The Dickens with Love in Q&A with Josh Lanyon

Dec 12, 2010 Angel Martinez rated it really liked it

Dickens was once a word from which I cringed. It's probably a crime in some countries to force people to read his work too young, before any understanding of the history and social advocacy could be properly understood. Couple that with the memories of a too-smug, arrogant acquaintance of my youth who lived and breathed Dickens and acted as if no one, but NO ONE could possibly understand them like he could.

Personal issues aside, I re-discovered Dickens later in life and found him not half bad. Dickens was once a word from which I cringed. It's probably a crime in some countries to force people to read his work too young, before any understanding of the history and social advocacy could be properly understood. Couple that with the memories of a too-smug, arrogant acquaintance of my youth who lived and breathed Dickens and acted as if no one, but NO ONE could possibly understand them like he could.

Personal issues aside, I re-discovered Dickens later in life and found him not half bad. Preachy by modern standards, yes, but we are all a product of our times. So it was with a good deal of curiosity that I tackled this story. (Which was free, I will add, for the season, winning it extra points in my empty-wallet household.) Would Mr. Lanyon actually try to write Dickens? Would this story be a Dickens send-up, or an attempt at a modern Dickens fable with all the trappings?

Yes and no. We do have an orphan who had a brush with falling into bad company, a character who desperately needs redemption, an amoral, greedy villain, and a complex series of circumstances to lead us to a resolution. All classic Dickens, but there the resemblance ends. Thank goodness, or it would have been a rather dry romance. This is a more personal journey for James and Sedge, in which the "lost" Dickens Christmas story is only the vehicle. The heroes are both a little odd, a little adrift, each in their own way, but are both endearing. The story is told with wit and wry humor, never too heavy, even in its sadder moments.

I enjoy Mr. Lanyon's writing style - literate, intelligent, with a good feel for well-placed detail and an excellent sense of timing. My only real nits are the over use of angel/wing metaphor in the sex scenes (OK, I get it, Christmas time, nice and thematic, but it started to feel a bit forced after a bit) and the abrupt, if appropriate, ending. I felt as if I had been suddenly kicked out so they could have some privacy. Don't mind a few lingering questions, but there were just a few too many in this case.

Overall a lovely story for the holidays. And the faux Dickens? Quite believable and charming. It made me long for a story that doesn't exist. I'm sure it would have had a happy ending, too. Even for the mouse.

...more

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Jul 27, 2012 ttg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, favorites, reviews, kindle-lendable

This holiday novella is a total and complete delight, a tender romance with also a tense little mystery underneath. Lanyon here tells the story of James, an antique book hunter who is on a mission to gauge the validity of a newly discovered novel by Charles Dickens. The owner of the book is a professor from England, strikingly handsome but unfortunately cold and aloof, and he seems to take a fast dislike to James. All seems lost on this mission, and James is settling into the gloomy thoughts of ...more

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Dec 22, 2013 Trish rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, funny, sweet, holiday

Been a while since I read a JL Book.... Oh how I have missed you!

Has everything I love....nerdy hot men who are aggressive and silly.
My only wish would have been for James to stand up for himself more.

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Dec 16, 2013 Susinok rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, glbt, contemporary, holiday

Audiobook. Wonderful narration.

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Nov 23, 2010 Tara rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2010, mystery-suspense, m-m, teacher-professor

I do always love Josh Lanyon. Unfortunately everything I've ever read by him so far has been short, and i always want more! This is no exception. The characters are interesting and their stories are rich, and I just wish we could see more of them.

The message is a great holiday one as well. You want to wrap James in a big blanket of hugs and love. And I think that the character's names are great as well. I do love Christmas and all the Christmas stories. Read it, you won't be disappointed. ...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Alyosha rated it really liked it

Shelves: laugh-out-loud, light-n-sweet, contemporary, geeks-nerds-teachers-professors, dancers-strippers, deception-betrayal-lies

Wonderful, funny, romantic, sweet and fluffy holiday story packed with believable, vulnerable main characters and delicious emotional and sexual tension.

4.5 stars

3 likes · Like · see review