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A review by hartd
The Road to Silver Plume by Tamara Allen
4.0
This is an excellent novel. Sometimes I wish this system allowed only "recommended" or "not recommended," like Steam does - I could "recommend" a book and then list the things I did and didn't like, without in any way affecting the book's positive rating. Which is to say: I did have a few moments of confusion in this book that I had not experienced reading Tamara Allen's other wonderful novels. But all of the reasons I love her books were present, too, so I definitely did enjoy it.
Negatives first: I didn't feel overly connected to either of the MCs. Their character development was subtle. It's not that it wasn't there. I felt that I was letting down the book by not always correctly interpreting Darrow and Emlyn's surface thoughts and behavior. So, I reread a lot of scenes and moments until I felt I understood their dynamic. In my opinion, there could have been a middle ground between the excess of subtlety and the characters behaving in sort of tropey ways.
Aside from the developing friendship and romance, the murkiness didn't serve the plot very well either. I felt like I should have gone into reading this book with a far better understanding of economics. I got caught up on understanding what was happening to Denver because of the government's plans to stop valuing silver. Now, again, that may be idiosyncratic to me. I did understand how all that influenced the things that happened in the plot, in a broad sense. But I would need to do outside research in order to really appreciate the historical situation that influenced this plot.
But with The Only Gold, which was also written on a subject I didn't understand, there was a decent amount of information and context given. I felt by the middle of the book that I had a very good handle on the bank's situation, what the MCs' jobs entailed, etc. Then, I understood why the bad guys were planning their crime, and why they (as individuals) were doing all of it. I could not have answered any of those questions before I read the book.
Okay, back to the positives. I really liked that Darrow seemed to be a bisexual character; as a bisexual person I felt it was a positive portrayal, at least in the ways he saw himself. He realizes he could fall in love with Veda again, if circumstances were different, even though a lot of the other characters seem to think he's gay now. I also liked the character of Veda. I think it was a good choice on Tamara Allen's part to write such an outwardly emotional woman, and to do it very well, giving her a great deal of depth. All of this author's books include memorable, well-drawn female and male side characters - I reread them constantly, to visit Jonah's neighbors, landladies, and co-workers, as well as Ezra's wonderful family-of-choice in Downtime.
I suspect I will return to The Road to Silver Plume, too, in the future, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more on the second or tenth read. :-)
Negatives first: I didn't feel overly connected to either of the MCs. Their character development was subtle. It's not that it wasn't there. I felt that I was letting down the book by not always correctly interpreting Darrow and Emlyn's surface thoughts and behavior. So, I reread a lot of scenes and moments until I felt I understood their dynamic. In my opinion, there could have been a middle ground between the excess of subtlety and the characters behaving in sort of tropey ways.
Aside from the developing friendship and romance, the murkiness didn't serve the plot very well either. I felt like I should have gone into reading this book with a far better understanding of economics. I got caught up on understanding what was happening to Denver because of the government's plans to stop valuing silver. Now, again, that may be idiosyncratic to me. I did understand how all that influenced the things that happened in the plot, in a broad sense. But I would need to do outside research in order to really appreciate the historical situation that influenced this plot.
But with The Only Gold, which was also written on a subject I didn't understand, there was a decent amount of information and context given. I felt by the middle of the book that I had a very good handle on the bank's situation, what the MCs' jobs entailed, etc. Then, I understood why the bad guys were planning their crime, and why they (as individuals) were doing all of it. I could not have answered any of those questions before I read the book.
Okay, back to the positives. I really liked that Darrow seemed to be a bisexual character; as a bisexual person I felt it was a positive portrayal, at least in the ways he saw himself. He realizes he could fall in love with Veda again, if circumstances were different, even though a lot of the other characters seem to think he's gay now. I also liked the character of Veda. I think it was a good choice on Tamara Allen's part to write such an outwardly emotional woman, and to do it very well, giving her a great deal of depth. All of this author's books include memorable, well-drawn female and male side characters - I reread them constantly, to visit Jonah's neighbors, landladies, and co-workers, as well as Ezra's wonderful family-of-choice in Downtime.
I suspect I will return to The Road to Silver Plume, too, in the future, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more on the second or tenth read. :-)