CBR17 Book 26: "The Gods Time Forgot" by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzales

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. 

Rua remembers nothing from before she woke up in a muddy hole in upstate New York. Her maid and everyone around her claims that she's Emma Harrington, missing for two days, but Rua while Rua may look just like her, she is certain there is nothing of Emma in her. Emma's wealthy parents are determined to try bury the scandal of Emma's behaviour, which isn't made easier when Rua in Emma's body behaves in ways a debutante from the 1870s most certainly shouldn't. 

Finn Somethingorother (cannot be bothered to go back to the book to find his actual surname), Lord of Donore, is in New York trying to secure lucrative business deals so he can secure his position in society, and use his wealth and privilege to support a hospital and an orphanage. One of the wealthy magnates would like him to marry his daughter, but at every social gathering, Finn can't take his eyes off the scandalous Emma Harrington, who insists he should call her Rua. He also can't understand why he seems like he knows her from somewhere. 

According to the publisher: "Irish mythology collides with Gilded Age New York in this sweeping debut enemies-to-lovers historical romantasy, perfect for fans of Outlander and A Fate Inked in Blood." I'm a sucker for creative use of mythology in a story, I read far too few books set during the Gilded Age, despite loving historical romances, and I tend to really enjoy a good enemies to lovers plot.

Sadly, I should have remembered that most of the time, publishers have an extremely creative interpretation of what the book they're selling actually contains. Is there Irish mythology in this? Yes, and I thought it was rather creatively used, and wish there had been more of it. We also get an insight into New York in the 1870s, but it mostly involves very snooty and controlling mothers with lofty social ambitions for their offspring. Occasionally Rua wanders around unaccompanied in an inappropriately informal outfit, and gets herself into more trouble as Emma Harrington is more deeply embroiled in scandal. 

Is this enemies to lovers? Not even close. This is former lovers possibly trapped in the bodies of other people and trying to remember how they fit together and what the heck has happened to bring them to where they are now. The romance is probably the least interesting plot of this book, and once the whole convoluted mess of who Rua and Finn really are to one another and how they came to be in New York at this time is explained, the book is pretty much over, and there isn't really any time for the reader to see how their romance is likely to work out now that they know the truth.

There are absolutely elements that work, but as a whole, this book is unsatisfying and leaves you wanting a more fleshed out story with more complex characters and character dynamics. 

Judging a book by its cover: There are a lot of interesting elements incorporated in this cover (the knot work arch, the clock face in the background, the ravens, Rua's beautiful dress. However, I really don't like the way the artist has drawn the people, especially Finn, who looks more like a sinister villain than a romantic hero. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 25: "Thank You for Listening" by Julia Whelan

Page count: 400 pages

Audio book length: 11 hrs 15 mins

Rating: 4 stars

Sewanee (pronounced Swanie, several characters call her Swan) Chester was a child actress on a popular sitcom, but a serious injury while filming her big break as an adult led to her losing an eye and becoming permanently scarred, so now she makes her living as an audiobook narrator. While it may not be as glamorous as acting, she's very good at it and has won several awards. Early in her career, she also narrated romance novels, but now her cynicism makes it too hard for her to believe in Happily Ever Afters, and so she's retired the pseudonym she used to narrate that genre with. 

Normally, Sewanee doesn't go to big conventions, but her boss Mark, is unable to make the Vegas Book Convention and sends her instead. It also gives her a chance to hang out with her best friend, Adaku, who is still an actress and a rising star in Hollywood. Adaku has just been given a very lucrative job offer, and wants Sewanee to come stay in her swanky, all-expenses-paid suite so they can properly celebrate. However, Adaku has to fly to LA to meet with a movie producer, leaving Sewanee alone in a bar, nursing her drink and trying to drown her disappointment, both at not being able to spend more time with her friend, but also because of the way her life has turned out. Her evening looks up as a handsome stranger, Nick, approaches her and insists on buying her a drink. Since his flight is due to leave in a few hours, they are only supposed to have a brief window together, but a freak snowstorm strands him in Vegas for the night, and he and Sewanee spend it together. 

Sewanee's beloved grandmother has Alzheimer's, and the nursing home she is in is expensive, so when Sewanee is offered a frankly staggering amount of money to return to romance narration, unearthing her old pseudonym, she doesn't really have much choice but to accept. The fact that she gets to work with probably the sexiest and most mysterious male narrator in the business, Brock McNight, doesn't hurt either. The two of them gradually strike up a friendship via e-mails and messages, but even with the undeniable chemistry she seems to have with Brock, Sewanee can't quite get Nick out of her head. Of course, she has no contact details for the man, and told him her name was Alice and that she was a book editor, so he would have no way of tracking her down either, should he so want to. 

Sewanee has a choice to make when it turns out Brock is coming to LA for a weekend. She agrees to meet him for dinner - never suspecting what strange plot twists life has in store for her.

This is Julia Whelan's second novel, but to anyone who listens to audiobooks, she's much more famous for her narration. According to her website, she has performed in over 600 audiobooks, and the New Yorker called her the "Adele of audiobooks". You are sure to have heard her voice at some point. While there are several similarities between Sewanee and the author (who is a famous audiobook narrator who also used to act on a popular TV show when she was younger), Whelan is very clear in her author's note that this is in no way autobiographical, it's just another example of write what you know. I did discover that in the aftermath of writing and publishing this, Whelan actually wrote a version of the romance novel that she has Sewanee and Brock narrating, so fans of the novel can actually hear the whole thing, should they so wish. 

Sewanee's motivation for taking the new narration job is that her grandmother has dementia, is starting to deteriorate and needs to be moved into the full-time care ward at her care home. This costs considerably more money, and Sewanee's father isn't inclined to help, as he thinks she could be moved to a cheaper home. My mother passed away two years ago. She had Lewy Body dementia, and as she deteriorated, she was no longer able to live by herself anymore and had to be moved into a closed dementia ward, where she could have 24-hour care. Sewanee's grandmother seems to really love the care home she's in, which is why Sewanee is so determined to let her stay, despite the costs, but my Mum was miserable and kept asking us to take her home, which we obviously couldn't, cause she kept getting hurt or wandering off and getting lost when she wasn't monitored. So reading the parts of this book that dealt with Sewanee's grandmother's worsening condition was really hard, and even writing this paragraph is harder going than I was expecting. 

Even with this subplot, I really enjoyed this book. Julia Whelan obviously knows a lot about audiobook narration, and it was nice to get a glimpse behind the scenes, so to speak. Romance novels where the heroine doesn't have female friends seem really strange to me, so a good and close friendship is always a plus. 

Having really enjoyed this, I think I will also check out Whelan's debut novel, My Oxford Year. 

Judging a book by its cover: A romance cover not featuring people is unusual, but I like it. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read