Since my writing partner/snark enabler is on an island in the Caribbean for a month, I’m on my own for writing reviews. At first I thought I’d just wait it out and start reviewing again when she gets back from paradise, but my fingers have been itching to type and my mind starts writing reviews before I even finish the book. Evidently Cannonball Read can become an addiction. Who knew?
On to the important part of today’s entry: I thought Susan Johnson’s Love Storm was one of the sexiest books I’d ever read at age 20. I came across it in the paperback section of my personal library when I was sorting things to try and trade-in on Amazon. I thought, “hmmm. Let’s give this a try and see if it’s as good as you remember.”
Short answer: no.
Longer answer: While there are some things that could have been genuinely interesting, my adult self gets more offended by this book with every page turned. The romanticizing (is that even a word?) of the relationship between the aristocrat and serf classes in pre-Revolution Russia puts me strongly in mind of the master/happy slave relationship you often see in pre-Roots fiction about the South.
The relationships between individuals are also problematic. The heroine is essentially raped by the drunk off his ass hero in the first 75 pages, and then later sexually assaulted and raped by the villain, who happens to be involved in the sex slave trade. The problem is that the scenes are written so that the heroine is essentially raped to orgasm because she’s gone so long since she had sex. Um, no.
This conversation happened between the hero’s parents:
“How is it you haven’t altered an inch since I met you twenty-five years ago?”
Alisa rose, threw her arms around his neck, and softly replied, “Because I starve myself five days a week to stay thin for you, lecher.”
“Ah, that’s what I like to see,” he grinned, “a dutiful wife.”
Submissive wife AND fat shaming. FAAAN-tastic.
The part that is somewhat interesting is the glimpse into aristocratic life at turn-of-the-twentieth century Russia. The way she name drops people and places, along with extensive author’s notes at the end, make it evident that she did a lot of research in preparation for writing this novel. The slave trade portion of the novel takes place among the tribes of the Caucasus mountains, and could have been interesting if a little more of the tradition and history of the region had been explored. Instead it was just a convenient backdrop for sex slave trading kidnappers.
So, in short, if someone recommends Love Storm by Susan Johnson to you, be polite but noncommittal and avoid this like the hot mess it is.
