And thus ends the Carsington series, the first proper romance novel series I've read - and luckily on a high note. I started reading Loretta Chase because a) a friend recommended her as guilty pleasure reading and b) because "Mr. Impossible" was recced over and over on "Smart Bitches Trashy Books" in a post about smart heroines. So I started with the second in the series, and it's still my favorite (because Daphne is awesome, as is Rupert, a rare thing in romance novels in my experience). However, after the rest of the books didn't quite measure up imho, this last one, chronicling the story of a Carsington nephew (Peregrine, who we got to know in "Not Quite a Lady") gave me a lot of pleasure. It had been fun reading about Peregrine and Olivia as children, and now that they are grown up, it was great fun to keep following their adventures, especially the adult kind. :) Seriously, while there was a bit of the apparently unavoidable insta-lust (I mean, does anyone REALLY lose complete control over their faculties in the presence of someone they fancy?), it was grounded in the years of friendship between the two protagonists, who had both grown up to be very capable in completely different (and naturally 100% complimentary) ways. And now, on to the Dressmaker series - I've been promised more Dreadful DeLuceys! *g* I kept thinking about this book after I finished and wondering if I really liked it very much. I've decided that I did. I liked it very much. While Olivia was rather annoying, her flaws made her seem more "real" than the average romance heroine (it also made up for the fact that she was, apparently, incredibly beautiful - overly beautiful heroines sometimes bother me). Lisle (who am glad was always referred to by his title rather than name because, really, Peregrine??) was also kind of off-putting, or, rather, his unfeeling behavior towards Olivia was off-putting. He would wax poetical about how much her friendship meant to him but then he would, on occasion, be so mean to her. However (and lord is this review full of asides and randomness) this is one of the things I liked about the book. Lisle's anger at Olivia's overly dramatic behavior worked. He could hurt her because he knew her so well. How often do we love and care for someone who just can PISS us OFF? That doesn't change the fact we'd die for them and that, I think, sums up Olivia and Lisle's relationship. I did, however, like the ambiguous ending. The romance wasn't unclear - that was wrapped up neatly with all sorts of lovey dovey sweetness, but their living location was much to hazy for my liking. It almost seemed as if Lisle gave up Egypt for Olivia and that I don't like. Am I to understand they were going to stay in Scotland? How many times throughout the novel did Olivia say that asking Lisle to live somewhere besides Egypt would be like asking him to give up his soul? Yet that's what it seem like he did in the end. While they were digging up the iron chest of Dalmay and Olivia was having such a wonderful time, I started thinking that maybe Lisle's fears about Olivia being "bored" in Egypt were unfounded and maybe they could have their "happily ever after" there, but then she got impatient with the process, proving him right. I guess, I'm just confused and a bit unhappy. Olivia's impetuousness and melodrama seemed to be rewarded in the book while Lisle's steadiness was punished. I don't know. Now that I'm writing this I'm changing my rating. This book gets 3 instead of 4 stars.
What do You think about Aşkın Kalesi (2000)?
Trite, predictable, but very enjoyable.
—cuchimafuchi
