Halfway into Patricia Gaffney's Crooked Hearts...

[oyceter]

Book is set in turn of the century San Francisco, so of course the villains are part of some Chinese gang. Fine. I am not liking this so much, but dealing.

Then of course the godfather of the Chinese gang lures our poor, hapless white heroine into his house, drugs her, and gets her naked to be his bride. Uh huh. And now, it turns out she was drugged with an aphrodisiac and must have sex with the hero right now!

Contemplating throwing the book against a wall.

Comments

Re:

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I had completely blocked this out of my memory. But then I remember very little of Crooked Hearts.

For a more sympathetic (if still external) view of Chinese-white relations on the California coast in the 19th century, may I recommend Susan Fletcher's Walk across the Sea (YA) and Karen Joy Fowler's Sister Noon and Sarah Canary (arguably mainstream)?

Re:

[oyceter]

Ah well...

Thanks again for the recs! Are the Fowler books romance?

Re:

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Nope. Fowler began publishing short fiction in SF venues, but all her book publications have been as literary mainstream. I've read very good arguments that Sarah Canary is SF, but it's, well, arguable.