Quick, Amanda - The Paid Companion
Tue, May. 31st, 2005 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterAlas, this was airport reading, picked up at the very last minute at a newsstand because I got through my first book faster than expected. Even so, this one didn't last as long as it should have.
It was also really boring. (I keep trying to say that Bab-style from Chicken Run, which is probably laughably bad)
There wasn't anything wrong with the book per se -- no notable chuck-against-the-wall moments. It's on Arthur (I forget his title), who wants a fake fiancee so that he can investigate his uncle's murder in peace without being mobbed by various husband-hunting people. So he hires Elenora from a paid companion agency, as he is quite practical. Fairly standard arranged marriage/engagement plot.
It's just everyone was extremely wooden, I had no sense that they were actually characters instead of cardboard cutouts. The villains were out-and-out villainous, the good people were good, Elenora saved orphans and was feminist and blah de blah de blah. Sadly, yes, I do count this as nothing wrong with the book per se, because at least there are not gender issues that make me want to claw out my eyes! Obviously, this is a bit of a sticking point with me ;).
I was rather irritated with how Arthur and Elenora investigated people though. I mean, seriously! They just went about telling everyone they talked to about what they knew, even without knowing if they were innocent or not. Also, there was the annoying "I would know you instinctively" type thing. Just, lots of stereotyping. Villains would just somehow sound evil or give people the shivers, good people would somehow broadcast their goodness so that Arthur and Elenora could instinctively pick it up. Lazy.
So, very boring, but at least I didn't have the urge to throw it at something! That probably wouldn't have gone over too well on the plane.
It was also really boring. (I keep trying to say that Bab-style from Chicken Run, which is probably laughably bad)
There wasn't anything wrong with the book per se -- no notable chuck-against-the-wall moments. It's on Arthur (I forget his title), who wants a fake fiancee so that he can investigate his uncle's murder in peace without being mobbed by various husband-hunting people. So he hires Elenora from a paid companion agency, as he is quite practical. Fairly standard arranged marriage/engagement plot.
It's just everyone was extremely wooden, I had no sense that they were actually characters instead of cardboard cutouts. The villains were out-and-out villainous, the good people were good, Elenora saved orphans and was feminist and blah de blah de blah. Sadly, yes, I do count this as nothing wrong with the book per se, because at least there are not gender issues that make me want to claw out my eyes! Obviously, this is a bit of a sticking point with me ;).
I was rather irritated with how Arthur and Elenora investigated people though. I mean, seriously! They just went about telling everyone they talked to about what they knew, even without knowing if they were innocent or not. Also, there was the annoying "I would know you instinctively" type thing. Just, lots of stereotyping. Villains would just somehow sound evil or give people the shivers, good people would somehow broadcast their goodness so that Arthur and Elenora could instinctively pick it up. Lazy.
So, very boring, but at least I didn't have the urge to throw it at something! That probably wouldn't have gone over too well on the plane.
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