It’s funny how the books I most frequently re-read are not necessarily the books I count among my all-time favorites. For instance, I’ve re-read For My Lady’s Heart and The Shadow and The Star only once, and some favorites, like Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, have never been re-read. On the other hand, some Lisa Kleypas books that I wouldn’t rate above a B or B- are frequently re-read. And one particular comfort read of mine is a book that I should hate, by all rights.
I don’t know why I love this book so much, but I do. It’s really not a guilty pleasure the way Dara Joy’s campy novels are a guilty pleasure. Morning Song is quite well-written, despite the heroine’s breasts’ tendency to swell and throb when the hero fondles them. But this book is seriously flawed in many ways, and contains several plot devices that tend to squick me all to fuck in a romance novel. Below are a few reasons why I should hate the book:
(Be warned, there are going to be some pretty big spoilers, so don’t read if you’re the sort who can’t stand ‘em.)
1. The hero is married.
2. To the heroine’s mother.
3. And starts an affair with the heroine while still married to said mother.
4. Heroine’s mother is an Evil Slut, which is second only to the Evil Homogay in terms of “stupid romance villain clichés I wish would go the fuck away already.”
5. Heroine is sometimes so feisty, she makes my teeth hurt.
6. Hero (via Evil Slut Wife) is proprietor of large plantation staffed by slaves. I know, it was the reality of the time, but it’s pretty hard to sell me on the idea that people who owned slaves could’ve been all that great or deserving of an HEA. A very modern attitude, I realize, but hey, I don’t read romance novels for a strict representation of reality.
7. The mammy slave character is a strong, wonderful woman, but she engages in behavior and receives a kind of consideration that I do not find convincing in a slave of that era--not even a well-loved house slave.
8. The hero is a gambler with an iffy past who takes on sombody else’s identity. When he’s found out, the speed with which everyone accepts him is enough to give anyone whiplash.
Despite all these issues, I still love the book. It’s one of my most frequently re-read keepers. I was trying to figure out why last night and it finally hit me: I really, really love books about forbidden love, in which the hero and/or the heroine mightily resist their urges before giving in. The reason for resisting has to be good, because for me, that’s the best part of the whole thing; the higher the stakes, the better I’ll like it. And woo boy, do the protagonists have a great reason to resist their attraction to each other. I mean, Christ, her STEPFATHER? I have to admit, that little bit of kink intrigued and fascinated me while simultaneously grossing me out.
There are other reasons why I like this book so much, too. The hero, Clive, is a gambler and a scoundrel, and he unabashedly marries the heroine’s mother for her money and her plantation. However, he’s also one of the few people in the book to treat the heroine with true kindness and consideration, even before he develops a major case of the hots for her. I’ve read a few other Robards novels, but was unable to finish any of them because the heroes were too assholish. Clive is just the right combination of asshole and sweetheart.
There’s also something about the raw melodrama of this book that sucks me in. The emotional instensity is pretty high, and it stays that way for much of the book. The conflict in this book isn’t as nuanced and layered the way it is in, say, a Kinsale or Ivory novel, but hot damn, I don’t care. I loves it. Gimme more.
Any of you have similar experiences with books like these? Books that you KNOW you shouldn’t like, books that feature plot devices and character types that normally drive you crazy, but you love them anyway?
