[HQW]≫ Libro A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery The Discreet Gentleman Volume 1 Kris Tualla 9781469955674 Books

A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery The Discreet Gentleman Volume 1 Kris Tualla 9781469955674 Books

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A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery The Discreet Gentleman Volume 1 Kris Tualla 9781469955674 Books

I wasn't familiar with the author, but I happened to see the synopsis for this book and thought it sounded good. I am so glad I took a chance on it because I now have another great author to add to my list of 'automatic buys'. There wasn't one thing with which I found fault or would change in this book. I loved everything about it.

The characterization was wonderful. Almost every character, including several minor ones, were so well drawn that they came alive on the pages. The hero had so many good qualities that it was easy for a reader to fall in love with him. The heroine and the hero's cousin, who was essentially his life-line, were very likeable. The hero's immediate family were reflective of the attitudes towards those with handicaps in that period. The author was able to capture the ambivalence, on the one hand caring about him and on the other, refusing to see beyond his deafness to the capable man. The villain was particularly well-drawn, given that the reader only saw him for a brief time.

I liked the setting which was a change from that of most historical romances. I don't know how accurate the depiction was, but it certainly seemed as if the author had researched her material. Descriptions of items like geography, weather, buildings, dress, legal issues and social mores painted a vivid picture that brought the story to life. One of the items that interested me was the fact that the hero's father could designate an heir, other than the eldest son. I'm used to the English system of primogeniture, so this was educational, as well as a good plot device.

The story was engaging and I couldn't put the book down. It pulled me in and definitely held my interest. The dual plot lines of the growing romance between the hero and heroine, as well as the murder mystery, made for a compelling read.

The writing mechanics were excellent, and this was a very literate work, with good vocabulary, dialogue, and descriptive prose. The author obviously has mastered her craft. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a combination of well-written historical romances and mysteries.

For those who are obsessive about language, there were a few instances of the vernacular being used for bodily functions, but nothing that I would consider to be profanity. Also for the purists, there were a few very well done sex scenes that I would label sensuous, rather than erotic. So for those who avoid books like that, you have been warned. However, you will miss out on a great read.


Tags : A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery (The Discreet Gentleman) (Volume 1) [Kris Tualla] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Brander Hansen lost his hearing at age seven, his inheritance at twenty-three. Furious at his father's betrayal,Kris Tualla,A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery (The Discreet Gentleman) (Volume 1),CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1469955679,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction Romance Historical General,Fiction-Romance,Historical romance,PRINT ON DEMAND,Romance - Historical - General,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical

A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery The Discreet Gentleman Volume 1 Kris Tualla 9781469955674 Books Reviews

From about the 30% point, it was a toss-up whether I'd finish this book or not -- very unusual for me. I really wanted to love it -- the basic situation is fascinating -- but eventually I was just sick to death of the main characters, and also of the author.

At first, I ascribed the odd prose and the characters' odd behavior to the fact that historical Scandinavia is really quite alien. If you've seen *Babette's Feast* or read *Kristin Lavransdatter*, you know what I mean. Eventually, I realized that the characters were going to stay two-dimensional and that the author's descriptive abilities would never extend to things I would've enjoyed, like what the cities were like, or how a great household in 18th-century Norway (NOT the "Regency" era) worked. No, the author seemed not to think I'd want to know about those things, but did firmly believe that I'd want long, lyrical descriptions of the hero's looks and short reminders of the scent of the heroine's soap, over and over, every time they interacted.

