Liu, Marjorie M. - Shadow Touch
Wed, Mar. 5th, 2008 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterThough Tiger Eye is the first book in the series, this one is when the big plot arc kicks off.
Elena Baxter is a healer. Artur is a psychometrist who wears gloves all the time so he doesn't inadvertantly touch something and get horrible visions in his head. They end up meeting when they're both kidnapped by a mysterious organization and accidentally bonding when Elena heals Artur.
This is a pretty good book, and I felt I should have liked it more than I did, given the inclusion of "psychickids adults in a lab" and "he can't touch anything." I would have had qualms with the standard female healer thing, only I like Elena a lot, and there's some spoilery stuff at the end that was made of awesome.
Liu handles the psychic bond between Elena and Artur very well; I usually don't like them, but I bought into this one. It helps that the psychic bond leads to moments like realizing the guy you're kissing can taste your morning breath.
Elena gets some great dialogue, my favorite probably being the snippet on Stockholm syndrome; Artur gets angst; new characters are introduced; and we learn more about Dirk & Steele. I'd normally be irritated by powerful woman villain in a series in which most of the Dirk & Steele agents seem to be men, but given Nancy Dirk and a character from Tiger Eye, it reads to me more as the universe just having lots of women in positions of power, which I cheer on.
There are also some great sex scenes with Elena and Artur -- Liu seems to be very good at writing sexy scenes that don't necessarily have sex, much like the glove scene in Loretta Chase's Lord of the Scoundrels. I loved Elena and Artur making their beds in the train! It doesn't sound sexy, but wow, the UST. Ditto with Artur keeping Elena from falling in another scene. Further points for the actual sex being a little awkward; they don't hit a comfortable position on first try, and I loved little details like that (and like the aforementioned morning breath).
So I'm not quite sure why I didn't connect emotionally. I think I wanted (even more) angst out of Artur; I am not fond of the "I cannot touch things! Oh wait, but I can touch you because you are so gentle/compassionate/whatever" trope. Again, Liu employs it fairly skillfully, but I stubbornly dug in my heels and wanted a romance in which the person who cannot touch still cannot quite touch the love interest without pain. Artur and Elena are really sweet together and incredibly romantic, but their particular story just didn't hit my buttons.
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oracne's review
Elena Baxter is a healer. Artur is a psychometrist who wears gloves all the time so he doesn't inadvertantly touch something and get horrible visions in his head. They end up meeting when they're both kidnapped by a mysterious organization and accidentally bonding when Elena heals Artur.
This is a pretty good book, and I felt I should have liked it more than I did, given the inclusion of "psychic
Liu handles the psychic bond between Elena and Artur very well; I usually don't like them, but I bought into this one. It helps that the psychic bond leads to moments like realizing the guy you're kissing can taste your morning breath.
Elena gets some great dialogue, my favorite probably being the snippet on Stockholm syndrome; Artur gets angst; new characters are introduced; and we learn more about Dirk & Steele. I'd normally be irritated by powerful woman villain in a series in which most of the Dirk & Steele agents seem to be men, but given Nancy Dirk and a character from Tiger Eye, it reads to me more as the universe just having lots of women in positions of power, which I cheer on.
There are also some great sex scenes with Elena and Artur -- Liu seems to be very good at writing sexy scenes that don't necessarily have sex, much like the glove scene in Loretta Chase's Lord of the Scoundrels. I loved Elena and Artur making their beds in the train! It doesn't sound sexy, but wow, the UST. Ditto with Artur keeping Elena from falling in another scene. Further points for the actual sex being a little awkward; they don't hit a comfortable position on first try, and I loved little details like that (and like the aforementioned morning breath).
So I'm not quite sure why I didn't connect emotionally. I think I wanted (even more) angst out of Artur; I am not fond of the "I cannot touch things! Oh wait, but I can touch you because you are so gentle/compassionate/whatever" trope. Again, Liu employs it fairly skillfully, but I stubbornly dug in my heels and wanted a romance in which the person who cannot touch still cannot quite touch the love interest without pain. Artur and Elena are really sweet together and incredibly romantic, but their particular story just didn't hit my buttons.
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oracne's reviewTags: