Kinsale, Laura - For My Lady's Heart

(reread)

Mostly I reread this because I wanted to see if it would get better. Alas, no. It had all the potential to push every single one of my buttons, but it just never quite got there. This may be in part because of the sort-of-Old-English that Kinsale uses in the dialogue, and partly because I never quite get the sense of menace and threat that I should have if I am to believe in Melanthe's character.

Melanthe is the princess of Monteverde, one of the three warring kingdoms in Italy (the other two being Navona and Riata). The death of her husband means that there is a chance for either Navona or Riata to take over Monteverde through marriage, but all Melanthe wants to do is escape the political turmoil and retire to her childhood home of Bowland in England. Ruck somehow ends up protecting her.

Haha, I am too lazy to give good summary today.

I think originally I thought I would like the book because Melanthe is a pretty cold heroine. Being embroiled in the complex schemes of the Riata and the Navona, as well as the precious dowry she bears, has been enough to teach her that she should never show her emotions, never care about people. Eh, ok, I am strange, but this interests me. And while the book is on Melanthe learning to love and the like, which is a story that does interest me, it's more about her fear and her insecurity and her desire to flee. I'm not sure if she ever does overcome that. She just ends up finding a better protector in Ruck. I suppose a big part of the book is her learning to trust enough to depend on Ruck and not push him away when Navona comes for her, but that bit just doesn't work for me.

There's a distance from the characters that keeps me from being interested in their story. Also, I sort of resent the fact that Melanthe gives up Monteverde to keep Bowland and that Ruck gets a Secret Destiny. I hope I am not spoiling anything, as the whole set up with him as a nameless knight pretty much begs for a Secret Destiny.

Anyhow, I get the feeling that the book is about Melanthe finding a protector and being able to escape from that which made her dangerous and coveted in the first place, and while that is a perfectly fine story to tell, it just doesn't seem to be one I am very interested in right now.

Well, at the very least, this makes parts of Shadowheart (one of my favorite romances ever) make a whole lot more sense.

CLAMP - Shirahime-Syo (Eng. trans.)

This is a very beautifullly produced manga with four only slightly interconnected short stories. Actually, the structure reminds me a bit of all those romance anthologies, with stories united only by a certain element. The element here is supposed to be Shirahime-Syo (The Story of the White Princess or something... translated as "Snow Princess"). Shirahime-Syo is apparently the white lady; snow supposedly falls when she cries.

I have no idea what all the stories have to do with her. I mean, they take place during winter and they are sad, and they invoke the legend of Shirahime-Syo, but it all seems completely inorganic, as though CLAMP were just tossing in the snow and the sadness so they could have a story in the book.

I did like that it took place in historical Japan (or ancient Japan, given the level of fantasy); most of the manga I've read lately has very little to do with ancient Japan on the surface level and much more to do with assorted fantasy/gothic worlds and modern day life. The art is also gorgeous, and there's one colored frontispiece (I think).

Lots of fluff with no real bite, unfortunately. But very pretty fluff.