Welcome to Litsy!

I was in such a mood to #reread some Eva Ibbotson and this scratched the itch perfectly. Have all the vibes aged perfectly? No. But was it still fun and engrossing? Hard yes. #historicalromance #historicalfiction

THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS isn‘t quite as well-paced as Ibbotson‘s other books, but it‘s a brilliant showcase for one of her greatest strengths: the ability to write quiet devastation. Her characters love deeply, and fall privately apart when something prevents that love from flourishing as it ought.

I don‘t mean only romantic love. Ibbotson plainly loved Austria, opera, and life‘s grace notes, and she lets her characters share in her passions.

Audiowalking isn‘t feasible right now, so I‘ve been #audiogaming instead.

I started rereading THE RELUCTANT HEIRESS on audio earlier, and the story‘s lovely—but damn, is narrator Kate Lock ever going on my Zealously Avoid list. Her volume modulation is even worse than Emily Woo Zeller‘s. She tends to whisper narration and SCREAM dialogue, so I either strain to hear or get my eardrums blasted. I‘m annoyed with everyone involved in this production.

My #AllTheWorldsAStage shot: plays in the middle, with historical romances featuring the theatrical world on the outside. Of the two on the left, one has a opera singer heroine and the other is set at a Viennese opera house with a stage-hand heroine. On the right, a actor/theatre owner hero and a ballerina heroine. #feistyfeb #romantsy