Audiobook Review: The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer, Narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

Audible

The fact that Georgette Heyer wrote The Black Moth at 17 is pretty astonishing. It's such a delightful book which, while perhaps not as polished as her later works, firmly establishes the charm and humour she would display throughout her career.

Heyer apparently first invented the story to tell to her sick younger brother, and it contains all the classic elements you'd expect from such an origin - an engaging hero who flirts with danger but actually has a heart of gold, a beautiful heroine who captures said heart, a ~dastardly~ villain you love to hate, lots of action, scandal and intrigue, plus a bit of bromance on top of all that.

I really enjoyed the characters, especially Jack and his best friend Miles, and I even empathised with the tiresome Lady Lavinia. One of my favourite things about Heyer's writing is not the lavish period descriptions or even the melodrama (though they're great too), but the connections between the characters. Whether it's sibling bonds (or lack thereof), enemies, friends, married couples or people just falling in love, the relationships always feel so very real and universal, enhanced by the witty and engaging dialogue.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt and he does an excellent job. The voices he gives to each character are strong - the male characters in particular - and his pacing and delivery are good.

The story was a little uneven and frankly quite baffling in places (the reason Jack had to leave the country seemed weak, for instance, though maybe I'm imposing too modern a judgement), but overall The Black Moth was a fun read and a great way to start my quest to consume all of Heyer's romances.

Rating: 3.5/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013 (Originally 1921)
Get It: Audible

Audiobook Review: False Colours by Georgette Heyer, Narrated by Phyllida Nash

Omigod this book was SO FUN. It was just pure delight and put a smile on my face more than once. Which felt a bit silly because I was listening to an audiobook, usually on public transport, and sitting there grinning like a fool to myself. But I didn't care because it was awesome. What could be more fun than twins switch places?

Oh right, hot twins switching places. In Regency England. And having to pretend to be engaged. And actually falling in love. And all the many complications such a situation entails. You see, Lord Denville disappears, which is not necessarily something for his family to worry about, coz he's like that, except he's supposed to meet his new fiance's family. It's a marriage of convenience on both sides but it's important because his mother is badly in debt and he needs to get married to get his inheritance and help her out. Luckily, his twin Kit, who lives overseas, has a bad feeling in his gut and shows up just in time to pretend to be his brother for one night for the important dinner. Except one night turns into weeks when his brother's fiance's grandmother invites herself and her grandaughter to stay with Kit-as-Denville and his mother at their house in the country. Hilarity ensues.

But, importantly, this story isn't mere farce, thanks largely to the touching and genuine-feeling relationships. Kit is devoted to his brother and mother - indeed it's the only reason he allows himself to be dragged into the kerfuffle to begin with - and both are equally devoted to him. There is so much endearing affection in every interaction between the three, but especially between Kit and his mother, as it's their relationship that is at the centre of much of the book. I also really liked the openness and communicative nature of Kit's developing relationship with Cressy, false identity notwithstanding. There was a delightful chemistry between them and it was all very charming. Even Kit's relationships with his devoted-but-blunt servants were heartwarming.

Phyllida Nash was a great narrator, with an engaging voice, distinct and natural-sounding characters and easy pace. However, perhaps because I'm not overly familiar with Heyer's writing, having only read a couple of her works years ago, I did struggle with the language a bit. While it being an audiobook helped somewhat with understanding the tone, it did have the downside of not really being able to stop and look up a work or phrase when I needed to (otherwise I would have been doing so constantly). A few times I was a bit confused and had to relisten, and eventually I did look up a Heyer glossary which helped a little. But I didn't really mind relistening, anyway - in fact, I quite enjoyed it. That's how much fun it was. Even without fully comprehending everything, I adored this story, and definitely want to read - or listen to - more of Heyer's work.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013, AudioGo
Get It: Audible

Mini Reviews: His Convict Wife and The Convict's Bounty Bride By Lena Dowling

His Convict Wife by Lena Dowling (via Netgalley)
I actually didn't realise this was the second book in this convict romance series - though both are only novellas and you can definitely read this one without having read the first, but certain references made more sense once I did read the other. This book focuses on Colleen Malone, an Irish convict forced into prostitution who gets pregnant and then manages to get virtuous settler Samuel Biggs to marry her. Samuel is still grieving the death of his first wife and wants Colleen more as a housemaid than an actual partner, but Colleen wants to pass her baby off as his, so she has other ideas. I quite liked Colleen's tenacity and the tension between her and Samuel, and the ups and downs of their relationship made for a pretty entertaining read. This is my first foray into romance set in colonial Australia, so I don't know if it's common in the genre, but one thing that put me off a little bit was Samuel's uptightness and slightly controlling behaviour at times. Aside from that he was pretty swoon-worthy.
Rating: 3.5/5

