criticalgayze's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
First, a warning/disclaimer: Please know I want nothing more than to shout the praises of this book from the rooftops; however, Dreamspinner Press seems to still hold the rights to this title, and they have been vehemently decried by authors who have worked with them for failure to meet contractual obligations, like payment. (This one was gifted to me by another previously Dreamspinner-published author who is friends with Speedwell, or I wouldn't have grabbed this specific title.) After reading Kindred Hearts, I will be seeking out some of Rowan Speedwell's work no longer under the "Dreamspinner" label, and I do strongly recommend you do the same. Speedwell has several books published by Riptide Publishing, including another historical fiction title, Bitterwood, that I would recommend looking into as a way to better support them.
The first two thirds of this book are really strong. At the risk of over hyping, I really had a strong sense of the Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice about these two characters and their romance. While it takes a long time to build up, Speedwell is doing some really great stuff in the first part that has wonderful payoff in part two. It is amazing to see a novel, especially a romance, from 2011 that's getting down and dirty in confronting depressive and suicidal thinking as well as the asexual spectrum. While not a racially diverse novel, this book is diverse in its depiction of neurodivergence and sexuality in a way that speaks to a promise of care in Speedwell's work. The only thing I found slightly troubling is that, while in a book that acknowledges the dangers of "deviant" sexuality at the time, Tristan and Charles seem to be largely surrounded by largely supportive or tacitly apathetic friends and family that seem unlikely for the period, yet the novel gets kind of heavy-fisted with period appropriate slut shaming of women with sexual agency dissatisfied in stilted patriarchal marriages of status that seems at odds with the earlier mentioned anachronistic queer-positive vibes.
Now, the third (and final) act drags a good bit in a way that hampers the earlier strong showing. There's a weird possible-outing plotline that does little more than provide a small bit of angst that largely goes ignored and goes completely unused until it's finally resolved. With how damaging and triggering outing can be for Queer people in real life, it's not something I like to see show up unless an author plans to really confront it. I also think the final section causes the romance and the work of unpacking Tristan's mental illness in part two to lose momentum that is not picked up again. I think I would have much preferred for this section to be the middle of the novel to allow the romance to build around the war-recovery, which would allow the room to end on a the punch of steam that romance readers typically love and look for in the genre.
In the more miss than hit world of small and independent Queer romance, Speedwell is an author that I think shows the great impact and promise providing space for as many writers as possible that the space can have.
The first two thirds of this book are really strong. At the risk of over hyping, I really had a strong sense of the Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice about these two characters and their romance. While it takes a long time to build up, Speedwell is doing some really great stuff in the first part that has wonderful payoff in part two. It is amazing to see a novel, especially a romance, from 2011 that's getting down and dirty in confronting depressive and suicidal thinking as well as the asexual spectrum. While not a racially diverse novel, this book is diverse in its depiction of neurodivergence and sexuality in a way that speaks to a promise of care in Speedwell's work. The only thing I found slightly troubling is that, while in a book that acknowledges the dangers of "deviant" sexuality at the time, Tristan and Charles seem to be largely surrounded by largely supportive or tacitly apathetic friends and family that seem unlikely for the period, yet the novel gets kind of heavy-fisted with period appropriate slut shaming of women with sexual agency dissatisfied in stilted patriarchal marriages of status that seems at odds with the earlier mentioned anachronistic queer-positive vibes.
Now, the third (and final) act drags a good bit in a way that hampers the earlier strong showing. There's a weird possible-outing plotline that does little more than provide a small bit of angst that largely goes ignored and goes completely unused until it's finally resolved. With how damaging and triggering outing can be for Queer people in real life, it's not something I like to see show up unless an author plans to really confront it. I also think the final section causes the romance and the work of unpacking Tristan's mental illness in part two to lose momentum that is not picked up again. I think I would have much preferred for this section to be the middle of the novel to allow the romance to build around the war-recovery, which would allow the room to end on a the punch of steam that romance readers typically love and look for in the genre.
In the more miss than hit world of small and independent Queer romance, Speedwell is an author that I think shows the great impact and promise providing space for as many writers as possible that the space can have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Outing, Self harm, Sexism, and War
Minor: Pregnancy and Acephobia/Arophobia
More...