NOTE: This is one of the rare and exciting instances in which I’m going to get to be unique: I’m reviewing a book that is not available to the general public yet. Truly, Madly by Heather Webber won’t be released until February 2010, but I came across an advance copy. This won’t happen often, so enjoy it when it does!
In the interests of covering the widest possible range of sub-genres of the fantasy scene, I am reviewing a book in the “supernatural mystery/romance” category. (I don’t know if supernatural romance is the real label for this category. I am referring, of course, to the likes of Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and all their less-talented successors.) I got incredibly bored by these books, incredibly fast. They always seem to be about vampires or werewolves or both, and are all too often more of a sexual fantasy than an actual work of authorship. So when I started flipping through the first chapter of Truly, Madly on my break at work, you know I must have been bored. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was enjoying it. Imagine my greater surprise when I found myself tucking it into my purse, taking it home, and reading the rest.
The reason I was so drawn in? The main character, Lucy Valentine. The Valentine family are the powerful moguls of the matchmaking world, incredibly successful and incredibly wealthy. Their secret? They’ve been blessed by Cupid, and can match people based on their auras! I know you’re rolling your eyes, but bear in mind that they’ve also been cursed: No one in the Valentine family can find love for themselves, only for others. (Okay, now you can roll your eyes.) Lucy is an even more special case: She had an accident as a teenager that stole her ability to read auras, and left her with nothing more than an ability to find lost objects. Lucy is practically considered disabled by her family, and she feels useless beside her father. She sees him devoting his life to making other people happy forever, while all she can do is find their car keys so they don’t get a headache. Read the full story
