Appropriately enough, my bookmark reads, "Woke up this morning with/a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read." And that's just what I did yesterday - it was a rainy, cold Saturday, and there seemed nothing better to curl up with a book and a hot cup of coffee/tea.
I had mixed feelings on The Deception of the Emerald Ring, Willig's third installment. It was rolling along quite rapidly - the romantic heroes were endearing, and Willig made great choices on where to cut between past and present, so I wanted to keep going, but never felt like she had cut on a major point of suspense and/or romance (which can be so irritating). And then I got to page 232, and the narrative became unconvincing and messy, and I never really shook that feeling of unease before I got to the end.
DON'T READ AFTER THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.
The last novel ends with the capture of the Black Tulip, the Marquise de Montval, by Henrietta and Miles. She is entrusted to the custody of Lord Vaughn, but escapes almost immediately. Geoffrey Pinchingdale-Snipe, the third member of the band of brothers from novels one and two, is sent off to Ireland to squelch rebellion there, and the Marquise shows up. He hears her plotting behind a door, and while he cannot see even an inch of her, he is absolutely certain it is she. Then, when another character is found dead a few pages later, he is mistakenly sure it is the Marquise lying there on the floor in front of him. I still can't work out how he could know without a doubt that it was her voice, and not be able to tell the difference between her and Emily Gilchrist, a character he had seen at least once, if not multiple times. I even flipped back to the beginning to see if I had missed anything. They do have the same black hair and similar coloring, so I guess that is supposed to be the reason, but hey, we're not talking about the Olsen twins here.
I also found the use of "big words" slightly irritating (I won't mention the use of the phrase I hated so much from the last book). Not just big words, but BIG WORDS, words I had never even heard before, much less knew what they meant. Example #1: tricoteuse (from the context - and it's not in the dictionary - my guess is it's a female supporter of the French Revolution, and a derivitive of the word tricolor, meaning French flag). Example #2: ormolu, as in ormolu ornament (apparently it means, "an alloy of copper and zinc used to imitate gold, gracias Random House Dictionary). Example #3: tergiversations (a repeated change in one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc). I could go on, but this is getting embarrassing. Lauren, I know you're smarter than me - you're like five years younger, and you have written 3 books, have a J.D. and are a good way through a dissertation. No need to rub it it.
Well, if you've read this far, let me sum it up: The Deception of the Emerald Ring was still better than the last installment, but had some flaws. Having said that, I'll probably still read the fourth book, mostly to find out what happens with Colin and Eloise, and to see if Jane ever gets the lovin' she deserves.
Next Up: It's a mystery. And I don't mean genre. I have a couple of books sitting on the shelf, winking at me seductively, but I'll probably try to shorten my stack of Vanity Fairs, Conde Nast Travelers, and Premieres first. Stay tuned.
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