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Beautiful Wreck (2014)

by Larissa Brown(Favorite Author)

3.8 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Cooperative Press

review 1: Definitely my favorite read of 2014! Yes, it's only November, but I don't care. That's how much I loved this book. 'Beautiful Wreck' is categorized as a romance, but it's so much more than your typical boy-meets-girl. It actually left me breathless in parts, that's how gorgeous this story is. The prose is incredibly poetic--almost hypnotic on occasion--and I loved the rhythm of the words, and the way they blended inside my head. I loved the main characters, particularly Heirik (my secret Viking studmuffin!) His power and strength conceal a vulnerability that I found totally irresistible. Move over, Ginn. This Viking is mine! The supporting cast are just as good and equally three dimensional. M's Brown has the eye of a true artist. As I read, I kept seeing the story as a p... moreainting--definitely an Old Master-- a vast landscape of a bygone time, vibrant with life and detail. In a few brief sentences the author was able to conjure a riot of colors and sounds inside my mind that transported me to another world. This isn't just a book. It's a mode of time travel... a painting... a song... a poem? Whatever it is. imo, this book is a work of literary genius. I have a shelf of 'keeper' books at home. You know, books that I read again and again, mainly the classics; Jane Austen, the Brontes et al. Well, I'm going to treat myself to a paper copy of this wonderful book and make a space for it up on my special shelf. I can't give it any higher praise than that now, can I?A word of warning, though. If quick reads are your thing, this might not be the book for you. Otherwise, dive on in and savor every magical page.
review 2: I hesitated on putting this on the romance shelf, because I would say that the main elements here are fiction. But the reasons I liked this book 4 stars worth were the romance elements. I am no good at writing summaries, but I think this book deserves one in my review.Jen lives in 22nd century Iceland, working as a linguist/coder for a company building a top-secret immersive virtual reality sim. Her specialty is the Old Norse/Icelandic language (which is a composite made up for this book) of a 10th century Icelandic home. Through a sim malfunction, Jen ends up back in the time she was developing a sim for. Now known as Ginn, Jen navigates life in the 10th century, and discovers that studying for a simulated experience is the faintest shadow of living the real thing.In the 10th century, Heirik is a respected and powerful chief. But a terrifying birthmark and superstition have made him literally untouchable. He & Ginn have an immediate connection. He's patient with her "amnesia" and her lack of superstition would seem to melt away any obstacles. But Ginn learns that living in a close-knit community with traditions (and superstitions) not her own may be more to overcome than she thought.I adored this book. I got it a while ago as an ebook recommended by a knitter I follow on twitter. It's been sitting in my queue. I have a bunch of hardcover & "serious" books in my current reading pile, but I wanted something else this week. Flipping through my Kindle app, I found this book and decided to give it a few pages. I ended up reading it in three sittings in one day. This book also gave me a chance to really tease out what I like in a time-travel book, and I think I figured it out. I sometimes find historic novels, especially romance, a little to anachronistic in their point-of-view. And while I adore a clever bluestocking heiress in my Regencies, I am always very aware that it's a novel, and a created situation that may, ultimately, be unrealistic. But somehow, in a 22nd century time travel, it seemed more realistic to me, and then the story is more believable. Ginn is always aware that her perspective is not native to the time she's in, and she does at time struggle with her own inclinations versus the expectations of the time. A full 85-90% of this book takes place in the past, not the 22nd century setting, and while some people might be frustrated that the future world isn't explained more fully, I thought it served the story well not to introduce a lot of future-world building just for the sake of it. The story was about Ginn, and how she set her world aside to survive in the past that she gets caught in.This book doesn't have a lot of explicit sex, but it does have a ton of yearning & longing, something that I've been in the mood for lately. Ginn has "got it bad" - and is in that state of crush where she finds herself fantasizing about the big (sex) and the small (brushing hair off Heirik's face, lacing his boots for him). All in all, I can see returning this book to return to the 10th century Icelandic world, and for Ginn & Heirik's romance. Ginn's best friend in the past, Betta, also has a compelling story, and is a great character on her own. I loved the friendship between Ginn & Betta, and how they talk about men realistically, but not just men. They talk about their respective places in their home farm and society at large, about Ginn's fuzzy memories, and about Betta's own difficult past. Romance as a genre has no shortage of female friendships, but this is one of the most multi-faceted that I've read in a while. less

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