Helpful Score: 7
While I ultimately enjoyed this book, it's another one that I find difficult to categorize. I think Meredith Duran is a brilliant writer, but once again, I feel like she's holding back. I hate to keep harping about it, but Duke of Shadows was such an amazingly unique & original book, and as was (IMO) the case with Bound by Your Touch, Duran appears to squandering her talents on stories she should be able to write in her sleep.
I don't have a problem with spy romances per se. Certainly, I have read some good ones, but that's just the point - I've read them. What Duran gave me with Duke of Shadows was a glimpse into the undiscovered country in historical romance, and as much as I hate to sound like an ingrate, I'd really love a return trip.
Written on Your Skin is something I've seen before. Granted, I can't say that anything similar to it is on quite the same level, but in a (probably very unfair) way, that almost adds insult to injury. It's like indulging in a pointless pissing contest when you have the ability to create a flood of biblical proportions:P
And as I've freely admitted before, I know it's unfair to set the bar higher for her and not expect anything approaching literary miracles from lesser writers, but then again, it's kind of her own fault. She shouldn't have absolutely slain me with Duke of Shadows, only to follow it up with anything less emotionally devastating:P
As they already exist in abundance, I won't bother with a synopsis of this story. Phin was an intriguing secondary character from Bound by Your Touch, and while I didn't expect another DoS, I did anticipate a certain level of greatness. Allusions to opium smoking and a background in the spy biz certainly lent him a certain mystique as a tortured hero with an interesting past. Mina, the heroine, came across well in her opening scenes as a woman of hidden depth. I was more than a little curious as to how Duran meant to reveal her character, given that while Phin found her attractive, he initially took her very much at face value as a brainless flibbertigibbet. Kudos to her for the well paced and engrossing character development of a heroine - something you don't get to see every day, as many writers seem to think that this level of character development should be solely reserved for heroes. I found both characters fully dimensional, likable people, and I enjoyed reading about them. Where I initially had trouble with them was as a couple. I couldn't really see how they were going to come together as a couple; they just didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry together.
Duran blows that out of the water in the second half of the book, although I didn't find the transition completely seamless. Mina's internal monologue works well in terms of helping the reader come to terms with her increasing trust of and strengthening attraction to Phin, but even with the constant surprises Mina throws at him, I never really felt that he wanted her all that desperately until he starts to act on it. Once they get between the sheets is when Phin & Mina turn into a really scorching couple, and the depth of all those repressed feelings they have for each other becomes apparent. Where I had trouble remaining attentive in part one, I was positively riveted in part two.
The external conflict was interesting, if not fully engrossing. My biggest quibble with it being that the reveal regarding the villain and his actual role in the conflict was a bit deflating. As quibbles go, it's not a very large one though. All of the necessary elements for a good suspense build up were present, and while Mina did fall into the heroine who refuses to sit on the sidelines & allow the hero to take care of the dangerous stuff routine, her reasoning & motivations were definitely more genuine and much easier to relate to than is usually the case.
I gave Written on Your Skin a somewhat generous A-. In some ways, it's not as good as Bound by Your Touch, and in others (the H&H and the romance in the second half) it slightly surpasses it.
Just don't expect either book to be comparable to Duke of Shadows. It's just vaguely possible that Duran may never outdo herself there.
Grade: A-
Sensuality Rating: R
I don't have a problem with spy romances per se. Certainly, I have read some good ones, but that's just the point - I've read them. What Duran gave me with Duke of Shadows was a glimpse into the undiscovered country in historical romance, and as much as I hate to sound like an ingrate, I'd really love a return trip.
Written on Your Skin is something I've seen before. Granted, I can't say that anything similar to it is on quite the same level, but in a (probably very unfair) way, that almost adds insult to injury. It's like indulging in a pointless pissing contest when you have the ability to create a flood of biblical proportions:P
And as I've freely admitted before, I know it's unfair to set the bar higher for her and not expect anything approaching literary miracles from lesser writers, but then again, it's kind of her own fault. She shouldn't have absolutely slain me with Duke of Shadows, only to follow it up with anything less emotionally devastating:P
As they already exist in abundance, I won't bother with a synopsis of this story. Phin was an intriguing secondary character from Bound by Your Touch, and while I didn't expect another DoS, I did anticipate a certain level of greatness. Allusions to opium smoking and a background in the spy biz certainly lent him a certain mystique as a tortured hero with an interesting past. Mina, the heroine, came across well in her opening scenes as a woman of hidden depth. I was more than a little curious as to how Duran meant to reveal her character, given that while Phin found her attractive, he initially took her very much at face value as a brainless flibbertigibbet. Kudos to her for the well paced and engrossing character development of a heroine - something you don't get to see every day, as many writers seem to think that this level of character development should be solely reserved for heroes. I found both characters fully dimensional, likable people, and I enjoyed reading about them. Where I initially had trouble with them was as a couple. I couldn't really see how they were going to come together as a couple; they just didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry together.
Duran blows that out of the water in the second half of the book, although I didn't find the transition completely seamless. Mina's internal monologue works well in terms of helping the reader come to terms with her increasing trust of and strengthening attraction to Phin, but even with the constant surprises Mina throws at him, I never really felt that he wanted her all that desperately until he starts to act on it. Once they get between the sheets is when Phin & Mina turn into a really scorching couple, and the depth of all those repressed feelings they have for each other becomes apparent. Where I had trouble remaining attentive in part one, I was positively riveted in part two.
The external conflict was interesting, if not fully engrossing. My biggest quibble with it being that the reveal regarding the villain and his actual role in the conflict was a bit deflating. As quibbles go, it's not a very large one though. All of the necessary elements for a good suspense build up were present, and while Mina did fall into the heroine who refuses to sit on the sidelines & allow the hero to take care of the dangerous stuff routine, her reasoning & motivations were definitely more genuine and much easier to relate to than is usually the case.
I gave Written on Your Skin a somewhat generous A-. In some ways, it's not as good as Bound by Your Touch, and in others (the H&H and the romance in the second half) it slightly surpasses it.
Just don't expect either book to be comparable to Duke of Shadows. It's just vaguely possible that Duran may never outdo herself there.
Grade: A-
Sensuality Rating: R
