I really loved Strömguist's previous book Fruit Of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy which started a whole line of questioning in my life, but wI really loved Strömguist's previous book Fruit Of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy which started a whole line of questioning in my life, but when I started this one... two years ago now? (I think it had to be at the beginning of 2022...) I accidentally DNFed it.
I finally found the time to get back to it now and finished the book this time and... it's just not as good as Fruit of Knowledge, really nowhere near as good. As I'm writing this review I finished the comic almost month ago and I remember... nothing much. I think the main problem of this book is that it doesn't have a clear message - I feel like non-fic funny feminist comics kind of need that? It felt to me like the author was trying to work out her opinions on love and just put that process on paper, but without any sort of closure. On one hand, it's fine, love is something we don't really understand. But on the other hand, I did feel like she wanted to say something, but didn't quite put her nerve up to do it. Or maybe she didn't find her answer after all.
Sorry, this is really messy, what I mean to say is: it felt kind of shattered and pointless. It had some great parts though - I especially enjoyed the bits on H.D. and it really made me want to read some of her books (I read a few of her poems in an anthology).
But overall, this was kind of disappointing honestly. It did made me think about some things while I was reading this, but nothing really sticked, so I guess the book isn't very successful. 3,5⭐ for the humour....more
"But women didn't have the vote in the Greek democracies," he said, a ghost of a smile hovering over his mouth. One could almost think he was enjoy
"But women didn't have the vote in the Greek democracies," he said, a ghost of a smile hovering over his mouth. One could almost think he was enjoying this. The gleam in his eyes made her reckless. "They forgot to include women's rights in the common good," she said. "An easy mistake; it seems to be forgotten frequently."
This book was a delight for me to read. It's set in Victorian period and concentrates on the early stages of the suffrage movement. This alone would be enough to won me over, but on top of that this book is so damn smart! There is a bit about Plato's Symposion - about the two-halfs people that gets invoked so often? And I was rolling my eyes preemptively, because... yes, it's in one of Plato's books, but it's not what Plato thought and then... just let me show you!
"Plato was romantic, though," Hattie said. "Did he not say our soul was split in two before birth, and that we spend our life searching for out other half to feel whole again?" "Yes, he did say that." And he had found the whole notion ridiculous, which was why his play about soulmates was a satire. Annabelle kept that to herself, for there was a dreamy glow on Hattie's face that she did not have the heart to wipe away.
I feel like this simplifies matters quite a bit, but... far better than the usual take on this mythos! But I believe I digress... my point is, this book is very nerdy and I'm so into that! This book was a bit too high on angst for my taste - there were serious reasons keeping the MCs appart and I just don't like that very much, it doesn't work for me since we know that they have to get together, but appart from that fabulous. I mean, the heroine using ancient Greek texts and vases as a sex ed? Top notch nerdery! Recognizing that there are different types of corsets and that a person can't simply wear whichever with a certain dress + acknowledging that lower classes didn't partake in this kind of high "fast" fashion, while also not meaninglessly bashing corsetry in general? I'm just in love! Also, the sex-scene was... just very emotional and heartfelt and I did love it.
There is one thing that keeps me from giving this book five stars and that is the inclusion of one of my least favourite tropes ever (view spoiler)[using the love interest's insecurities to hurt them "for their own good" (hide spoiler)]. It didn't ruin the book for me, but I did almost throw my book/phone against a wall and it left me feeling a bit sour about the whole thing.
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series though! Evie Dunmore is clearly an author to keep my eyes on! This definitely wasn't a perfect book, but I believe it's going to get even better, definitely would recommend!
P.S. Gotta love the hero, even though he tries to persuade the heroine that she should become his mistress (also a trope I don't care for). He got the suffragists the permit for their demonstration! As far as grand gestures go, this was an amazing one! Although... it wasn't really a grand gesture, because he never told her he did it... *sighs in bliss*
P.P.S. This book also REALLY reminded me of Secrets of a Summer Night?! Impoverished very classically beautiful protagonist whose name is ANNABBELLE?! Checked. Hell's Bells being her favourite couse? Check. The series being about four female friends who support each other? Check. The love interest IS very different though. I'm not saying that this is copying the Wallflowers or anything, but the similarities were definitely there......more
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