Chase, Loretta - Captives of the Night (partial)

[oyceter]

Just as an explanation, I usually just stop reading books when I don't like them. But I got three-fourths of the way through this one before the Extremely Sporktastic Element came in, and thereby have enough content for a post.

Also, I am still grumpy about it and want to rant.

Leila Beaumont, nee Bridgemont, married Francis Beaumont as an escape from her thieving father. Unfortunately Francis turns out to be a horrible, degenerate, nasty person, as exemplified by his sexual interest in men (cue desire to throw book against wall). Lucky for her, he's murdered. Unlucky for her, the suspicion falls on her. She ends up teaming up with Ismal, Count of Esmond, who is secretly an Albanian pasha-type character who is masquerading as a Frenchman while spying on people. You can tell he is Exotic and Not-Quite-European because he doesn't use contractions.

This is the point in which I started to wonder if this was Loretta Chase's Dunnett-inspired book, as it seems that all romance authors must have one.

Halfway through, I figured out that this must be the sequel to The Lion's Daughter, and that Ismal was probably the anti-hero in that book.

I very much like the tension between Leila and Ismal, particularly the acknowledgement that Ismal was attempting to overwhelm her with lust.

On the other hand, I could very much live without homosexuality being the worst thing ever. I understand historical accuracy and that Leila's revulsion to her husband's participation in sodomy is probably accurate, but it would be rather nice if the text didn't support the reading that homosexuality = evil. Or that non-missionary sexuality = evil as well. Just one sympathetic homosexual character! Or something!

Spoilers!

Leila pushes Ismal to reveal his true name to her. When he decides to, she walks in on him reclining on silken cushions, in full Arabian Nights regalia. There is much about his past with the evil dictator Ali Pasha (lo! I wiki-ed and read up on Ali Pasha!). Ismal continues to not speak with contractions. I'm sure Leila was overwhelmed by his pasha-like charms while I nearly threw the book against a wall. Yay, a re-do of The Sheikh! Only let's just take the oh-so-exotic trappings of silk and turbans and cushions on the floor and discard the whole brown skin that sometimes go with it, as Ismal is a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed speciman.

I think it was the silken cushions and full Arabian Nights regalia that did it. Ismal's Albanian past and ties to Ali Pasha are mentioned way earlier on in the book, and I was willing to overlook his exotic-ness and sexual prowess and whatnot because I liked his interactions with Leila, but good lord. I have little to no patience for Oriental fantasies, and as such, I refuse to finish this and will probably give both this book and The Lion's Daughter (for good measure) away.

Grrrr.

Comments

[estara.livejournal.com]

to defend Mz Chase's honor (you can tell I liked the book and I only got Lion's Daughter when it was rereleased this year): Ismal himself has no problems with homosexual love whatsoever, but the times and English society do (there's that young lord who had a drunken episode with his best friend, the young attache who killed himself in Paris - because of stolen papers, though). No wonder the sister of his intended is freaked out, when she hears of this (but she actually calms down, which I don't think very realistic).

well, at least near the end Leila and Ismal experiment with bondage ^^. He actually says "As you wish, ma belle, only tell me is it to be you - or me?"

so non-missionary sexuality = just fine

With escape literature I just accept blond-haired Albanians as long as I like the characters and the dialogue ^^, so it doesn't throw me off.

[oyceter]

I did like that she had Ismal commenting on the homophobia, and I don't mind that she has her characters being absolutely horrified by accusations of sodomy, given the social and political ramifications of the times. But I wish that the one character who did willingly and frequently partake in homosexual relationships hadn't been the insane degenerate abusive villain character. Especially since there's a trend in romances to have the villains be the sexually "perverse," sexually voracious, and homosexual ones. Sticks in my teeth.

I'm glad that there is non-missionary sex in the latter parts, though I'm still irked about the constant equation of sexual appetite with villainy in the romance genre, and Francis Beaumont's character reads too much like Chase taking the standard romance villain and chucking him in her book without thinking that much about the underlying messages regarding homosexuality and sexual appetite/experience. Sigh. Oh romance genre. I love you, and yet, you make it so hard sometimes...

For me, the blond-haired Albanian thing wasn't so much about the lack of realism, but the annoyance at the exoticization and fetishization of the Middle East (Albania being sort of part of the Ottoman Empire at the time). I mean... it's bad enough that "mainstream" romances are nearly always lily white (as opposed to the hopefully growing market for black romances), and then you've got stuff like the Harlequin Exotic Ethnicities line, with titles like "The Spanish Millionaire's Bartered Bride" or "The Greek Tycoon's Mistress."

So the whole "Oh! Ethnic people (because of course white isn't an ethnicity, *rolls eyes*) are so sexy! They are so virile!" thing already sticks, especially in terms of cultural appropriation and only bringing in minorities in stereotypical roles without thinking about political implications. And then the added slap of doing it and taking all the cultural trappings and STILL managing to leave out people of color really made me mad. Anyway. Fantasies are well and good, and authors are of course free to write whatever they want, but as a reader, I'm going to yell if I see that.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

"The Spanish Millionaire's Bartered Bride" or "The Greek Tycoon's Mistress."

I look at things like that, and don't know whether to laugh or cringe.

"Oh! Ethnic people (because of course white isn't an ethnicity, *rolls eyes*) are so sexy! They are so virile!" thing already sticks, especially in terms of cultural appropriation and only bringing in minorities in stereotypical roles without thinking about political implications. And then the added slap of doing it and taking all the cultural trappings and STILL managing to leave out people of color really made me mad.

So many, many things bother me about that. Blonde hair/blue eyes/pale skin = beauty, and by inference the opposite is horribly unattractive.

And it's always the men who are 'exotic', because it's all clearly aimed at white women and intends to play to the fantasies of white women.

The sheikh thing that was so popular in the eighties rubs me the wrong way in particular as I am a muslim.

I might be more inclined to read romance if it didn't all seem like it's not for, aimed at me, or even aware of my existence.

[oyceter]

I look at things like that, and don't know whether to laugh or cringe.

The really sad thing is, those are nearly real titles! I didn't believe it myself at first, but after checking out the series romance stands in bookstores... yup. I do not exaggerate.

I really should write out something about the equation of paleness with beauty sometime, particularly in romance novels -- it almost threw me out of the latest Shana Abe I read because, well... what about people who don't have beautiful pearlescent luminous glowing ivory skin? Like... a good majority of the world?

Word to the exotic men, as opposed to exotic women.

It's just... I love romances, I really do. But there are times when I realize that romances don't love me back, and that makes me sad.