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veronian's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
First 70% - 2.5 stars
Last 30% - compelling romantic 4 stars
Writing is lush and romantic, and Alan/Susan's first time is written so sweetly. Loved "They were too joy-filled to be proficient; too much in love to notice." In some parts of the book this got to be too much and even boring, but for the most part the excessive sweetness is nice.
Book somewhat romanticized view of the Amish and country living, though countered by a devastating wakeup call of the community's response to Alan and Susan's relationship.
Despite the book being about people from two different worlds who fall in love, and the setup suggesting coercion and exploitation (which Alan spends most of the book trying to avoid), this turned out to ultimately be more about the healing power of love and rejecting shallow concerns about accolades and power. Epilogue is A+.
Last 30% - compelling romantic 4 stars
Writing is lush and romantic, and Alan/Susan's first time is written so sweetly. Loved "They were too joy-filled to be proficient; too much in love to notice." In some parts of the book this got to be too much and even boring, but for the most part the excessive sweetness is nice.
Book somewhat romanticized view of the Amish and country living, though countered by a devastating wakeup call of the community's response to Alan and Susan's relationship.
Despite the book being about people from two different worlds who fall in love, and the setup suggesting coercion and exploitation (which Alan spends most of the book trying to avoid), this turned out to ultimately be more about the healing power of love and rejecting shallow concerns about accolades and power. Epilogue is A+.
chels_ebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Alan Wilde is a former child star turned director and screenwriter that is filming a monster movie in rural Wisconsin. Susan Peachey stumbles onto his set in comedic fashion, and he rapidly develops a lurid fascination with the Amish widow. Wanting to sleep with her, Alan concocts a way to keep her in his company.
It feels a bit of an oversimplification to say this is an unlikely pairing in the vein of [b:Flowers from the Storm|360259|Flowers from the Storm|Laura Kinsale|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1275622146l/360259._SY75_.jpg|788122], but I kept returning to that thought. In Flowers, Maddie is a Quaker entangled with a duke, and the biggest hurdle to their romance was all Maddie stood to lose to be with him. Susan has a similar struggle: just being around Alan and his moviemaking is enough to put her in the wrong with her family and community that she dearly loves. What would they do if they found out about the affair?
The book was written in the 80s, and the e-book I bought had some... halfhearted attempts to make the story seem more modern, which I thought was bizarre. Could this just not be a story set in the 80s? There are references to Angry Birds, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and other pop culture minutia sprinkled in to what is decidedly an 80s book. But it doesn't commit: Susan uses a telephone, not a cell phone. There are computers, not laptops. We have contradictory statements about it both being the twentieth century and that some characters are "stuck in the twentieth century." I'd step out of the story a few times to say "Wait what?"
I bought the 1st edition of Sunshine and Shadow because I loved it so much and I fully intend to read it as it was written. Not everything has to be timeless!
It feels a bit of an oversimplification to say this is an unlikely pairing in the vein of [b:Flowers from the Storm|360259|Flowers from the Storm|Laura Kinsale|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1275622146l/360259._SY75_.jpg|788122], but I kept returning to that thought. In Flowers, Maddie is a Quaker entangled with a duke, and the biggest hurdle to their romance was all Maddie stood to lose to be with him. Susan has a similar struggle: just being around Alan and his moviemaking is enough to put her in the wrong with her family and community that she dearly loves. What would they do if they found out about the affair?
The book was written in the 80s, and the e-book I bought had some... halfhearted attempts to make the story seem more modern, which I thought was bizarre. Could this just not be a story set in the 80s? There are references to Angry Birds, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and other pop culture minutia sprinkled in to what is decidedly an 80s book. But it doesn't commit: Susan uses a telephone, not a cell phone. There are computers, not laptops. We have contradictory statements about it both being the twentieth century and that some characters are "stuck in the twentieth century." I'd step out of the story a few times to say "Wait what?"
I bought the 1st edition of Sunshine and Shadow because I loved it so much and I fully intend to read it as it was written. Not everything has to be timeless!