10-23-2007, 01:06 PM
A recently written gothic romance I'd suggest avoiding is DARK WHISPERS, by Samantha Garver. Here is a summary of the major flaws I noted in this book:
* Repeated obscuration of the identities of the characters speaking or acting.
* Repeated placement of key information at the end of sentences. This requires the reader to reread the sentence to understand it fully, greatly slowing down the flow of the reading experience.
* Faulty and hazy representation of historical details, customs, clothing, etiquette, deportment, and so on.
* Incorrect representation of equestrian details.
* Characters that seem to meander in search of a plot.
* Switches in point of view within paragraphs and sometimes even within sentences.
* Poor word choices.
* Improper use of dashes in punctuation.
* Implausible movement of characters that sometimes omits important details.
* Lack of plausible character motivation.
It is disappointing that this new author's work has so many major flaws, as she seems avid about the genre and is producing more gothic romances that are being published. I worry that her publishers' obvious lack of editing and discrimination about what it is accepting for publication may lead to the downfall, yet again, of the gothic romance as a potentially popular genre. The genre has slowly been working its way back into at least marginal acceptance by publishers, although one rarely sees "Gothic Romance" on a spine label. I'd hate to see books like this reverse that trend.
* Repeated obscuration of the identities of the characters speaking or acting.
* Repeated placement of key information at the end of sentences. This requires the reader to reread the sentence to understand it fully, greatly slowing down the flow of the reading experience.
* Faulty and hazy representation of historical details, customs, clothing, etiquette, deportment, and so on.
* Incorrect representation of equestrian details.
* Characters that seem to meander in search of a plot.
* Switches in point of view within paragraphs and sometimes even within sentences.
* Poor word choices.
* Improper use of dashes in punctuation.
* Implausible movement of characters that sometimes omits important details.
* Lack of plausible character motivation.
It is disappointing that this new author's work has so many major flaws, as she seems avid about the genre and is producing more gothic romances that are being published. I worry that her publishers' obvious lack of editing and discrimination about what it is accepting for publication may lead to the downfall, yet again, of the gothic romance as a potentially popular genre. The genre has slowly been working its way back into at least marginal acceptance by publishers, although one rarely sees "Gothic Romance" on a spine label. I'd hate to see books like this reverse that trend.