Thursday, May 3, 2012

★★★★★ Monson's Stormfire review:

 A real review, considering most of my exchange about this book has been solely in its defense. I recently reread this masterpiece and decided it damn well deserves a review that substantiates my position on its contents and justifying my blatant admiration, instead of simply thwarting anti-Stormfire brigades settin' up FEMA camps to soothe softcore Regency readers' fit of snivels.



Stormfire is again, one of the It books, in my library. It's not the overly cloying and sweet-tongued verse I'm more fond of, but the prose itself is uncanny, and unlike most romances depicted of ANY era that I've been fortunate enough to read. Stormfire is better termed as the real War of the Roses, of love stories. Years of battle, struggle..and unyielding hardship, and you consider that no matter what it took to get to that point, it was so well-earned, the sacrifice and crisis involved; that's what adds character and integrity to the characters, because they had to fight their own war to attest to its greatness. We're nearly given a clean slate and we watch them grow, develop, crumble into edifices of pettiness, till something FINALLY, and EVENTUALLY justifies all of this turmoil. Only such a fierce hatred, and burning rage could be bled of its animosity to a fiercer affection.

Monson once made references to the War of the Roses on a wiki site I happened across, and I can't help but believe she challenged that poorly constructed story with the mocking brunt of a hurricane, as if to say.."You wanna see a War of the Roses? Bring brass bras & big girl panties!" If any alterations had been revised/sissy-spooked up, I can only say I would have tossed it onto a stack of magazines in my attic, and been done all together, but instead I'm left with such a wicked cauldron of emotions where it's concerned. It's a book where you're safer, and better off with 'feeling' it, instead of attempting to overly rationalize it with ultra-sensitivity.

Be warned; gallantry, chivalry and honor are not rewarded virtues in this bit of literature. In fact, anytime it arises to civilize the storyline and gloss over the terra-bad situations the heroine underwent, it's stamped flat of its maggoty existence. Don't try to take a breather between mad sprees, expecting the hormonally driven tenacity not to return. Because it does..beyond all human capacity. I tried on numerous occasions, and it broke my heart all over again. It slayed me whole.

This hero and heroine are not safe reserves; they break every moral
foundation and rule construed for the last three hundred years...and
glimpsing both of their pasts, you actually understand the semblance of wreckage that which ideally makes them compatible.

Some highlights and pondering on my part:

Despite the comeuppance Sean obviously bestowed upon Kit's pretend-poppa, I still felt shorted by the fact he didn't physically pick off the bastard. You know, financial ruin is indeed a knife-twisting sort of revenge, and likely the most impressionable, but if that were the case alone-- the violence towards Kit was basically unnecessary? Or perhaps once the financial drain was at its fruition, her pretend-father's only means of income were her and Sean held her.

When Sean was captured by Kit's father, and held for torture by ruffians, etc-- Sean screeched out, "Leave her out of this! She has nothing to do with it!" I could have slapped the other ball he had, clean off. What embarrassing terminology after his entire mission in life was crafted against her, the innocent victim...oh lawd, that annoyed me to a strangle-a-bitch level, haha. Sean..you wretch!

The entire France deal could have been overlooked or skipped entirely...but I wasn't so dissuaded that would alter my view of the book on a whole. The France stage of the book did not overshadow the eloquently penned prose and enormity of the story itself. The incident almost registered as Monson's way of settling the bed-mate score between the hero and the heroine.

Monson crafted Liam from a Lancelot imagery, and when the occasion arose where we didn't have enough bad-boys, or Sean needed refined as the ultimate hero--Liam rose to fulfill the villain role, SOMEHOW moreso than the hero himself; as if we were supposed to be glad Kit's got Sean to fall back on, instead of that dreadful Liam! (Or that was suggested) Liam's downfalls didn't even remotely compare to Sean's, but I will defend them both equally. I can truly say, Liam is the only male character in the book, who attempted to treat Kit with some human decency and civility! I believe I could have even accepted the incest relationship, if it weren't for the fact that comparing the two, I believe Liam was the real victim of the novel.

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