It's just that every conversation followed old patterns so completely that I knew what each character would say before my eyes tracked the print on the page. And the same goes for Melanie Rawn, who in addition had to tell the reader, for endless pages, exactly what to think about each relationship, never trusting the reader to figure out the rather obvious pairings of each brilliantly beautiful character. A very adolescent form of wish-fulfillment. I'm glad when I see young people reading and delighting in these novels, because first of all, I like to see young people reading . Then, most of these authors have good things to say.
Lackey campaigns indefatigably for the different, the unwanted, the minority.
All of the writers support the Romantic ideals of honor, truth, effort, justice. But if I'm going to take the time to sink into a world, I want to believe in the world, and feel that the characters are real. Of late, the authors do seem to be researching dilligently the politics, social trappings, and geography of the 19th century. But I don't see any of these authors getting the mindset of the 19th century right, or the language. After having read as much period material as I have, I find it difficult to reread some of Heyer's novels, because I can see where she tweaked the times to her own tastes, for instance the overuse of Pierce Egan's slang.