the tale actually are grounded in fact. The story is of course so fantastical that much of it can’t be true, but perhaps a real story grew to legendary proportions?
At any rate, paranormal and mystery fans will love this. Those aren’t my traditional genres of choice, but this is a tale that defies genre, I think.
My rating: *****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Political content: none
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September 13, 2019
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
This week’s podcast comes from this blog review of Jane Eyre.
The post Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte appeared first on C.A. Gray.
September 11, 2019
Review of Lies Jane Austen Told Me
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First of all: what a title! I’m so impressed, from a marketing standpoint. Automatically I know that I can expect a clean romance set in modern times, and the cover reinforces that nicely. Bravo, Julie Wright (or whoever was responsible for title and cover!)
The story itself reads like the screenplay of a chick flick, which has plusses and minuses. It’s predictable yet sweet, heartwarming but occasionally bordering on cheesy. True to the title, the main character (incidentally also named Emma, like one of Austen’s most famous heroines) is a Jane Austen fanatic, but she’s become disillusioned with the lack of happily-ever-afters in the real world. She’s trying to lower her expectations, yet finds herself comparing her life to any one of the Austen heroines throughout the book, despite herself. This did feel a bit like a gimmick after awhile, and I really didn’t need it to make the title feel relevant.
The basic plot: Emma is dating a Darcy-esque (or so we think) super rich guy named Blake, but surprises him at home and finds him with another woman. He swears there is nothing between them. Blake’s brother Lucas ends up chasing Emma down, and one thing leads to another such that Emma finds herself witnessing what she perceives to be a showdown between Lucas and his drug addicted ex, with his little girl April caught in the middle. But then Emma gets to work, and–surprise!–Lucas turns out to be the new consultant. Lucas spends much of their early interactions trying to get Emma to give his brother a second chance. Emma, while falling for Lucas, tries to tell herself this is mad because 1) he’s Blake’s brother, and 2) he apparently has a child whom he’s not caring for. (See her prejudice there? Hehe.) There are lots of little wink-winks throughout the book for Austen fans. And just as we Austen fans might hope, nobody jumps into bed with anybody else, and after some serious misunderstandings get resolved, they all live happily ever after.
My rating: *** 1/2
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Political content: none
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September 6, 2019
The Prince and the Pauper
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I think this is the first Mark Twain novel I’ve ever managed to finish, so I’m proud of myself for that. It’s pretty action-packed; we’re quickly introduced to Tom Canty the beggar, who happens to bear a striking resemblance to the Prince of Wales, Edward VI (though they’re not identical twins separated at birth; you just have to suspend your disbelief that two boys who are otherwise unrelated look so alike that even their parents mistake one for the other). I was interested especially in the fact that this fictional story is grounded in real characters, even though the introduction says that it’s a story that has been passed down through the ages and may or may not have actually happened. Yet when the two boys swap clothing to each experience the life of the other, Tom Canty interacts with Edward’s father the king, as well as his sisters Elizabeth and Mary. Edward, meanwhile, eventually decides that this was all Tom Canty’s fault and begins to fantasize about having him killed for being a pretender to the throne… and both boys are generally regarded by everyone in their vicinity as being insane, because each insists that he is who he actually is. Neither pretends to be the other.
A lot of shenanigans ensue after the introduction of this premise, and not all of them were especially interesting to me… so I only half listened to some of the middle parts of the story. But it’s a mildly entertaining concept.
My rating: *** 1/2
Language: clean, obviously
Sexual content: none, obviously
Political content: none that I could tell — and if it were there, it would be ancient history so I wouldn’t care.
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Review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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This was one of my absolute favorite movies growing up, yet I’d never read the original story. It was shorter than I expected, and decidedly a children’s tale in the way it is told; there are really no nuances. Everyone is very straightforward and action-oriented. I noticed quite a few deviations from the original in the film, and see why the filmmakers made the choices they did: for instance, the good witch that Dorothy meets in Munchkinland is not Glinda the Good Witch, but some other good witch. (But of course, keep the character list shorter because everyone should be there for a purpose.) The Wicked Witch of the West isn’t even a major character… she’s just an episode in the middle of the story, and there’s quite a bit of story after her death left! Dorothy never gets home by clicking her heels together three times; she has quite a journey involving summoning the flying monkeys three times to help her get where she intends to go. (And then there’s this long aside about why the flying monkeys are forced to obey the person who summons them for three commands, etc.) In general, the film follows what would later come to be known as the Hero’s Journey, whereas the book is meandering and episodic. Largely this is why I didn’t enjoy the book as much.
My rating: ***
Language: clean, obviously
Sexual content: none, obviously
Political content: none that I could tell, which sort of surprised me since I had been under the impression that it was a political allegory
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Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog post, Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu.
The post Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu appeared first on C.A. Gray.
September 3, 2019
The Princess Pose
Author: Aven Ellis
Narrator: Andrea Emmes
Length: 21 hours and 8 minute
Series: Modern Royals, Book 2
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Released: July 24, 2019
Genre: Romantic Comedy
A modern princess. A charming commoner. Can they hurdle tradition to find true love?
