Yay! I'm so glad to find a review of this book here on LJ where I can interact and talk about my own views.
First of all, I am ever-so-slightly biased because 1. I know the author and 2. I've looked forward to this being published for a long, long time. And, if you take a look at my recent entries about it, I think it's pretty clear that I absolutely love this book in every. single. way.
I didn't find the gang-rape scene at all sexualized, but that's my perception. I did, however, find it triggery, and had to set the book down several times during that scene and wish I had something strong to drink. The flashback-within-a-flashback thing didn't work for me at first, but once I started thinking 'What is Seth actually telling Hannah, and what is he keeping back?' I was able to enjoy and appreciate the style a lot more. Cassie's remembrances of that time later on in the story hit me hard, because until then we don't see what happened, Seth doesn't really talk about it or think about it, other than this is the thing he's hiding, and this is the thing that does not make him good enough for Jim.
I didn't find the prose too purple at all. (This may be because I'm already quite familiar with the author's style.) I think the prose *could* have been too purple but was balanced quite nicely so that it wasn't overwhelming or off-putting. I enjoyed the more colorful turns of phrase, and I thought it lended a uniqueness to the novel that you don't often find in gay romance.
I have been trying to figure out what I like most about this novel, because I was planning on writing a review of my own. So far, I have a lot of possible answers. Cassie is a big one. I related to her in a big way, I think. (I believe the author started the novel with Cassie as the protagonist, and then the other characters took over and suddenly the story took on a life of its own.) I sort of lost that feeling of closeness with Cassie, though, near the end of the story. I felt that her dream of going to Paris was understandable in her youth, but once she matured and learned more of the world, I didn't buy that it would still appeal to her in the same way it seemed to.
Hmm. What else. The ending. I feel that yes, things were left unresolved, but I found that to be realistic. Maybe more realistic than the rest of the text, which did have a sort of fantastic quality to it, but I think I would have been unhappy with everything tied up in a neat bow at the end.
And the slices of New York! LOVE. I felt as if I were Cassie, and the author was showing me around the city. I enjoyed that emensely.
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Date: 2006-03-28 06:47 pm (UTC)First of all, I am ever-so-slightly biased because 1. I know the author and 2. I've looked forward to this being published for a long, long time. And, if you take a look at my recent entries about it, I think it's pretty clear that I absolutely love this book in every. single. way.
I didn't find the gang-rape scene at all sexualized, but that's my perception. I did, however, find it triggery, and had to set the book down several times during that scene and wish I had something strong to drink. The flashback-within-a-flashback thing didn't work for me at first, but once I started thinking 'What is Seth actually telling Hannah, and what is he keeping back?' I was able to enjoy and appreciate the style a lot more. Cassie's remembrances of that time later on in the story hit me hard, because until then we don't see what happened, Seth doesn't really talk about it or think about it, other than this is the thing he's hiding, and this is the thing that does not make him good enough for Jim.
I didn't find the prose too purple at all. (This may be because I'm already quite familiar with the author's style.) I think the prose *could* have been too purple but was balanced quite nicely so that it wasn't overwhelming or off-putting. I enjoyed the more colorful turns of phrase, and I thought it lended a uniqueness to the novel that you don't often find in gay romance.
I have been trying to figure out what I like most about this novel, because I was planning on writing a review of my own. So far, I have a lot of possible answers. Cassie is a big one. I related to her in a big way, I think. (I believe the author started the novel with Cassie as the protagonist, and then the other characters took over and suddenly the story took on a life of its own.) I sort of lost that feeling of closeness with Cassie, though, near the end of the story. I felt that her dream of going to Paris was understandable in her youth, but once she matured and learned more of the world, I didn't buy that it would still appeal to her in the same way it seemed to.
Hmm. What else. The ending. I feel that yes, things were left unresolved, but I found that to be realistic. Maybe more realistic than the rest of the text, which did have a sort of fantastic quality to it, but I think I would have been unhappy with everything tied up in a neat bow at the end.
And the slices of New York! LOVE. I felt as if I were Cassie, and the author was showing me around the city. I enjoyed that emensely.