Sunday Feature: The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss

The Thorn and the Blossom is the story of two star-crossed lovers.

Evelyn Morgan is a young American student studying at Oxford when she walks into Thorne & Son, a bookstore in the Cornish village of Clews. Little does she know, but she is about to meet the love of her life. And when Brendan Thorne hands her a medieval poem called The Book of the Green Knight, he doesn't know that it will shape his future forever. After that first meeting, they don't see each other for years -- yet neither ever stops thinking about the other. It's as if they are the haunted lovers in the old book itself.

I was offered The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss for review and frankly, besides the fact that this is a story about star-crossed lovers with a mystery, the format really caught my attention. This is a two sided story printed in an accordion-fold binding. The story is told from Evelyn's perspective on one side of the book and as you turn it around, you can read the story from Brendan's perspective on the other side. You can see how that works here. The result is quite interesting.

The book itself is gorgeous. It comes in a hard slip case (the cover you see above), and I think it would make a beautiful gift or just a great keeper for your bookshelf. I love it. Reading it was a bit awkward at first because the book doesn't have a spine and it has to be held a certain way, but after a while I found a way and it worked fine, particularly because the book is not heavy.

Although this novella is short (38 pages for Evelyn's story and 39 for Brendan's) I loved the fact that, using this method, by the time the end comes around both characters' motives or motivations are well-known to the reader even though both sides of the story mirror each other. Using that different perspective and developing each character in depth makes a big difference to the reader's experience. I began the book from Brendan's point of view and then went on to Evelyn's, but I do wonder how it would be to begin the story the other way... would the experience be different? Interesting.

The story itself is beautifully written by Theodora Goss. This is a combination of the contemporary and the mythological, as Evelyn and Brendan's story seems to mirror that of Sir Gawan and Elowen which is found in the medieval poem The Book of the Green Knight, simultaneously giving the reader a sense of a concrete present and a magical atmosphere. It's a wonderful combination. Goss packs a lot into this little book, yet I couldn't help but wish the story had been just a little bit longer.

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss is a beautiful little book with an interesting format that works quite well with Evelyn and Brendan's sweet and magical love story.

Category: Fantasy
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Quirk Books/January 17, 2012
Source: ARC Quirk Books
Grade: B+

Visit Theodora Goss here.

About the Author: Theodora Goss won the World Fantasy Award in 2008 for her short story "The Singing of Mount Abora." She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, Locus, and Mythopoeic awards and has appeared on the Tiptree Award Honor List. Her writing has been showcased repeatedly in "Year's Best" anthologies. She lives in Boston, where she teaches literature at Boston University.

Review: The Proposition by Judith Ivory

No man, gentleman or otherwise, has ever looked at Lady Edwina Bollash the way the brash, handsome man standing before her is doing now. Edwina has accepted the challenge to transform incorrigible Mick Tremore into a gentleman in just six weeks. And although the linguist is sure she can rise to the task, she isn't at all certain she won't swoon under his frankly sensuous gaze before her job is done.

Mick has lived outside of London society long enough to know that appearances can be deceiving. Edwina might look all buttoned up—the perfect English lady—but there is unleashed passion existing just below her placid facade (not to mention a great pair of legs!). And as she prepares him to take his place in society, Mick prepares Edwina to take her place in his heart...and in his bed.

Published in 1999 by Avon, The Proposition by Judith Ivory is one historical romance, that in my opinion no matter the current trend in romance preferences, stands the test of time and will always find new fans.

Why is that? Well, she came up with two unusual protagonists, particularly our hero. First we have Mick Tremore, a rat catcher. He's handsome, fun, funny, brash, raunchy, uneducated (but highly intelligent), and not unhappy about his situation. Instead he's quite proud of himself and of what he has accomplished throughout his life. Although obviously poor, Mick's rat catching business is successful and has allowed him to take care of what's important to him -- he is good at his job. Mick is a lovely man. Of course you know I fell in love with Mick, his personality, and the outward symbol of his virility -- his beautiful mustache.

Then we have Lady Edwina Bollash. Like Mick, Edwina is also highly intelligent, except that she is a lady whose means have been reduced by circumstances and being considered plain in appearance by society has little to no chance of finding a husband. She certainly thinks of herself as unattractive. Now she's the tough to nut to crack, and the character with the contradictory personality in this story. I say contradictory because Edwina is an independent woman who makes a living as a linguist and outwardly seems knowing and confident, but as we slowly find out turns out to be insecure about her looks and a product of the times and her environment. Mick describes her as a "good girl who always wants to do the right thing to please others." That's exactly who Edwina turns out to be when we first meet her and before Mick works his magic on her. And magic he is.

