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Cuevas, Judy - Bliss
Sat, Jun. 26th, 2004 10:26 pmVery much worth giving in and ordering it online.
Somehow Cuevas manages to make Hannah the sort of spirited ingenue who is innocent yet sexual and keeps her real and unirritating. I particularly like Hannah's taste in clothes and accessories, despite the atrociousness of it ;). Mostly I liked how I could actually see Hannah and Nardi (the ex-ether-addict-ex-sculptor) fall in love, instead of fall headfirst into lust, like so many romance couples do. Of course, lust is a factor, but it was more wrapped into the general infatuation and then the growing friendship between the two. I very much appreciated that I got the see the parts in which they weren't just jumping into bed and were actually talking to each other or just having some fun. It's a remarkably angst free book, considering the various plot factors (he is engaged to another woman for the money factor, she has a checkered past, etc.).
( Spoilers )
The normalness of Hannah and Nardi was just really enjoyable. And I didn't really see Sebastian as the villain of the piece, although that may be because I know he's in Dance too. But heh, I was slightly more attracted to Sebastian in the book than to Nardi. It's the proper geekness that gets to me (see: Wesley and Simon).
Oh, and Cuevas managed to avoid having Amelia Besom fall into the stereotype of either horrible, mean old lady who refuses to give anyone a chance or crusty old lady with the heart of gold, once warmed up properly, and instead had her balanced somewhere between the two, which I also appreciated.
And note to self: do not start these books at 1 in the morning. Bad idea if any sleep at all has been planned for the night.
Somehow Cuevas manages to make Hannah the sort of spirited ingenue who is innocent yet sexual and keeps her real and unirritating. I particularly like Hannah's taste in clothes and accessories, despite the atrociousness of it ;). Mostly I liked how I could actually see Hannah and Nardi (the ex-ether-addict-ex-sculptor) fall in love, instead of fall headfirst into lust, like so many romance couples do. Of course, lust is a factor, but it was more wrapped into the general infatuation and then the growing friendship between the two. I very much appreciated that I got the see the parts in which they weren't just jumping into bed and were actually talking to each other or just having some fun. It's a remarkably angst free book, considering the various plot factors (he is engaged to another woman for the money factor, she has a checkered past, etc.).
( Spoilers )
The normalness of Hannah and Nardi was just really enjoyable. And I didn't really see Sebastian as the villain of the piece, although that may be because I know he's in Dance too. But heh, I was slightly more attracted to Sebastian in the book than to Nardi. It's the proper geekness that gets to me (see: Wesley and Simon).
Oh, and Cuevas managed to avoid having Amelia Besom fall into the stereotype of either horrible, mean old lady who refuses to give anyone a chance or crusty old lady with the heart of gold, once warmed up properly, and instead had her balanced somewhere between the two, which I also appreciated.
And note to self: do not start these books at 1 in the morning. Bad idea if any sleep at all has been planned for the night.