(Note: Hi, Toni’s readers!  *waves*  I’m borrowing her blog for the day because I’m currently, shall we say, between blogs.  (Why do I get a kick out of saying that?)  You see, I needed a public place to post this review, and Toni obligingly said I could use hers.  I promise to keep it lively and well-fed and return it in good shape when I’m done.

– Tamar) 

I had a good feeling about this book.  The author, Sherry Thomas, loves Judith Ivory and Laura Kinsale, my two favorite romance authors.   And the excerpt I read made me smile with quiet glee at the clear intelligence in her smooth authorial voice.   And so far it’s gotten nothing but glowing reviews from romance review sites. 

But I’ve been reading a lot of genre novels (and hell, non-genre novels) lately that have gotten great reviews here, there, even everywhere.  That start off strong but fizzle around the beginning of Act 2 because the author only had that first setting-things-up section in her.  Or he just didn’t think through the whole story.  Or she forgot her characters shouldn’t do random stupid things just because the outline said they should.  Or… well, you get the idea.

So I was eager but also nervous, especially since I won a copy of this book in a giveaway at Dear Author on condition that I write about it, and really, who wants to write a negative review of a book when you know the author (who you’ve never met) will likely read what you say?   

So with this long preamble out of the way, what did I think of Private Arrangements, the debut historical romance from Sherry Thomas? 

I loved it. 

Seriously.

The novel takes place in England in the late 1800’s.  It’s about a marriage that started out passionate and promising, but through a, shall we say, problematic choice on the woman’s part, fell apart quickly.  The story picks up ten years later, after Gigi has filed for divorce.  Camden has one request before he signs the legal documents.  Now they have to deal with each other. 

It’s an intriguing setup, though, granted, not an entirely original one.  But there’s no entirely original plot in existence;  the pleasure of a read is in how the author develops the flesh and muscle of story from those bare bones.  And Thomas does a wonderful job.  For the first half of the book, she alternates chapters between the current story and what happened ten years earlier.  It’s a smart way to show, in a visceral, intimate way, both how these two people belong together and how they broke apart so dramatically.   I was equally invested in the story in the present and the one in the past, which is no easy feat. 

I love Gigi’s character.  The very same traits that make her delightful to read also act as her Achilles heel.  She’s determined, ballsy, strong, and confident.   And it all makes sense, given her background and her mother’s strong (and oddly sympathetic) desire for her to marry well in order to ameliorate her father’s commoner heritage.  I fell in love with Gigi almost right away.  

Camden is somewhat more problematic for me. Oh, he’s appealing and interesting in his own right, don’t get me wrong.  But some of his actions… well, I’ll get back to that in a minute.  But overall, he does work for me.  What works most is that he <i>gets</i> Gigi, completely and immediately.  He sees how she operates and (mostly) admires her for it.  And he too has a great deal of strength and determination, as is natural, given his own difficult (but loving) upbringing.  These two feel like well-matched equals. 

These are not cardboard cutout characters.  They feel real.  Their actions largely make sense.  Neither fit entirely into the Haute Ton (did it still exist as such in late Victorian times?).  Interestingly, in them both I can see budding modern sensibilities emerging in a traditional environment. 

In far too many romance novels, a couple is estranged due to practically random misunderstandings and happenstance.  As a reader, I often feel like shouting at the characters, “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!”  or “IT WASN’T THAT BIG A DEAL, GET OVER YOURSELF!”  Not so here.  What Gigi did to cause the split ten years ago would absolutely be hard to forgive, hard to get past in a relationship.  It’s also entirely consistent with her character.  And yet it’s also entirely easy to empathize with her motivation in doing it. 

I did have trouble with Camden’s initial response, however.  Certain aspects of it felt forced, not emotionally true.  I think this could have been avoided with a judicious use of backstory to illuminate exactly why the news hit him the way it did.  I suspect Thomas struggled with this passage; the writing is not nearly as polished and acutely observed as it is in the rest of the book. 