Our story begins in a dressmaker's parlor with a mouse, a rat catcher and a pair of long beautiful legs peaking from under a dressing room. Our rat catcher is crude, dirty, but very handsome under all that grime. The ladies, from the maids to the posh ladies at the dressmakers, are taken by Mick's charm and handsome looks, and unfortunately (or fortunately) for him, his day quickly takes a turn when the maid's family catch her in the midst of seduction. A melee ensues and our heroine Edwina ends up saving Mick by translating the barely understandable language he uses to communicate, a mixture of Cornish and something else entirely.

Judith Ivory uses Pygmalion as the central basis for romance in The Proposition. Basically Edwina and Mick accept the proposition as set by two gentlemen who bet that Edwina can or can't transform the crude and rough Mick into a gentleman in six week's time by changing the way he speaks and behaves. The big test comes at the end of those six weeks when he's supposed to attend a ball to fool society. What happens during those six weeks is a beautiful thing. When I finished reading the story I wondered who exactly transformed whom in this romance. Mick's passion for life and seductive personality have as much of an influence on plain, naive, snobbish Edwina, as Edwina's vocal exercises have on Mick. It's a mutual transformation.

Why not an A then? Well there's the ending and a fairy tale aspect introduced into the story that well... I don't want to spoil for those who have not read this book yet. But, although this segment of the story made it all work out beautifully for Edwina and Mick and gave them both a wonderful happy ever after, in a way it was kind of a let down for me. I was hoping for that section of it to be just as different as the rest of the story and characters, and it turned out to be predictable. Regardless, I enjoyed Mick and Edwina's journey so much that by the end I was quite happy with their story. Tra la la...

Favorite scenes: The opening scene. The plant song scenes. The leg scene in the library. All the scenes where Mick's mustache is featured! Edwina's dancing scene. :)

The Proposition by Judith Ivory. Why did I wait so long to read it? It's a wonderful romance with memorable characters and moments, beautiful writing and for me it's a definite keeper.

Category Romance: Historical Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Avon/December 8, 1999 (Digital edition available)
Grade: B+

Visit Judith Ivory here.

2012 Science Fiction Experience: Science Fiction "B Movies"

Joining the 2012 Science Fiction Experience has made me crave not only books, but also science fiction movies! Now, I'm not talking about the best of the best here... I do love those: Star Wars (the original series), Blade Runner, The Matrix, Alien, a few of the Star Trek movies, etc. I also happen to have a secret passion for "B" movies. You know... the ones that get the dreaded "Rotten Tomatoes" ratings every year, the ones that the critics hate and that serious science fiction fans can't stand to watch? Those.

So, I began by watching some of those movies that I know are flawed (some of the seriously flawed), but that for some unknown reason I get stuck watching anyway. It's interesting because here and there these movies all offer something to science fiction fans. I looked for that this time around instead of doing what I usually do -- talking through most of the movies, pointing out what's wrong with them to my poor husband (who does the same thing to me), or just laughing at the most inappropriate moments, it's fun!

The first movie I watched was Pitch Black. Pitch Black was directed by David Twohy and stars Vin Diesel. Why do I watch this movie? I enjoy the action, the fact that in effect it has that sci-fi/thriller/horror edge to it with the aliens providing the gore, while some of the humans provide the real horror through their questionable actions. They prove to be the true monsters to be conquered by the oh so very dark hero, Riddick. Of course the thriller aspect of the film is still provided as those same humans are pitted against the aliens. It's nothing new or fresh in science fiction, but I do enjoy that type of story line within this genre.

Now, when it comes to the actual sci-fi details and world building, the story is lacking and the action aspect of the film takes precedence over character depth or specific details. This is where Pitch Black falls under the "B movie" category for me. A great science fiction film is all about the details, and those are missing. For example right at the beginning of the movie the pilot (Caroline Fry) crash lands the ship on the planet after they are hit by debris from a comet. However there's no way she could have survived the crash as all the windows of the ship burst right on her face as they are entering the planet's atmosphere at top speed. Later on, Fry should not have survived her foray into the alien's cave either, but obviously it wasn't her time to die yet.

There's also the planet itself and the fact that seems to be very close to three suns, with desert-like weather and blistering temperatures. The survivors are not prepared for a trek through this blistering desert. They don't have the right gear, nor do they have water... yet they survive a long trek by drinking alcohol without any outward effects. And then there's Riddick, the questionable hero of the piece. He obviously has abilities that are beyond those of a mere human. For example, he can see in the dark, but the rest is basically implied. In Pitch Black, Riddick is just a very dangerous criminal who somehow can survive in the dark when others can't, can smell when someone is bleeding (even though this is not apparent), and can even fight the native aliens and win, but how he does this is never explained. Ever. Not even at the end of the movie.

