Down the Rabbit Hole

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

February 16: What Makes a Fictional Romance Believable?

Prompts: In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a romance related topic! What makes romance in books believable and compelling? What makes fictional romance feel fake? Who are your favorite bookish couples?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about fictional romances, and how they’re written. Perfect for the Valentine’s Day season that just passed. I’m definitely interested in what you all have to say for what makes romances believable for you, since it’s likely different for everyone depending how you read.

I think for me, the real ones and compelling always take time to develop, or at least have some sort of back story to back up the believability. Love at first sight is kind of passé and we really need more than just some fairytale romance for it to be believable. I think it’s compelling when the author can write it in such a way that you kind of think or know that the romance might be coming, which starts to get you hooked and interested. For me, I think what works best is when we get to see some character development, or at least know more about a character, before we dive straight into full-blown relationship. Side-by-side development of character and relationship works too, but I think a lot of the believability comes from the reader’s understanding of the character and then the subsequent understanding for why the romantic interest would be a compelling fit.

For me, love at first sight, with no real subsequent explanation is just a little bit unrealistic. I mean sometimes it can work, but for the most part it just seems like a cop out from providing a more fleshed out relationship history or any character development. Enemies to lovers is also a trope that is dangerous in execution, because the turning point can feel too sudden in the story (even though we basically always know it’s coming). If the reader can see no real basis for a relationship, and the story relies on that relationship, then it will not be believable and seem fake. If the story doesn’t really rely on the nature of the relationship, then it doesn’t really matter whether a side couple’s romance feels real or not. But the more the relationship is explored or used as a major plot point, there better be some explanation!

I really enjoyed the couple from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. It felt light and natural, and although of course it was obvious from miles away, I still felt the execution was appropriate, and the transitions works to create a compelling story about the two main characters. The romantic relationships in The Song of Achilles and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo were also so compelling and well-done, and while they’re not necessarily my “favourite couples,” I definitely really enjoyed the story around their relationship.

What about you all? What makes a relationship believable and compelling? Or do you just take what you read at face value? Let me know in the comments below!

3.5 star

Review: The Golden Gate by Amy Chua

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Amy Chua’s debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at war and a society about to undergo massive change.

In Berkeley, California, in 1944, Homicide Detective Al Sullivan has just left the swanky Claremont Hotel after a drink in the bar when a presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms upstairs. A rich industrialist with enemies among the anarchist factions on the far left, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of groups. But strangely, Sullivan’s investigation brings up the specter of another tragedy at the Claremont, ten years the death of seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of the Bainbridge family, one of the wealthiest in all of San Francisco. Some say she haunts the Claremont still.

The many threads of the case keep leading Sullivan back to the three remaining Bainbridge heiresses, now Iris’s sister, Isabella, and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Determined not to let anything distract him from the truth―not the powerful influence of Bainbridges’ grandmother, or the political aspirations of Berkeley’s district attorney, or the interest of China’s First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek in his findings―Sullivan follows his investigation to its devastating conclusion.

Chua’s page-turning debut brings to life a historical era rife with turbulent social forces and groundbreaking forensic advances, when race and class defined the very essence of power, sex, and justice, and introduces a fascinating character in Detective Sullivan, a mixed race former Army officer who is still reckoning with his own history.

Written by the Tiger Mom herself, when I saw this book at the airport bookstore of all places, I just had to pick it up for myself and read it on the plane. And I did. It was definitely a spontaneous purchase but honestly I don’t have many regrets—it’s always nice to be one of the early readers of a book when they come out. It was a thriller/murder mystery written by an Asian female lawyer; the choice was easy.

The Golden Gate follows our detective, Al Sullivan, as he investigates the high-profile murder of Walter Wilkinson in the luxurious Claremont hotel. Setting place in 1944 as the “present,” Al investigates the case where all three of the Bainbridge heiresses have been implicated in the murder as possible suspects. With a high-profile murder, there are also many other powerful forces at play, including China’s First Lady, and the suspects’ grandmother, Genevieve Bainbridge. Just how did this unfortunate family get involved in such a messy situation, and who will end up being punished for the crime?

Continue reading →

discussion

Review: Let’s Talk Bookish – Indecisive Reading?

February 9, 2024 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

February 9: Are You an Indecisive Reader?

Prompts: Do you always know exactly what to read next? Or do you struggle to pick your next read? Are you constantly jumping between books and genres? How do you pick the books you read?

Welcome back to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about choosing what to read next, and I think sometimes this can be super easy, but in slumps it is just the worst decision to make. Not sure how it is for the rest of you all!

I usually know what to read next. Between something that I am interested in, something that is running off hold from the library, or something someone lent me physically to read, there’s usually something urgent enough to warrant my attention. I don’t usually struggle too much with picking my next reads, as it is often almost chosen for me. Usually the decision will be between two equally urgent reads, and in the end it doesn’t really matter what I pick first, the deadline is often equally tight between the two.

I do try and vary the genres between my different reads. This usually isn’t too bad, as suggestions from my friends won’t usually be thrillers and mysteries, which I tend to gorge myself on if left alone. Therefore I often have quite a variety on my TBR to choose from. I don’t necessarily jump book by book through different genres, but I think sometimes depending on the mood of the book I just finished, I either want more of the same or something different, and that usually will dictate what I choose.

I generally just pick what I want to read next off what I happen to be feeling. Availability also helps to factor into this equation, but generally I won’t think too deep about it. It usually comes to me quite quickly whether the book in front of me is what I want to read next or not. Maybe I’m just judging a book by its cover at that point? Who knows.

What about you all? Is picking the next book a struggle or something you don’t even think about? Let me know in the comments below!