Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Blog: Earl Grey Editing, page 39

BBAW: Staying Connected

Today’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week topic is on how I stay connected to the community.

The primary way I stay connected to the book blogging community is through social media. Twitter is my favourite medium and it tends to stay running in the background most days. Community is what brought me to Twitter in the first place. I joined during the local science fiction convention one year so that I could access some of the commentary from that particular community. As far as I know, Time Turners don’t yet exist, but through Twitter I could watch one panel and still find out some of what was said in another panel.

Because I’m fairly new to book blogging, Twitter has been how I’ve met most of the community. I already knew Memory from In the Forest of Stories and Andi of Estella’s Revenge. Following them on Twitter introduced me to new people and new blogs. They also introduced me to blogging events like this one–which, I’ve found, are very effective ways of meeting new people.

Although Twitter is my favourite social medium, it’s not my only one. Earl Grey Editing has a Facebook page, though it serves more of a broadcast function than a way to connect. I’m not fond of Facebook as a medium and so don’t tend to invest much time there.

I also have a fledgling Instagram account. Photography is something I really enjoy and all the photographs on this blog are mine, unless otherwise stated. I enjoy sharing them on Instagram, which also helps me find new and creative ways to photograph piles of books. If you’re on Instagram, come find me!

While events like BBAW are great ways of meeting new people, it’s hard to maintain those new relationships without some kind of regular interaction. I read a heap of blogs and make an effort to comment. I know how delighted I am when people comment here and I expect most other book bloggers feel the same. However, finding the time is a constant challenge.

Another challenge is finding blogs that suit my reading preferences. Most of the ones I’ve come across are geared towards literature. While I enjoy reading a bit of literature, it’s not my jam so much as speculative fiction. So if you read or write any speculative fiction blogs, please let me know!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’m connected to a couple of different communities. The other main community I’m part of is formed of Australian speculative fiction writers. The way I stay connected to this community is somewhat different and I have a lot more face-to-face contact. The Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild is one way I keep in contact with this community–both through their meetings and their mailing list. Conventions are another important way of connecting, which is one reason I’m really looking forward to Contact2016.

How about you? How do you stay connected to your communities?

BBAW: Book Blogger Recommendations

 

Today’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week topic is on the books I have read and loved because of fellow bloggers. Well, where do I start?

Memory of In the Forest of Stories is responsible for more than a few recommendations. The thing I love most about Memory is how she owns what she loves. She knows what she likes and doesn’t like, and she talks about it. A lot.

Which is how I got around to reading Thorn by Intisar Khanini. Memory had read Thorn for the Diversiverse reading challenge and continued to rave about it long after. Six months after, in fact. She tweeted about the book being discounted and that pushed me over the edge into buying it. I’m certainly glad I did. It ended up being one of my favourite reads of 2015.  It’s a gorgeous fairytale retelling of the Goose Girl that deals with family abuse, class divides and the devaluing of women’s voices. It almost broke my heart in places. Reviewed here.

I think Memory may have also been responsible for me finally picking up Rat Queens, though, being a tabletop RPGer, I’d argue it was inevitable. Rat Queens is a graphic novel fantasy series about an all-female band of adventurers. Each of the Rat Queens carries her own baggage but they support each other without hesitation or reservation. They also do a great job of kicking ass. My review of the first volume can be read here and I also shared some thoughts on the forthcoming RPG.

Stephanie Gunn is an astute reviewer with extensive experience in judging awards (especially the Aurealis). Our tastes don’t always overlap, but when Stephanie says something is good I pay attention. She’s partially responsible for me picking up Liesmith by Alis Franklin. I’d recently met Alis, but it was Stephanie’s glowing review of the book that convinced me to pick it up. It ended up being another of my favourite reads of 2015. Urban fantasy with m/m romance, Norse gods and an Australian setting. It nails geek culture and has a sly sense of humour. What’s not to love?

Stephanie is still trying to talk me into joining her for the Journey through the Twelve Planets. I can feel my willpower weakening and fear I may have succumbed by the time this is posted.

