The Firebrand
By Susan Wiggs
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Ebook Available from WV Reads!
1 Star - I loved the first book in this trilogy years ago, but this one is a weaker story by far. I couldn't find a good reason to actually like either Lucy or Rand, which was a shame because I thought the plot had a lot of potential. Wiggs does her best to infuse feminist ideals into the novel and a level of quirkiness but it falls short of memorable.
Normally, I dislike to write an all negative review because they feel like a waste of time and only sound mean. But I had a lot floating around in my head about this book. I glanced at a few other reviews to see if I was just in a slump and resentful this wasn't breaking it. But I did see others that called this preachy and dull, both apt descriptions. Lucy is a feminist and a book lover but she has the personality of cardboard. She is snide, even in her thoughts, and I have no idea why anyone would want her as a wife anyway. Rand doesn't really want her. He's just intrigued by her. To start off, he has a little charm and good humor about him but that more or less fades quickly.
I was anticipating the beginning of the book to be sort of an epic escape or race for safety amid the fire. Other than the death of Lucy's father, which passes by without much effect, it just sort of fizzles. Soon, Lucy has her ward and Rand thinks his baby daughter has died. There's no excitement, no rescue. The problem with Lucy is that she's pretty much a feminist by word only, ends up marrying Rand to make life easier. Way to stick to your morals, honey. The dialouge concerning her principles and the possibilities of life outside social norms are obviously an attempt to be "modern" or "stimulating". It just comes off odd. And there's nothing that makes this fun as a period romance as a result. Wiggs could have set the same book in 1999. And where was the romance, the love story? I really expected to enjoy this tale but found myself only slogging through it.
(NS)
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