Retro Reads - Romance discussion
Our January Retro Read
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Confession: I haven't started the book yet. I live in Texas and we have been slammed with this flu or whatever it is. Hopefully, I will get caught up by the end of the month.
Really agonized about the star rating for this one. In the end I took off any star rating. On personal appeal it would have been 2
But on writing a 4 or 5
Read review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
By the way I would classify Dawning more in the realm of sci-fi
I would also classify Dawning as more sci-fi. The romance was pretty cursory, although the relationship between the hero and heroine was a nice counterpoint. Realistically, it would have worked even if the hero and heroine hadn't had a romantic involvement, and, in fact, might have been rather intriguing if they'd decided that the past was the past and not something to be revisited.I did feel that considering the heroine believed the hero basically killed her family and screwed everything up for his own purposes, she let him off lightly. She didn't attempt to break out on her own with Grace, nor to sabotage his efforts. I didn't feel the author really exploited the depth of Serena's attraction and repulsion for Andrew.
The ending felt a bit off as well.
Anyway, here's my review
I finished this one last night. I gave it 3 stars. More sci-fi than romance and for some reason it felt dated??? I can't explain why I thought that. I will post my link to my review shortly.
Ditto on everything Ruth said. Definitely more sci-fi, and I agree that the extremes of their relationship could have been explored more. But also, survival being tricky and all, I do understand why Serena would choose to stay with Andrew even when she didn't trust him, and I think the residual affection she had for him would affect her judgment in that regard, even if she didn't want to acknowledge it to herself.I was very surprised, however, when she did suddenly decide to believe him. Seemed like her libido was influencing her choice there, more than anything.
I wouldn't say it is sci-fi so much as dystopian. I'm about midway in and the story line reminds me a little bit of Laura Bickle's The Hallowed Ones. It always takes me a little longer to read this genre, but so far I'm enjoying it.
My review will go live on my blog tomorrow, but I posted it on my goodreads today https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I'm kind of middle road on this one. I felt like there was a book before this in a series and Serena/Andrew...well their relationship didn't work well for me.
My review is here: http://wp.me/p2MJls-thAndrea, I loved your review (and your profile pic!). It reminded me that while I was reading I had to keep reminding myself that Serena and Andrew weren't teenagers, because they usually are in dystopian stories. They'd make some reference to age and I'd be all confused until I remembered that, hey, they're actually adults. Weird.
Lila
My review can be found here: http://readfulthingsblog.com/2014/01/...I enjoyed breaking away from my usual genre and style of book with this one. Fun! :)
Thus, it would logically follow that our Retro Reads pick for January would be optimistic, invigorating, and inspiring, right? Something that would make the dark days of winter perhaps a little brighter?
Think again! This month we've got Judy Griffith Gill’s The Dawning on the docket. A post-apocalyptic nail-biter, The Dawning follows Serena and Andrew, two survivors of the disastrous Bio Wars, in their quest to protect one of the youngest members of their community.
Sound bleak? Fortunately, Gill expertly interweaves a seductive romantic thread that'll be sure to hook you.
So, what say you, Retro Readers? Two questions to get you started: Would you classify this read more in the realm of sci-fi or romance? How does Serena and Andrew's romance influence their choices in this post-apocalyptic landscape?
Judy Griffith Gill