There are also lots of cliches used in the film. Most of what happens is foreshadowed. You know when someone is going to bite the dust, or make the stupid move that's going to get someone killed. This is not a movie I recommend as a great example of a science fiction film. However, as an action film with some of that science fiction flavor it can be highly entertaining to watch on a Sunday afternoon.

There's a sequel to Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick where Riddick's abilities are explained. I've also seen that film, but that would be another post. :)

I did watch two other movies in the "B movie" category:

Soldier is a 1998 science fiction-action film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film stars Kurt Russell as Sgt. Todd, a soldier trained from birth. This was one of the biggest flops ever in the history of film! There's some military sci-fi action in this film with a bit of social sci-fi. The problem is that neither is really developed and the film devolves into an action film that doesn't really make a point either way.

The interesting factoid about this film? The screenwriter David Peoples "considers Soldier to be a "sidequel"/spiritual successor to Blade Runner." Ahhh, nope! Sorry, but I don't see it.

Push is a 2009 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul McGuigan starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Gretsch and Djimon Hounsou. The film focuses on a group of people born with various superhuman abilities: Movers (Telekinetics), Watchers (Foreseers), Pushers (Mind Controllers), Sniffers, Shadows, Shifters, etc...

The main characters, three young adults band together in order to take down the "Division", a government agency that is developing a dangerous drug to enhance their powers, hoping to create an army of super soldiers. This was an interesting movie with a good premise I enjoyed, even as I watched the dead end action scenes that had no real purpose and its inconclusive and sequel-bating ending. This movie is like an episode in an ongoing series with no real conclusion. Incomplete.

That's it for my science fiction "B" movie watching. That was fun!

Joining In: TBR Challenge 2012

The TBR Challenge 2012 hosted by Wendy of The Misadventures of Super Librarian is one that I definitely need to join this year. I've been accumulating books and that pile grew more than it went down this last year. Time to cut it down a bit (even if it is by 12 books!).

This challenge has simple rules. Choose one book per month that has been lingering in that old TBR pile, read it, and either leave a comment at Wendy's blog on the scheduled date, or review it.

Wendy is also providing some theme suggestions each month for participants, but this is not written in stone. I'm actually loving that aspect of the challenge, because now I'll have to start hunting my TBR to find books that match her themes, and I can't wait to see what I find in there. Hopefully some good reads.

This post will serve as my summary page for the Challenge.

Monthly Review Dates And Theme Suggestions:

January 18 - Light the Stars by RaeAnne Thayne: Category romance
February 15 - Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie: Recommended Read
March 21 - Dalton's Undoing by RaeAnn Thayne: Series Catch-Up
April 18 - Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal: New-to-Me Author
May 16 - The Charm School by Susan Wiggs : Published prior 2000
June 20 - Logan's Outlaw by Elaine Levine: Western (Western )
July 18 - Open Season by Linda Howard: Not on theme
August 15 - Dirty by Megan Hart: Erotic Romance
September 19 - Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher: Genre besides romance
October 17 - On Thin Ice (Ice #1) by Anne Stuart: Romantic Suspense
November 21 - The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: All About The Hype
December 19 - Holiday themes (Christmas, Thanksgiving, it's all good!)

Wish me luck!

Joining In: The 2012 Science Fiction Experience

The 2012 Science Fiction Experience is not a challenge, it is an experience. Hosted by Carl V. of Stainless Steel Droppings, this will basically be two months worth of discussions about science fiction that will go from January 1st through February 29, 2012.

Carl is making this experience fun and I think cool! I love that the discussions include science fiction books, movies and television shows watched. I'm looking forward to not only reading some books that I've accumulated, but hopefully joining in on some of the discussions. Hopefully, I will gather a great list of titles for future reading too!

I'm not sure which books I'll read yet. These are the books that I already own and that are in my list of possible reads:

• Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
• Old Man's War Series (Books 1 through 3) by John Scalzi

However, I do have a few others! We'll see.

I'll be keeping my list of books read at the bottom of this post.
Wish me luck!

Posts:

1. Science Fiction "B Movies"
2. The Butcher of Anderson Station: A Story of the Expanse by James S.A. Corey - Mini
3. Overview: Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Old Man's War #1, The Ghost Brigades #2) 
4. Impressions: Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Books Read:

1. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
2. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
3. The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi
4. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
5. After the Coup by John Scalzi
6. The Butcher of Anderson Station: A Story of the Expanse by James S.A. Corey
7. Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Series, #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold
8. How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story by John Scalzi

Movies Watched (watched more!):

1. The Matrix
2. Pitch Black
3. Soldier
4. Push
5. Star Trek (2009, directed by J.J. Abrams)
6. Priest (spec fic)