I also had some trouble with his request in the present.  He wants an heir before they go their separate ways.  Which I’m not sure I buy.  He has siblings, and presumably can have an heir through their children.  Or he can remarry.  More importantly, he acts like he hates Gigi, even ten years later.  He talks and behaves like sex will be an abhorrent chore.  It’s clearly a lie, but I can’t tell if he’s lying to himself or just to her.  So all I have to go on is what he says and how he acts.  It’s too large a cognitive dissonance.   As a reader, I needed a slightly larger insight into his current perception of her and what it means to choose to have a sexual relationship after they’ve been estranged so long. 

The secondary romance added a much-needed effervescent fizz (especially one particular scene toward the beginning involving a kitten in a tree) – though it did take up a tad too much time in the telling, especially late in the story when I no longer needed as many bubbles to balance the main plot. 

(While I’m critiquing, I do have one teeny tiny itty bitty language nit:  eyes don’t meet, gazes do.  And I’m not sure gazes should ever intertwine.)

Again, these are all small, small problems. The story WORKS.  This novel is beautifully, masterfully written.  The situation in the present ends up circling back in a lovely way, with Gigi’s current dilemma echoing Camden’s past dilemma, while another choice she makes shows how much she’s grown in the interim.  All the characters are well observed, and the beats and scenes have a lot of emotional truth.  And Thomas’ voice throughout is just wonderful.  Witty, vivid, and altogether delightful to read.  I stayed up far too late the night I got the book in the mail, wanting to keep reading just a little more and then just a bit more after that. 

I think the theme of this novel is morality.  What will we do to get what we desperately want?  How far will we go?  What happens when it backfires?  And, conversely, how can we learn to forgive, to accept?  In the present, Gigi has a sweet, fairly platonic relationship with a younger man; he’s an amateur artist.  Part of what she loves in him is his open, uncomplicated, accepting warmth.  He has a woman friend, a potential partner, but she criticizes his art, pushes him to do more, be more, be other than who he is. 

In fact, maybe this is the true theme.  We get to see how their early crisis has altered both characters ten years down the road, making them stronger but also in a way making them more truly themselves.  In the end, this story is not only about the right, moral choice (and it is), but is also about perception and acceptance. 

I think it’s no accident that Sherry Thomas has created in Gigi a fascinating, hyper-alive woman, but also one who bucks convention and acts from a very strong sense of self.  In the secondary romance, Gigi’s mother explicitly sets out to act like her daughter, contriving a situation to make a duke fall into her lap (so to speak).  And yet Thomas does something wonderful:  the duke observes her without her knowledge.  So he walks into the supposed trap knowing exactly what she’s up to.  Which is a wonderful reversal, but it also works thematically:  he now knows who she is, knows what she’s up to, in a way he knows the worst of her.  And therefore when he thaws toward her, he’s thawing in truth, with full knowledge.  Exactly what Camden couldn’t do.  Camden knew Gigi, knew what she was capable of, but when she actually went there and did that, he couldn’t accept, couldn’t forgive.  In the present, as they become closer and more able to put aside their anger, part of the way the reader can tell is by how much they share of themselves.  Of their nonsexual selves. A lovely, understated emotional turning point involves a simple moment where Camden shows Gigi sketches of his work.  Sharing who he is with her.  And unlike Freddy’s lady friend, she responds by getting it.  Getting him. 

I want to reread this novel to analyze two things:  First:  how she made the sex scenes so damned sexy without resorting to the usual clichés.   The language is fresh and the characters’ actions are very specific to that moment in the story.

Second:  how she played the dark against the light.  In the first half of the novel, the present day storyline is tense and painful.  The characters show so much hardness on the surface, so much hurt underneath.   But the early chapters set in the past are lovely, light and warm.  And yet also increasingly painful, since you know what’s coming.   In the second half, the past drops away, its story told.  The interaction between the two in the present becomes more complicated:  dark intermingled with light, hard with soft, as they tear down the walls and rediscover each other.   Finally, the ending feels truly deserved.  These people belong together.  And Sherry Thomas belongs on my keeper shelf. 

