Tor, 2010, 320 pagesISBN: 978-0-7653-2560-0
Read: July 2015, aged 37 years
Book one of The Glamorist Histories, a series of five books.
From the back cover:
Shades of Milk and Honey is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth, a woman ahead of her time in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. But despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester's society are not that different: The lives of Jane and her sister Melody still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men.
Jane resists this fate, and rightly so: While her skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face and therefore wins the lion's share of the attention. At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, Jane has resigned herself to being invisible forever. But when her family's honor is threatened, she finds that she must push her skills to the limit in order to set things right - and in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.
My reactions after the break, with possibly a few spoilers.
Overall:
Not really my typical style of book, but then again, I'd like to think that I can enjoy any kind of good writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - just hanging out in the world of these characters. The ending felt abrupt, and the book felt a bit short, but other than that, it was a lot of fun.
Rating: 4
Characters:
This is where the story really shone. The characters felt well-drawn, to me, and the people were just generally nice, and trying to do what they needed to do. That it conflicted was just the way it was. There were nice character growth arcs, around most of the people involved, and it was just... nice.
Setting:
From listening to Writing Excuses, I know that the setting - early 1800s England - is very carefully researched and meticulously laid out, but it was kind of glossed-over, and, while the setting informed the characters' actions, it never overshadowed the story. It felt very consistent, but it stayed in the background like a proper set. It was very nice.
Plot:
Not a lot happens, really. A normal girl lives her life, goes to a ball, hangs out with some friends, and tries to choose between two potential suitors. Then things all fall apart/together from our normal girl overhearing the wrong thing, and she pulls on her hero pants and goes off to save the day. It isn't really saved, but things come up roses anyway.
The plot was sufficient to reveal details about the characters in the story, and that's where the focus was.
Readability:
I loved the writing style and voice. It was just really nice to read, and I was through it much too soon. Fortunately, there are more books in the series.
Other Opinions:
As with a lot of newer books, this is a widely reviewed book, and many reviews were well done.
Generally, the reviewers thought the book was light, fluffy, and fun:
Fyrefly Books
Here There Be Books
Fantasy Book Cafe
A Dribble of Ink
Adventures in Reading
SF Reviews.net
Others were unimpressed:
Bookworm Blues
The Book Smugglers
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