Review of Christa McHugh's A Waltz at Midnight

Title: A Waltz at Midnight

Author: Christa McHugh

Publisher: Carina Press

Format: ebook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: February 27, 2012

Rating: 3 out of 5

I’ve always been a sucker for Cinderella stories, and the novella A Waltz at Midnight is no exception. This novella runs short, as it’s only about 21,000 words long, and it reads really quickly, no doubt because of the epistolary format. In fact, it reads more like an extended short story than a novella. The narration is broken up by letters between the hero and heroine, and while I enjoyed the different format, I quickly found myself focusing primarily on the letters and skipping the narration. That said, A Waltz at Midnight is a sweet love story, and I look forward to reading more of Ms. McHugh’s work.

The novella is set in New York just after the Civil War ends. Susanna Parkwell is from South Carolina, but when the war ends, she and her wounded Confederate soldier brother find themselves penniless. They’re working at their Aunt’s boarding house in New York and keeping low profiles in the hopes that no one will realize that the brother served in the Confederate army. The boarders are for the most part spoiled young ladies attending school, but one of the ladies has befriended Samantha and asks for her help rejecting an unwanted suitor.

Theodore Blakely is being forced by his father to court Charlotte. He’d rather be an artist than work in his father’s firm, so he decides to send Charlotte a rude letter in the hope that she’ll reject him, releasing him from his family obligation. Unfortunately, Charlotte enlists Samantha’s help in responding to the letter, and Samantha’s reply intrigues Theodore. He and “Charlotte” exchange a series of letters, managing to fall in love. But when he writes that he plans to meet the woman he believes to be Charlotte at a ball, Samantha and Charlotte scramble to find a way to send Samantha to the ball.

This was a very sweet romance, and Samantha’s letters to Theodore demonstrate a great deal of intelligence and spirit. Because of the brevity of the novella, the majority of the text is taken up by the letters, and I felt that the narration suffered in places in comparison with the letters. The story is fairly tame in terms of sensuality – the hero and heroine exchange one kiss – so this is a story you could easily recommend to your grandmother. I would like to see more of Ms. McHugh’s work, because this was a very romantic story with a setting I don’t usually enjoy reading about, yet it totally worked for me.

Review of Veronica Scott's Priestess of the Nile

Title: Priestess of the Nile
Author: Veronica Scott
Publisher: Carina Press
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: January 16, 2012
Rating: 3 out of 5

This is a very short novella (about 21,000 words) set in Ancient Egypt. While it’s a lovely story that I very much enjoyed, the romance fell a bit flat for me, probably because the length of the novella prohibited much character development. That said, I absolutely loved the Egyptian setting and was drawn in almost at once by the detail.

Merys is the great-granddaughter of a priestess of the Crocodile god, Sobek, and is fishing on the shore of the Nile near the god’s abandoned temple when a handsome stranger approaches. He introduces himself as Bek, but he’s actually the Crocodile god Sobek in the flesh. Sobek is fascinated by the charmingly innocent Merys, but he knows that the gods are not allowed relationships with mortal women. Despite this, he finds himself falling for the young woman and begins searching for a way for the two to be together.

There’s much to like about this novella, particularly its setting. Ms. Scott does an amazing job of immersing the reader in the culture and surroundings of Ancient Egypt without bogging you down in excessive details. The political organization of Egypt plays an important role in how the story unfolds in ways that I didn’t expect but very much enjoyed. I’m not at all conversant with Egyptian history, but the novella comes across as very well researched, and I like benefiting from that research in such a pleasant manner.

Because the novella is so short, there’s little time to develop the characters of Merys and Sobek adequately, which is why the romance suffers a bit, I think. Merys is portrayed as an innocent Cinderella type, forced to work as a servant for her evil stepmother, but we don’t learn much about her beyond that. Sobek begins as an arrogant god but soon becomes all too human in his dealings with Merys, which is forbidden for the gods of this pantheon. I feel like I would have enjoyed the romance between Sobek and Merys a bit more if we could have spent more time with the two of them together. I also would have liked to see Sobek’s personality changes develop slowly, but, again, the length of the text prohibits this.

Frankly, this was a quick read with a refreshing setting, and I would like to see more of Ms. Scott’s work because of how well she incorporated the setting and her research. I feel that this novella was very successful as a story that draws a reader in, but the romance needed a little bit more development.

Review of Ilona Andrew's Silver Shark

Title: Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2)

Author: Ilona Andrews

Publisher: NYLA       

Formats: E-novella

Source: Won from Author

Publication Date: September 14, 2011

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The writing duo that is Ilona Andrews could publish their grocery list, and I’d probably buy it. Of course, the reason I feel that way is because everything they write is stellar, and their newest release, the novella Silver Shark, is no exception. Back when I first started reading their Kate Daniels series, I went online and purchased all of their books, including the novella Silent Blade, which is the first in the Kinsmen series. I loved it, but it’s set outside the Kate Daniels world, so I figured this was a one-off and that was it. I was thrilled to learn that they were writing a sequel novella, and when they sponsored a giveaway on their blog, I and about 500 of their closest friends (heh heh) signed up. When the deadline passed and I hadn’t heard from them, I went ahead and paid the $2.99 for the novella at Amazon and devoured it, only to check my email and learn I’d won a copy. Oops. I don’t feel too bad about the 3 dollars, though, as it’s a great novella, and I can’t recommend it enough!

The world of the Kinsmen is very much sci-fi, which is not my favorite genre, but I really enjoy both the storytelling and the romance of this novella. Claire Shannon is a psycher, someone who can use telepathy to attack others’ minds. She lives on a grim mining planet fought over by two mining conglomerates. When the conglomerate she fights for is defeated, she pretends to be a civilian and is deported to Rada, a merchant planet that is run by kinsmen, which are mafia-type family organizations with psychic abilities. Claire’s hired to work as an administrative assistant for Guardian, Inc., a bionet (think psychic internet) security firm run by the Escana family. She becomes the personal assistant to Venturo Escana, owner, CEO, and a very powerful psycher. The two are clearly attracted to one another, but Claire’s psycher abilities must remain secret, or she’ll be returned to her home planet, which means certain death. When she’s approached by fellow refugees for help, she has to infiltrate the bionet, placing her new future in danger.

This novella is outstanding, thanks in large part to the world building. Clare’s home planet of Uley is industrial and bleak, and her new home on Rada is overpowering in color and exuberance. She notices the people of the province of New Delphi constantly smiling, and the women are dressed in brilliant colors, which is completely foreign to her. In fact, a fellow refugee informs her that her new red hair color is too bright, in an attempt to warn Claire that she’ll attract attention, something she would need to avoid on their home planet.  The contrast with her stark experience on Uley is striking, and watching Claire try new foods and manners of dress will draw you in.

Claire’s ability to undergo overwhelming change and remain strong is highly appealing. She manages to hide her psycher powers against overwhelming odds, but when she’s asked by her fellow refugees to risk everything to save their children, she never hesitates to act on their behalf. Her loyalty to them and to Ven, whom she desires but believes she cannot have, is touching. Because of her past, she has no idea how to communicate her feelings for Ven and fears that doing so will jeopardize her new life. She’s an engaging character, because she’s both vulnerable and strong, and you really want everything to work out for her.

My only complaint is that the novella ends without our seeing the final showdown on the bionet. I would have loved to have seen the last battle, but the letter at the end from Ven’s aunt to his mother is a clever way to end the story and made me laugh.

If you’re looking for a short but satisfying read, you really can’t go wrong with this novella. I definitely recommend this one!