Midsummer Moon

Laura Kinsale is not your flufflifity fluff romantic. And yet, somehow, she has some of the most fluffity fluff "dear god, I wish this hero would strip me naked too," moments mixed with some of the best humor.

The most eligible widower in His Majesty’s domain: rich, titled, powerful, and more than passably attractive, if his female admirers were to be believed—flatly refused, on account of a broken kite.

It's very clear there's a few things I like in books:
-Heroines that I understand. I know we all wax on about 'strong women' and I frankly don't know what that means. I think strength can be demonstrated in many ways. Merlin was essentially super smart, super ambitious and kind of a flake. In all honesty, it suited an inventor and I show more don't think we'd call a male character like her 'weak' -- It may have been overplayed, but ]...eh, I have a complex relationship with that.
-Relationships that develop. In this book, that was fucking bizarre and I'm not gonna lie. While it may have been a head-scratcher, I went with it. I mean, it was Nicholas Boulton and Laura Kinsale and there's nothing else to be done. What resulted was a battle of wills, a jackass that knows he is manipulative, and a heroine with enough force in her sweetness to bring him down, yet enough tenacity to hold on to herself. And honestly, I loved Ransom. I really, really did. He was lovely and loyal, commanding, clever, and played beautifully by NB in the audio version.

He’d thought his offer of marriage was a matter of duty, of taking responsibility for errors committed—and never questioned why he’d persisted in it past all reason and rebuff.

Well, now he knew why. The explanation sat patiently on the carpet in front of him, with chestnut hair and cloudy gray eyes and skin that glowed like soft midsummer moonlight. He loved her; he wanted to stand beside her forever, be the man she turned to for comfort and companionship; the one she went to first with those crazy, clever notions of hers; the one who listened and smiled and knew when to laugh—who recognized the difference between her accidental absurdities and the rare times she made an authentic quip in that quiet, ingenious way she had.

Oh, and that's it. That's all I need. I get extra-some heat, wonderful family and supporting dynamics, a little danger, some big weaknesses. It was a lovely little novel about two opposite strengths making one completely convincing and supportive couple. They were neither dependent nor overly independent of one another, something I can see lasting for a long, long time. Because they both try.

Wings, indeed. show less

This is the second time I've read this and I found it quite as charming as the first. A lot of it is that Merlin (best name ever) is a nerdy, awkward girl, even if she is an ingénue. But she's more of an ingénue by default because she's a sheltered smarty-pants inventor who can't be bothered to pay attention to convention.

I especially liked that Merlin resisted Ransom and his manly wiles as far as marriage because his actions made it so clear that he thought he knew what was best and kept trying to steam-roll her. Ransom sounds dreamy but only because his feelings for Merlin were genuine. If this story had been told exclusively from Merlin's p.o.v., I would have been hollering for her to run away from him. Merlin's about-face was show more abrupt, but Ransom's character arc was a satisfying one.

I was a little afraid to read this again because I liked it so much the first time. It's always nice not to have your pleasant memories ruined. show less

If it was published today, Midsummer Moon would likely be marketed as Steampunk Romance – not only has it a workable flying machine and the telephone being invented during the Napoleonic Wars, one of its protagonists is the classic Mad Inventor – obsessed with machines and a genius with engines, but scatterbrained and extremely naive concerning any more worldly affairs. Well, almost classic – for while this role is usually ascribed exclusively to males, in Laura Kinsale’s novel the brilliant inventor is a woman. (And while there is Girl Genius, this novel was first released in 1987 and hence clearly predates the comic - I would even not be completely surprised to find out that Midsummer Moon was an influence on it.)

While a show more female engineering genius at the beginning of the nineteenth century might be unlikely, it is not completely impossible, and Kinsale does her best to make her heroine plausible by providing her with an appropriate backstory (raised in isolation from society by an eccentric, childless uncle who hoped she might fulfill his dream and invent a flying machine), and all reservations the reader (this reader, anyway) might have harboured at first soon evaporate in the face of how utterly charming a character Merlin turns out to be. Kinsale manages to give the unworldly inventor trope a nice feminine twist, and I found Merlin in her mixture of innocent naiveté, bubbling enthusiasm and scientific brilliance quite irresistible.

As clueless as Merlin appears in some things, she still is an eminently practical girl, and has both her feet planted on the ground – it just so happens that it is not quite the same ground everyone else treads on. In a nice complement to this, her male counterpart and eventual love interest, fears nothing so much as losing said ground from underneath his feet, as he has a major phobia of heights. And as Merlin’s greatest dream is to invent and build a flying machine, you can probably see where the central conflict is going – a conflict that chiefly gravitates around the heroine’s insistence on her independence even if it means sacrificing her love, something you don’t see often in a Romance novel.

Midsummer Moon is an early work of Laura Kinsale (apparently her second published one) and an unusually light-hearted one for her. While there is some dramatic tension revolving around French spies and various attempts at abducting Merlin, at its heart the novel is a comedy and (at least as far as I am concerned) a very funny one, at that. Even as such, it has more historical depth than most serious Regency Romances around, and while it is not Flowers from the Storm, it still is a highly entertaining and often moving romp of a book.

