Classic Romance/Angst: Persuasion

This one I started reading because I bought the book as part of my Jane Austen collection. I got bored with the first few pages the first time I read it, then decided to read it again today.

This time, I kinda skimmed through those boring first pages (I'll read them with greater interest next time, but for now my excuse was that I've already read those) and then I didn't stop til I reached the finish. At one point I had to stop because... wait for it... I squealed like a giddy teenager watching a kissing scene in her favorite cheesy flick. Yeah, something like that.

This is because it's not just angst that hooks me into a certain story. Romance also does it. I am so into Pride and Prejudice, if you must know (I may write about that someday). If it has a healthy dose of angst (meaning not enough to make me want to kill myself, but enough to squeeze my heart) then it's a lovely combination.

Sweet romance + an edge of bitter angst = Happy Zmeyette! Hahaha

Wow, it's kinda scary to be making a sort-of-review for something that I know literary scholars have studied over years. But I really enjoyed reading Persuasion, and since I come from the Romance/Angst point of view from now, I'll say that I really love Anne Elliot. I love Elizabeth Bennet the most, but Anne Elliot is running a close second in my heart.

Am I so evil as to liking the fact that for the most part of the novel, Anne's conflicts and pain are hers and something she usually cannot share to others? Those knowing glances, statements with underlying meanings, secrets, and a quite painful past, these are things that I really enjoy, and stuff that I found in the novel. A heroine whose value is not properly acknowledged is something that I like too, and something that Anne Elliot has in common with my beloved Elizabeth Bennet. When you have a character like Anne's, it makes you feel something along the lines of, "Ha! You think she's not important or fine, but I know better." I don't think I explained it well, but that's basically it.

Of course, you gotta love the prince charming as well. The prince charming who was deemed unfit for Anne Elliot, also has angst on his part. Imagine being turned down not because the lady didn't like you, but because she was persuaded by the people around her. Quite a blow, isn't it? Well, that is the past of the pair in focus in this novel (this isn't really a spoiler because I saw this on the back of the book :P). So that is where the conflict, especially the internal conflict of Anne, stems from.

But I digress, since I was supposed to be talking about Anne's dashing naval officer. Hm, I guess I just would have to say, remember the part where I said I squealed like a teenager? Well, that was because of the prince charming's words. Goodness, when it comes to letters, this guy's is shorter than Mr. Darcy's, but I have to say I felt it more. In Mr. Darcy's defense, their letters are of quite different natures. But still... XD

Really, this novel, though quite shorter than other Jane Austen works I have read, is something that took a place in my heart. I honestly can't wait to read it again.

What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

P.S. This review isn't as comprehensive as I wanted it to be, and may be a bit scattered. I totally blame the frog who threw me out of my wits tonight. Boo. 

The Nightreader's Take on the Nightwalker

Just finished reading the first installment of the Dark Days Series by Jocelynn Drake entitled Night Walker. At first I was just reading it because I had nothing else to do, but by the end of it I was reading and had almost nothing else done. 

What's got me hooked? Angst--lots of it. But I'll go to that later. For starters, I like the way the characters talk; it must have something to do with the fact that the major characters are centuries old, and by that, I mean at least 600 years old. Anyone decades old or a century old is deemed young--imagine that? It follows, then, that I like the way the author narrates her story, because it is written from the point of view of the heroine (or is she? I'm still not too sure of the dynamics of this realm), Mira. 

Speaking of Mira, I also like her. Really, I do. She is edgy, powerful, badass, sarcastic, playful, teasing, and very, very dear. She's a mix of good and evil and the need to survive and principles, it's so fun to pick at her character while she picks on another character's mind. And did I mention that she has a lot of issues and baggage that she'd rather forget but is catching up to her?

Well, that leads me to the point I've already mentioned earlier, which is angst. Mira is very angsty, she is different among her kind and that brings a lot of questions and mystery. Add to that her painful past, on different levels, and she's one tough-but-fragile bitch. Hm, I like the combination. Of course, it's not just her past that is painful--the present can prove to give her just as much, and maybe even more suffering. Lovely. 

Am I scaring you? Don't worry, that's just me coming down from a high after reading a nice book. I just feel as if I've been there, felt stuff. The only thing that didn't happen (though it almost did), was me crying. Darn. That would mean that I really connected to the story and the characters. But who knows? I didn't cry in the first book of my favorite series as of the moment, Vampire Academy (I'll write about this later). And it almost happened anyway, so that's got to account for something.

What else did I forget? Oh, I never got to mention that this is also a vampire novel, although I think it's quite nearer to vampire canon (I'm comparing it to Twilight and Vampire Academy). Even so, it incorporates other races, such as lycans, warlocks, and what not, which I think is a difficult feat. So that's a plus point too. 

Of course, I didn't really say much about the story itself, so you have to read it yourself. That is an amazing feat for me, I am telling you--I love giving people spoilers though I hate receiving such. As for me, I am looking forward to reading the next book, and I can't wait to see what new misadventures the characters go into and what new mysteries will be unraveled. 

Oh, I am looking forward to more conflict and misery too. But for now, I shall sleep.

What do you like in a story?

P.S. Oh, and did I mention the fact that from start to finish, I've yet to find a trace of "true love" in the novel? It's kind of refreshing. Maybe in the next books I'll find some, though.   

P.P.S. I'm Zmeyette, but I blogged about a different vampire story first. Would VA hate me? (You'll have your day/s, swear! XD)