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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jeweled Men >> Golden Chronicles thanks to its even sillier overarching plot (secret cabal with ridiculous code names? Say more right now) but as usual, the first entry in the series is always the weakest. The plot of this one would have been over in 0.5 seconds if the leads had bothered to communicate, but there are promising side characters here at least (even if many of their names are wildly historically accurate. @Patricia don't be jumpscaring me with my own name in Georgian times; I know damn well the Victorians coined it.)
(And does "two characters are 1/8 Chinese" count as diversity? Perhaps diversity is a relative thing here, I don't know enough about 80s Georgian romance to weigh in.)
(And does "two characters are 1/8 Chinese" count as diversity? Perhaps diversity is a relative thing here, I don't know enough about 80s Georgian romance to weigh in.)
***some spoilers if you've never read a romance***Time’s Fool, is an excellent beginning to Patricia Veryan’s second series of action/mystery/historical romances. Taking place 2 or 3 years after The Golden Chronicles, this series involves some of our old friends from the first series and introduces some intriguing new additions. We briefly catch up with Tio Glendenning, Dimity and Piers Cranford and her husband Tony, and Gordon Chandler, to name a few. We are introduced to some very promising new additions: Gwen Rossiter, The Falcons, and Jamie Morris.
Who could not love Gwen right at the outset? She tells her friend Naomi, our heroine, that she is so forthright and frank because she feels she doesn’t need to guard her tongue since no one would want to marry a cripple anyway. Then the gentle sweet girl proceeds to rattle and thwart the hot tempered and intimidating August Falcon. August is an intriguing piece of work. Veryan catches our interest right at the beginning by telling us that he is a half caste and not accepted by most of society due to his heritage. Yet he is rich, handsome and formidable. He is respected, and even feared. We are told he has the instincts of a scorpion. She then proceeds to put him in one comical situation after another which reveals that he is more than a one dimensional cardboard character. His nemesis, Jamie Morris, falls head over heels at first sight with Augusts’ beautiful and reserved sister, Katrina, who is totally uninterested in this apparent booberkin. Quite simply, Jamie is a joy and a delight who amuses every time he opens his mouth. As does Tummett, Gideon’s “valet”. The slang and cant that comes out of these two characters mouths is hilarious. Patricia Veryan really amazes with her comical dialogue in this novel.
Gideon Rossiter and Naomi, the two principals in this novel are a little problematical and probably why I wasn’t all that fond of this one when I first read it. On this go round I liked them right away. Their antipathy towards each other at first set up the inevitable reconciliation to look forward to. They played off and fenced with each other very effectively. Some of their insults and wisecracks were pretty deadly. I loved the way Gideon found his pride and told off and stood up to Naomi. I loved Naomi’s bratty ripostes. When she somehow she found herself trapped awkwardly on a balcony and lost her shoe she really won me over. That scene, and several others in which she found herself in a pickle, as well as her friendship with Gwen and Katrina, and her treatment at the hands of her father, gained my sympathy and admiration, when otherwise I would have found her boring and two dimensional. I hated the way Gideon’s father, Sir Mark, treated him compared to his evil twin, Newby. He was so blind throughout, it was maddening. Gideon was so very long suffering and noble, it was a little over the top. But our author leavens his heroism with humor, some good confrontations with really despicable characters and legit derring do. Unfortunately, once Naomi and Gideon finally understood each other and reconciled, they were so besotted with each other, it was just a bit too much and verged on the cloying.
This first of the The Tales of the Jeweled Men sets up an intriguing mystery and conspiracy and starts to put the various players, both major and minor, in place for future appearances and their roles. All is far from resolved. We don’t understand what is going on at first, or the motivations. This will be revealed in the books to come.
