Back
Foz Meadows: Strange and Stubborn Endurance (2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 4 stars

Not for me

3 stars

This really didn't do it for me! I think part of that is that I'm not wild about romances and this was a romance. A big complaint for me is that the romantic leads behave so constantly and consistently we've-been-to-therapy correctly towards each other that I found their interactions tedious and didactic. It felt moralizing to me ("observe, this is the correct way to handle an emotion"), but I think it was intended to be more of a wish fulfillment love story ("imagine if you dated someone this emotionally mature"). Also everyone is described as being super hot and I did not enjoy that.

The heroes behaved perfectly in every situation and the villains were over-the-top horrible in every situation, and even though the moral stakes were ones I agree with (don't sexually assault people, don't be homophobic, don't murder people), I was put off by the black-and-white-ness of the …

@mouse Agreed on all points. While I dislike melodrama and silly misunderstandings, this felt like the extreme side of the spectrum. All the protagonists are nice and perfectly well-adjusted, without negative characteristics of any substance. After 30%, I got bored and skimmed the rest. It went pretty much as expected.

I also noticed the lack of critique of power/class. Rich, pampered characters squabble over their inheritance (and Cae is silently applauded for being indifferent to more power/land-- because he already has a ton) and continue to be rich and pampered. Tiresome.