The Convict's Bounty Bride by Lena Dowling
This story actually comes before His Convict Wife, focusing on ex-convict James Hunter, who becomes Samuel Biggs' employer in the later book. James made a deal with a noble family to take the blame for a crime committed by their son in exchange for their daughter's hand in marriage. This is news to Lady Thea, who has no interest in marriage and only wants a career. James decides to show her how good being his wife could be... you can see where this is heading. This novella was half the size than His Convict Wife and there wasn't a great amount of development of the characters and their relationship. The insta-love was pretty unbelievable and I just wasn't invested in their story. Also the whole premise, and the inevitable outcome, left a really bad taste in my mouth.
Rating: 2.5/5

10 Reasons You Should Read All The Truth That's In Me By Julie Berry

1. The plot is unlike any other YA novel I've ever read. Set in what appears to be colonial America (it's never explicitly stated), it follows the story of Judith, who went missing from her small town, along with her best friend, for two years. Only Judith returned, mutilated and now an outcast in her Puritan society. As the story unfolds, you slowly learn what happened to Judith and why she is the key to saving the very people that deride and ignore her.
2. The second person perspective works. It's not something that's easily achieved, and I know it can be off-putting for a lot of people, but the second person narrative was really effective here. The "you" being addressed is the boy Judith is in love with, and this conversational style gives a more intimate look into Judith's thoughts and emotions. You get a real sense of her isolation and loneliness, her yearning to communicate and be noticed, and the fierceness that bubbles below her silent surface.
3. The main character is awesome. Judith has been through hell and is still there in a way, suffering daily horrible treatment at the hands of the townspeople and even her own mother. But she is strong and determined and finds herself strangely liberated by her outsider status. She moves around without being noticed and transgresses rigid social boundaries in a way that is admirable and exciting.
4. The romance is lovely. Heart-wrenching, bittersweet, but really, really lovely.
5. You won't be able to put it down. Seriously. I tried to several times but had to pick it up again straight away. It resulted in me staying up until 4am reading this book. That's never happened to me before. It's that good.
6. It's action-packed. It's scary, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat kind of action. Judith, partially due to being an outcast, is a proactive heroine at the centre of it all.
7. It's emotionally harrowing. I mean that in the best way possible. It will get under your skin and give you chills. It will make you cry. It will make you smile. It will make you cheer. You will become incredibly invested in Judith's story and feel connected to her and ALL THE FEELINGS.
8. The secondary characters are wonderful. From the friendly to the threatening, the townspeople are wonderfully well-written and interesting in their own right.
9. It will surprise you. There are twists in this novel you won't see coming. Seriously, I thought I had it all figured out. I was wrong.
10. It's incredibly uplifting. While the subject matter may seem dreary and there are definitely heartbreaking moments, All The Truth That's In Me is ultimately about one girl's power and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Goosebump-worthy stuff.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print

Published: October 2013, HarperCollins Australia.

Source: I received a copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Get It: Bookworld

Review: In Falling Snow By Mary-Rose MacColl

In Falling Snow tells the story of two amazing women: Iris, who travels from Australia to France during World War I to bring her little brother home, and ends up helping to run a hospital in Royaumont Abbey that’s fully staffed by women (including the doctors); and Grace, Iris’ granddaughter, who as a doctor in 1970s Australia is still facing the same kind of sexism her grandmother’s co-workers experienced decades earlier.

It was the WWI aspect that initially drew me to In Falling Snow, and the story of Royaumont Abbey is a fascinating one. Although Iris is an invention, many of the characters are based on real people and Royaumont really was an all-female WWI hospital. The tenacity and bravery of those women is absolutely awe-inspiring. Still, while I admired the idea of Royaumont, I did find some parts of the chapters set there a little slow. The little details about how the place worked were interesting but distracted from the overall story for me. Iris herself was a bit hard to connect with as a young woman, as she seemed quite reserved, but I felt for her as an ailing old woman looking back on her life. As the story progressed and I gained further insight into her character I admired her all the more and understood why she was telling her story in this way.

Unexpectedly, although they weren’t what interested me to begin with, I found myself falling in love with Grace’s chapters and growing impatient to get to them. Even though it was still set 30-40 years ago, it was a more recognisable setting and a situation not too far removed from what women still face today (unfortunately). Grace’s struggle to balance work and family, especially when things went wrong, is one I think many women can connect with. I don’t currently have kids, but the tension between wanting a career and wanting to take care of a family is something that already plays across my mind. I can only image how tough it is for women actually doing it. While In Falling Snow shows how far we’ve come, at the same time it also reveals how little has really changed.

There’s a few twists in this book which I saw coming but I don’t want to spoil them for others. Even though I predicted what would happen, the story was still compelling to me. It’s quite an emotional journey, as you’d probably expect from a generation-spanning war tale. The setting of WWI France is beautifully rendered, and I really, really want to visit Royaumont now. Overall this is a gorgeous book; I definitely recommend it for fans of historical fiction.

Rating: 4/5

Related
-Fascinating photographs and footage of the real women of Royaumont.
-Author Mary-Rose MacColl discusses writing the novel.

Fine Print
Published: 2013, Allison & Busby
Source: I was provided with a review copy of this book from The Book Depository in exchange for an honest review, as part of their affiliate program.
Get It: The Book Depository (Belle's Bookshelf affiliate)