I recently wrote of how the Book Gannet talked me into trying Anna Hackett. In the Devil’s Nebula probably won’t make my list of favourites for this year, but it was a wonderfully action-packed sci-fi romance that was just what I needed. Reviewed here. The Book Gannet is my go-to person for romance recommendations. Like Steph, if they say it’s worth checking out, I do.

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graeme Joyce was a book I probably would have enjoyed on my own. However, having someone to talk it over with made the experience a whole lot more awesome. Lynn O’Connacht made a great reading buddy and taught me a whole lot in the process.

Shaheen of Speculating on Spec Fic and Renay of Ladybusiness have contributed vast amounts to both my Mt TBR and wish list. Shaheen’s taste and mine match pretty well. I’ve also learned a lot about book blogging from her and have appreciated how transparent she has been about her process.

Much like Memory, Renay isn’t shy about letting people know what she loves–again, something I love about her. Along with giving me some excellent recommendations (she and Ysabet MacFarlane took turns convincing me to read Mira Grant’s Feed), she has warmly welcomed me into the book blogging community and taught me a whole lot about fandom and the international SFF scene to boot.

I’m so grateful for all of these lovely people, even if their efforts have left Mt TBR perilously high. Please share the love and check out their blogs.

BBAW: Interview with Hillary Roberts

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week has already kicked into gear and today I’m delighted to host fellow book blogger Hillary Roberts of Adventures in Never Never Land. She has been kind enough to answer my questions and asked me some good ones in return.  You can get in touch with Hillary and check out my interview answers over on her blog.

First, and most important, what’s your favourite hot beverage?

This would have to be pumpkin spice coffee. I live for every fall when it first comes out. It can’t be too warm either — the weather has to be that perfect blend of crisp yet still a little warm for me to fully enjoy it.

Sounds tasty! Though I’m a tea girl myself.

What has been the most interesting thing you’ve read so far this year?

Ha the most INTERESTING? This is a tricky question. There are the books that I enjoyed like the Tsar of Love and Techno then there are the books that wormed their way into my soul and made me fear for humanity, like Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates. Zombie was a mind-fuck of a book. It is hard to get into but once it does you go through parts of it horrified then you tell yourself it is fiction and you get a bit of reprieve before you realize THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE LIKE THIS IN REAL LIFE then if you are like me you start thinking about your tiny house away from humanity more often.

What has being part of the book blogging community meant to you?

It has been a place where I can share my love of books and people won’t make comments about how nerdy I am or some such. I mean I AM a nerd. I even play games and all of that but some of my in real life friends make it sound like it is a great big sin. I have made friends in the book blogging community that I can share my latest finds with and geek out over whatever.

Nerd pride! I’m a gamer myself and am into tabletop RPGs. What sorts of games do you like to play and what are you playing at the moment?

I am not much into Tabletop RPGs but I am a heavy user World of Warcraft.

Gaming isn’t the only thing we have in common. Like me, you are a freelancer as well as a book blogger. How do you handle balancing blogging with freelancing and your own creative projects?

I use the power of time blocking! When I first heard of this idea in the book The 4-Hour Workweek I thought it was brilliant. Then I tried it and I was sold. You won’t believe how much you can fit into a day if you do it right!

You recently reviewed Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. What’s your favourite book on creativity?

This would have to be The Artist’s Way. I go through it at least once a year and it amazes me how creative and free I feel after doing it yet again. It is like I have all these creativity layers that need to be peeled back and each time I go through the book another layer comes off. My writing even takes on new shapes and meanings.

If you’d like to catch up with Hillary, you can find her at Adventures in Never Never Land as well as on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat

Published: February 2016 by Viking: Penguin

Format reviewed: Paperback, 384 pages

Series: Captive Prince #3

Genres: Fantasy, romance

Source: Dymocks

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016, Read My Own Damn Books, Read My Valentine

Available:  Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for previous books.

His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.

