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Reviews - Adrien English Mysteries
Jun. 8th, 2010 12:34 amFatal Shadows (Josh Lanyon)
A fun, light mystery with a lot of gay characters and a bit of sex. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums it up. A lot of the stereotypes of gay men get rolled out in dialogue -- is there anyone in the book that isn't gay but looks positively on it? I am interested in seeing where the tension between Jake Riordan and Adrien English goes, though, despite Riordan's talk of how gay relationships can't be healthy and fulfilling. I do kind of hope that Adrien -- at least eventually -- fixes that.
There are some details that stick in my mind: the writer's group, the bookshop, and poor Claude. I think I'm drawn to Adrien and Jake more because they're gay than because they're fully realised, interesting characters, but with more books in the series, there's time.
A Dangerous Thing (Josh Lanyon)
I enjoyed the second Adrien English book rather more than the first, probably because I already feel a connection to the main characters, Jake Riordan and Adrien himself. The tension between them is strong, and the chemistry too. The two sex scenes are pretty well-written, and some of the descriptions of emotions are quite good.
The mystery itself is a little... routine. Some of the background stuff is pretty interesting -- all the references to old mystery novels, for example. It's kinda like the manga Fake: I don't try and kid myself I'm reading that for the police work, I read to find out if/when Dee and Ryo are going to get it on, although the coherent plot is a big bonus. At least Adrien and Jake don't have to wait for the seventh volume to get it on.
The characterisation of Jake is a bit difficult, and reasonably well-handled. The reader's got to feel a bit of resentment for his treatment of Adrien, but we understand what kinda guy he is and we know why guys like him are defensive and touring Narnia.
Stronger than the first novel, so if you're unsure after that, I think this second book is a better test of whether you want to carry on or not.
The Hell You Say (Josh Lanyon)
My rating of this (three stars rather than four: the difference between "liked it" and "really liked it") is totally biased by the fact that it broke my heart slightly. It isn't a surprise -- things had to get worse, in the relationship Adrien was in, before they had a chance to get better, if they do get better. But I didn't want it to happen. Jake, while not actually spending much time with Adrien, is throughout the narrative nonetheless, there at every turn and not letting Adrien be happy. I don't know what I hope for, with the two of them, but I know I'm not a huge fan of Guy.
I did like the other subplot, of Adrien's family, mostly because I care about Adrien as a character and his trials with his family are worth a smile.
The mystery aspect is interesting, too. It doesn't seem as coherent as other mystery stories, in some ways -- or is that not as predictable? I'm not really surprised by the endings, but... I never really seem to get engaged with the whodunnit aspect. I read mostly for Adrien, and somewhat for Jake.
Death of a Pirate King (Josh Lanyon)
I care so much about Adrien and Jake that, at this point, the mystery could fly right out of the window, for all I care. That there still is a mystery, and that it's used well to bring the characters together and apart, impresses me. The fact that Adrien's heart condition is treated consistently is great, too.
The emotional development in this book definitely eclipsed the mystery for me, though. I loved seeing Jake a bit wiser, and got to like him again, and the tension between him and Adrien was very well played.
The relationships between Adrien and his family are also great. They don't have centre-stage, a lot of the time, but they're there. He feels like a real person, in some respects, because he has a family and a pet cat he doesn't want, and he has ex-lovers and we don't just see him in the context of Jake.
The thing that strikes me most as a drawback of Josh Lanyon's writing is that he occasionally uses lines/descriptions that utterly break the tension by making me shout with laughter. The one in this book:
( NSFW quote )
I just -- I spit out whatever I was drinking at the time, laughing at that line. The rest was great, but that one line...
The Dark Tide (Josh Lanyon)
I loved this book so much. Don't read it without having read the rest of the series, because it won't pack the right emotional punch. When you have read the whole series, it's awesome -- achey and breaky and then patching you up. The mystery itself definitely took a back seat to watching Adrien's recovery, and Jake's new life, and even Adrien's family. It all works out perfectly -- as perfectly as it can, anyway.
The mystery itself is nothing to sniff at -- I cared about this one, too, more than the others: Argyle is an interesting character for his similarities to Jake, and this book actually follows up on a number of threads from previous books, some of them little throw-away details.