Spoiler alert The H and h eventually are saved from their own pointless pigheadedness and everyone ends up marrying the right person at the end, but by that point, I (a real sucker for a happy ending) was so sick of the lot of them that my reaction was "meh." Add in the fact that this ms needed one last thorough proofreading and didn't get it, and it ended up being a book that could have been interesting, but instead was mostly just irritating.
SPOILERS
Kris Tualla's A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery is well worth a read. It includes some components that I generally enjoy - a mystery, angst-ridden and afflicted H, plucky h, a road trip that tests their endurance (all that mud!) and a slowly built romance.
It also includes one of my favourite devices - an exchange of letters between the h and H. And the letters were good enough to savour.
Tualla's romance is also worth a read because, in ways that matter, it is very different from HRs set in Regency England. Obviously, there are the Norwegian setting, clothing and the culture. Then there are the main characters. While the h, Regin, is as tough as she is beautiful, it is the H, Brander, who is, for me, the main attraction. Disinherited because he is deaf, he is driven to "show them" and that makes him someone worth watching. He can be ruthless. Of course, he is gorgeous, as well, which doesn't hurt.
ADGM is also markedly different because of Tualla's prose - which made me wonder if it is translated to English from Norwegian. If so, I didn't find that a bad thing - the occasional sentence is awkward, but for the most part, I enjoyed the writing style.
ADGM did, however, include some references that may be evidence of a translation issue, or, if not, the cultural and/or linguistic differences between a Norwegian HR and those of a more staid English/American HR tradition.
Specifically - there was constant reference to "pissing." Not a big deal for the H, but somewhat surprising for a HR heroine.
I'm all for verisimilitude in this matter. HRs that go on and on about throbbing whatsits and straining thingamajigs usually squib on their characters using a chamberpot or loo. I clearly remember a HR that I read last year where the h was bed-bound with a broken leg, for weeks and weeks, without any apparent need to relieve himself - and I remember an even more ridiculous HR where the H and h were strangers but engaged in sex even though he had been shackled in a hell-hole of a prison for weeks, unshaven and unwashed, no doubt surrounded by filth. I can remember laughing my head off when I read that scene.
So I responded to the first description by Tualla with admiration for her lack of prudishness and thought
"How sensible are the Scandinavians (I know - a gross generalisation) in their matter of fact attitudes to bodily functions. After all, they are shared by all humanity!"
But the trouble was, Tualla referred to it again and again and again. So much so, that I ended up thinking "Yes, I know the h's bladder will be full when she wakes up after a night of torrid sex, but could she just say that she used the chamberpot, rather than she "needed a piss"? After all, when thinking of her sore "quim" she avoids using a more graphic term. However, I may be wrong. The use of the word "piss" may have been commonplace amongst aristocratic Norwegians of that era. What would I know?
I recommend this title as a solid 3 and a half. It would have been more but the final scenes in the book were, in my view, too drawn out - the wedding irritated the heck out of me, as did the days leading up to it. I also have an aversion to the plot device of dumping a groom ( or bride) at the altar. All too Hollywood.
Irrespective of that criticism, I intend to try the next book in the series.
I wasn't familiar with the author, but I happened to see the synopsis for this book and thought it sounded good. I am so glad I took a chance on it because I now have another great author to add to my list of 'automatic buys'. There wasn't one thing with which I found fault or would change in this book. I loved everything about it.

The characterization was wonderful. Almost every character, including several minor ones, were so well drawn that they came alive on the pages. The hero had so many good qualities that it was easy for a reader to fall in love with him. The heroine and the hero's cousin, who was essentially his life-line, were very likeable. The hero's immediate family were reflective of the attitudes towards those with handicaps in that period. The author was able to capture the ambivalence, on the one hand caring about him and on the other, refusing to see beyond his deafness to the capable man. The villain was particularly well-drawn, given that the reader only saw him for a brief time.

I liked the setting which was a change from that of most historical romances. I don't know how accurate the depiction was, but it certainly seemed as if the author had researched her material. Descriptions of items like geography, weather, buildings, dress, legal issues and social mores painted a vivid picture that brought the story to life. One of the items that interested me was the fact that the hero's father could designate an heir, other than the eldest son. I'm used to the English system of primogeniture, so this was educational, as well as a good plot device.

The story was engaging and I couldn't put the book down. It pulled me in and definitely held my interest. The dual plot lines of the growing romance between the hero and heroine, as well as the murder mystery, made for a compelling read.

The writing mechanics were excellent, and this was a very literate work, with good vocabulary, dialogue, and descriptive prose. The author obviously has mastered her craft. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a combination of well-written historical romances and mysteries.

For those who are obsessive about language, there were a few instances of the vernacular being used for bodily functions, but nothing that I would consider to be profanity. Also for the purists, there were a few very well done sex scenes that I would label sensuous, rather than erotic. So for those who avoid books like that, you have been warned. However, you will miss out on a great read.