On the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor’s forces are massing. In the north, the Regent’s armies are mobilising for war. Damen’s only hope of reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their usurpers.

Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen’s identity – can it stand against the Regent’s final, deadly play for the throne?

Kings Rising was one of my most anticipated books for 2016 and it has lived up to its promise.

The story picks up in the middle of a scene. At the end of the previous book, Prince’s Gambit, Damen had been left in charge of a Veretian fort. His true identity as the Akielon prince had been revealed thanks to the arrival of an Akielon army. Kings Rising opens with the Veretian response to this announcement. Needless to say, it’s a tense and action-packed beginning.

Prince Laurent is absent for this response, being away with most of his forces as they attempt to capture another fort. He, too, gets an action-packed beginning–a little too much so, for me. Being keen to find out how the story ended, I’d not taken the time to reread the previous books before starting on Kings Rising. It took a little time for me to orient myself and the beginning of Laurent’s story made this harder because it doesn’t follow straight on from his last appearance, as it does with Damen. Needless to say, the book doesn’t stand on its own and I’d recommend at least skimming through the last chapter of Prince’s Gambit before starting on Kings Rising if it has been a while between books.

Although there’s a reasonably large cast, the focus is kept very tightly on Damen and Laurent. There might be kingdoms and countless lives at stake, but the core of the story is their relationship. With Damen’s identity now revealed, the pair must get to know each other for who they really are. The weight of the past is very present but at the same time they’re forced to start over. This gives the book a very satisfying emotional arc that almost broke my heart in places; it’s a book with all the feels.

Not only must Damen and Laurent start over, but now that Damen is the rightful king of Akielos instead of a slave their customary ways of relating to each other become inappropriate. The gap between their public relationship and their private one makes for some fantastic tension. I especially enjoyed the way it proves quite a struggle for Damen; the occasions where he slips up make for some poignant moments.

Throughout the story, the spectre of the Regent looms over them. This was so wonderfully handled. The Regent himself is only present for two scenes towards the end, and yet his presence infects the rest of the story. Most of the characters behave in ways that reveal his influence, making him a threat without even needing to be present.

The ending has a wonderfully poetic symmetry… but I won’t spoil it for you.

Overall, Kings Rising is a brilliant conclusion to the Captive Prince trilogy and one I highly recommend.

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week

With Valentine’s Day coming up on Sunday, I’m not the only one looking to share the love. The wonderful ladies at the Estella Society are running Book Blogger Appreciation Week. In their words:

This is a week-long event offering you daily prompts that you can dip in and out of at will. You will be able to link your daily posts here and explore new-to-you bloggers and appreciate the ones you already know.

I’ve signed up and that means you’ll be getting a post from me every weekday next week. These will be a mixture of my regular posts along with prompts from BBAW.

Monday will kick off with the usual review as I take a look at one of my most anticipated books for the year: Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat, the final in the Captive Prince trilogy.

Fellow book blogger Hillary from Adventures from the Never Never Land will be joining me on Tuesday for an interview.

On Wednesday I’ll be discussing some of my favourite book bloggers and the books they’ve introduced me to.

Connecting to community will be my topic for Thursday, and Friday will wrap up with a return to Read My Valentine as I ask some friends about their recommendations for speculative fiction gateways into romance.

And after all of that, I’m going to need quite a few cups of tea!

Romance for Speculative Fiction Readers: Part 1

This month I’ve been running Read My Valentine: a reading challenge that focuses on romance novels for the duration of February. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the romance genre and, like any genre, there’s a lot of less than stellar material. If you’re a speculative fiction reader new to romance or looking to get started, it can be difficult to know where to begin. So here are a few speculative fiction stories that eased me into romance:

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey is an epic fantasy about a masochistic bisexual courtesan who finds herself uniquely positioned to save her country from treachery. It’s probably a little odd to include Kushiel’s Dart on this list because it isn’t really romance at all; it lacks romance tropes and is much more at home with other epic fantasies. However, it is very much a book about love. One of it’s most famous phrases is “Love as thou wilt”, which serves as the unofficial motto for Phaedre’s home country, Terre d’Ange. Sex, BDSM and polyamoury are all shown in a positive light. As far as I’m concerned, this alone makes it an excellent primer for the romance genre.