After reading this, it’ll be hard now to pick up yet another frothy historical romance with paper-thin plotting and contrived characterizations.  I think I’ll switch gears for a while, read a few hard-boiled mysteries, maybe some lyrical, poignant fantasy.   Sherry Thomas has another book coming out this summer.  That’s not too long to wait, right? 

This one, though, comes out this Tuesday, March 25^th.

Hiya everyone,

I’m going to be on the radio (and you can hear it online). This is an interview that was live a couple of weeks ago and it’s replaying Saturday, the first, at 4:00 CENTRAL time and you can access it via THIS LINK.

I have no clue how I sounded, but the host, River Jordan, was fantastic!

I have a guest-post over on Murderati today — come visit!

You know, it simply stays kinda crazy over here. We’re having a 50th wedding anniversary party for my in-laws this Saturday, and I’ve been executive producing an indie film (um, did I mention the film? probably not… more on that later, but right now, the footage is amazing).

Anyway, I’m popping in to tell you that Bobbie Faye went into a second print run a couple of weeks back and for one more week, it’s on a special promotion through Barnes & Noble, where if you buy two, you get the third one free. Which is very cool, and I’m really thrilled to be included in that group. (That is also available in store.) And, I have to give a huge shout-out thank you to Zach and Alice and Russ over at Wordsmith Books– they are just amazing, so if you’re anywhere near Decatur, GA., go see them! Or order from them online! No kidding, they are super.

Also, on the same day that Harry Potter hit the world, Bobbie Faye had a fantastic reveiw up over on bookreporter.com.  I had the chance to meet Joe Hartlaub, the reviewer, at ThrillerFest, and seriously, you just could not meet a nicer guy.

Meanwhile, I’m finished (mostly) with book two. “Finished” being defined as that state of delusion that I am determined to live in while my editor reads it and before she gives me notes. I am la-la-la-ing to the computer calling out to me to go fix this or that or this other thing that I thought of three seconds after pressing send. Every single time I submit something, I think, “I’ll review it, repeatedly, I’ll make sure I am absolutely happy with it, and this time, when I send it, I will be able to relax because I know everything is done! Yay!” Except that never works. I never, ever am able to get to that point because as soon as it’s beyond my control, I will remember one thing that is critical.

It’s really hard to read it out loud at events. I tend to want to edit on the fly.

So. I am “finished.” Until I’m not. Which will probably be very very soon. Meanwhile, I am planning a party for a bunch of people, painting the hallway (which is half-way painted because I started it somewhere in the middle of book two and just gave up when that consumed me). Two weeks from now, we’re having a baby shower here, so more cleaning and painting can be done in between the two. And we have a weekend shooting schedule and I’m busy trying to nail down locations and costumes and props and all sorts of other things that I never, ever, would have expected to be doing this summer. (Because clearly, I am insane.) (If the script wasn’t that good and the guys weren’t that talented, I wouldn’t have committed. But is and they are, and so here I am.) (Yep, insane.)

Saturday, the 4th, I’ll be talking at the Zachary library (Zachary, Louisiana) at 2:00 p.m. There are a few more things lined up for the fall, for which I hope to have the details soon and will get those up on the schedule. (My poor, sadly neglected schedule.)

So, dear internet, hope you’re not getting too sunburned at the beach and that you’re knocking back and having some fun.

-toni

Hey, internet! Guess what! There’s this thing, it’s called SLEEP! It’s like…. wow. Amazing. You go to bed and then you STAY THERE and then you close your eyes and eight hours or so later, you open them and WOW, there’s this feeling… it’s called… (looking up in dictionary)…. RESTED!

Who knew? This is like… better than DRUGS. This is… (doing the snoopy dance)… wonderful.

Whoa, I am loving this. Two nights in a row, complete sleep, waking up, not thinking almost immediately as to how long will it be before I could nap.