Princess Elizabeth “Liz” of York isn’t interested in a fairy tale life. Determined to use her elite platform to champion children’s causes, she’d much rather raise awareness than find her prince. If only she could stop picturing one certain gardener with vivid hazel eyes….
When the relentless paparazzi invade her space, Liz’s crush comes to her rescue and steals her heart. Tossing aside centuries of tradition for something real, she takes Roman’s calloused hand and braces for the backlash. But after her progressive approach ruffles more than a few feathers, one member of the monarchy vows to keep the princess locked in her stylish but decidedly ivory tower.
Can Liz break through her birthright to find a powerful kind of love?
Aven began her publishing career in 2013 with her debut release, Connectivity. She currently writes hockey and baseball romances as well as a modern royal romance series.
Her books are designed to make readers laugh out loud and fall in love. Happily-ever-after endings and good-boy heroes are guaranteed.
Aven lives in the Dallas area with her family. She is a huge fan of both the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Aven loves shopping and fashion and can spend hours playing with fragrances in any department store. She can be found chatting it up on social media, eating specialty M&Ms, and crushing on the latest outfit the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing.
Website ⎮ Twitter ⎮ Facebook ⎮ Goodreads ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Pinterest
Best Selling, Award Winning Audiobook Narrator, Andrea Emmes was born in Hollywood, Florida, grew up in both Tennessee and Rhode Island and started her career in musical theatre. She’s enjoyed an eclectic career as a singer, dancer, Vegas Headliner, Magician’s Assistant, a Recording Artist and a Video Game Designer.
A total book nerd, Andrea, now enjoys narrating all genres of audiobooks, especially YA, LitRPG, Mystery, Romance, and NonFictionat her professional home studio in San Jose, CA.
Her wide range of character voices and dynamic/emotionally invested performances has reviewers and listeners alike commenting on how she effortlessly pulls listeners in and has versatility and charisma.
Fun Facts: Andrea has a Bachelor of Science in Game Art and Design; was a game designer for Disney Interactive; and gets her gamer-geek on playing games of all kinds!
Website ⎮ Twitter ⎮ Facebook ⎮ Instagram
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Aven Ellis. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Aven Ellis’ Top Ten Literary inspirations
Sophie Kinsella. The moment I started reading Confessions of a Shopaholic, I felt as though I had never read anything like it before. It was so funny, so vivid, so bright. I knew instantly that these where the kind of stories I wanted to write-ones with humor and heart. And that began my path toward becoming a romantic comedy writer.
Georgette Heyer. I absolutely love her regency romances, in particular Sylvester and The Grand Sophy, which had me laughing out loud. Absolutely brilliant writing.
Jane Austen. The way she weaves together a story is masterful. These are re-reads for me.
JK Rowling. The fact that she had such strength and perseverance to follow her writing dream is truly inspiring.
Maeve Binchy. She wrote the most beautiful descriptions and stories with so many layers.
Julia Child. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a masterpiece. When you read her book My Life In France, you see what a monumental undertaking it was to write that cookbook and in this book, you feel like you are on the journey. I absolutely love both of them.
Julia Quinn. Her Bridgerton series is a master class in laying out a series. How the plots are so thought out, so interwoven to lead to the next book, is brilliant.
Margaret Mitchell. Gone with the Wind, need I say more? I love the way her plotting kept me turning the page.
Helen Fielding. Bridget Jones’s Diary is humor at it’s best. She is another comedic inspiration for me.
Emma MCLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, The Nanny Diaries. I still remember parts of this book, which made me laugh and made me sad. Most of all, I remember feeling it was totally unique and I loved that about their writing style.
Aven Ellis’ Casting Picks for The Princess Pose
Amanda Schull as Princess Elizabeth
Fabian Castro as Roman Lawler
Donny Lewis as Darcy Lawler
Vika Brenova as Lady Amelia Westbrook
Helen Mirren as Jillian Park
Katherine McNamara as Clementine Jones
Freddie Stroma as Prince Christian
Kate Beckinsdale as Queen Antonia
Laurence Nicotra as King Arthur
Francis Cadieux as Prince Alexander
Diane Keaton as Princess Helene
TR Pescod as Clive Lawler
Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card
Modern Royals Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card
BOOK 1- A ROYAL SHADE OF BLUE
Aug. 25th:
Aug. 26th:
KayBee’s Bookshelf, A Literary Blog
Aug. 27th:
Aug. 28th:
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author
Aug. 29th:
Aug. 30th:
BookishOwlette (Review, Giveaway)
Aug. 31st:
BOOK 2- THE PRINCESS POSE
Sep. 1st:
Sep. 2nd:
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author
KayBee’s Bookshelf, A Literary Blog
Sep. 3rd:
Sep. 4th:
Sep. 5th:
Sep. 6th:
Sep. 7th:
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