thecatwood's review against another edition
2.0
This read like meandering fan fiction about some tertiary characters from an epic fantasy adventure series. Though this has an interesting premise and a cool world begging to be explored, the undemanding conflict of Beguilement is "will these two in love adults get married." There aren't even big odds to overcome! It takes two mild days to convince some conservative farm folks that the hero is a stand up guy who should marry their ADULT DAUGHTER. Forget that there are ENERGY BENDING POWERS, EVIL WOLF GOLEMS, and KNIVES WITH HUMAN SOULS, let's hear about how farm people and lakewalker people basically get along but don't understand each other for 200+ pages. Le Snooze.
nipomuki's review against another edition
5.0
cw for attempted rape and miscarriage, also some gruesome violence, but much less disturbing than in the Wolf of Wessex, for example
This author apparently can do no wrong! This was part of Audible plus, and the cover art is... not to my taste. But the story was, and I am so glad further volumes are available, too!
More than in the other Fantasy novels by her that I read, the romance is at the center of the story. There still is some of the amazing world building that she is such a master at, although it is all a little simpler than in the World of the Five Gods novels. Here there are just the two cultures, with their very different life styles and views, only intertwining when needs must. While we do get to see that the „farmers“ have good reasons to be as they are, the Lakewalkers are much more appealing, with their open-minded, community-oriented, slightly matriarchal outlook. And they too are at fault in the uneasy relationship between their peoples, and it seems that they and the world will soon pay a very high prize for it, as they are declining in numbers and will no longer be able to protect the land from the horrible entities coming out of the ground. There is a hint at a common backstory and I am eager to learn more.
The relationship between the Lakewalker hero and the „farmer“ girl is very sweet, even though it starts out lopsided with her being saved by him and also the age difference. She later saves herself and him, and the age difference is addressed, but it could bother some readers. I went with it because in the story it all seemed to make sense to me ;-)
I loved how he teaches her about good sex, after her disastrous first experience with „stupid Sonny“. The intimate scenes are well executed, not very explicit, with a tongue in cheek humor and enough information to be happy for them. Also we do not learn about every detail of their bodies, which often happens in romances, and is one of the things I am not so fond of about them. We know that he is tall and lanky, and that she is small with curly hair, but there are no descriptions of abs or breasts. It is more about the feelings, and I like that.
The first part of the book is action and danger and loss, the second part is getting to know his group of patrollers, and the third part is getting back to her family and mending fences there. LMB is an incredible writer of very human characters and realistic relationships.
Now we are off to meet his family, and it does not look that it will be a happy homecoming for them both. But I believe in them and their love. They will not only overcome their personal obstacles, but I hope that they will bring their peoples closer and in doing so save the world.
Top notch narration.
This author apparently can do no wrong! This was part of Audible plus, and the cover art is... not to my taste. But the story was, and I am so glad further volumes are available, too!
More than in the other Fantasy novels by her that I read, the romance is at the center of the story. There still is some of the amazing world building that she is such a master at, although it is all a little simpler than in the World of the Five Gods novels. Here there are just the two cultures, with their very different life styles and views, only intertwining when needs must. While we do get to see that the „farmers“ have good reasons to be as they are, the Lakewalkers are much more appealing, with their open-minded, community-oriented, slightly matriarchal outlook. And they too are at fault in the uneasy relationship between their peoples, and it seems that they and the world will soon pay a very high prize for it, as they are declining in numbers and will no longer be able to protect the land from the horrible entities coming out of the ground. There is a hint at a common backstory and I am eager to learn more.
The relationship between the Lakewalker hero and the „farmer“ girl is very sweet, even though it starts out lopsided with her being saved by him and also the age difference. She later saves herself and him, and the age difference is addressed, but it could bother some readers. I went with it because in the story it all seemed to make sense to me ;-)
I loved how he teaches her about good sex, after her disastrous first experience with „stupid Sonny“. The intimate scenes are well executed, not very explicit, with a tongue in cheek humor and enough information to be happy for them. Also we do not learn about every detail of their bodies, which often happens in romances, and is one of the things I am not so fond of about them. We know that he is tall and lanky, and that she is small with curly hair, but there are no descriptions of abs or breasts. It is more about the feelings, and I like that.
The first part of the book is action and danger and loss, the second part is getting to know his group of patrollers, and the third part is getting back to her family and mending fences there. LMB is an incredible writer of very human characters and realistic relationships.
Now we are off to meet his family, and it does not look that it will be a happy homecoming for them both. But I believe in them and their love. They will not only overcome their personal obstacles, but I hope that they will bring their peoples closer and in doing so save the world.
Top notch narration.
lizbusby's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the fantasy world in this novel. Unfortunately, it sits in the background of a romance novel. Not my style.
ccgwalt's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, surprisingly romantic, and thoroughly enjoyable. Bujold's world-building is superb, complex yet easy to imagine and follow. I look forward to the next installment.
rachelini's review against another edition
2.0
A lot of people love this book. And maybe if I'd read it when I was younger I would have too? Maybe it was expectations - I was expecting a fantasy adventure, but it quickly turns into sort of a romance. And the romance didn't work for me.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
5.0
4/28/10 - 4 Stars - This is my first Bujold. I'd never heard of her until she came to Dragon*Con last year. A friend of mine loves her and offered to loan me to books after she re-read them, but I guess she never re-read them. :) Anyway, the library had this one that was the first of a series, so I picked it up. I liked it, but I didn't love it. But I understand that her Vorkosigan books are the really good ones. Of course, my library only has one or two of those and they're both at some random point in the series and not, of course, the first one. Anyway, this book was sweet, but there wasn't a whole lot to it. It's really just a May-December romance story with a little bit of fantasy stuff. I might read the following ones if I come across them, but I'm not going to search them out too much. I would like to read her other series though.
2/2/14 - 5 Stars - A+ - This year, I'm trying to catch up on series' I've started, but not finished. I picked a few in particular to finish and this was one of them. The problem was that it's been so long since I've read this, that I couldn't remember most of it. So I had to read it again. I'm glad. I have a different opinion of it this time than the last time. I liked it a lot. There were a few things that sparked my memory, but on the whole, I'd completely forgotten most of it. I'm anxious to read the rest, but I'm going to put a buffer book in the middle so I don't get too overloaded. :)
2/2/14 - 5 Stars - A+ - This year, I'm trying to catch up on series' I've started, but not finished. I picked a few in particular to finish and this was one of them. The problem was that it's been so long since I've read this, that I couldn't remember most of it. So I had to read it again. I'm glad. I have a different opinion of it this time than the last time. I liked it a lot. There were a few things that sparked my memory, but on the whole, I'd completely forgotten most of it. I'm anxious to read the rest, but I'm going to put a buffer book in the middle so I don't get too overloaded. :)
drkappitan's review against another edition
4.0
Genuinely delightful and well paced. I look forward to reading the sequel.
genizah's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't hate it as much as the reviews implied. The female lead is totally a Mary Sue, but no more so than your average romance heroine. I like the dude on account of he's real eye-rolly, and I'm reserving judgment on whether or not Bujold does anything with her premise until I read the next one. It's real unbalanced since all the action is at the beginning, but it mostly seems like the first half of what might be a decent yarn.
liacooper's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. There's something charming and loveable about the way Bujold write's characters that just really grabs me (i think it's because theyre always a little wholesome ^.^). the fantasy world building in this story is also very interesting, i've already got my hands on the sequel i can't wait to see what happens with Dag's family