Who could not love Gwen right at the outset? She tells her friend Naomi, our heroine, that she is so forthright and frank because she feels she doesn’t need to guard her tongue since no one would want to marry a cripple anyway. Then the gentle sweet girl proceeds to rattle and thwart the hot tempered and intimidating August Falcon. August is an intriguing piece of work. Veryan catches our interest right at the beginning by telling us that he is a half caste and not accepted by most of society due to his heritage. Yet he is rich, handsome and formidable. He is respected, and even feared. We are told he has the instincts of a scorpion. She then proceeds to put him in one comical situation after another which reveals that he is more than a one dimensional cardboard character. His nemesis, Jamie Morris, falls head over heels at first sight with Augusts’ beautiful and reserved sister, Katrina, who is totally uninterested in this apparent booberkin. Quite simply, Jamie is a joy and a delight who amuses every time he opens his mouth. As does Tummett, Gideon’s “valet”. The slang and cant that comes out of these two characters mouths is hilarious. Patricia Veryan really amazes with her comical dialogue in this novel.
Gideon Rossiter and Naomi, the two principals in this novel are a little problematical and probably why I wasn’t all that fond of this one when I first read it. On this go round I liked them right away. Their antipathy towards each other at first set up the inevitable reconciliation to look forward to. They played off and fenced with each other very effectively. Some of their insults and wisecracks were pretty deadly. I loved the way Gideon found his pride and told off and stood up to Naomi. I loved Naomi’s bratty ripostes. When she somehow she found herself trapped awkwardly on a balcony and lost her shoe she really won me over. That scene, and several others in which she found herself in a pickle, as well as her friendship with Gwen and Katrina, and her treatment at the hands of her father, gained my sympathy and admiration, when otherwise I would have found her boring and two dimensional. I hated the way Gideon’s father, Sir Mark, treated him compared to his evil twin, Newby. He was so blind throughout, it was maddening. Gideon was so very long suffering and noble, it was a little over the top. But our author leavens his heroism with humor, some good confrontations with really despicable characters and legit derring do. Unfortunately, once Naomi and Gideon finally understood each other and reconciled, they were so besotted with each other, it was just a bit too much and verged on the cloying.
This first of the The Tales of the Jeweled Men sets up an intriguing mystery and conspiracy and starts to put the various players, both major and minor, in place for future appearances and their roles. All is far from resolved. We don’t understand what is going on at first, or the motivations. This will be revealed in the books to come.
Sets up the series very nicely. The love story is touching, the villains are dastardly, the fellowship of friends is all I can wish for. And nothing makes me laugh like the dialogue between Morris and Falcon. I am so looking forward to those two love-hating each other for the next five books.
To the modern reader there are some scenes between the estranged young couple where the hero does not quite follow the rules of consent when he kisses the girl.
The young men are all very protective and overbearing towards the ladies - but the women do get back some of their own. They may be subject to the strange rules and standards of the times, but they do strain against them and take an active part in some of the action.
For those who read Veryan because of her way with duels: there is a very good one in here, with a fabulously funny ending.
The description of complex relationships between family members is another one of this authors many strengths.
There are not enough animals for my liking, but the fearsome Apollo is introduced, and famously ruined by the indomitable Gwendolyn, who fears the dog as little as she fears his master.
To the modern reader there are some scenes between the estranged young couple where the hero does not quite follow the rules of consent when he kisses the girl.
The young men are all very protective and overbearing towards the ladies - but the women do get back some of their own. They may be subject to the strange rules and standards of the times, but they do strain against them and take an active part in some of the action.
For those who read Veryan because of her way with duels: there is a very good one in here, with a fabulously funny ending.
The description of complex relationships between family members is another one of this authors many strengths.
There are not enough animals for my liking, but the fearsome Apollo is introduced, and famously ruined by the indomitable Gwendolyn, who fears the dog as little as she fears his master.
I often find romance heroines more likeable than many readers, but this one is just obnoxious. A lot of romance novels (including some I quite like) fall into a pattern where an asshole hero treats the martyr heroine like trash for most of the book, she loves him no matter how much he makes her suffer, and then he finally relents. The genders are reversed in this one but Naomi was so irritating that I couldn't enjoy their happy ending. I was more interested in the adventure/mystery plot than the romance, but of course this is the first book of a series so there's plenty left unknown. 3 stars because Veryan is a talented writer, but the story just wasn't to my taste.
I often find romance heroines more likeable than many readers, but this one is just obnoxious. I was more interested in the adventure/mystery plot than the romance, but of course this is the first book of a series so there's plenty left unknown.