Creatures of Will and Temper

This is an interesting book and I mostly enjoyed it. I found it pretty unpredictable, and I'm sure I'll read it again.

I don't remember why I wanted to read it, apart from seeking out SFF with queer characters. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray 25+ years ago and had to head to Wikipedia to refresh my memory about the plot. But I do remember the sensuality of that book, and in that way, this one is a great homage. I was expecting somewhat more sensory imagery, but it's definitely there. The idea of pursuing pleasure is central to the plot.

Evadne and Dorina are both fully three-dimensional characters. Neither of them is always easy to like, yet I found myself always cheering for them. Their conflict with each other is completely understandable. I started off disliking Evadne a lot, but over the course of the story, I felt like I came to understand her. She's at odds with the world; it makes her angry when people see her accurately, sometimes, because she's ashamed of who she is. Dorina starts off comfortable with herself, and I enjoyed her romance and character arc in general, which is really about celebrating who she already is. Content warning She is 17 when she gets together with her love interest, who is about 35. I thought that was all fine, within the context of this story, but YMMV.

Both heroines are very smart. There is no idiot ball in this book, even though not every character knows everything that's going on at every point. When it makes sense for them to guess something, they do, maybe even a little before they should. They're also both very brave and daring.

Evadne is heterosexual and cis (there aren't any explicitly trans people in the book), and she's also gender nonconforming. Dorina is a lesbian and there are other LGB characters as well. I appreciated the general sense of queer acceptance in this book; even the villains aren't especially homophobic, although they do say a few nasty things on the topic. I also really liked that none of the female characters were threatened with sexual violence, although I thought Evadne was probably afraid of that at a few points.

On the negative side, this book has some pacing issues. I felt bogged down reading the first two-thirds, which is mostly about Evadne and Dorina's ideas of how other people feel about them. They're in this exciting setting, and the reader knows there's supernatural stuff happening. But it felt almost like a family drama for a while, which is not a genre I like. Still, the promise of fantasy elements and my inability to predict the plot kept me continuing through any dull parts.

Also (major spoiler) I did not like the ending much. I think Evadne paid too high of a price. Maybe I'll change my mind after thinking it over, though.

Overall, I liked this and will read more by this author. I am weak and I don't especially like reading about female characters coming to terms with the terrible hand life has dealt them. This isn't that kind of book at all, which I found refreshing.

I didn't mean to read another modern iteration of a classic gothic work so soon after [b:Mary Reilly 274975 Mary Reilly Valerie Martin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345814612s/274975.jpg 2938757]. I actually have never read The Picture of Dorian Gray (I guess I'll add that to the list soon), so whatever references to it that exist in Creatures of Will and Temper, aside from the name of one of the main characters, went clean over my head. But this seems to be the zone I'm in now. If its luxurious and filthy and historical, I'm all about it.I think the best asset this book has is that it is from the point of view of three women at different points in life. Dorina, the teenager on the verge of adulthood, Evadne, a woman in her late twenties, and Lady Henry, who is middle aged. There is a lot about age in this novel. After Evadne Gray convinces their mother that her sister, Dorina, is too unruly to be trusted on her trip to London alone, Evadne is sent along with her to act as chaperone. Once arrived, they meet their uncle Basil's friend, the elegant, androgynous and mesmerizing Lady Henry. Well, mesmerizing to Dorina, that is. What follows is a lot of discussions of art, gardening, philosophy and fencing. And demons, of course.In terms of experience and position in life, I have a striking amount in common with Evadne, who is more or less the central character. Nearly thirty, she is unmarried and a bit adrift in the world. While she is well-mannered and conservative, she prefers spending the day sweating in her fencing gear than fine art or fancy dinners. Her prudishness is frustrating and yet extremely relatable. She's a woman who has seen enough to be wary of the world, but not enough to have found what she genuinely loves or her place in it (oof, thanks for that Molly Tanzer, I don't feel called out at all). To Dorina, on the other hand, the world is still a wonderful place full of possibilities. Like most seventeen-year-olds, she thinks she invented sex and rebellion, everything is new and exciting, and every emotion she feels is exaggerated. I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at her, but at the same time reading things through her eyes helped me understand some things about myself and the way I look at young people today (not something that often happens when I read YA, btw). Just because she's young doesn't mean that what she feels or what she wants isn't real or is misguided, and it doesn't mean that she doesn't have something to offer to someone who is more experienced and more worldly.And then there's Lady Henry, who is of course the most mysterious. The one who marvels at youth and experience alike, who I was prepared to see as more dangerous - considering her demonic associations - but in fact she's pretty chill. A bit pretentious, and I'm still not sure how I feel about her taking up with a seventeen-year-old, but she's more or less a laid back, rich lesbian who likes gardening, art, and imbibing the essence of a demonic force. I buried the lede there, didn't I?The thing is, aside from one scene, this book is fairly light on the demonic and occult stuff. If you're looking for something spooky, this isn't really it. This book is delightfully Victorian though, there's plenty about manners, culture and of course lots about fencing. As the story progresses from something that is slow and contemplative, to one with more action and danger, the transition is a little awkward. It comes late in the story, and more or less things have to grind to halt briefly before switching directions. I also was a little disappointed that that aspect of the story was solely resolved by Evadne - she is the story's white knight, and Dorina and Lady Henry, despite being point of view characters throughout the book, contribute next to the nothing to story's climax. The final battle scene felt kind of awkward because I kept imagining Evadne fighting for her life while literally everyone just sat around on pretty sofas watching her.Though perhaps that is the point. An aesthete libertine will always be just that, while a girl who will risk everything to save her sister will always be that as well. I genuinely loved the hell out of this book, it's lush and thoughtful and unique in so many ways. I loved seeing the bad ass Evadne became, and her growth in the story was very meaningful to me. Nonetheless, if Tanzer really wanted to have a thrilling ending, it could have been a little bit spookier.

I wanted to enjoy this book, really I did. the world had soooooooo much potential except for two big things. ONE, the main romantic interest is a PREDATOR. a teenager cannot be seductive to you, a GROWN ASS ADULT, stop the madness. another thing is the main character is tasked with babysitting her little sister and complains the whole time about it (which is justified in my opinion) only for it to be some bullshit that the only time she finally does something for herself it backfires big time and she gets SERIOUSLY PHYSICALLY WOUNDED? Man, I hate y'all.