It's closure and it's lovely. I like the series well enough, but certain sections of this book made me love it.
A fun, light mystery with a lot of gay characters and a bit of sex. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums it up. A lot of the stereotypes of gay men get rolled out in dialogue -- is there anyone in the book that isn't gay but looks positively on it? I am interested in seeing where the tension between Jake Riordan and Adrien English goes, though, despite Riordan's talk of how gay relationships can't be healthy and fulfilling. I do kind of hope that Adrien -- at least eventually -- fixes that.
There are some details that stick in my mind: the writer's group, the bookshop, and poor Claude. I think I'm drawn to Adrien and Jake more because they're gay than because they're fully realised, interesting characters, but with more books in the series, there's time.
A Dangerous Thing (Josh Lanyon)
I enjoyed the second Adrien English book rather more than the first, probably because I already feel a connection to the main characters, Jake Riordan and Adrien himself. The tension between them is strong, and the chemistry too. The two sex scenes are pretty well-written, and some of the descriptions of emotions are quite good.
The mystery itself is a little... routine. Some of the background stuff is pretty interesting -- all the references to old mystery novels, for example. It's kinda like the manga Fake: I don't try and kid myself I'm reading that for the police work, I read to find out if/when Dee and Ryo are going to get it on, although the coherent plot is a big bonus. At least Adrien and Jake don't have to wait for the seventh volume to get it on.
The characterisation of Jake is a bit difficult, and reasonably well-handled. The reader's got to feel a bit of resentment for his treatment of Adrien, but we understand what kinda guy he is and we know why guys like him are defensive and touring Narnia.
Stronger than the first novel, so if you're unsure after that, I think this second book is a better test of whether you want to carry on or not.
The Hell You Say (Josh Lanyon)
My rating of this (three stars rather than four: the difference between "liked it" and "really liked it") is totally biased by the fact that it broke my heart slightly. It isn't a surprise -- things had to get worse, in the relationship Adrien was in, before they had a chance to get better, if they do get better. But I didn't want it to happen. Jake, while not actually spending much time with Adrien, is throughout the narrative nonetheless, there at every turn and not letting Adrien be happy. I don't know what I hope for, with the two of them, but I know I'm not a huge fan of Guy.
I did like the other subplot, of Adrien's family, mostly because I care about Adrien as a character and his trials with his family are worth a smile.
The mystery aspect is interesting, too. It doesn't seem as coherent as other mystery stories, in some ways -- or is that not as predictable? I'm not really surprised by the endings, but... I never really seem to get engaged with the whodunnit aspect. I read mostly for Adrien, and somewhat for Jake.
Death of a Pirate King (Josh Lanyon)
I care so much about Adrien and Jake that, at this point, the mystery could fly right out of the window, for all I care. That there still is a mystery, and that it's used well to bring the characters together and apart, impresses me. The fact that Adrien's heart condition is treated consistently is great, too.
The emotional development in this book definitely eclipsed the mystery for me, though. I loved seeing Jake a bit wiser, and got to like him again, and the tension between him and Adrien was very well played.
The relationships between Adrien and his family are also great. They don't have centre-stage, a lot of the time, but they're there. He feels like a real person, in some respects, because he has a family and a pet cat he doesn't want, and he has ex-lovers and we don't just see him in the context of Jake.
The thing that strikes me most as a drawback of Josh Lanyon's writing is that he occasionally uses lines/descriptions that utterly break the tension by making me shout with laughter. The one in this book:
( NSFW quote )
I just -- I spit out whatever I was drinking at the time, laughing at that line. The rest was great, but that one line...
The Dark Tide (Josh Lanyon)
I loved this book so much. Don't read it without having read the rest of the series, because it won't pack the right emotional punch. When you have read the whole series, it's awesome -- achey and breaky and then patching you up. The mystery itself definitely took a back seat to watching Adrien's recovery, and Jake's new life, and even Adrien's family. It all works out perfectly -- as perfectly as it can, anyway.
The mystery itself is nothing to sniff at -- I cared about this one, too, more than the others: Argyle is an interesting character for his similarities to Jake, and this book actually follows up on a number of threads from previous books, some of them little throw-away details.
It's closure and it's lovely. I like the series well enough, but certain sections of this book made me love it.
