Charlie Benjafield Benjafield itibaren Baie-des-Chaloupes, QC, Kanada
This book is still kind of confusing me. There are a lot of interesting characters and some really good stories about these characters in 2666, but there is really no overarching tale. The anecdotes are tied together quite loosely, but well enough that it seems like they all need to be there, and like most good books (in my opinion) there is no conclusion or closure to the questions and mysteries that arise. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I'll probably read it again, but not for a while as it is quite a long book.
This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic When I first read the description of this novel, I knew I had to read it. A Duke, a wager, a hoyden, and a villain out for murder, it all sounded incredibly intriguing. Unfortunately, there was a major detail missing from the description that in my opinion completely changes the target audience for the book, and completely blindsided me. It seems that Nicholas is into submissive women in the bedroom. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good D/s story, and to have one with a historical setting is utterly delicious for me. However, I prefer to know ahead of time that romantic interludes are going to involve blindfolds, bound hands, and vigorous spankings, rather than to be happily reading along only to have to pause and look at the cover to make sure I’m still reading the right book. Despite my dislike of the love scenes, the rest of the book was an enjoyable read. However, since the goings-on in the bedroom are such an integral part of any romance novel, I will say that this was simply an okay read. It is important to note that the bondage and “D/s” elements, if you can really call them that, are very mild in the overall scheme of things, so readers only looking for light bondage and D/s play will likely enjoy this book. To be completely fair, I imagine that had I known about the kink going into the story, perhaps by the author having invented a slightly “dark” reputation for the hero or something, I definitely think this book would have rated higher for me. As it is, however, 2/5 Stars
Ce n'est pas mon Crébillon fils préféré, mais il reste l'un de ceux qui me plaisent particulièrement. Il y aborde, sous la forme d’un roman-mémoire, l’initiation et la formation du jeune Meilcour. J’avais oublié depuis ma lecture précédente combien celui-ci pouvait être agaçant de naïveté et de stupidité d’ailleurs. Heureusement, Madame de Lursay, puis Monsieur de Versac le prendront sous leur aile et le guideront, avec plus ou moins de succès. Je ne qualifierais pas la première de libertine : il s’agit plutôt d’une femme sensible (au sens du 18e siècle), voire d’une « machine à plaisir » dont parle la Marquise de Merteuil dans Les Liaisons dangereuses. Quant au second, je le considère par contre tout à fait comme un libertin, autant de mœurs que d’esprit, et comme un homme de son siècle : dans le long monologue à Meilcour, il lui révèle les clés pour réussir dans le monde aussi bien que lui. Ce faisant, il lui livre une analyse de la société de son temps qu’il a patiemment observée afin de la maîtriser. En cela, il m’a rappelé la Marquise de Merteuil, en moins joueur peut-être. Mon seul regret majeur après la relecture de cette œuvre est qu’on ne dispose pas de la suite du monologue de Versac (si elle a lieu), celui qui devait porter sur les femmes et qui a été reporté à un autre jour.