Scan barcode
lefthandedbibliophile's review
4.0
I have such mixed feelings towards this book. There were parts in the story which were remarkable while at times I was bothered about a few incidents and their treatment. Nevertheless I am going with 3.5 stars for sheer ingenuity and novelty of the plot.
laura_sorensen's review
4.0
This one is cool and creepy. Kelly is so good at the details of that time period, especially as it relates to sailors.
rhodered's review
DNFed at 69% at this insight into how the hero feels about a woman he had enthusiastically and consensually slept with multiple times and who he knows next to nothing else about: “When he thought of her, he felt disgust boil up from deep inside him, like a pot of reeking bilge left unwatched on Satan’s stove.”
I’ve been a Carla Kelly fan for years. But. This is slut shaming. It’s misogyny. And it’s not ok.
As I reflected on it, I began to realize this book, like many of Kelly’s is essentially a battle between good kindly, empathetic people (who are invariably humble though) and mean, selfish people who are often self-righteous and vain to boot. I’m not totally against that, otherwise I would not have read as many of the author’s books for entertainment over the years. However in this book the battle lines are drawn particularly unpleasantly because ...
... all the ‘bad’ people are overtly described as being physically unpleasant. They are unusually fat, losing their hair, have eyes that pop out, etc. One foppish gentleman is described as being fine boned in a manner that makes it clear the author thinks it’s unpleasantly unmanly, and frankly his whole portrayal feels homophobic.
I’ve always thought of this author as being intelligent and decent minded, as well as a good historical researcher. I’ve recommended her books to others.
That stops now.
I’ve been a Carla Kelly fan for years. But. This is slut shaming. It’s misogyny. And it’s not ok.
As I reflected on it, I began to realize this book, like many of Kelly’s is essentially a battle between good kindly, empathetic people (who are invariably humble though) and mean, selfish people who are often self-righteous and vain to boot. I’m not totally against that, otherwise I would not have read as many of the author’s books for entertainment over the years. However in this book the battle lines are drawn particularly unpleasantly because ...
... all the ‘bad’ people are overtly described as being physically unpleasant. They are unusually fat, losing their hair, have eyes that pop out, etc. One foppish gentleman is described as being fine boned in a manner that makes it clear the author thinks it’s unpleasantly unmanly, and frankly his whole portrayal feels homophobic.
I’ve always thought of this author as being intelligent and decent minded, as well as a good historical researcher. I’ve recommended her books to others.
That stops now.
olive2read's review
5.0
Utterly charming! Don't let the wretchedly limpid cover fool you, good times are to be found here. Laughed out loud time and time again - the antics of the peripheral characters augment this hilariously, letting the sweet, slow love story unfold. Plus a legit handling of PTSD.
More...