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier is a historical retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I’m a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings, but it’s a bit problematic as a romance. Heart’s Blood reworks Stockholm Syndrome into a sweet romance by giving its Beauty more independence. Caitrin stays at the castle not because she’s coerced into it but because she is fleeing from her past. She can leave any time she wants to. Instead, she chooses to stay and get to know Lord Anluan of her own accord while attempting to unravel the mystery of the castle’s curse. It plays more to the tropes of romance than Kushiel’s Dart and is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of explicit sex. However, what they have in common with each other and with the romance genre is their centring of relationships.

The Court of Lightning by Amy Rae Durreson is a fantasy m/m romance. For decades, the Court of Ice has been seeking to conquer the other courts. With the Court of Lightning defeated, the Court of Wind is one of the last remaining but they are under increasing threat. In order to survive, Master Artificer Arashan and paladin Tirellian must team up to venture into the ice-encased heart of the Court of Lightning. Deep within enemy territory, their old friendship thaws into something more.

Of the three books, this one is the most strongly embedded in the romance genre and follows the tropes most closely. However, Durreson was a fantasy writer before she switched to romance and the world-building in the story puts to shame many fantasy novels I’ve seen in print. The relationship between Arashan and Tirellian is deftly done and very sweet. If Kushiel’s Dart and Heart’s Blood are at opposite ends of a spectrum, this is what lies in the middle.

The Court of Lightning is available for free.

These were some of my gateways into romance. Next week, a few of my friends will be joining me to give their recommendations.

The Seduction of Lord Stone by Anna Campbell

Published: Self-published in September 2015

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Series: Dashing Widows #1

Genres: Regency romance

Source: Amazon

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016, #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks, Read My Valentine

Available: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords

Caroline, Lady Beaumont, arrives in London seeking excitement after ten dreary years of marriage and an even drearier year of mourning. That means conquering society, dancing like there’s no tomorrow, and taking a lover to provide passion without promises. Promises, in this dashing widow’s dictionary, equal prison. So what is an adventurous lady to do when she loses her heart to a notorious rake who, for the first time in his life, wants forever?

Devilish Silas Nash, Viscount Stone is in love at last—with a beautiful, headstrong widow bent on playing the field. Worse, she’s enlisted his help to set her up with his disreputable best friend. No red-blooded man takes such a challenge lying down, and Silas schemes to seduce his darling into his arms, warm, willing and besotted. But will his passionate plots come undone against a woman determined to act the mistress, but never the wife?

I wasn’t particularly fond of Anna Campbell’s story in A Grosvenor Square Christmas, but she managed to win me over with The Seduction of Lord Stone. It begins with three widows having tea as their year of mourning comes to a close (for two of them, anyway). Finally, society is easing its proscriptions over their activities and it’s time to enjoy their freedom. Caroline, in particular, is determined to make the most of it.

In light of this introduction, I was disappointed not to see more of the friendship between the widows. There were a few moments between Caroline and Helen. However, these seemed to occur mostly because Helen was also Silas’ sister and had motives of her own rather than out of genuine friendship. Fenella seemed to exist merely to provide a brief impediment to the relationship between Caroline and Silas. I found this a great shame, since Fenella and Caroline had such opposite attitudes to marriage; Fenella could have provided an interesting perspective for Caroline, had they spent any time talking together outside of the prologue.

The lack of female friendship meant that the focus was firmly on the romantic relationship between Caroline and Silas. Perhaps this was for the best, as it meant the pacing of this relatively short book stayed brisk. Caroline and Silas were enough to keep my attention on their own. The tension between them sizzled; I was surprised my Kindle didn’t combust! I liked that the dynamic between them was a little unusual, with the female protagonist looking to play the field while the rake was looking for something a bit more permanent.

