Tag Archive for: Historical Fiction

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Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & ParkTitle: Eleanor & Park
Author(s): Rainbow Rowell
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 328
Length: 8h 57m
Narrator(s): Rebecca Lowman, Sunil Malhotra
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book Club
Rating:
Spice: 1 Flames

My Thoughts

ELEANOR & PARK was supposed to be a cute coming of age story about two misfit teenagers growing up in Nebraska in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the story suffered a great deal due to bad Asian representation and uncomfortable descriptions of Park, Josh, and Mindy. You could definitely tell that their Korean heritage was from an outsider’s perspective. The audiobook didn’t help with the bad Asian representation because it made it sound like Mindy was Chinese instead of Korean. Linguistically speaking, her accent would’ve been different.

I also think she would’ve spoken English a lot better than she was portrayed to because she was immersed in English ALL. THE. TIME. She wasn’t a recent immigrant nor was she surrounded by the Korean language on a day to day basis. Everything around her was English. Of course, she would still have an accent, but I don’t think she would’ve spoken in such broken English. I hated that Mindy didn’t share her heritage with her sons. Park says more than once that he didn’t know what it meant to be Asian. Even if Mindy was sad to leave her country in pursuit of love, I feel like she would’ve shared her culture with her sons. The family didn’t even eat Korean food at their house. I could’ve totally gotten behind Park feeling different from the other kids in school and learning to be proud of his heritage, but none of that was explored.

The one redeeming quality is the underlying story. I thought it was a cute romance and I loved how much Eleanor and Park leaned on each other to survive their day to day hardships.

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The Viscount Who Loved Me

The Viscount Who Loved MeTitle: The Viscount who Loved Me
Author(s): Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgerton #2
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 354
Length: 12h 23m
Narrator(s): Rosalyn Landor
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice: 3 Flames

My Thoughts

THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME was just as good as, and in some ways better than, THE DUKE AND I. It’s not only a fun, swoon-worthy slow-burn romance, it’s also a story about overcoming one’s fears, gaining confidence in oneself, and found family. I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance between Anthony and Kate. The bantering and sexual tension was so much fun from their very first meeting. I loved reading the progression of their mutual disgust of one another to friendship and then love.

The edition I read had a second epilogue, which I really enjoyed (much more than the second epilogue for THE DUKE AND I). I loved the return to the pal mal (croquet) setting at Aubrey Hall. I think it would’ve been great fun to be included in a game with the Bridgerton family.

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The Duke and I

The Duke and ITitle: The Duke and I
Author(s): Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgerton #1
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 438
Length: 12h 9m
Narrator(s): Rosalyn Landor
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice: 3 Flames

My Thoughts

THE DUKE AND I was steamy historical romance set in Regency era England that was a thought-provoking story that deals with hard subjects like child abandonment, child abuse, betrayal, forgiveness, and healing from trauma. Though some of the scenes are hard to read, I thought the story was profound and heart-felt.

There are plenty of swoon-worthy moments. I really loved Daphne and her courage to help Simon, the Duke of Hastings, overcome his past trauma, showing him that love is more powerful and healing than anger and resentment. I loved the instant connection and attraction between Daphne and Simon. I especially loved the sexual tension between the two of them. I loved the themes of family, forgiveness, redemption, and love conquering all.

The edition I read had a second epilogue written after Quinn received many requests to know how the characters were doing. It’s set 21 years after the events in the main story. Even though I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the life Daphne and Simon had together, I thought it was a bit much due to its length.

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Bringing Down the Duke

Bringing Down the DukeTitle: Bringing Down the Duke
Author(s): Evie Dunmore
Series: A League of Extraordinary Women #1
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 356
Length: 12h 20m
Narrator(s): Elizabeth Jasicki
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice: 3.5 Flames

My Thoughts

BRINGING DOWN THE DUKE was a fun, steamy historical fiction romance. There are plenty of swoon-worthy moments. I really loved Annabelle and her willingness to speak her mind even though it was looked down on at that time. I loved the instant connection and attraction between her and Sebastian, the Duke of Montgomery. I especially loved the sexual tension between the two of them.

I really loved the setting of Victorian era England, just at the beginning of the suffragette movement and the admission of women to Oxford. I thought it gave the romance and characters, especially Annabelle and Sebastian, some depth. Not only did I love the theme of women’s rights and equality, I also loved the themes of friendship, finding one’s own way, and duty to one’s country vs. being on the right side of history.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads SingTitle: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author(s): Delia Owens
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 370
Length: 12h 12m
Narrator(s): Cassandra Campbell
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice: 2.5 Flames

My Thoughts

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING is a beautifully told and emotional story about love, loss, betrayal, and redemption. I really loved Kya and I was invested in her life. I loved that she not only survived, but thrived despite the hardships she faced. I loved the characters, especially those that showed kindness to Kya instead of believing her to be trash and dirty. I thought the dual timeline was the perfect vehicle for the story, especially the mystery aspect of it. I liked getting snippets of Kya’s life in the past as I wondered what lead to her present circumstances.

I loved WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING until the last few pages. I feel like the last few pages undid what the author was trying to say and/or show about who Kya grew to be after the trial. I actually don’t care that Kya killed Chase. I feel like he would’ve continued to harass and assault her. I feel like she was justified in thinking that killing him was her only option. I’m miffed because it seemed like Kya never told Tate about the sexual assault and that he was unaware of the full reason she killed Chase. Even though he kept her secret for the rest of his life, it left me feeling like her secret tainted their love and life together.