2012 Book Log #13: Follow My Lead, by Kate Noble

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Follow My Lead didn’t grab me quite as much as previous Kate Noble outings–but that isn’t to say I disliked this book. Because I didn’t! I still found this one an enjoyable read even though it didn’t click with me quite as much as the previous installments of the Blue Raven series.

This time around our principals are Jason Cummings, the Duke of Rayne, and the scholar Winnifred Crane. I’m always a sucker for stories in which the heroine’s a scholar of any kind, and given that this whole plot revolves around her wanting to go to Europe to do actual on-camera research, that’s bonus. But the circumstances that push Jason into being Winn’s escort made it a bit hard for me to suspend my disbelief; there were quite a few convolutions that had to happen before he could be thrown into her company.

On the other hand, though, I’m sure that’s rather par for the course for this kind of a plot, so I was willing to hand-wave that and get on with the main story. Which is to say, Jason and Winnifred having to scamper across Europe without access to much in the way of money–especially vexing for Jason, accustomed as he is to wealth–and with a rival determined to marry Winn hot on their trail. It is amusing to see the two brainstorm their way through getting money, and since Winnifred does actually get to exhibit some scholarly train of thought on camera, it’s fun to see Jason trying to keep up with her.

And of course there’s the obligatory Pretending to Have to Be Married scenario, otherwise they’d scandalize everybody they meet. And of course, since they’re having to pretend to be married, they naturally have to figure out how to react to one another in private as well. Seeing them work their way up through that is charming, and it’s in those stretches of the story that Ms. Noble’s fun touch with character chemistry comes through. All in all, three stars.

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.

2012 Book Log #13: Follow My Lead, by Kate Noble

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Follow My Lead didn’t grab me quite as much as previous Kate Noble outings–but that isn’t to say I disliked this book. Because I didn’t! I still found this one an enjoyable read even though it didn’t click with me quite as much as the previous installments of the Blue Raven series.

This time around our principals are Jason Cummings, the Duke of Rayne, and the scholar Winnifred Crane. I’m always a sucker for stories in which the heroine’s a scholar of any kind, and given that this whole plot revolves around her wanting to go to Europe to do actual on-camera research, that’s bonus. But the circumstances that push Jason into being Winn’s escort made it a bit hard for me to suspend my disbelief; there were quite a few convolutions that had to happen before he could be thrown into her company.

On the other hand, though, I’m sure that’s rather par for the course for this kind of a plot, so I was willing to hand-wave that and get on with the main story. Which is to say, Jason and Winnifred having to scamper across Europe without access to much in the way of money–especially vexing for Jason, accustomed as he is to wealth–and with a rival determined to marry Winn hot on their trail. It is amusing to see the two brainstorm their way through getting money, and since Winnifred does actually get to exhibit some scholarly train of thought on camera, it’s fun to see Jason trying to keep up with her.

And of course there’s the obligatory Pretending to Have to Be Married scenario, otherwise they’d scandalize everybody they meet. And of course, since they’re having to pretend to be married, they naturally have to figure out how to react to one another in private as well. Seeing them work their way up through that is charming, and it’s in those stretches of the story that Ms. Noble’s fun touch with character chemistry comes through. All in all, three stars.

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey review post!

My household, along with jennygriffee, just got back from seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!

I’ve posted before about I’ve still got the original copy of The Hobbit that I read in sixth grade–complete with my name written in pencil on the unicorn nameplate sticker on the inside cover. The eleven-year-old me who read that book is absolutely delighted by the movie we just saw. 43-year-old me is somewhat more reserved in her reaction; there are parts of the film that I absolutely loved, and there are other parts that I feel could have benefited a lot from tighter editing.

And make no mistake–this is very much Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle-Earth in play here. If you like Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth, you’ll probably enjoy yourself. If you’re not a fan of the previous movies, you probably won’t.

Me? I am a longstanding devotee of the books. But I’m also a devotee of the movies. And while I saw some flaws in this one… yeah, I enjoyed myself immensely. And I’ll be going back for more. In no small part because we saw the 24fps, non-3D version tonight–on the grounds that we very specifically wanted to see that version first, in case the 48fps wound up interfering with the viewing of the actual movie. (I’ve had prior movies released in 3D be actively distracting to me in that format–I’m looking at you, Thor–and have enjoyed them much more upon viewing them in 2D.

But I AM totally curious about the 48fps version and I DO want to see it. Now that I’ve gotten the viewing of the standard version out of the way and am able to react to the plot and characterization first, that’ll free me up to better react to the technology later!

And with that, let’s get down to spoilery goodness behind the fold. :D

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.