For such a passionate person, Caroline was ruled by her head a lot more than I would have expected. She has very definite ideas about the way things need to be and is determined to stick to that, even if it means she ends up getting in her own way a lot. I found that quite realistic. Silas is a bit more flexible in his thinking, but still very clear on what he wants. At first, I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying, but the more I think about it the more I appreciate it.

Overall, I found The Seduction of Lord Stone a quick and enjoyable read. The foreshadowing of Helen’s story has me looking forward to the next book in the series.

Mt TBR report: January 2016

I’ve had an excellent start to my reading this year. It surprises me a little because I had a deadline and a book of short stories that slowed me down. There is just something about collections of short stories that refuses to let me rush. However, I made up for lost time in the last week of the month.

Andi is running monthly check-ins for the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge (there’s still time to join!), so I’ve decided it would be useful to take a look at my progress as part of my usual TBR reports. My goal for the challenge was to make sure 60% of the books I read this year is from Mt TBR. I’m currently sitting on 55%, which I feel isn’t a bad effort. I started out well. Then I was gifted with tickets to Contact2016 (eeee!!! I’m going to NatCon!), and I felt it was necessary to be familiar with work by the Guests of Honour. Leife Shallcross was lovely enough to loan me her entire Ben Aaronovitch collection.

If you’re interested in seeing which of my reviews fit the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge, be sure to check out the tag.

Mt TBR Status

Mt TBR @ 1 January 2016: 244

Mt TBR @ 31 January 2016: 246

Books Read

1. Who’s Afraid? by Maria Lewis. Reviewed here.

2. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. Reviewed here.

3. In the Devil’s Nebula by Anna Hackett. Reviewed here.

4. Much Ado About Love by Elizabeth Dunk. Reviewed here.

5. The Seduction of Lord Stone by Anna Campbell. Review forthcoming.

6. Hear Me Roar edited by Liz Grzyb. An anthology of short feminist SFF stories I read in order to prepare my Ditmar nominations. There were a couple of stories I didn’t really enjoy, but that’s usual for an anthology. All the stories were of an excellent standard and I thought the balance of sci-fi and fantasy stories was great.

7. Hunter Forsaken by Nancy Corrigan. The sequel to Hunter Deceived. I can’t say I liked it any better. The dialogue was cringe worthy in places and the plot wasn’t very solid.

8. Fireborn by Keri Arthur. Review forthcoming.

9. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. A junior police officer discovers there’s more to London than he ever expected when he accidentally tries to interview a ghost about a murder the ghost witnessed. This book was a lot of fun and reminded me a little bit of Terry Pratchett’s Watch series crossed with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (or possibly J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter).

DNF – Dark Child (Bloodsworn) Episode One by Adina West. The first part of one of Momentum’s serials. What I didn’t realise was that it was the serial of the third book in a series. The summary sounded so full of melodrama that I didn’t make it past the first few pages of the story. I suspect it would have been okay if I’d bought in from the beginning of the series, but jumping into the middle like this really didn’t work for me.

Books Acquired

A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia by A.M. Young

Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Take Me As I Am Charmaine Ross

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

Online Reading

The Wildness Within Ch 12-30 by Pia Foxhall. A non-canon, standalone, alternate universe piece utilising Pia’s characters from The Court of Five Thrones. Gwyn becomes semi-wild after being hunted through the forest by his family for centuries. Augus discovers him and takes an interest. An accessible story for those unfamiliar with Pia’s canon, though a warning that it contains erotica, BDSM and torture. Despite that, it leans more to the comfort side of the hurt/comfort equation and was just what I needed during some difficult times this month.

What have you read this month?

The 2016 Sci-fi Experience wrap-up

Back in December I signed up for the 2016 Sci-fi Experience, a reading challenge run by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings. My hope was the challenge would provide a bit of a counterbalance to all of the fantasy I read.

