Veil Of Roses

I liked the premise of the book. Iranian woman who has no rights or opportunities in Iran with the current political situation wants to live in America so she can be the type of woman her parents have always encouraged her to be.

It humanizes Iran (something the news rarely does) and exposes the misguided treatment of women within its country.

Unfortunately, those are the best things about this book. You'll have to excuse me, as its been several weeks and I've forgotten most of the characters' names, but the main character, Tami, contradicts herself throughout the entire book. She's only going to marry for love, but then she comes to America and says yes to a man who clearly has OCD and gives her the creeps. She's seeking independence, but can't stand up to her sister, or her crazy, vulgar friend from Russia.

These contradictions I could forgive, as women are known to be complicated beings, but the ending....unforgivable. Really. For me. Its voice lost any truth or realness that the author had delivered earlier on about a complicated, but probably common situation. I won't spoil it for other readers, but bad endings leave a sour taste in my mouth, and a decent book gets a bit ol' eye roll from me.

Voyager

I am so glad this series continues. Even though my arm gets tired from holding the sheer mass of these books (this one was 890 pages), I am eagerly looking forward to the next book.

Diana Gabaldon struck gold with the idea of a time-crossed super couple. The first chunk of this book, Claire was in her comfotable, but lonely,20th century, raising her and Jaime's daughter, when she decides to finally find out how Jaime died (it was too painful when she returned through the stones twenty years earlier to save their child and escape the Scottish slaughter at Culloden). These first hundred pages were well written, but luckily, Gabaldon realized that she needs these two together for the magic to be there. When Claire left all of her conveniences again, this time by choice, and finds Jamie in his printshop and says, "Jaime. . .it's me, Claire.", I got that warm-heart-all-a-flutter feeling. I think I may have even teared up. I'm not proud of it.

In Voyager, Jaime and Claire leave Scotland when trouble brews for Jaime and all of his aliases (he's become a smuggler, printer and seditionist now that his soldiering days are over), and travel to the Caribbean in pursuit of a kidnapped nephew. The history of slave trading, European colonial rule and sea travel are all richly detailed.

Unfortunately, I still cannot simply give a full stamp of approval to Gabaldon. She is a great writer and the historical detail and storyline are independently worthy of praise. But, in my opinion, she keeps these books from being truly great by including all the "ample bosom"isms. I don't know if there was a quota for the number of times she had to mention nipples but if there was. . .she met it.

That being said, I still loved it. It's a perfect mix of escapism and page-turning plot that truly makes reading fun.

Yes, I am still reading English Creek. Apparently, Ivan Doig just doesn't write the word "nipple" enough.

The Virgin's Lover

This is a historical fiction novel about Queen Elizabeth I who died never having married. The story covers the first two years of her reign and the people she surrounded herself by. A couple of years ago, our bookgroup read "The Other Boleyn Girl" and I liked it so thought I'd give Phillipa Gregory another shot. She claims to do a lot of research on her subject matter and as I know very little about Queen Elizabeth I, or really any monarch, I suppose I'll have to take her word. She portrays the royal court as filled with ambitious, jealous people, quite narcissistic and desperate to get ahead.

Simply, Robert Dudley was a man who had grown up as a childhood friend of Elizabeth (who was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn) but had been accused of treason after King Edward died and he tried to get Jane Grey (his widow) on the throne. I really don't know how succession works but apparently that was treasonous and off to the tower he went. When Queen Mary died (who was a staunch Roman Catholic and Elizabeth's half sister), Elizabeth becomes heir to the throne butshe is protestant. Rumors of wars from the French and potential suitors overwhelm Elizabeth and she turns to this slick Robert Dudley for comfort. Robert happens to be married but in his ambition, sees himself as King potential if he could just get himself out of his marriage. Drama, drama, drama....and things don't turn out to well for Robert Dudley or his wife.

I love historical fiction and this novel is very entertaining. However, the dialogue was so simplistic and thus unconvincing to me. But it puts you back into the middle ages with ease and she weaves historical fact into her story telling quite seamlessly. Most importantly, it was a nice diversion from my Devil in a White City that is killing me.