(And a special mention goes to Merlin’s hedgehog, which surely must be one of the cutest pets in Romance or any kind of literature, ever. It’s utterly adorable and would make reading the book worthwhile all on its diminutive own.) show less

I'm a total spazz. I was reading a book and it mentioned a hedgehog as being the best animal sidekick (bonus points if you know what book I'm talking about!) and so I had to discover which book was being talked about and sure enough, it was Laura Kinsale's Midsummer Moon. I had to read it immediately...and that reminds me, I never did pick back up that other book. LOL

So I was initially put off by the war stuff and the killing plot but the lure of that hedgehog was a strong one and overcame my doubts. And I'm glad for it! Merlin is the kind of heroine I like. She was raised in somewhat odd circumstances by her uncle who was just as invention mad as she was. Needless to say, she wasn't raised with proper manners and etiquette. She show more frequently gets so drawn into her work that she forgets to eat and sleep and her servants take very good care of her. She comes to Lord Falconer's attention because of a device she's invented. She thinks he's talking about her flying machine...but he's talking about her talking box. Ransom is tasked with protecting Merlin and he figures he'll go to her home, explain the situation to her and take her to his ducal manor to hide her out until she's safe. Except Merlin doesn't want to leave her home and she doesn't really think she's in danger...

That first night in Merlin's home, Ransom somehow seduces her (blame the hedgehog, he was in the salt dish). So on top of convincing Merlin to come to his home, he also has to convince her to marry him. But Merlin sees marriage as curtailing her freedom. Already Ransom is trying to prevent her from working on her flying machine. And even when he does get her to remain tucked away at his home, he still has a heck of a time getting her to marry him.

I thought Midsummer Moon was hilarious. I dog-ear (gasp!) pages in a book where I enjoy a particular turn of phrase or something moves me. The first half of Midsummer Moon had quite a few turned down pages. It was super funny. First there's Merlin. She's grown up somewhat isolated from society and so she takes everyone literally. The little nuances of sarcasm and analogy make no impact on her, she takes everything said at face value.

"Can you organize it? Ransom said you could."
"I shall do my poor best."
Merlin frowned. "Oh. I'd hoped you'd do our best best."

Also, I loved the fact that Merlin could not remember Ransom's name or title for the first half of the book, and this rubbed off on everyone else. Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerrel. Merlin calls him at various points, Mr. Damerell, Duke Falconer and my favorite, and the one that stuck, Mr. Duke. LOL Other characters and Ransom himself, refer to him as Mr. Duke at some points of the story.

How funny is that? She doesn't even remember his name? hahaha

The second half of the book is more serious than humorous (although it's still funny). As you can imagine, there are some personality clashes between Ransom and Merlin. They live in totally different worlds. And there's some miscommunication between them because of it. Not intentional miscommunication - but a genuine inability to understand the other person. Ransom, knowing he wronged Merlin by seducing her, tries to do the right thing. He knows it's his duty to marry Merlin. He operates and lives his life based on his position in society. He is a duke, he has to be proper, he has to do the right thing, fix any mistakes. Merlin meanwhile, doesn't think anything of the fact that Ransom seduced her. She doesn't think that's any reason to get married. Her world is currently focused on her flying machine. Everything revolves around that. She sees things as having to do with the flying machine or not. And Ransom is trying to prevent her work on the flying machine (his fear of heights and all, he sees her machine as a flying death trap). And she comes to understand that as the duke, he pretty much can boss her around. Now who'd want to marry that?

"Well," she said abruptly. "I supposed I have no choice."
"None whatsoever."
Merlin stood up. She squared her shoulders and glared up at him. "If I ever get to be a duke, I won't be as big a bully as you are, I can tell you that!"
"Since you are exceedingly unlikely ever to get to be a duke, I don't think we need concern ourselves with the prospect."
"One just never knows, does one?" She held out her skirt and turned from him with a flounce. When she reached the door, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "And if I should, I shall expect you to address me properly. It will be 'Miss Duke' to you, you may be sure!"

Merlin is an absent-minded genius. And Ransom is a bit of a stiff, strict, stick in the mud. Seeing these two come together was so much fun. And the secondary characters were great as well. Midsummer Moon gets 4 stars from me.

p.s. Wondering about that hedgehog? He was cute! He definitely comes in handy. show less

This was my first Kinsale - strategically chosen as the first so I could get a taste of her writing before reading some of her more beloved books. I really liked it; her humor was a delight to read and I enjoyed the cast of characters in this story.

Some things I really enjoyed about this book, some things I really disliked. There's a scene in the beginning that was very rape-y and I just didn't get the point. The plot is such that it takes a long time for there to much physical interaction between the main characters -- maybe Kinsale wanted some sex in the beginning? I don't know, but I hate "it started to feel good so the heroine goes along with it and that's not rape" in romance novels and I nearly added Midsummer Moon to my DNF pile because of that scene.

Beyond that, I liked Merlin (the heroine) and her befuddled scientist characteristics. I liked that the hero had a major phobia -- always nice when the hero isn't perfect -- and I liked that the secondary characters were nicely show more fleshed out, although the boy-with-a-stammer character is overused in romance novels, so I had to roll my eyes at encountering that character yet again here.

Basically, I generally love Laura Kinsale's stuff, but no one's going to miss out if they skip this book. show less

Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerell has come to find the inventor Merlin Lambourne. The government has been told Merlin has invented something that could be of the utmost importance to the war effort. Some hilarity ensues once he gets there and discovers that Mr. Lambourne is actually a Miss Lambourne.
Merlin has invented a few random things but she doesn't think much of them as her driving passion is to invent a flying machine. If it doesn't have to do with flying then she is pretty absentminded about it. In this case the French are coming and in order to keep her safe Ransom decides he will take her back home to Mount Falcon. (I won't say what happens after they eat an awful meal together at her home but the salt thing was pretty show more funny)
Enter the rest of the cast we have Merlin's pet hedgehog, her crotchety employee Thaddeus Flowerdew (he supposedly has a sick twin Theodore but we never actually see him), Ransom's mother Duchess May, sister Blythe, brother Shelby, Shelby's ex-wife Jaqueline, their son Woodrow and twin daughters Augusta and Aurelia, Reverend Edwin Peale, and Major Quinton O'Sullivan O'Toole O'Shaughnessy.
There is a lot of humor throughout the story and I enjoyed it very much. show less