(no subject)

[skygiants]

If you are craving Ruritanian romance -- you know, "gosh! I thought I was just an ordinary person but I am secretly royalty in this weird little kingdom I've never heard of? Awesome! BRING ON THE HIJINKS, SCHEMING AND SWORDFIGHTS," then Sherwood Smith's Coronets and Steel is probably a book that will fulfill every single one of your needs.

I personally picked it up because rachelmanija promised me hot masked dance scenes, and my knowledge of Sherwood Smith promised me intelligent worldbuilding, and both of these were certainly delivered.

Our Heroine is Aurelia Kim Atelier, a UCLA student on a trip to Vienna to do research into her family history. Kim's hobbies include:
- fencing
- dancing
- cracking herself up by dropping obscure references into the middle of conversations
- jumping out of high-speed vehicles and fleeing away into the niiiiiight

All of this comes in handy for hot masked dance scenes, not to mention lit-nerd banter and action-filled escapes. Basically Coronets and Steel is pure id adventure, and it's thoroughly enjoyable.

It also did a good job of making me feel much older and more mature than I really am, because I spent a lot of the book wishing that Kim had HIRED ME as a sensible older companion/governess type before she headed off on her adventures. Since this was not possible, I spent a lot of time screaming "NOOOOOOOOO!" into the pages, like so:

KIM: Sure, I see no problems with impersonating foreign royalty for a week because this hot guy asked me to. It will be an adventure! Knowing nothing about politics is no problem.
BECCA: KIM. NO. WE DO NOT ILLEGALLY IMPERSONATE PEOPLE WITHOUT A VERY GOOD REASON.
KIM: Okay, then how about I go to this small, isolated foreign country, with no reliable source of communication, without telling anybody about my change in plans or providing emergency contact information for my friends and family -
BECCA: AURELIA KIM ATELIER YOU GO EMAIL YOUR MOTHER AND LEAVE HER YOUR EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION RIGHT NOW
KIM: - and then I'll happily tell this dashing-but-possibly-wicked long-lost cousin of mine that a.) my existence might disinherit his family and b.) nobody knows where I am or what I am doing!
BECCA:

I like Kim fine! (Though my favorite character was actually Ruri.) I would be happy to hang out with her, except that then probably most of the book would not have happened, because I would have done my best to STOP HER from making 80% of the decisions she makes.

. . . but she's great at dancing! And swordfighting! IT'S OKAY KIM. You may have a long way to go before you max out your common sense stats, but your skillset is perfectly designed for a Ruritanian romance.

In other news, I suddenly have a powerful urge to reread The Prisoner of Zenda.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

I love Kim precisely because I so rarely see intelligently written contemporary fiction with flighty, almost ditzy, yet still sympathetic and internally logically consistent female protagonists. I mean, omg. Plus, a lack of common sense as almost a heritable family trait! Why not.

Also, yes, 80% or thereabouts. :)) I'm looking forward to the forthcoming third title, Revenant Eve.

[skygiants]

Hee, yes! And yeah, lack of common sense is TOTALLY a heritable trait in that family. (Though I hope Ruri got all of it and starts using her style and chic for GREAT JUSTICE in the next book! . . . don't spoil me to tell me whether or not this happens.)