Friday, June 16, 2006
****½ The Fall of Shane MacKade by Nora Roberts. Contemporary romance. Re-read.
This is my favorite book of this series. As Geets always says, Shane gets the best lines. And I love brainy heroines. Rebecca is written with humor and affection and honesty. Too many times, a brainy character, particularly if it's a heroine, will be written as hopelessly inept, as a comical figure--presumably to keep readers from being unable to relate to her. Rebecca has had social difficulties--controlling yet distant parents, college at 14, boarding schools, etc. will do that to you--but she's working on it, herself, using her intelligence, and that makes the difference.
Shane's a farmer, and while I may doubt the long-term compatibility of disparate levels of intelligence, he's neither intimidated by her nor condescending. There's still the physical fights the four brothers get into, which part of me finds amusing (they're definitely written to be amusing), and another part questions their maturity. I don't know any grown men who get in fistfights with their brothers. deep breath. let it go, Darla. it's just a book.
Rebecca has come to town to study the ghosts--she's had dreams about them for years, and she's tired of academia and wants to study something new just because she finds it fascinating. I've complained before about Nora's paranormals, but they don't bother me in this series. The ghosts behave the way I'd expect ghosts to behave, if I ever encountered any.
Oh. Last thing. This is one of the books with a Bimbo Darla in it. Nora wrote about 7 Bimbo Darlas, until I asked her about it--since then, there's only been one Darla in her books--a wacky twin. I probably should have kept my mouth shut.
...more
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, ContemporaryRomance
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, ContemporaryRomance
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It's strange reading books with characters who have the same name as you, isn't it. Laura Ingalls Wilder was probably the first Laura I came across in fiction. It makes me want to like the character, and I took the situation of the Laura in Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie rather too much to heart. So far I don't think I've come across any evil Lauras, and no bimbos either.
# posted by 
: 6/16/2006 11:08 PM
: 6/16/2006 11:08 PM
It is strange. The first time I read my own name in a book was either this one or another of Nora's books, and it was startling. Your own name tends to jump off the page.
It's also interesting, seeing the impressions different authors have of your name. I was much happier with the Darla in Jennifer Crusie's Crazy for You. :)
It's also interesting, seeing the impressions different authors have of your name. I was much happier with the Darla in Jennifer Crusie's Crazy for You. :)
Characters called Rachel often come to a sticky end in Hollywood movies - they're either the earnest scientist or the best friend, and tend to die first. I've learnt to live with it, though it was a bit disconcerting when I first noticed the pattern ;)
Rachel
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Rachel
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