Kyrie
Perhaps one of my most sacred rules in reading is this: “Do not read books set in New Orleans.”
This sentiment extends a bit to the South, in general, especially when the author doesn't live where they're writing about. I ran into a terrible string of media set in the South when I was younger, where Southern characters were just a series of Southern tropes, and the entire setting was just ruined for me.
(I mostly grew up in the South, so I hate, hate, HATE Southern caricatures. You have no idea how often people are surprised or disappointed that I don't have a Southern, or worse - “Nawlins” - accent. This, too, has affected my stance on books set in the South.)
So it was with great...hesitation that I picked up this book. The plot eventually drew me to give the book a chance. It sounded interesting, even if certain lines in the description, like...
College senior, Lottie Boyd, expects to drink too much while on spring break in New Orleans.
...had me cringing a bit.
Because that's always what people focus on when they think of New Orleans. Beads, boobs, and booze. You have no idea how tired you get of that misunderstanding of culture, when you actually live there. It's a tourist's perception of New Orleans' culture.
Thankfully, though, this book is pretty well researched for the historical bits. A few lines seemed almost copy/pasted from Wikipedia, but at least the information was correct.
And I know, I know - it's a paranormal romance book. I probably shouldn't hold it to such high standards of historical accuracy. But you've got to understand that it gets a bit frustrating when you see your city constantly being stripped down and defined by one single thing. It doesn't help that I work in tourism/hospitality down here, and I'm constantly forced to set people straight on what is and is not actually true and legal.
(For instance - you can carry alcohol on the street, so long as it's not in a glass bottle. You can not urinate where you want. Coming to New Orleans is NOT an excuse to lose all sense of public decency.)
Sorry...sorry.
So historically, the book was fine. The romantic aspect of the plot didn't wow me, as a lot of the romance was less the characters getting to know each other, and more fueled by memories of their ancestors who had fallen madly in love with each other. I did find myself enjoying how the Voodoo curse sort of tied everything together, though.
(My last aside, I promise - I swear I've been inside the Voodoo shop that the Villere House is based on. It's set up just how the book describes, with the alatars, and ghost/cemetery/voodoo/vampire tours meeting up out front.)
Perhaps one of my most sacred rules in reading is this: “Do not read books set in New Orleans.”
This sentiment extends a bit to the South, in general, especially when the author doesn't live where they're writing about. I ran into a terrible string of media set in the South when I was younger, where Southern characters were just a series of Southern tropes, and the entire setting was just ruined for me.
(I mostly grew up in the South, so I hate, hate, HATE Southern caricatures. You have no idea how often people are surprised or disappointed that I don't have a Southern, or worse - “Nawlins” - accent. This, too, has affected my stance on books set in the South.)
So it was with great...hesitation that I picked up this book. The plot eventually drew me to give the book a chance. It sounded interesting, even if certain lines in the description, like...
College senior, Lottie Boyd, expects to drink too much while on spring break in New Orleans.
...had me cringing a bit.
Because that's always what people focus on when they think of New Orleans. Beads, boobs, and booze. You have no idea how tired you get of that misunderstanding of culture, when you actually live there. It's a tourist's perception of New Orleans' culture.
Thankfully, though, this book is pretty well researched for the historical bits. A few lines seemed almost copy/pasted from Wikipedia, but at least the information was correct.
And I know, I know - it's a paranormal romance book. I probably shouldn't hold it to such high standards of historical accuracy. But you've got to understand that it gets a bit frustrating when you see your city constantly being stripped down and defined by one single thing. It doesn't help that I work in tourism/hospitality down here, and I'm constantly forced to set people straight on what is and is not actually true and legal.
(For instance - you can carry alcohol on the street, so long as it's not in a glass bottle. You can not urinate where you want. Coming to New Orleans is NOT an excuse to lose all sense of public decency.)
Sorry...sorry.
So historically, the book was fine. The romantic aspect of the plot didn't wow me, as a lot of the romance was less the characters getting to know each other, and more fueled by memories of their ancestors who had fallen madly in love with each other. I did find myself enjoying how the Voodoo curse sort of tied everything together, though.
(My last aside, I promise - I swear I've been inside the Voodoo shop that the Villere House is based on. It's set up just how the book describes, with the alatars, and ghost/cemetery/voodoo/vampire tours meeting up out front.)