July was another one of those months that I got more reading done than I realized! On the list was I Will Repay and The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, The Janus Elixir and The Hound of Duville by Kyle Robert Shultz, and An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. They were all delightful reads, and just too many to fit them all on the graphic above. :P The first two are swashbuckling adventures set during the French Revolution, the second two are tales full of Shultz's characteristic humor, and the last was a quiet, old-fashioned tale of love and friendship that I quite enjoyed. I Will Repay Baroness Emmuska Orczy My rating: ★★★★ [There may be some vague spoilers for The Scarlet Pimpernel in the following.] I Will Repay is North and South meets The Scarlet Pimpernel in all the best ways. It’s a high-stakes adventure set during the French Revolution instead of the Industrial one, with all the aggravating misunderstandings that usually crop up in old-fashioned romances like this. (You know, the kind that makes a book really, really hard to put down.) Juliette Marny is another strong yet feminine female character reminiscent of Marguerite Blakeney, who (quite frankly), really messed things up from a misguided sense of justice, but was equally ready to do everything in her power to make them right again. I loved her! I think character arcs like that are sorely lacking in today’s stories. So often characters make mistakes and wallow in them, instead of moving forward like a warrior, admitting that they were wrong, and trying to set things right. Paul Déroulède, on the other hand, is not the swashbuckling type of Hero/Love Interest from The Scarlet Pimpernel. He’s quiet, but fearless, and can always be relied upon to do what’s right. He rose above the degeneracy of his people during the Revolution, and made them feel human again by retaining a human heart himself. The plot—while not very different from The Scarlet Pimpernel in the main points—felt a lot grittier than its predecessor. Most of the previous book was spent in England, and we only got a very narrow glimpse at France towards the end. The entirety of I Will Repay is spent in France during one of the bloodiest years of the Revolution. I think Orczy did a horribly beautiful job of underscoring the brutality of the time. As for content, there are various passing references made to sexual immorality and rape (very brief, and not at all explicit), some “demming” on the part of the Pimpernel, (although less than the first book), drinking, and one female character takes accusations of “wantonness” upon herself in order to save the man she loves. (She was completely innocent of such charges.) In closing, I think it’s fair to say that if you liked The Scarlet Pimpernel, you’ll like I Will Repay. It takes the same formula for glorious adventure and recreates it in an entirely new way. I also appreciated the fact that “true love” was shown to be seeing someone’s faults and loving them anyway, as well as the theme that vengeance belongs to the Lord. It’s a worthy addition to the series! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Janus Elixir
Kyle Robert Shultz My rating: ★★★★ I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Shultz that I don’t like, and The Janus Elixir is no exception! It’s full of the offbeat sense of humor that characterizes Shultz’s writing, and the fact that he’s now strayed into the territory of literary classics is another huge plus… in my highly-biased, classics-loving opinion. :P Anything based off the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is bound to be creepy, (especially when Frankenstein is thrown in for good measure), but it never went too far in that direction, since the aforementioned humor always buoyed it up. Plus, I loved watching Malcolm and Melody interact! I think what I like most about them is the fact that Melody is probably the only person who can get away with giving a dragon cheek, and not get burnt to a crisp. xD Another thing I enjoyed seeing was the message that everyone matters, and that the history of the Afterverse was finally explained, all the way from its creation to the present, through one long-suffering reel delivered by Mr. Malcom Sass-Dragon Blackfire himself. I also liked that the “little g” gods were clearly differentiated from the “big G” God, and that the former were basically just immortal, extra-powerful people. In closing, if you haven’t read anything by Shultz yet, you’re really missing out. The Janus Elixir packs a surprisingly twisty plot into a novella-sized package, filled with likable characters, literary references, and just enough creepy to keep you on the edge of your seat! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Elusive Pimpernel Baroness Emmuska Orczy My rating: ★★★★ Any scene with Marguerite and Percy Blakeney in it is bound to be A+. Any scene with The Scarlet Pimpernel and Chauvelin is bound to be A++. And since I Will Repay introduced a whole new cast of characters, it was so lovely to get back to the original ones again and watch The Scarlet Pimpernel run rings around Monsieur Chauvelin. I was cracking up more than once—and while this is probably going to be one of the shortest reviews I’ve written in a long time—I don’t think there’s much to say. Baroness Emmuska Orczy knew how to tell a very good story, and The Elusive Pimpernel is no exception. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Hound of Duville Kyle Robert Shultz My rating: ★★★★ The Hound of Duville is another hilarious addition to the Afterverse, and I loved watching Nick and Crispin take the lead again! I found myself frequently comparing it to The Beast of Talesend, because it’s probably the most light-hearted Beaumont and Beasley adventure to come around in a while. (Not that that’s bad thing—I like stories with weight—this one just reminded me more of the origins of the series.) Crispin is effervescent and optimistic, Nick is as likeably grumpy as ever, and Cordelia is her NICK!-what-are-you-doing self, and it’s wonderful. Also: have I mentioned a sentient house? Because there’s a sentient house. You can never go wrong with that. Add in Thor and Emperor’s New Groove references, and a rather 101 Dalmatians-esque plot, and you have The Hound of Duville. I was laughing out loud more than once, and have decided that it is officially impossible to go wrong with anything Shultz writes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An Old-Fashioned Girl Louisa May Alcott My rating: ★★★★ I went into this book knowing it would be good, and needing “a little old-fashioned,” (to shamelessly quote Phil Coulson), but I had no idea that it would take me on such a roller-coaster of emotions. I experienced just about every feeling under the sun while reading An Old-Fashioned Girl... and that's the true magic of storytelling. Polly "I don’t want a religion that I put away with my Sunday clothes, and don’t take out till the day comes round again; I want something to see and feel and live by day-by-day.” This girl is one of Alcott’s characteristic strong-yet-feminine heroines, and I liked her more and more as the story progressed. She was a lot like Meg from Little Women, and to be honest, a big chunk of the book was like an extended version of Meg’s visit to the Moffats. But instead of succumbing so much to peer pressure, Polly brought her good old-fashioned sunshine into the worldly-minded house of the Shaws. That said, she was still an imperfect human being, and I loved that. Tom “… I’m only a curse instead of a comfort.” Tom reminded me so much of Laurie, that I couldn’t help but love him. His character arc was one of the most poignant in the book (although his sister Fanny did a fair amount of growing too), and by the end he’d gone from a harum-scarum boy, to an unmistakable dandy, and finally, to a man. Another thing I have always liked about Alcott’s writing is her witty descriptions. I found myself frequently stopping to chuckle, smile, or simply ponder a phrase or idea. There was a fair amount of “moralizing,” as some of her characters would put it, but I never found it overpowering. We need more old-fashioned girls (and boys) in the world. In closing, if you like sweet, simple tales of love, friendship, and remembering the important things in life, this book is for you.
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Welcome!Welcome to Katelyn Buxton Books! I'm a Christian author and blogger, with a passion for writing stories that are not just enjoyable, but also lead people closer to Jesus. Feel free to look around, and enjoy your stay! Archives
October 2021
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