Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

This book, Jasmine Moon by Frances Patton Statham or as she is know on the newer kindle edition, Frances Statham, is free in the kindle store.

Here is the original cover: .

All are welcome to join Andrea (Catsos Person) and Kathy in a read of this kindle edition!

Group member KatieV wrote a detailed review which I read and will use as a basis to determine if this old bodice ripper has been ruined brought up to conform with 21st Politacally correct sensibilities in eBook format!

I really like that original cover. The other cover conveys, well, . . . nothing.

Kathy wrote: "I really like that original cover. The other cover conveys, well, . . . nothing."

Exactly!

The new cover is awful.

This is quite a story. I'm surprised it has so few reviews. It's still early. Maybe it gets bad later on.I guess the author was too obscure when it was released. I wish it had been made into an audiobook.


Right now, I'm at 23%.

Kathy wrote: "This is quite a story. I'm surprised it has so few reviews. It's still early. Maybe it gets bad later on.I guess the author was too obscure when it was released. I wish it had been made into an aud..."

We are about at the same place. I'm at about 25%.

I mentioned before that KatieV reviewed it. She didn't give a good rating.

The author does a great deal of telling instead of showing, but I'll give her a pass bec I like what I'm reading so far.

Perhaps it's true I'm not always discriminating as some readers are about writing quality, but I'm into the story, feel good about continuing.

The MCs seem to jump to a lot of conclusions about each other without investigation of veracity--then acting if these faulty conclusions are right.

Some of the people in my flist and others who are habitués of my home feed send out an announcement of the buddy read (name of book, where to find the discussion ) if anyone is so inclined.

I think I'll announce in my home feed. Since the book is free maybe others will join!

I think this story was written in 1981 originally. At that time, the emphasis on showing and not telling wasn't so much in force. So far I like the way the story is being presented. Of course, it is long and over time, too much telling might be a problem. So I'll see.

Kathy wrote: "I think this story was written in 1981 originally. At that time, the emphasis on showing and not telling wasn't so much in force. So far I like the way the story is being presented. Of course, it i..."

When I read really old historic romances like this one, I give a pass to a lot of things that I would not give to in a post 2k HR.

I saw this yesterday and thought I'd revisit the book since I didn't remember much about it. The plot was so crazy I realize why I was drawn to it, but it just doesn't have any emotional pull for me. That's why I found it so blah. The characters weren't memorable. Maybe you ladies will enjoy it more

As far as the sanitizing of the ebook goes: I skimmed the ebook last night and there is definitely mention of all the non-pc crazy that was in the old one. Honestly, there is no way to make this book PC unless it was completely rewritten and maybe not even then- lol. However, I can't swear that it wasn't toned down as far as down-n-dirty details of the forced seduction scenes (basically, fade to black). If I can dig up the old one I'll try to compare a few scenes.

KatieV wrote: "I saw this yesterday and thought I'd revisit the book since I didn't remember much about it. The plot was so crazy I realize why I was drawn to it, but it just doesn't have any emotional pull for m..."

If you decide to read it, please drop in for comments.

The storyline is bigger than the characters in some way. In other words you're justified that the characters aren't standouts.

I have no interest in seeing the book made PC. I mean, why do that? The book was PC for its time, and readers either accept the practices and prejudices of that time or skip over reading the book.

I'm curious about the sex scenes in the original book. Most of the scenes in this version aren't very detailed and since these two people do not understand each other at all, without the sexual intimacy being more detailed, they have little chance to standout as characters. Add to that the fact the happy times they spend together aren't fleshed out. These moments are over sometimes before the reader can even experience them.

This strategy of lingering over these truce-times was something Heather Graham was good at. I remember reading her Civil War Series. Those couples fought and made up and made out all throughout the book and still a lot of adventure and history was included. The difference is that the special times they spent together were highlighted with an undeniable intimacy and sometimes a tenderness that stayed with the reader all through the next round of adventure.

Kathy wrote: "The difference is that the special times they spent together were highlighted with an undeniable intimacy and sometimes a tenderness that stayed with the reader all through the next round of adventure."

Well said! I'm no literary snob. I read HPs and I love some of Kathleen Woodiwiss' oldies - that lady took purple prose to a new level :) I just want that feeling of intimacy. Sometimes it's just simple little moments that I will remember years after reading a book.

Well, I finished it. The length was demanding especially with their constant misunderstandings, but still I rate it at 3 stars. I was leaning towards 3.5, but I had to settle for 3 stars.

I finally finished.

This book would have been a lot shorter if there weren't so many misunderstandings.

I nearly gave up numerous times from weariness of the constant jumping to conclusions for ridiculous reasons.

After getting off to a good start, the book sank into mediocrity and stayed there.

A disappointing read after such a promising beginning.

Yes, I moved onto the second book: Daughters of the Summer Storm http://amzn.to/2i0uKlA

I finished it also. It's much shorter and probably could have been a bit longer. For a book with an HEA, there is still sadness to the ending. I'm glad these two books were free. They now cost over $5 each.

I'm reading another of her books now. She really knows how to tell a story, but her romantic parts just aren't strong enough to satisfy.

Kathy,

You are a trooper.

After "Jasmine Moon," I'm not in a hurry to read the next free book by this author.

Yes, a person has to be a trooper to read this author's books, but there is something about her style that I like, even though so far, the books only rate 3 stars. What I can't believe is that her new books are traditionally published and sell for $9.99.

The author's writing is just fine.

She just relied to heavily on a myriad of misunderstandings.

This book is not worth $9.99!

The one we read sells for $5.38 ( go figure). But her books dating 2014 or later sell for $9.99. I think most of them are in Kindle Unlimited. I think all her books should be around $2.99 or $3.99 and in Kindle Unlimited.

I wonder if she has a following if she's still writing?

I thought that since the book we read was so old, that she hadn't written anything recently.

Maybe her more recent books don't rely on misunderstanding so much. I can only hope!

I am reading one of her books re-published in 2014. It was originally published in 1984. Unlike Jasmine Moon, the romance is really falling into place very slowly, but as usually, she has quite a few twists and turns already pushing through.

Title: From Love's Ashes

Here's the blurb:

Beautiful Steppie Wexford finds her peaceful, happy life suddenly shattered. First, her husband is murdered. Then, her adopted daughter accuses her of killing him! And her family's honor is threatened by strange financial dealings, a tangled web of hidden relationships, and hints of moonshining involvement.

In the midst of it all, Steppie discovers a pure and passionate love with Creag Trent. It is a love that can save her. But both Steppie and Creag know that before their exquisite love can truly bloom, the real killer of Steppie's husband must be found and the honor of her family restored….


I've yet to encounter any pure and passionate love, and I'm at 36%. I don't mind waiting. I just hope she delivers something worth waiting for.

I hope this one is good for you.

The blurb looks interesting.