skygiants | (no subject)

Alyssa Cole has now written yet another novella that I like better than most or all of her full-length books -- Can't Escape Love, a tie-in to the Reluctant Royals series via Duke By Default protagonist Portia's twin sister Reggie.

The plot, such as it is: Reggie is a a wheelchair-using feminist-geek-culture website entrepreneur who's been using the puzzle-solving livestreams of old internet acquaintance Gus as a sleeping aid. When Gus shuts down his Twitch channel and the videos go offline, she reaches awkwardly out to ask for substitute recordings of his voice.

Coincidentally, puzzle-proficient Gus has just been hired to design a themed escape room for Reggie's favorite anime, a hilariously bonkers-sounding show about Sleeping Beauty at battle school. Unfortunately he Doesn't Get the Fandom Appeal and so is having trouble with the project. The descriptions of this anime were half my enjoyment of the book; it's total nonsense designed exactly to be relatable to Reggie's id and I also one hundred percent believe that it could be a real show, probably including a spinoff manga series and dating sim. God bless.

Anyway, Reggie and Gus decide to trade fandom knowledge for sleep aid vocals, rapidly develop mutual crushes, and transition from "internet friends" to "friends with benefits" to "dating."

...and that's it! That's the plot! There's some very minor drama towards the end when Reggie catches up on the much more significantly dramatic plot of A Duke By Default while Gus worries about a relationship enthusiasm gap, but it's all pretty normal relationship insecurity and is resolved rapidly and with reasonable communication.

For the record, unlike Let It Shine and Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, I don't actually think this particular novella is better than most of Alyssa Cole's other books -- there's really not a whole lot to it -- but it was such a pleasant and soothing airplane read. Just two nice people having a nice time hooking up while binge-watching an anime. My only big complaint is that we never get a full description of the final design for Gus' Sleeping Beauty Battle Escape Room. Come on! Give the people what they want! (What the people want is lovingly described nonsense-anime-based puzzles.)

(Sidenote: Reggie as aforementioned is a full-time wheelchair user, Gus is autistic, as always I am not really qualified to talk about how Alyssa Cole writes about either of these things.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lilysea

Just a heads up that most wheelchair users prefer

"Reggie is a full-time wheelchair user" to "Reggie is wheelchair-bound". ^_^

From:

skygiants

Ah, thank you for the catch! I've made the change in the post. :D

From:

sovay

The descriptions of this anime were half my enjoyment of the book; it's total nonsense designed exactly to be relatable to Reggie's id and I also one hundred percent believe that it could be a real show, probably including a spinoff manga series and dating sim. God bless.

Say more?

From:

skygiants

Okay, a summary of the imaginary show, as gleaned from details scattered throughout the text: Aurora used to be a prodigy who would consistently beat her rival/love interest Philip in BATTLE SCHOOL! but now she's CURSED to fall asleep at random times, which impacts her ability to protect the country from DRAGONS egged on by the EVIL QUEEN!! however, through the POWER OF TEAMWORK, she and a WACKY BAND OF MISFITS are going to learn that with the POWER of LOVE and FRIENDSHIP, what's important is not their physical capability to fight dragons without falling asleep but what's IN THEIR HEARTS ... which will eventually allow her to redeem the EVIL QUEEN, who is secretly her LONG LOST TWIN SISTER! !! !!!!

the name of the show is Reject Squad Ultra, because of course.

From:

sovay

the name of the show is Reject Squad Ultra, because of course.

I hope one of the options for the dating sim is the dragon.

From:

skygiants

HAS TO BE.

From:

seekingferret

Okay if Gus's escape room is not the theme for next year's MIT Mystery Hunt I will be very disappointed.

From:

skygiants

Finally, an MIT Mystery Hunt specifically designed for the student who's too sleep-depped to stay awake through the whole thing!

From:

seekingferret

It wouldn't be the first time. Several years back there was an Inception theme that was all about sleep!

From:

bookblather

....I need it.

From:

skygiants

Gus is by far the most pleasant Alyssa Cole male protagonist I've yet encountered!

From:

bookblather

I love him already! I'm currently reading A Duke by Default and Tavish is... less than pleasant...

From:

sovay

Gus is by far the most pleasant Alyssa Cole male protagonist I've yet encountered!

What's wrong with most of her male protagonists?

From:

skygiants

I find a lot of them either extremely pushy, distressingly smug, or needlessly antagonistic. I liked Ivan the Jewish boxer from Let It Shine and was interested in Evan the neurodivergent spy from A Hope Divided, except Evan is also a torture expert, which is, one might say, a bold choice in a romantic lead ...

From:

sovay

I find a lot of them either extremely pushy, distressingly smug, or needlessly antagonistic.

All sterling qualities in a partner, indeed.

I liked Ivan the Jewish boxer from Let It Shine

I remember that novella! I should check again to see if it exists in print, in which case I can read it.

and was interested in Evan the neurodivergent spy from A Hope Divided, except Evan is also a torture expert, which is, one might say, a bold choice in a romantic lead ...

It certainly doesn't mess around with the angst quotient. Where did he fall on the spectrum of un/forgivable protagonists?

This is a thing I keep hearing about romance heroes, though: that so many of them are actually assholes. Why is this a trope? Literally who wants that?

Edited Date: 2019-07-24 07:23 pm (UTC)

From:

thawrecka

I don't know why so many overbearing men in romance novels, either, but it vexes me thoroughly.

From:

skygiants

The thing about Evan was that he was much nicer and more respectful than most of Cole's leads, EXCEPT for the torture expert thing, which, again, was an interesting choice! idk, I feel like there's a worthwhile discussion to be had about whether you can have a redeemable torturer;

sophia_sol felt strongly that she missed the mark here here and while I respected the attempt and thought the effort made the book was more interesting than many other romance novels, overall I tend to agree that it didn't quite land.

The asshole romance novel hero has a long and storied pedigree; without having done an exhaustive study, I suspect that it's a convergence of a.) Beauty and the Beast tropes (he's awful, but I'm the one who can change him!) and b.) the double standards that meant that in early days of romance it was dicey to have heroines pursue sex in novels while still registering the appropriate purity levels, which meant they had to be compelled or pressured into it if you wanted that sex scene at all, which meant an asshole hero ....

There's also probably some lingering legacy from the Gothic genre, where the twist conventions inevitably state that the guy who looks like an asshole is the misunderstood hero, and the guy who seems friendly and pleasant is the villain you should beware!

From:

sovay

The asshole romance novel hero has a long and storied pedigree; without having done an exhaustive study, I suspect that it's a convergence of

I suspect you're right. I just find many animal bridegrooms less objectionable than romance heroes I have run into!