The challenge wrapped up on Sunday after running for two months. I have some mixed feelings about how I did. On one hand, the quantity I managed was hardly impressive–four books and a handful of short stories. On the other hand, I really enjoyed what I read. Finally starting on the Imperial Radch trilogy was definitely a highlight, with the books living up to their hype. So yay for quality over quantity?

For the curious, I managed:

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

In Heaven and Earth by Amy Rae Durreson

In the Devil’s Nebula by Anna Hackett

From Hear Me Roar, an anthology of short SFF edited by Liz Grzyb, I read:

The Sorrow by Jenny Blackford

A Truck called Remembrance by Susan Wardle

A Wondrous Necessary Woman by Janeen Webb

Broken Glass by Stephanie Gunn

The Fruits of the Revolution by Eleanor R. Wood

Generation Zero by Kathryn Hore

The Silica Key by T. R. Napper

Function A:Save(Target.Dawn) by Rivqa Rafael

Clara’s by Marlee Jane Ward

Overall, I’m pleased with what I read, but I think next time I could afford to stretch a bit more out of my comfort zone.

What sci-fi have you read lately?

Much Ado About Love by Elizabeth Dunk

Published: January 2016 by Escape Publishing

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Genres: Contemporary romance

Source: NetGalley

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016, Read My Valentine

Available:  Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Booktopia  ~ Kobo

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The author is a friend. I have done my best to give an unbiased review.

Trix Leon and Ben Anthony have two things in common—they don’t believe in love and, together, they set the sheets on fire. Their relationship is safe, uncomplicated, and just what they both need—until John Aragon shows up and gives them a third thing in common: an enemy.

When their friends decide it’s time for Trix and Ben to admit to themselves—and each other—how they really feel, Trix and Ben are caught in a whirlwind of emotion, a promise of something more. But Aragon is determined to destroy everything: Trix’s hard work, her future, and her chance at something more with Ben.

Now Ben and Trix are left fighting for the one thing that neither of them knew they wanted: love.

Much Ado About Love is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It draws strongly on its source material, which I felt was both a strength and a weakness of the story.

As expected, Much Ado About Love focuses on the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick, here incarnated as Trix and Ben. Ben is a senior partner at a law firm–a brilliant choice for this character’s argumentative nature. Trix runs the function centre where Ben’s law firm have their biannual retreat. The pair snipe at each other in public and set the sheets on fire in private, telling themselves if love exists it’s for other people. Their relationship has less animosity than is suggested in the play, but the characters are so deep in their denial of love that it works anyway.

The banter between Beatrice and Benedick is one of the highlights of Much Ado About Nothing. Unfortunately, I found this version disappointing. The dialogue in these sections mimicked that of the play a little too closely, changing markedly from the rest of the dialogue. This made it feel a little stilted and out of place.

I was delighted with the modernisation of Claudio and Hero’s romantic subplot, which saw Ro being wooed by Claudia–a young, up-and-coming lawyer from Ben’s firm. Not only was gender-flipping Claudio’s character a great way of updating the plot, but the lawyer Claudia was a far less insipid character. She might still believe in love at first sight, but as a lawyer there was a sharper edge to the character. She knows what she wants and goes after it, without needing her boss Petrea (another gender-flipped character) to do her wooing for her. The down side of this was that it made her belief of Ro’s infidelity harder to swallow, despite some justification existing.

Margaret’s character also comes across much more favourably in this interpretation. By ridding the story of its preoccupation with chastity, Margaret becomes an empowered, sexually aware woman and I liked her a lot more for it. In fact, there were a few moments where I felt like cheering for her.

I was less sold on the villains, particularly John. While there are no real redeeming features to the corresponding character in the play (by his own admission he is “a plain-dealing villain”), I expected a bit more nuance from a modern character. Instead, he comes across as a bit over the top and his ultimate fate made things a little too neat.

Much Ado About Love has some big shoes to fill and doesn’t quite manage it. Nevertheless, it remains an enjoyable read and an interesting take on a classic.