I’m updating on book stuff over on my regular site, and I’ve got to go put more stuff up over there in the next day or so. Everything’s been really great, though, and I’m very lucky.

New entry over on my new site…

Diane mentioned in the comments that my regular site doesn’t have an RSS feed… but we have that now:

 feed://www.tonimcgeecausey.com/index.xml

I’m not quite sure when it’ll be posted over there in the actual design so that you can see it permanently, but I’ll put it up over there on the news section by tomorrow.

Thanks for all of the notes, everyone — really appreciate y’all sticking with me.

I’ve updated over on my site about the signing… go here for photos. (I’ll be migrating the blog over there for the most part, but I’ll put up reminders here.)

I had to run to the bookstore tonight to drop off the invitations to next Sunday’s reading / signing at Barnes & Noble (on Citiplace, at 3:00)… and my book was in the window! With a poster telling about the reading.

And then it was on the New Paperback display table.

And then it was on another table with a big sign over it.

Of course, I took photos.

There may have been squeeing.

There was even, possibly, a little dancing in the store. (okay, a lot of dancing) In front of people. Who thought I was crazy. But you know what?

My book is in the stores.

My friends high-fived me, other friends have emailed me that they’ve either bought it or it’s being shipped to them (they got the notices) and you know what?

It’s just flat out amazing.

My book is in the stores now.

It’s real.

Dreams really do come true.

Max gave me this:

for this entry.

Max is uber cool.  You should be reading Max regularly. I am trying to get her to convert one of her scripts to a novel because it is freaking brilliant and funny (it is the kind of brilliant and funny that makes me wish I had written it, it is that good). Y’all go tell her to snap to it. (I am evil, yes.)

On Friday, I got to hold the first copy of my book. The color is a lot greener in real life than the jpeg that the publisher had sent to me, and it’s really gorgeous. Seriously, I love it. I scanned it in, but it still doesn’t do it justice. They did a double pass on the red, which means it’s really rich, and I didn’t have a clue how that would make a difference until I saw it, but it does. And they’ve embossed everything on the front — even the danger sign and Harley’s quote inside that sign. It feels really nice. Tactile, and inviting. I have to say, I am really incredibly happy with it. I think it’ll pop out at people when they pass by. Here’s a scan of just the front page:

And here’s the whole cover (front/back) — this is a “flat” that they sent me. (Why yes, I am going to frame it. I barely refrained from tattooing it on my forehead.)

Then today, I found out that I had a starred review in Library Journal, which is just extremely cool. I’m really stunned at this, to be honest. Here’s the review, if you’re interested:

Causey, Toni McGee. Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day. Griffin: St. Martin’s. May 2007. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-312-35448-0. pap. $12.95. F

Cajun beauty queen Bobbie Faye Sumrall is having a bad day: after a burst water pipe breaks her sorry-excuse-for-a-trailer in half, she accidentally robs a bank, tries to free her good-for-nothing brother from kidnappers, takes a hostage (also accidentally), flees with him through the treacherous swamps of Louisiana, eludes an angry bear as well as her disgruntled cop ex-boyfriend, hotwires a speedboat, and kills a dangerous snake with her knife. And the day isn’t even over. This hyperpaced, screwball action/adventure with one unforgettable heroine and two sexy heroes is side-splittingly hilarious. Causey, a Cajun and a Louisiana native, reveals a flair for comedy in this uproarious debut novel, the first in a three-book series. Readers who like the humor of Harley Jane Kozak’s Dating Dead Men, Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files, and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series will be thrilled to meet Bobbie Faye. A most entertaining addition to any fiction collection. [Two trailers for the book are available at www.tonimcgeecausey.com.—Ed.]—Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Then I got to have a long late lunch / early dinner with my friend Emile Staat, whom I never get to see enough, and it was just a perfect day. I want to seal it and frame it and keep it, ya know? I hope you all are having wonderfully perfect days, too.